Monday, February 21, 2011

Jurassic Park, Anyone?

Oh, dear, I believe I've fallen behind in my blogging. I do have a good reason, I promise! My computer, poor baby, has decided that it does NOT enjoy the rainforest, and is threatening to die completely...I'm trying desperately to nurse it through, but we shall see. It pretty much decides to shut off and refuse to power on for a day or two, at which time I frantically type up papers and do what research I need to before it doesn't work again, which doesn't leave as much time for blogging as I'd like.

But, enough of my technology troubles! The past week or so has been fun, to some degree, and very busy! We had our first field exercise, which is a week long experiment and scientific write-up. My question was on the relationship between wood density and growth rate in saplings planted at rainforest restoration sites. Sadly, my results were non-significant, but then we had the paper to write up.

Have you ever had to sit there and re-learn something for what seems like the umptheumpth time? Going over and over things that seem so basic to you, until you want to bang your head through a wall? Well, that was what this paper felt like! We spent hours going over how to write it, how to cite things, what sections to put in. We sat through three hours of the professor running all of our statistical analyses, and I had to stay, even though I had already done all of mine! It was frustrating, but it's over now and all is well. I handed in my paper this morning, and hopefully the next one, starting today, won't be as much review.

In other homework news, we also had a fauna quiz this week! For anyone who's reading this and was in Ornithology with me, it brought me right back to late nights in Dana, studying bird calls. We only had to learn 19 birds and 6 frogs, so it wasn't so bad, but the bird calls are definitely still stuck in my head! I keep on finding myself whistling the tune for the Little Shrike-Thrush, or the Brown Gerygone when I'm not paying attention!

On a non-homework front, we've gotten to go into town a few times, which has been nice! This Saturday, we got forty five minutes in a little town called Malanda, right when they had their farmers market! I got this pineapple juice there that was to die for, all pulpy and thick and sweet. It was amazing. I could have drunk about ten of them! The farmers market also had a bunch of interesting tropical fruits, including one called Ice Cream Bean, a three foot long green see pod, that you twist open. Inside looks almost cottony, and you pull out the beans, black and shiny and covered in cottony pulp, and pop them in your mouth. You then suck on them until all the pulp is off, and then spit out the bean. It was awesome, really sweet, almost like vanilla ice cream, except that it was warm and a weird texture. I then got some chicken tenders (can't live without them!) at a local cafe, which were also delicious. I do miss my chicken tenders, out here in the rainforest!

We also got to go to the local crater lake, Lake Barrine, this Sunday. Lake Barrine used to be a volcano, but then it filled with water and is now an absolutely gorgeous swimming hole. I didn't quite feel like swimming, so me and two other girls went and walked the circuit of the lake.

Last thing was Mamu Canopy Walk. It was a trail through the rainforest, and then on these connected platforms over a huge gorge. It was kind of foggy, with low clouds, and there were flying foxes all over the place. It made the whole thing feel like something out of Jurassic Park, as though Pterodactyls were going to swoop down and snatch you right off the walkway!

Okay, hopefully that's long enough for now, because it's lunchtime, and I need to hurry if I want the leftover steak! Tata, folks!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Don't Let The Stinging Trees Get You Down!

Don’t let them turn your smile into a frown! Brownie points if you guess that song! Today started off with sunshine and smiles, except for the fact that it was seven in the morning and the we didn’t have water in the bathroom, of course. Seriously, our showers seem to be completely bipolar, and only work half the time. It was the runners in our group, who had gotten up early and run the access road, who discovered this, and they were very sweaty and disappointed. I was, at this point, still snug as a bug in a rug in my bed, but the discovery soon had me up as well.

