Abroad with Megan

        My life since coming home from my study abroad has been nothing like I had expected. For starters, I was very nervous about coming home and seeing my friends and family. Before the Pacific Program, I had never been away from home this long. I thought my friends might have forgotten about me or that the dynamic in my friend group would feel different. I even thought that going to my own home would be different. Regardless, the desire to come home and be with loved ones trumped any nervous feelings I was feeling.         The trek home was long, tiresome, and emotionally draining. On the bus ride to the Fiji airport, music was blasting, and we were all loudly singing together. I couldn’t imagine not being with these people every day from here on out. These people in a sense had become my family over the course of the program, and we all have grown and experienced so much together. It wasn’t until we reached the airport that the reality of...

            I will never forget the people I met during my time in Fiji. They were some of the kindest, and warm-hearted people I have had the pleasure of meeting. During the Sevu Sevu ceremony, Tae and I played with a few of the children from the village. It started out with a game of peek-a-boo and making silly faces. Then more and more children joined and before we knew it there was about twenty of them wanting to join in all of the fun. We ended the night with a game of duck duck goose, and the children told us how excited they were to see us at school the next day. We left that night with such an adrenaline rush from all the fun we had.             Early the next morning we arrived at the school, and I was more than eager to see all of the children. Before that would happen, we were tasked with painting the roofs of the school. This put me slightly on edge because I have a horrible ...

The pressure-filled slogan “the future is in our hands” can be daunting to our generation. We constantly hear about the threats of global warming and how mega companies are continuously destroying our rivers and oceans. We hear about epidemics of disease in countries that have been previously rid of them and massive violent outbreaks tearing countries apart. These problems seem so incredibly paramount that we are perplexed as to how we can even begin to approach these issues. There is another saying “out of sight, out of mind” that I believe explains perhaps why there have not been monumental strives in saving our environment. I for one have fallen victim to this predicament. It was not until studying abroad in Australia that I became aware of just how bad things were. I got the opportunity to stay in Heron Island which is an island on the Great Barrier Reef. I remember being thrilled to swim among beautiful coral and vibrant reef fish. My friends and I went...

Last week, our program had the opportunity to visit a local village here in Fiji and partake in a welcome ceremony known as sevusevu. This ceremony is performed for visitors coming into and being accepted into the village by the village headman or Turaga ni Koro. Before we went inside for the ceremony, the Turaga ni Koro said a chant in order to announce our presence for the ceremony to begin. All of the students and staff then entered the building where the ceremony took place and removed our shoes before coming inside. We also all dressed moderately out of respect for the people of the village, and the Fijians were similarly wearing clothing that covered their shoulders and knees. We then all sat down on a woven mat before the Turaga ni Koro and the elder men from the village with Dr. Garton sitting before us as our representative. For this ceremony, a half bundle of waka is offered to the village which is the lower part of the same plant that produces kava. The Turaga ni ...

My absolute favorite part about Heron Island was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The statement itself sounds surreal to me, and I definitely never imagined I would ever be able to before I heard about this program. I remember the ferry ride to Heron Island was incredibly choppy, and I got seasick for the very first time. Once I saw the island from the ferry, I was immediately cured by the excitement that rushed over me. The water was a vibrant turquoise color and there was a huge shipwreck with snorkelers exploring all around it. I knew at that moment I could not wait to go out and snorkel. My friends and I chose to snorkel on the south side of the island for the first time mainly because of how close it was and we were just eager to get into the water. Before we even entered the water I saw a baby blacktip reef shark swimming around was thrilled because sharks are my favorite animal. Once we got in the ocean we saw huge cowtail stingrays lurking below us. I was scar...

