Monthly Archives: January 2014

Assignment 4

We were recently assigned a new task by Dr. St. Pierre.

All 15 of us together have to create a 30 minute series of skits named “Life in Australia”. We have to make it sort of like Saturday Night Live and make it funny. It is suppose to be us creating scenes like we were showing people back in America how life in Australia is. We have to do this show the last night we are in Australia on a stage in the middle of the city of Sydney. We have to tape it for our professors to watch it back at home too so hopefully I can get a hold of it and post it on here or Facebook!

So far we have come up with some really funny skits to do such as a vegemite commercial, kangaroo scene, and a lot more. More details to come once the skits are prepared!

Home stay: Wagga Wagga

This blog post is all about home: notice they are italicized.

We arrived in Wagga Wagga yesterday for our home stays. I must admit I was excited to leave Dookie. The population was very small and there are a lot of farms, bugs, and annoying birds. I didn’t get to see the town of Wagga Wagga too much, but it looks really nice from driving around a little bit. We met our families at the botanical gardens in scorching 100 degree weather. My family, the King’s, names are Jeff, Jenny, and their daughter Jess who picked me and Sam up at the gardens and took us back to our new “home”. They also have an outdoor dog named Tessa, she is a golden/lab mix and so adorable; she makes me miss my dogs at home so much. My boyfriend bought me a stuffed bulldog and I sleep with her every night so that helps me feel a little closer to my bulldogs at home, minus their snoring at night.

Once we got in the air conditioning, me and Sam swam in their pool to cool off, which also reminds me of home. They made us a home cooked meal with bacon wrapped steak, potatoes, coleslaw, red beets, and salad (they actually used dressing, we thought Australia didn’t use dressings!). Red beets and coleslaw seem to be a popular food here as well because we have had them as an option a few times. The coleslaw here is a lot less “drowned” and more crunchy compared to America, but still really good! For dessert we had the famous Australian Pavlova for the first time and it was really good too. Jenny told us the ingredients consisted of egg whites, sugar, and fruit–simple!

One thing I noticed at the dinner table was that they ate a lot faster than we did, which I found really odd because I thought Americans were the “fast eaters with bigger portions” but I am second guessing it. After dinner, Jeff and Jess took us and Tessa to a dog park to meet up with a friend and his dog Rufus. Tessa and Rufus ran around the whole park, swam in a pond, played with other dogs, and even gotten into some cockatoo feathers. I wish that more dogs in America were like dogs in Australia. They never need a leash, they aren’t aggressive, and they listen to their owners (at least my one dog doesn’t do all of those things, the other one is just too lazy to run away). Maybe I should stop getting bulldogs, but I can’t resist their wrinkles! We walked around the park for a bit and talked and then came back and watched some cricket. They explained to us how to play a little but plan on taking us to a game soon. Did you know a cricket game lasts days? They play for 8 hours in a day and play for about 3-5 days. That amazes me, especially because it is such a huge sport and the fans are so enthusiastic about it, you wouldn’t believe they could possibly stay interested for that many hours. I think I will write a blog about cricket  after I watch a game aka 1/10 of a game.

I am really going to enjoy going to bed early and sleeping in for once this trip! These past few weeks have been draining, but definitely worth it. I am learning so much more over here than I would in an entire semester. I am so happy that I am here it has definitely opened up my eyes to the world even though I have traveled a lot. Living somewhere else or being somewhere for an extended time gives you such a great experience. I can’t wait to go home and plan my next trip!

