
For the first month (February), I did most of my work with measuring gas exchange, specifically respiration and dark respiration, in the cotton plants that were being grown in the glass house under elevated and ambient temperatures. This was an intense learning process, coming to master the Li-Cors. I am very grateful to the visiting researcher that I was helping, for all that she did to teach me! So needless to say, I spent a ridiculous amount of time in the glasshouses, and then in the evenings did what I could to figure out data analysis for the respiration data, creating temperature curves. Data analysis is one of my definite weaknesses, so although it was challenging to do, it was an amazing learning opportunity and so rewarding. I tried to really make the best contribution I could, and work my hardest. I have no doubt that, at least during my first month, I probably spent about 60 hours during the work week on the cotton drought experiment (some 40 hours on gas exchange measurements with the Li-Cors, and then the rest on data analysis at home). Like I said, this might have been challenging, but it was absolutely worth it in the amount that I learned. As I said in my previous post, I wanted to express my extreme gratitude for the opportunity I was given, and not to squander the faith that my host professor had generously given me. Then, on the weekends when possible I tried to see what I could and travel around. I think that I accomplished a huge amount in both research and experiencing Australia, in a relatively short time! I helped to wrap up three different experiments on drought and temperature stress (in cotton, peanuts, and eucalypts) and collect quite a lot of data. I very much hope that I was a help-- and my host professor was really diligent about making sure I knew I was appreciated, so this was truly wonderful. Ah, I learned so much and gained so much confidence. I feel so lucky for the in-depth research I was allowed to participate in and the great community of researchers and technicians I was able to meet at the Hawkesbury Institute. And I couldn't believe it, but in March my dear Professor Koike from Hokkaido University came to visit the Hawkesbury Institute for a whirlwind couple of days to try to arrange a bilateral agreement between the universities. Although the visit itself was for business, I cannot begin to express how joyful I was to have such an unexpected chance to meet Koike-sensei. I very much miss him and Hokkaido University. Approximately one year ago to that date, I had helped to escort my host professor (Professor Tissue) from the Hawkesbury Institute around Hokkaido University -- now, in a a surreal twist, I was escorting Koike-sensei around the Hawkesbury Institute
I hope that someday I can write more about my time in Australia, but for now I will keep things more brief except to describe a few additional highlights that I should not neglect. The major highlight was that I made it to the Great Barrier Reef!!!! It was quite an ordeal to reach, involving two 6AM flights, a traumatizing 2AM night bus from Richmond to Sydney with drunkards and reaching Sydney alone in the dead of night to hail a taxi, and only being able to be in the Cairns area for literally two days. I would do it all over again to see the reef. I knew that this was something that I could not let myself miss, so I brushed aside all the other difficulties. It sure is tough to be poor and to travel though! I'm only able to accomplish it because of my willingness to sacrifice all reason (meaning that I don't eat, don't really sleep, and walk everywhere in order to pay for it. Still worth it.) I think that, had the research institute been in Cairns, I might have had a vastly smoother transition to Australia, just because of the richness of the environment there. But I'm just glad I got there. Cairns itself is a town fueled and made purely for tourists. There were wealthy people everywhere. I was equal parts appalled and amused by them, and my rag-tag self felt out of place as usual. After arriving early in the morning, I checked in at a hostel, then walked quite a few miles in the hot sun to reach the only hiking loop within foot-distance (a.k.a "all I can afford"). These are the Red Arrow and Blue Arrow loops, ironically near to the airport so I was actually backtracking. The loops themselves are perhaps a mile, and 8 miles respectively (perhaps shorter or longer, can't remember.) I completed both, was exhausted from not eating or sleeping but proud to cover so much ground. The forests there did begin to intrigue me, which gave me hope. I also met my first goanna! These are giant monitor lizards -- like Joanna from the Rescuers Down Under. It was entirely unexpected. As I was nearing the last stretch of the Blue Arrow trail, which is a dirt trail as opposed to paved, I looked ahead and there he (or she) was across the path. We both stared at each other in surprise, perhaps wondering who would move, and then off he went into the underbrush. This gave me a smile. I hiked around the botantical gardens area, through some of the older growth forest boardwalks, and very much enjoyed the area. After completing the more remote hiking loops during the early morning, and then emerging towards the afternoon, there were increasingly more people in the gardens. I continued to push myself to see everything and all that I could. It was in the 90s, and sunny, and by the end I was definitely feeling tired as I made my seemingly endless trek over hot sidewalks and passed by cars and buses, back towards the hostel. In total, I know I covered at least 18 miles in that days and likely more, with no sleep and not much sustenance to speak of. When I reached the shopping center near the hostel, I was parched and probably pretty ridiculous looking. I ate three mcdonalds icecream cones, which at 30 cents each were just about all I could afford for dinner anyways. The next morning, I woke up early for snorkeling. It is a couple hours boat-ride out to the outer reef. We went to Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Reef. I had been initially overwhelmed to chose a snorkeling tour company, because there are so many companies, but I was very satisfied with the smaller, family-owned SeaStar company. I'm also glad that I chose snorkeling over scuba diving (I couldn't really afford scuba diving either, but I had been sorely tempted). Snorkeling gave me the freedom to swim and dive all over the place. Whereas when I had snorkeled in Okinawa and had not really been allowed to go off on my own (and everyone even had to wear life vests!), this time I was free to dive as deep as I wished and explore all I wanted! I especially enjoyed diving down to where the scuba divers were and circling around, reaffirming that snorkeling is more for me than scuba diving would have been. At both sites we had about 2 hours of swimming time, and I used every single second. Others went back to the boat after getting tired, but I floated and swam around and admired for as long as they would let me stay in the water, even though by the end I was very tired and probably senseless from continuously diving down as deep as I could. I was the very last one back to the boat. The reef itself was not as bright and colorful as I might have expected, but there were so many fish and coral and other creatures. I kept diving down as far as I could to the wall's edges and other overhangs, in search of reef sharks who apparently can sometimes be found there, but no luck. I was absolutely enthralled, even so, to meet sea turtles! And to be able to swim right up to them. (They just continued about their business, putting up with me as I ogled them). In the afternoon, I explored the esplanade area, stumbled into an amazing indigenous/aboriginal art gallery (I cannot begin to express how amazing these paintings were, some of them as large as walls), and as the sunset went for a little jog . The sunset and moonrise (a full moon! Bright and silvery and shining above the shadowed hills and ocean) were breathtaking -- yet again I found myself in a situation I could not believe I was living. Flying foxes swooped in the sky above me. I ate another ice cream cone, went to bed, woke up around 4AM to get to the airport, and then I was back to Sydney.
