This was one of the most pleasant surprises coming out of Marathon Monday. In 2012, there was something magnetic that lead me to capture the (bottom) photo of this runner. There is something to be said for the fact that the same thing happened again two years later. Call it fate, call it chance. Small world dynamics will continue being an interesting part of day-to-day life.
Spring Week 2014 - Wellesley College
Dinner in PR
THE LAND DOWN UNDER - WEEK ONE
So, it is official. I am in Australia.
I left home in San Francisco at 12.30pm on the 8th and arrived at the final destination, SFS Centre for Rainforest Studies (CRS), at roughly 3pm on the 10th. My first impression? Oh.my.god. We had been driving along an incredibley curvy highway for about half an hour before making an unexpected turn onto the Centre’s bumpy, dirt access road. The road was surrounded by sky-high trees, which threw us into darkness, despite it only being mid-afternoon. After about a mile we arrived at the property. I’m pretty sure the majority of us were in a state of shock at finally arriving. The main building is in an open space, with a nice lawn and scattered tables and chairs. Apparently the prior property owners had attempted to grow orchards (to limited succcess) which explains some of the more open space (as well as the occasional fruit tree.) There were all sorts of birds nesting in trees and the surrounding area; from lorakeets to turkeys (I am also keeping my eyes peeled for a cassowary.)
We met the folks that run the Centre; the director (Amanda), the professors (Siggy, Catherine and Justus), the student affairs manager (SAM) and the four interns. Since no summer camp-like experience would be complete without it, we got in a circle and playes a name game associating out name with an animal (all I got out of that was that Chris likes crabs.) We had an orientation in which we learned about all the dangerous things in the area that could cause severe bodily harm (poisonous snakes/terrestrial leeches/stinging trees/spiders/etc.) and how to treat a snake bite. Naturally, right afterwards we went on a hike around the property (which is ~127 acres in total). All the plants look like they are on steroids; with giant ferns taller than me (which means they are HUGE, of course) and ‘wait-a-whiles’: plants that have long sneaking tendrils that will hook onto your clothes or skin, so you have to ‘wait a while’ until it comes out. On this hike we had our first encounter with a huge snake; coiled right up next to the path. Apparently it was a carpet snake, which, while not a hugely venomous snake, still has full capacity of its jaw and fangs. It seemed in no hurry to move anywhere, so we slowly made our way around it; holding our breath the whole while. Of course, one of the first things we see upon returning to the Centre was another snake, this time up in the rafters, and this time very much venomous. It headed further into the building, and we haven’t seen it since. What I have learned? Precaution is key. Bang on your shoes every morning before use to avoid squishing a giant Huntsman spider, check the school desks to make sure there aren’t any sleeping snakes (something that has happened in the past), while on a hike check yourself for leeches, and always keep the screen door to the bathroom shut.
Ok, so this must all sound crazy, and it sort of is, but there have already been so many incredible experiences. For starters, everyone is really nice. For the most part people are studying Environmental Science or Bio, so it’s great being around a lot of like-minded people. Also, the food is rocking. Iris, the cook, has some great recipies up her sleeve. The fact that I have already had cornbread and week one isn’t over is a testament to how great it is here. Today was technically our second day of class and we went on a field excursion to town in the area to see how locals are affected to their proximity to the rainforest. It was really neat, and my group got to go to Kurunda, which was a pretty touristy place, but for good reason. The town is in the heart of the forest and has waterfalls/rivers/animal sanctuaries/etc. We came back to the Centre, gave presentations, then had some great pot pie for dinner. It was a good day.
Tomorrow morning we are going to be doing some bird watching then we are going to do some community service projects, then spend some time in the local town of Atherton.
Pictures may arrive when I am connected to some form of internet that wont crash upon uploading.
Missing everyone.