After spending the past 6 weeks or so traveling Australia and the US, I’m back at Bucknell University.
I’m mostly over my jet lag and the bittersweet feeling of leaving Australia to come home, but I’ll never be over my incredible experiences.
Here’s a short video of me reflecting on why I loved studying abroad and why I think it’s so important:
Thank you, Fund for Education Abroad!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’ve been chipping away at my graduate school applications, classwork, and research project. I’m proud to say I have submitted my applications, taken my final exams, and will be continuing to collaborate with the Australian Museum research team when I return to the US!
All that’s left to do now is celebrate!
I actually booked my Advanced Open Water Scuba Diving course long ago when I fell in love with diving during my Open Water course, but a fun weekend diving was perfectly timed as a reward to myself for submitting my graduate school applications and taking my final exam.
I spent the weekend in Jervis Bay with a handful of other divers to get our certification, but mostly to have an awesome time diving.
I made highlight videos for Saturday:
And Sunday:
My favorite part of the weekend was diving with the seals. All of the divers I’d talked to before said they’re the puppies of the sea, and I can now confidently attest to that!
After returning from my exciting dive weekend, I spent yesterday and today in full preparation mode for my next trip… Tomorrow morning I leave for the Australian state of Tasmania, an island southeast of the mainland.
While my family and friends are enjoying their Thanksgiving dinners in the US, I’ll be on the trail, at the start of the longest solo trek I will have embarked on! I’ve backpacked in groups, and I’ve camped and hiked by myself, but this will be my first time backpacking alone. I won’t be participating in the typical Thanksgiving festivities, but I am endlessly thankful for my healthy body and outdoor experience, without both of which I could not imagine having the confidence to take on the trip I have planned.
After the past few weeks of increasingly detailed planning, I’m finally about to set off! I’m definitely nervous, but I’m too excited to let it get to me!
Mostly, I don’t think the reality of it has set in. As cliche and cringe-worthy as it is, if I had to pick one word to describe my adventures in Australia, it would be “unreal.” I genuinely could not have dreamt of the incredible experiences I’ve had thus far, whether that be working with a world-respected researcher or becoming a member of a seal pod.
And what’s even more unreal is that I still have a month to continue living and learning down under.
Everyone who knows me knows I’m addicted to being a student. I easily fill my time with homework, reading, and projects… whether or not they’re for a class… So it’s no surprise I’ve managed to do the same thing while studying abroad.
The “typical” American study abroad student spends minimal time doing classwork. Many of my peers in my study abroad program have traveled to new cities or countries every weekend. The idea of this was daunting to me when I first considered studying abroad… until I realized I didn’t have to be typical.
Although I’ve done and have plans for my fair share of traveling, I focused my study abroad experience on my research project at the Australian Museum and my upper-level ecology class. As a college senior planning to continue my education, I have also been working towards applying to graduate school.
While my experience is quite different from that of my peers, for me, it has been more meaningful.
I work with a leader in the amphibian ecology field. I wrote a blog for the Australian Museum. I planned ecological projects with Australian peers. I managed communicating with potential graduate advisors across time zones. In doing all this, I have been working towards my personal and career goals.
Being abroad enabled me to pursue my career goals in different ways than available to me at my home institution in the US. It has also forced me to maintain a better balance between my workaholic and adventure-seeking selves. The urge to explore has pushed me to be efficient and to prioritize what’s most important to me. This mix of tangible outcomes as well as eye-opening experiences has made my time abroad especially meaningful for me.
I’ll miss my Australian peers and the Australian Museum research team, but in just two short weeks I plan to set off for Tasmania. After my workaholic self takes my ecology exam, concludes my research project, and submits my graduate school applications, I’ll reward my adventure-seeking self with a solo backpacking trip on the world-renowned Overland Track.
Stay tuned for a photo just like the one above, but taken by me!
In my research assistantship at the Australian Museum, I spend my days on a computer listening to recordings of frog calls. I’ve read about and listened to my six study species for hours on end, but I had never seen most of them in the wild…
This weekend I went “herping” with a colleague from the Australian Museum. In other words, we traversed the forests of Australia looking for snakes, skinks, geckos, and frogs, collectively called “herps.” Our goal was to survey some species for ongoing research projects and photograph as many species as possible.
Success feels like an understatement.
It was pouring rain Sunday night, which is a frog’s favorite weather.
So I got to meet some of my study species in the wild.