Sheep Farm Tour

On January 28th we had a farm tour of “Yarallah”, a meat sheep production. It was our first farm tour of the trip and we were all pretty excited about it. It took us longer than we expected to get there because we got lost traveling through the deserted dirt roads in Dookie. After finally arriving 30-45 minutes later, we met the owner Tom and his herding dogs Chleo and Kelly. All of our hearts melt every time we see a dog, you can tell we are animal science majors! Our hearts also melted when we saw Tom…lets just say he’s single and all of us college girls had our eyes locked when he was talking. So anyway, he gave us his talk about his lamb that are on trial for research right now using tags on them. The lambs go through a little obstacle before they get into one of the yards and have to be weighed on a scale. The tag is read by the scale and if they are under weight they are put back into the pasture and if they are overweight they go into a pen for slaughter. We walked through some of the pastures and watched him give orders to the herd dog Kelly. All he did was give one little order and sound and she immediately did what he wanted; it was really cool to watch her bring all of the lamb into then yard. It is so amazing to watch the farm operated by only one person and a few herding dogs. At times his mom will help him, but for the most part it is a one (and a half with the dog) show. We learned in class before going to the farm that in Australia the only way to be successful as a business or production is to:

  1. Own a lot of land
  2. Little labor
  3. The product must be (easily) transportable
  4. There must be a market to export the product

If these four things are now followed then the operation will fail. It is crazy because number 1 and 2 are about opposite in America! He owns about 900 hectares (2,000 acres)!!!!!

Tom then gave us a talk about shearing and wool production which he doesn’t really do at the farm, but he will sell some of his wool when he shears the lamb once a year just for some extra cash.

After about an hour and a half to two hours of learning about the lamb production operation he runs, he cooked us all lamb burgers. It was my first time ever eating one and it was SO good! Lamb is one of my favorite meats, too bad it isn’t popular in America :(.

Assignment 3: Phar Lap

Phar Lap Assignment and his importance to Australia:IMG_0807

Taxidermy of Phar Lap’s Hide 

Phar Lap was a cheap, underrated, but very successful horse in the 1930’s with an outstanding track record of 37 wins out of 51 races. Phar Lap played a very important role during The Great Depression. Known as “the wonder horse”, Phar Lap lifted spirits due to his inspirational background going from an underdog to a champion and legend within no time. Australia needed a hero, and Phar Lap was a perfect model for Australia to look at to recover from such a terrible slump. He won the Melbourne Cup 3 times consecutively and this brought hope for the Australians. For his last race he traveled to the west coast of America and it is believed that he was poisoned, most likely by Americans, out of jealousy to end his winning streak. Phar Lap currently has an entire exhibit in the Melbourne Museum praising him for giving hope to the ones who struggled during this stressful time. Even though he lived a short life he left a huge impact on Australia.

“You Only Have One Bucket”

So lately I have been thinking about things I want to do before I die…aka my bucket list. In the first week of classes as a small assignment we had to make a list of the top three things you want to do before you die. It was so hard to think of the top three. I have thought about a lot more since those three, and I have actually accomplished a lot of things on my bucket list as well.  One of our professors, Dr. St. Pierre, said “You only have one bucket, you may as well make it big” So here is my HUGE bucket list, little and small things. If there is a line through it, that means it is finished!

 

  • Go to Australia 
  • Go to Australia again
  • Go to Africa and volunteer helping preserve wildlife
  • Hot Air Balloon Ride
  • Rock Climb
  • Rock climb again and not be a baby about it
  • Ski in Colorado (I did when I was little so it doesn’t count)
  • Read the Bible (Started this already for the New Year)
  • Adopt a Child
  • Be a veterinarian
  • Be a successful veterinarian
  • Go to Penn State
  • graduate from Penn State
  • Go to Vet School (UPenn)
  • Road trip the United States
  • Go to every country in the U.S.
  • Own a wallaby
  • Own a beach house
  • Hold a snake and not be afraid
  • Eat Kangaroo Meat
  • Learn how to Surf
  • White Water Rafting
  • Donate my hair 
  • Drive the Great Ocean Road 
  • Run a Marathon
  • Get married
  • Go to Italy
  • Go to Greece 
  • Go to Mexico
  • Go to Puerto Rico
  • Go to Canada before I turn 21 (being 7 years old doesn’t count)
  • Go to the Dominican Republic 
  • Go to Jamaica 
  • Go to Paris
  • Go to London
  • Scuba Dive
  • Snorkel 
  • Swim with Sharks
  • Swim with Dolphins 
  • pool hop
  • Go to Disney World
  • Be healthy until I die
  • Be fluent in another language
  • Be a maid of honor (almost there! My sisters wedding is in 2015)
  • Go to the Vatican 
  • Meet Beyonce
  • See Beyonce in Concert 
  • Go to a  Dave Matthews Band concert (getting tickets for this summer!)
  • Go on a mission trip
  • Ride an elephant
  • Zip Lining
  • Get a six pack (stomach of course)
  • climb a volcano
  • do more than one pull up
  • Throw a dart on a map and go to wherever it lands
  • make a garden 
  • sing in front of people
  • be in a musical