We trekked to breakfast and to let Leslie, our student affairs manager, know. Breakfast was fruit loops (Good to know some things cross cultures!) and oranges, and then it was off to class! First up, Siggy teaching Rainforest Ecology. Siggy is this German lady, whose accent fluctuates between German and Australian, and who calls bandicoots “bandiCUTES” and refers to Frisbees as “flying guillotines”, so, of course, she’s pretty awesome. I think it must be an Ecology professor thing, ‘cause she kinda reminds me of Renee from Hollins! After her lecture on tropical forest fauna, we went straight into a second lecture from Tim, our Natural Resource Management professor, an Australian guy who throws in “Aussie words of the day” and pictures of his absolutely adorable three-month-old daughter, Grace, wherever he can. His lecture was about weather and forest patterns in Australia. After a fortifying cup of hot tea, we went back for a third lecture from Siggy, about the roles of different animals in the rainforest. And this was all before lunch. Lunch was a big bowl of rice (yum!) and then it was back for a fourth lecture, on different types of forests, by Tim again. Then, free time, a nap, and a field lecture, once again from Tim.

Field lectures are so much fun, way better than sitting in a classroom! We trekked out on the property to find different types of forest, which basically entails bushwhacking through chest high grass, until you hit the dense, dark forest. It’s so cool, dark and green and covered in epiphytes (Plants that grow on other plants, in the air) and ferns and vines. We found this HUGE strangler fig that had grown around a tree that had then died and decomposed. Now, the fig is still going strong, but is growing in this lacework around a hollow where the other tree was. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Our final stop on our field trip was to see some stinging trees, so we know what to avoid. You know how they say that if anything wants to kill you, it probably lives in Australia? Well, the stinging tree is one of these! It’s this plant that looks a little bit like a sunflower, minus the flower, with these big heart-shaped leaves, and it’s covered in these little, fuzzy looking hairs. Sadly for anyone who mistakes it for something that is soft and fun to cuddle, these little hairs are actually silica, filled with neurotoxin. If you brush against it, they’ll embed in your skin and put you in “excruciating” pain…for the next six to eight months. Sounds like fun, huh? Hopefully, that will be the closest I come to these fuzzy little buggers!
We finished out the day with an after-dinner bonfire up by the greenhouse, complete with marshmallows. Apparently, they don’t have graham crackers here though! Luckily, we found these cookies, called Nice cookies, that taste kinda like them, so our s’mores were saved.

That’s all for now, I’ll talk to you all later! Oyasuminasai!

Erin

Don't Let The Stinging Trees Get You Down!

Don’t let them turn your smile into a frown! Brownie points if you guess that song! Today started off with sunshine and smiles, except for the fact that it was seven in the morning and the we didn’t have water in the bathroom, of course. Seriously, our showers seem to be completely bipolar, and only work half the time. It was the runners in our group, who had gotten up early and run the access road, who discovered this, and they were very sweaty and disappointed. I was, at this point, still snug as a bug in a rug in my bed, but the discovery soon had me up as well.

We trekked to breakfast and to let Leslie, our student affairs manager, know. Breakfast was fruit loops (Good to know some things cross cultures!) and oranges, and then it was off to class! First up, Siggy teaching Rainforest Ecology. Siggy is this German lady, whose accent fluctuates between German and Australian, and who calls bandicoots “bandiCUTES” and refers to Frisbees as “flying guillotines”, so, of course, she’s pretty awesome. I think it must be an Ecology professor thing, ‘cause she kinda reminds me of Renee from Hollins! After her lecture on tropical forest fauna, we went straight into a second lecture from Tim, our Natural Resource Management professor, an Australian guy who throws in “Aussie words of the day” and pictures of his absolutely adorable three-month-old daughter, Grace, wherever he can. His lecture was about weather and forest patterns in Australia. After a fortifying cup of hot tea, we went back for a third lecture from Siggy, about the roles of different animals in the rainforest. And this was all before lunch. Lunch was a big bowl of rice (yum!) and then it was back for a fourth lecture, on different types of forests, by Tim again. Then, free time, a nap, and a field lecture, once again from Tim.