And witnessed the beautiful diversity of Australian frogs.
In all, I saw eighteen frog species I had never seen before! And that’s less than 10% of the total frog species throughout Australia!
I’ve been learning about these frogs for a few months, and I finally got to live what I’ve learned when I heard and saw them in the wild this weekend. Who wouldn’t want to be a biologist?! I certainly know I’m on the right path, and that I won’t stop living my learning when my time down under comes to an end.
Disclaimer: Always be cautious when observing wildlife. Do not touch or handle wild animals unless you are trained to. Human interactions with wildlife causes stress to the animal and promotes infectious disease transmission. I was with a trained herpetologist conducting research when these photos were taken.
I don’t believe it when I say I’m halfway through my time in Australia…
For some midway rest, relaxation, and home comfort, my study abroad program IFSA organizes “Country Life Weekend.” We traveled a few hours west of Sydney to Bathurst, New South Wales, to stay with kind, doting families in the countryside.
Four other girls and I stayed with Bill and Lee Lawson of Bald Hill Farm.
Bill raises cattle. I appreciated his philosophy that even though they are destined for the butcher, it’s important to provide the best life possible for his cows. Not only is it important ethically, but Bill believes it makes for better meat as well.
We also got to meet the Bald Hill sheep. Bill bought the sheep as a gift to his wife Lee a few years ago, and hearing the story made our hearts melt. I thought it was also interesting to consider how gifts vary based on lifestyles. Whereas people living in Sydney would have no space or use for sheep, Bill and Lee make money off of their herd, and Lee is reminded of Bill’s love every time she looks out at the paddock (Aussie for pasture).
We learned that Bill and Lee were losing sheep to fox attacks, so they bought two alpacas to protect them! Despite shying away from humans, they attack intruding foxes and have saved many sheep!
Bill and Lee also have an Australian kelpie named Larry, which is short for Larrikin (Aussie for hoodlum or goofball). He’s apparently poor at sheep herding, but he was magnificent at receiving attention from humans!
We also visited another farm that raises sheep. The night before, a little lamb had been born!
At the close of the weekend, my cup was full – from time with animals, from delicious, homemade food, and from meeting wonderful people. I am struck by the kindness of the “Country Life Weekend” host families, who take home strangers to care for. They taught us about life on the Australian countryside and embodied the very meaning of generosity.
I spent the past five days on a coastal farm for my Plant Ecology class. We could hear the waves crashing from the lab and kangaroos roamed freely across the lawn – a few had joeys sticking out of their pouches!
Whenever we weren’t collecting data in the field or identifying plants, we took to the forest or the beach.
Binoculars in hand and knowledgable classmates by my side, I learned how to identify several bird species I had never seen before.
Although I am researching frog bioacoustics, I haven’t done any fieldwork for my internship at the Australian Museum, so I finally went “frogging” for the first time!
As ecologists, my classmates and I were keen to identify all the species we saw, but even our collective knowledge didn’t have that power, so I was glad to introduce my friends to the Merlin Bird ID, eBird, and FrogID apps. Merlin has species lists from all over the world, which you can download and use to identify birds based on location, size, colors, and activity. The app generates a list of possibilities for your sighting, then you can browse photos and song recordings to find a match. Once you confidently identify a bird, Merlin links to eBird which keeps track of all your sightings and submits it to a database of citizen observations that scientists use!
FrogID works similarly to generate possible species for your location and provide information to help identify and learn about the species. Since it’s extremely hard to find frogs, people submit audio recordings through the FrogID app, which are verified by experts and used by researchers like me!
If you’re keen to submit any and all organismal observations to citizen science databases used by researchers, iNaturalist accepts and verifies observations of plants and animals globally.
Not only are there apps to help you identify and learn about species, but people will also do it for you! Facebook groups like Australian Native Plants and Amateur Entomologists of Australia bring together thousands of people who exchange photos, identification, and appreciation of species.
I was surprised to learn how few of my friends in my Plant Ecology class knew of these resources, and was glad to share the nature nerd starter pack that I have assembled over time from others’ recommendations.
As a conservation advocate, I have found that the more people recognize the diversity and complexity of the natural world around them, the more they care about it. No single person needs to be able to identify every living thing, but widely accessible resources like identification and observation logging apps allow scientists and nonscientists alike to be close to nature.
My friends in Australia that I taught how to use these apps have already told me they taught other people how to use them. Knowing that my passion for nature radiates among people makes me confident and unapologetic for being “frog girl” or “nature nerd.”