There are so many more but those are the many I can think of right now. I sincerely want to keep a list in my journal and keep crossing things off from now on. I wish I would have done this a long time ago because some things that I have done just don’t seem as important because I have done them already. Ever since I came to Australia I have been inspired to live my life fully and do things that will make me happy. I have dreamt my entire life of being a veterinarian but I also want to live my life to the fullest and accomplish great things so I am hoping to still be a vet but work around that (own my own practice and take off when I want to…haha I wish!). I look at my life before I came to Australia and wish that I would have done more. For example, the lazy weekends I have spent I wish I would have traveled somewhere. But now I have the determination to live.  “I will sleep when I’m dead” is what my sister always says. I always try to do that but I really value my sleep too, maybe I will listen to that now.

 

P.S. My sister called me shortly after I published this and thought it was funny. I asked why because I put a lot of thought into it and she said it’s funny that I have things crossed off, especially things like “go to jamaica, punta cana, etc”. Just to clarify they aren’t exactly places on my bucket list, but I have done those things already, and traveling to as many countries as possible is my goal so they count! 

Homesick

Lately I have been feeling homesick. Last week I got my first feeling of distance when we left The University of Melbourne. We did not have wifi for a few days and not being able to talk to anyone made me feel like I missed home. Traveling in general always puts me into a slump. Leaving places make me sad even when I am excited to go to another place, especially because I always feel like I forgot something. I didn’t forget anything though for this trip, thank goodness.

Today has been the worst of it though. These past few weeks have been so amazing and fun, but they also seem to be taking a while. I am counting down the days til I go home, see my puppies, family, friends, and boyfriend. I am most excited for Valentine’s Day and the surprises my boyfriend Ryan has planned (if there are any at all…).

Don’t get me wrong, I love it here in Australia and I want to move here for some time or at least come back. I even have thought about job opportunities here with animals but I will get to that in another blog post!

I thought 5 weeks would be perfect, and it is, but the work and traveling is pretty tough. We had an exam last week for 3 hours on 3 topics. We have a presentation this Thursday, which I am working on right now and it is getting hard, and an exam next week. Not to mention all of our blog posts we have to do everyday and assignments.

I think these next few days will go by quickly, and then we will be at our homestays in Wagga Wagga which should help me with homesickness, especially because they have a dog! After Wagga  Wagga we will be in Sydney for our last week, which I am extremely excited for and hoping for some surfing lessons too!

A few of us have even put a list of things we miss about America:

  • Ice cold water
  • good cereal
  • sauces (honey, mayo, etc)
  • trash cans
  • no bugs
  • wifi/phone
  • large cups at restaurants for water
  • homemade cooking
  • tv
  • beautiful sounding birds (the birds here are SO ANNOYING and loud but so gorgeous)
  • green grass
  • rivers
  • some people miss ketchup but not me
  • scrambled eggs
  • salad dressing
  • cheaper prices
  • home, friends, family, animals, etc.
  • comfortable beds without bugs
  • orange juice, teas, etc.
  • deserts with sugar in them
  • smaller spiders
  • normal tampons
  • good toilet paper
  • water i trust
  • keurig coffee (the instant coffee here sucks)
  • American money
  • AMERICA.