Field lectures are so much fun, way better than sitting in a classroom! We trekked out on the property to find different types of forest, which basically entails bushwhacking through chest high grass, until you hit the dense, dark forest. It’s so cool, dark and green and covered in epiphytes (Plants that grow on other plants, in the air) and ferns and vines. We found this HUGE strangler fig that had grown around a tree that had then died and decomposed. Now, the fig is still going strong, but is growing in this lacework around a hollow where the other tree was. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Our final stop on our field trip was to see some stinging trees, so we know what to avoid. You know how they say that if anything wants to kill you, it probably lives in Australia? Well, the stinging tree is one of these! It’s this plant that looks a little bit like a sunflower, minus the flower, with these big heart-shaped leaves, and it’s covered in these little, fuzzy looking hairs. Sadly for anyone who mistakes it for something that is soft and fun to cuddle, these little hairs are actually silica, filled with neurotoxin. If you brush against it, they’ll embed in your skin and put you in “excruciating” pain…for the next six to eight months. Sounds like fun, huh? Hopefully, that will be the closest I come to these fuzzy little buggers!

We finished out the day with an after-dinner bonfire up by the greenhouse, complete with marshmallows. Apparently, they don’t have graham crackers here though! Luckily, we found these cookies, called Nice cookies, that taste kinda like them, so our s’mores were saved.

That’s all for now, I’ll talk to you all later! Oyasuminasai!

Erin

Saturday, February 5, 2011

My Kingdom for a Shower

Hey everyone!
Yes, we did indeed survive Cyclone Yasi, with little more damage than a few downed trees and alot of leaves on the ground...The cyclone veered south right before landfall, missing us for the most part. However, that meant bad things for some towns south of us, who were leveled, including Mission Beach, which is one of the strongholds for the cassowary population (If you haven't seen a cassowary, google it. They're pretty awesome). They don't do well after cyclones, so we're talking about gathering food for them and carting it down there!

One thing Yasi did do was knock out our power for five days. Not a big deal, since we're outside most of the time, except for one thing: Showers. We spent five days with no showers. It was NASTY! We did get to go to a freshwater crater lake and swim, but a little shampoo goes a long ways. It made my week, when the power came on late last night, and we all went running for the bathrooms!

We've also now gotten a taste of the centerpoint of local culture: the pub. Sadly, this wasn't half as exciting for me, since I don't drink, but it was very entertaining being able to talk to the Australians there, and we had some cool conversations!

In other news, I got to see a three foot monitor lizard up close and personal yesterday while taking out the compost...It looked like a miniature Komodo Dragon!

Okay, so this is a super short, and very random post, but I'll keep it that way, since our student internet isn't working yet, and there's a long line for the computer. I'll talk to you all later!

Erin

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Two words: Land Leeches

Hello friends!

Okay, first of all internet is even more sparse than I thought, but I will try my best to continue the updates in spite of that!

So, hello from Australia! Yes, I made it, and I am indeed alive! The plane ride wasn't terrible, I slept most of the way, which is definitely how you should do it! We are now at the field station, which is very nice, despite the lack of internet. The showers were a bit awkward at first, as there were no shower curtains, but the latter problem at least has now been fixed and all is well in the world!

Cool things I have seen so far? Why, I'm glad you asked! Around camp, there are many Australian Brush Turkeys, which, in case anyone was wondering, have a very interesting ecological mechanism called temperature dependent sex determination, where, essentially, if the eggs are kept cooler, all of them are guys, and if they're kept warmer, all of them are girls. Pretty neat, right? Also, there are these absolutely adorable miniature forest kangaroos called pandamelons that wander around the path to the cabins. There is also, apparently a rather large ball python hanging out around said path. Finally, look up land leeches. They are things of nightmares! You're just standing on the ground, minding your business, and suddenly they're crawling up your shoes and on your legs. Somehow, they know exactly when someone walks by, since you don't really see them anywhere except right under you! Someone in the science department, ask Dr. Wilson how they do that for me, 'kay? :)

And also, look up Tropical Cyclone Yasi. It is, in fact, on a direct course for us! Meaning that tomorrow, we get to have a giant sleepover in one of the rooms at the center, so we're all together, just in case. It'll be an awesome adventure...I mean, who else can say that they experienced a cyclone within the first 48 hours of their study abroad? None of you London-folk, I'm sure! :)

I will cut this off now, and let you all get back to your business. I'm not sure when my next update will be, as we will likely be without internet for several days due to the storm, but I will try to post again as soon as possible!

Ta Ta For Now!
Erin