Although I’ve made plenty of gym friends, I have not joined any sports teams… If you recall from my first blog video, joining a club sport was one of the things I was most excited to do, so what happened?!
I found something better. I joined the Abyss Scuba Diving Club and became one of many PADI certified scuba divers around the world. Diving in Cairns and Sydney, my diving buddies and I don’t conquer other teams as I did with my water polo team for so many years. Instead, we conquer the elusiveness of nature.
On Sunday I joined a dive to look for weedy seadragons, an animal that divers travel from all over the world to see in Sydney, the only place they are be found. We followed our divemaster Rosa, who knew where to look for weedy seadragons. With our eyes scanning and cameras ready, we found both a male and female! I held the torch (Australian for flashlight) for my new friend Nadline, another international student studying in Sydney. She took photos and videos to capture the iridescence of the animals in the torchlight.
Teamwork enabled us to find and interact with these beautiful animals in their natural habitat, as well as so many more creatures!
Thankfully this has not only applied to scuba diving. Monday was Australian Labor Day, so my friend Sam and I did a coastal hike. Along the way, we heard and saw many birds. Passing the binoculars between us, and using the guidance of the Merlin Bird ID app, we were able to determine several of the beautiful species. But unlike the drifting weedy seadragons, most of the birds fluttered around too quickly for us to take photos.
On Friday I leave on a field trip for my Plant Ecology course. We are traveling to the UNSW Kioloa Field Station several hours south of Sydney so we can collect data for our term research projects. My group will be investigating how insect communities might differ on native versus invasive plants, and I am excited to try to conquer the elusiveness of nature with a new team to get data for our research project.
A primary reason I came to Australia was for the abundant and unique native plants and animals… I thrive in my ecology classes at UNSW – in a classroom. I am hooked on my research project at the Australian Museum – in an office. I am hopeful about the graduate funding application I have been working on – in my room.
… I have been itching to get outside…
But I’ve also been intimidated by taking the time away from my indoors work to do the long trails I set my sights on when I arrived and researched the area.
The Wandering Society hike last Sunday was good to spark my motivation to finally go out on my own. After a rewarding week of working on a computer, I needed the solitude of nature.
Hiking alone, I am never lonely, surrounded by smiling flowers, gentle streams, and garrulous birds.
I reminded myself that my love of the outdoors is not about the miles I hike (or kilometers for me, now!). The composure I feel in nature is about being rather than doing.
Of course, the unapologetic scientist I am, after my serene, thoughtful afternoon, I took straight to my computer again. Not to work on my application, but to identify the wonderful wildflowers I spent my afternoon in the company of.
Looking forward, I know I will be glad to take breaks from doing classwork, doing research, and doing applications to be.
When I went scuba diving in Cairns, I took a bunch of video clips with the plan of making a polished compilation video upon returning home to Sydney. I had never edited my own videos before, so I awkwardly navigated iMovie on a few trial videos until I felt like I learned what I needed, then went to work on one to highlight my scuba diving experience.
Last week I also started learning in my two classes for the trimester. This week in Plant Ecology we start planning our term research projects, and for Marine and Aquatic Ecology we’re going whale watching! I’m excited to whale-watch from a more scientific perspective than I did last time.
Of course, my favorite thing to learn about is frogs. For my research project at the Australian Museum, I am in the “literature review” stage, so I get to read endless papers about frog calls and distribution. Rather than feeling burnt-out by all the reading, I get lost in papers which may only be tangentially relevant because I am so captivated by the information.
Finally, yesterday I went on a hike with the UNSW Wandering Society to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.
In chatting with the other wanderers along the trail, I learned so much about peoples’ perspectives on the environment and the diversity of backgrounds of students at UNSW. It was also interesting to be asked for the “American perspective,” and to compare upbringing, schooling, and general culture.
Living down under, I am learning how to showcase my experiences, learning about the local ecology, learning how frogs communicate, learning what it means to me to be American, and enjoying the process of it all. Do I miss Cairns? Definitely, but the experiences I have through my classes, research, and clubs in Sydney are just as important as those I may have on adventures.
… and those experiences are adventures of their own.
I spent last week in Cairns (pronounced “Cans” by Aussies), which is the land of rainforest and reef. It’s no embellishment to say I was living a Planet Earth episode.