Overall, I am not trying to say I hate it here or I want to go home now, but I am missing a few things about America and especially some people. I even missed my boyfriends birthday and forgot to say Happy Birthday because of our time difference….ooops! I am loving it here, but all I can say is I LOVE AMERICA.

Kangaroobie

We left the University of Melbourne on Friday morning, the day after our big exam. The city was fun and a great experience but I can only handle so much hustle and bustle at once. The group traveled on our coach bus along the Great Ocean Road. If you have never heard of this road it is indescribable. The 200 kilometer road was the first coastal road built in the south of Victoria, Australia after World War I. The workers built it completely by hand and were employed by the government through a program during The Great Depression for the unemployed. I tried to stay awake, but the winding roads made my stomach churn. I don’t think I have ever been that close to actually being sick while traveling. We stopped at a few sight seeing spots such as The Twelve Apostles and ship wreckages.

After sight seeing and all of the motion sickness, we arrived at Kangaroobie. Kangaroobie is a campsite we stayed at for the night. Most of our first reactions were a little skeptical and unsure of how this camp was going to be but after walking around for a few minutes we all had high hopes.

First, we had dinner and ate their homegrown beef from the commercial farm the owners of the camp run. We had some down time to relax so a few of us crowded around my lap top screen and had our eyes glued to an exciting episode of Dexter. If you have never seen Dexter and want a good series to watch, watch it. We thought we were going to watch a movie on the big projector screen they had but instead we had a surprise pick up from the owner of the camp. All 15 students, and the owners adorable dog, piled into a caged truck (for animals) and were driven out to a field of beef cows. Along the way we spotted some wild Kangaroos hopping across the field which was such a great experience to see even though we have seen so many in zoos. We stopped in the field and fed some of the cows. Most of them were pregnant but some had calves with them and they were soooooooooooo cute. Afterwards we stopped by and fed some pigs too!

To finish the night off  we went back and watched the movie Gallipoli.  I didn’t watch the movie because I fell asleep after two minutes but I heard it was really good. I also heard that Mel Gibson was in it and was looking pretty good in his 20’s.

Before we went to sleep we went outside to look for the Southern Cross, a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. This star can also be seen on Australia’s flag. The stars were breath taking. I have seen some beautiful skies in my lifetime considering I live in a small town, but this was a lot different. The constellations are different in the south; nothing like Pennsylvania. Unfortunately we can’t take a picture of the sky, but take my word for it!

The next morning I did not want to get up because it was the first time I ever slept through an entire night; I felt like a baby. I finally convinced myself to stand up and it was worth it. We were taken to a ropes course which was so much fun and challenging. As a team we had to go through the course without touching the ground. At first I thought it would be a piece of cake but the ropes showed me otherwise. It took all 15 of us about an hour and 22 touches/ falls to get rough the short course. I made it almost all the way until the end before I fell and thought I died. I was holding onto a rope and balancing on wobbly tires until I fell backwards 6 feet to the ground and did a complete backflip with the ropes twisting around my head. As I was landing I hit my head off of a tree stump. I blacked out for a second and brought my head up as I saw Arianne’s, a friend on the trip, jaw drop. The Irish lady in charge ran over to me and asked if I was okay and I shook my head yes. She asked me my name and I answered her, “Gabby” as tears filled my eyes. I felt shocked and embarrassment more than anything at the time and I tried to keep back the tears but I couldn’t help it with the shock. I finished the course and didn’t touch a rope after that.

Once we got back and loaded the bus I started to feel groggy. I think I got a mild concussion. I have never had one before but I am positive the feelings I had were symptoms of one.

Anyway, after a shocking experience I was ready to leave. Kangaroobie surprised me with its amazing scenery and outdoor fun. Every place we go to no one  ever wants to leave but I think I had enough after that point. Onto Halls Gap, our next campsite spot in the Grampians.

(I will try and post pictures later but I don’t have access to my pictures yet because we barely have wifi!)