During my last month (April), I was also very lucky to go to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, to the Port Stephens area and sand dunes, and to do the Royal National Park Coastal walk which is near Sydney. This is about 15 miles or so, which I was invited to tag along for with a group of lovely researchers. We walked the first day through forest, camped in a beautiful grassy valley near the ocean (in an afternoon rainstorm, of course, but you know), then did about 12 miles of it the second day: across beaches, up steep cliffs climbs, then along the ridge itself. I wish I would have had more time to go at a slower pace and enjoy the incredible variety of ecosystems along this whole stretch. The change throughout is a marvel itself, and a good way to throw a whole bunch of environments into one experience. Even saw some bounding wallabies in the forested section! Another major highlight for me was to go to Muru Mittigar, the aboriginal (and especially Darug) cultural center about ten miles from where I was in Richmond. I biked there, through back-country roads, and spent the day with some of their staff as they lead me through their set of activities. Their staff member, Paul, gave me a great talk about some of the history of colonization-- brief, but informative even if I had by this point managed to learn more about the history -- but even more meaningful to me was to hear some of his own opinions and experiences. He also showed me through their gardens, and taught me about some of the amazing uses for so many plants. Then during the second half of the day, their resident artist Uncle John Boney gave me painting instructions, and painted with me. (Uncle is a polite term for an older man or elder, and Aunty for women) I was sheepish about admitting that I actually do a lot of painting myself, so what he showed me was a very basic introduction tailored to the huge groups of people he typically has come in. Usually, groups of around 50 or 100 people come in! Somehow, I was there on a day where it was JUST me! AH, I felt so immensely happy and fortunate. This was perhaps my best experience in my whole time there. I think that he was interested by my attention to his paintings and (maybe I'm just being facetious) my ability to follow his painting instructions, and he even offered to teach me to paint! He said I could keep coming back and he would teach me! When I showed him one of my business cards with watercolor work, he really liked it, and said that he wanted to learn watercolor and we could teach each other what we know. Goodness, few people know how touched I was by this and how dearly I wished to accept his incredible offer. A dream come true for me, really -- to do art and to learn from such a talented artist. Alas that it was my last few days in Australia (for now) and I would be leaving the next week. I heave a heavy sigh whenever I think about this. But I do hope to return. And I've painted him a watercolor piece, in his style, which I hope to send to him. Maybe he will like it and remember me.
My final hurrah was traveling to the outback during my very last week in Australia. In fact, I told Uncle John (the painter I had met at Muru Mittigar) of this plan when he asked if I intended to do any traveling before I left. He was surprised when I said I would be going to visit Bourke (literally the middle of nowhere), and I was just as surprised to learn that he grew up in that area. A group of seven of Phd students, technicians, and myself rented a big car, sardined ourselves in, then drove 9 hours to arrive at 1AM in the desolate town of Bourke -- known as the unofficial "start" of the outback, hence the Australian colloquialism "back of Bourke." Bourke on its own was an experience. A very tiny town, with at least ten closed down and boarded up hotels, in the north west of New South Wales. It is rather isolated, and has a bit of a rough feel around the edges. It is also in the midst of an 8 year long drought, I believe. There is, apparently, a reputation for the area and the outback for crime. Part of this may be true, but part of it I do not doubt is stereotype -- in particular, stereotypes about aboriginal people, many of whom live in the outback (for a host of reasons, many of them socio-economic and which is another topic in itself that I will not go into here, but will write more about perhaps). We did a hike in Gundabooka National Park, red and hot and dry, but also surprising in the amount of vegetation there was. Here I saw the greatest variety of well-known Australian animals during my whole trip, tons of emus and kangaroos and even a bearded lizard. It was as if everything clicked -- suddenly, the connection was there, and I loved this land, different as it was.
Oh yes, and I also managed to hop over to the south island of New Zealand with my sister in April. How could I forget. ; ) How could I possibly come so close to New Zealand and NOT fanangle my way there. I'll share some thoughts about that next.
Well, there are many things I am forgetting or have left out for lack of time, but I hope that gives some idea of what I did over three months and with luck I will add more. I had my share of disagreements with Australia, but also a whole lot of incredible experiences as well. During this whole time, I was struggling immensely with decisions over graduate school. In the end, I was choosing between a PhD at the Hawkesbury Institute and a masters at Oregon State University. They were both very different offers, with advantages and disadvantages of their own which in the end balanced them evenly. I wavered back and forth for months, feeling so overwhelmed. In the end, I have decided on Oregon State, because I felt I could not sacrifice being so far from family. In doing so, as my head began to clear once back in Minnesota for a time, I realized that I should have been brave and chosen Australia. But I will make the most of it, and it is certainly not a bad place to be, and it will still work out.