I started my trip with a boat ride to Fitzroy Island, where I spent the day snorkeling over the reef and bush-walking throughout the rainforest.
On Tuesday, I joined a tour of the waterfalls of the Atherton Tablelands. The tour group was mostly young adult female adventurers like me, and we had a blast getting to know each other while exploring gorgeous natural landscapes. Our tour guide was a local indigenous Australian, so we also learned much about the history and culture surrounding each of the places we visited.
On Wednesday, I went to Kuranda, which was listed as a Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in 1988. Despite this being my latest morning bus pickup, it was an extremely stressful bus ride because I received a notification that my boat liveaboard for the next two days (therefore scuba diving, the thing I had been most looking forward to!) was canceled due to rough, windy conditions. Unwilling to forfeit my scuba diving experience at the Great Barrier Reef, I quickly found another boat with mooring permits for the inner reef, which would be protected from the windy conditions that led to the cancelation of my original booking.
As soon as I hung up the phone after ensuring the most important part of my trip was still happening, our bus driver came back from dropping off a group at the Rainforest Skyrail and said they had bought an extra ticket, couldn’t return it, and it was up for grabs. My hand shot straight up. The morning was definitely looking up considering I would still be able to go scuba diving and I would be able to take the Skyrail to Kuranda, which didn’t fit into my budget originally. I would have still enjoyed Kuranda just taking the bus up and back, but goodness was I thankful that I chanced upon this extra ticket! The Skyrail coasts over the breathtaking rainforest canopy, and has stops at two learning stations where I participated in guided walks about rainforest ecology.
In Kuranda Village, I visited the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary where I learned about the diversity and life history of butterflies as I enjoyed the many flittering species raised at the sanctuary.
I ended my day in Kuranda with the Rainforest Walks around the outskirts of Kuranda Village, enjoying chirping birds, colorful flowers, and beautiful scenery.
Finally, on Thursday morning the time came for me to take the scuba diving boat trip I had earned certification for and worked so hard to secure. The first thing said to me when I walked up to the Coral Sea Dreaming boat in Marlin Marina was that I needed to take my shoes off and leave them at the dock! Excitedly, I chucked my tennis shoes in the bucket and boarded the boat where Leo, the dive instructor of the trip, Claire, the other certified diver, and my fellow passengers greeted me. Shortly, we were underway traversing two-meter waves for a three-hour ride to the reef. I was thankful I did not get seasick like several of the other passengers because as soon as we arrived at the Great Barrier Reef, Claire, Leo, and I donned our wetsuits and diving gear for the first dive.
We did five dives in total: two the first day, a night dive after dark, and two the second day. These hours spent on the bottom of the ocean were absolutely unparalleled. In my opinion, the difference between snorkeling and diving is observing the fish versus being one of them. As a fish for these couple days, I got to chase after a sea turtle, spot a black-tipped reef shark, and see more colors, sizes, and patterns of fish than I could possibly keep track of.
My favorite animal since childhood has always been a sea turtle. I even used to collect figurines of them, but seeing one actually wasn’t my favorite moment of diving.
At one point, the three of us were sitting on a sandy patch at the bottom of the ocean, taking in the vibrant corals around us when all of a sudden we were encircled by a school of barracuda. Although I’m an avid nature-goer, sitting 10 meters underwater, surrounded by speedy, glittering barracuda was one of the most humbling and awe-inspiring moments I have ever experienced.
My other favorite moment was on our night dive. Using special flashlights, we observed a different assemblage of fish than in the day, but the best part was when we sat at the bottom and covered all of our lights. Surrounded by darkness, hearing only the passing of air through my regulator, seeing only the silhouette of the reef against the boat lights above, I felt insignificant. Every being is only a small piece of our planet, yet humans tend to place themselves at the center of the universe, all-important.
Being humbled, awe-inspired, and left feeling insignificant reminded me why I am so invested in having a career as a conservation biologist: I cannot imagine my own life without these experiences, let alone living in a society absent of them.
Lastly, after my wondrous, thoughtful diving, I ended my trip on a high note (literally), jumping off a platform into the rainforest! When I was planning my trip, I happened upon a deal for AJ Hackett’s, the only place to go bungy jumping in Australia. I consider myself a thrill-seeker, so I jumped (haha) at the chance to free-fall through the rainforest… twice!
Although I’m sad to have left life as a Planet Earth episode, life down under is still on the upside as I start trimester classes and my research at the Australian Museum this week!
Living and Learning Down Under