The Dreadful Exam

Last Sunday afternoon: Everyone started studying for the exam. Last Monday night: After classes everyone started getting down to business for the exam in a few days.

Last Tuesday night: The information for the exam was really piling up…everyone started freaking out.

Last Wednesday night: Stressed out to the max. The exam was in a couple of hours.

Last Thursday: Exam day.

Our exam started at 9 am on Thursday morning and ended at 12pm- a 3 hour exam. It reminded me of the dreadful SAT’s, but only this time it was without breaks and it was all short answer. There were 3 subjects on the exam: History of Australia, Animal Welfare, and Animal Production. There were 25 questions on the entire exam which doesn’t seem too horrible but considering they were all short answer/essay questions it required a lot of thought…you really had to know the info. In the middle of the exam I started to blank. My brain just stopped so I had to go outside for a minute and grab a drink of water so I didn’t go brain dead for the rest of the exam. After the exam everyone was so happy and felt relieved, but I still was not satisfied. I just felt like I could have done better but 9 credits worth in 2 weeks of information is a lot to do. The professors did warn us! Thursday night, our last night in Melbourne, we had to celebrate for finishing the exam so a few students took us to an irish pub in the city. The next day we had to wake up early and start our journey on The Great Ocean Road. Monday night the group had a meeting…we were getting our exams back. All of us were so nervous and didn’t even want to see them. After all of the stress, the grade I received was not too bad. I think after every exam I realize that I freaked out too much and gave myself too much stress, but I also think that helps me get a better grade. If I wasn’t worried, then it was a bad thing.

Our second “exam” is this Thursday. All of us were randomly assigned to a group and given a topic to focus on. My groups name is the Ursines which means bear. My group of three includes Katie, Denille and me. Katie is my best friend on this trip so we were happy to be put into the same group! Our topic is Wars in Australia. We have to give a 12-15 minute presentation on the wars, how they affected Australia, where and when they happened. I am excited on learning more about the wars in Australia. I think that it is interesting how a war or a battle can bring a country together, or apart. For example, the Gallipoli battle in Turkey was a major part in Australia’s history. It was a failure, but it was also Australia’s first time of uniting together and fighting as a federation. It was the first feeling of nationalism.

Although I wish our topics were about animals since that is my focus, this is still interesting as well. We will see how everything goes on Thursday. If you have any creative ways to present a project rather than the lame, boring power points let me know!

Struggle of Studying

Studying is a struggle that students have to deal with everyday. A lot of people, older and younger, underestimate how hard some classes and concepts may be in college. I feel like sometimes adults laugh at me and say “I wish I was still in college” and for some students college is a breeze but I have had a struggle. Adapting to college was not hard for me but rather the studying and prioritizing is what I struggle in. Studying animals is a lot of fun but it is also a ton of work as well and some people take advantage of that. I do projects to help our agricultural society which helps people manage farms and the animals better which in turn is where your food comes from. Anyway, I will stop rambling because I am extremely passionate about what I study and could write 100 more blog posts about it. The main point of this blog is to give some tips that I have learned over my time here in college and what has helped me succeed as a busy, overwhelmed student.

  • Pay attention, take notes, and go to class. There is nothing more important than actually listening. I have gone to classes and played on my phone the whole time, and then two weeks later I was cramming for the exam. It is not worth the stress.
  • Don’t cram! Everyone has there own way of studying, and figure that out ASAP! For me I have to study two weeks in advance for an exam and I have to rewrite EVERYTHING…it is so time consuming but it is the only way I learn it.
  • Take notes, take more notes, rewrite those notes in an outline, and say those notes out loud. Sometime flash cards help too!
  • Take the practice exam. If one isn’t available make your own.
  • Read the book. Most professors assign chapters to read all the time…I don’t do this because it is really hard to do that for every class but if you have some free time before class while you are waiting for it to start just skim the chapter so you understand the lecture that day.
  • Ask your professor questions if you don’t understand something. If you are in a huge 500 person lecture then wait until after class or email them. Most professors are extremely nice and love when students want help.
  • Go to your professor often, not just before an exam. I honestly think I passed one of my classes just because I went for help all the time. Professors remember you coming into their office while they are making final grades.
  • Prioritize. If you have homework, haven’t worked out yet, are exhausted, need to eat, and have two club meetings at 7pm write a list (if you can’t tell this is my everyday schedule) and figure out what is more important to you. For me I would do my work first no matter what.
  • Make lists. I have hundreds of sticky notes around my desk and I also have the stickies app on my computer. I make to do list a week in advance and add to it as my week goes on. I make sure I get what needs to be done first.
  • Do not underestimate your grades. My biggest mistake was that I did not think how much my grades mattered and how they were weighed. For example, if you have a 1 credit class and a 4 credit class you should be focusing on your 4 credit class more. That does not mean blow off the 1 credit course because that can take you from a 3.5 to a 3.6 gpa so it is important to know how it works.
  • Do not underestimate your homework, smaller assignments/quizzes, and attendance. It can also take you from a B to an A, trust me it has for me.
  • Let loose and relax. Having fun is also important! Last semester I found this a struggle. My freshman year I did this very well. I would do all of my work nonstop throughout the week and have fun on the weekends but on Sundays I would go back to studying. This fall I tended to study all day every day and I had multiple mental breakdowns and anxiety attacks. I formed my anxiety last semester and it sucks so don’t kill yourself studying either.

There are so many other things I can add to this and if I think of more I will but to my future friends/family coming to Penn State (my cousin Allie!) congrats but don’t underestimate anything. It is all worth it in the end. Especially when you finish finals with above a 3.5 GPA! I know this might not seem to make sense with a blog about Australia but it does. The reason I am in Australia is because of my success in college. I had to apply and be interviewed for this trip and getting good grades and being able to adapt to different environments and situations is very important. Right now as we speak I am studying for my big exam over here. I am so nervous because I just don’t feel prepared and it is because I did not prepare myself the right way. That was my motivation for this blog! To be able to research for the Animal Science department, get abroad opportunities, internship opportunities (I have one at the Lehigh Valley Zoo this Spring), and to hopefully get into vet school I must stay on track!

What’s the difference between a kangaroo and a wallaby?

Kangaroo’s and wallabies are easily mistaken. Some people think that the difference between the two are the sizes but there can be kangaroo’s the size of a wallaby too.

Take a look at this photo and try and find the difference: 

Wallaby on the left and albino kangaroo on the right
Wallaby on the left and albino kangaroo on the right

So what do you think? Is it the way they hop? The food they eat? The places they live? 

Check out their tails. It is a very small difference but the wallaby on the left’s tail lays like a dog tail where as the albino joey’s tail is bent and flat on the ground. That concept is not the easiest to explain but basically the kangaroo’s tail is like a fifth limb. Kangaroo’s can actually balance on their tails, lean backwards, and kick their hind legs at an opponent. The other main difference with the tails is that a wallaby can actually sit on their butts but the kangaroo has to lay down because their tails cannot go under their butts like the wallabies. 

Notice the tails
Notice the tails

The kangaroo on the left is laying down and the kangaroo on the right is not sitting on its butt rather using its tail for support.

Wallaby sitting
Wallaby sitting

Here the wallaby is actually sitting on its bottom and the tail is out of the way.

I hope that was informative enough and you learned something new about the differences between species. My mom doesn’t know it yet but my next pet will be a wallaby and I am not joking! My mom will probably kill me! She has had to deal with hamsters, birds, rabbits, lizards, frogs, cats, dogs, fish, and any other animal that I could afford. I would come home with a different animal from Petsmart every month!

If anyone has any other questions or suggestions about other animal or Australian related topics let me know! I would be happy to inform you in a post about any other cool stuff about animals here, especially since that is my specialty! Look out soon for a blog post about animal research done here at the University of Melbourne and my research study I will be conducting back at Penn State!