I love to swim swim swim Deep in the sea I love when the fish fish fish Are all around me The island life Can be quite nice Sand in my toes And that’s how it goes We saw baby turtles hatch More than just one batch They did their best to follow the moon But the mean seagulls got them too soon I love to swim swim swim Deep in the sea I love when the fish fish fish Are all around me I saw coral and sea stars Even a few gars But the sharks sharks sharks Were everywhere near and far I saw lemon sharks Reef sharks Even epaulette sharks I saw them out in the sea They were swimming with me I love to swim swim swim Deep in the sea I love when the fish fish fish Are all around me We were out on the Great Barrier Reef Too bad our time on Heron was oh so brief I am going to miss miss miss Swimming in the sea With all of the fish fish fish Swimming ‘round me

The anticipation surrounding the Koala Study day on Magnetic Island was unreal. All of us in BIOL 3100 were thrilled to be studying and “working” with these adorable animals. I even remember back in Sydney some people at the Featherdale Zoo claiming they didn’t want to pay for the picture with the koala because we would be holding them and studying them up close and personal in Magnetic Island. I had even expressed how excited I was to my mom the day before the koala study to hold an actual koala. Boy, were we in for a rude awakening! The day finally came to do the koala study, and our day started bright and early in the morning. That was when we learned we would actually be collecting koala poop! This tidbit of information was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least. We thought all of our hopes and dreams of interacting with these animals were completely crushed. So, we carried on with the study and each grabbed a bike of our own to make it down to the forest where we wo...

We just arrived here in Magnetic Island, and after a plane ride and ferry ride have made it to Bungalow Bay. At first, I wanted to sleep, but I decided to go sit on the bean bags outside and relax. Now that I am here, there is no one else around and it is so peaceful and quiet. I am also realizing that this is the first time in a long time that I have been in solitude. It feels like a breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my roommates and spending time with them, but it also feels good to have some alone time. I haven’t been alone in so long that I am not even sure what to do with this fleeting time. I could read or enjoy the scenery or just do nothing at all for once. The options are endless! As I look around me, all I can see is green. There are palm trees, shrubs, tall trees, short trees. There is a very tropical feel here, and the heat here is relentless. I occasionally feel a breeze throughout the humidity, but it is a rare commodity. Regardless of t...

This vlog shows a snippet of my time here in Sydney. Compared to Dunedin, Sydney is fast-paced and has a true city feel. The beaches here are absolutely beautiful, and I got the chance to go surfing. In my BIOL 3100 course, we visited the Long Reef Reserve where we did field work counting various mollusks. It also would not be a true vlog of mine without featuring some animals! My friends and I went to both the Taronga Zoo and Featherdale Wildlife Park, and I got to feed some adorable kangaroos and wallabies . I got to see a platypus and koala for the very first time which was super cool. There was so much to see and do in Sydney, and I can’t wait to see what I will be doing next time I upload a vlog!

Waitangi Day is a New Zealand national holiday celebrated on February 6th to recognize the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Unfortunately, I had an organic chemistry exam to prepare for on this day and was unable to partake in any of the events on campus, but this did not stop me from researching more about this unique holiday. The indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, and the early European settlers known as Pakeha clashed until the creation of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Before the making of the treaty, New Zealand had not been recognized as a sovereign nation, and the British became responsible for doing so under its name. Representatives from the British Crown and over 500 Maori chiefs worked together to make this living document. The treaty was drafted by William Hobson, and two interpretations of the treaty were made: the English version and the Maori interpretation. These two carried different interpretations on both sides which led to some conflict. In 19...

My very first activity when arriving in Sydney this weekend was visiting the Taronga Zoo. A group of my friends and I mastered the transportation system of the city and made our way to the zoo which was only a bus ride and ferry ride away from our hotel. Once we arrived, we got the chance to take the sky shuttle across the zoo which was absolutely massive. My friend Hannah’s favorite animal is a platypus, and the Taronga Zoo is one of two zoos in the world that has them. When we entered the room that had the platypus, it was very dark which surprised me. The biggest surprise, however, was seeing how small they were in person. I always had this preconceived notion that they would be around the size of a beaver, but they were very tiny and fast in the water. Watching them dart from one end of the tank to the other in the darkness made capturing a photo very difficult. I was also amused at how adorably clumsy these animals were. Every time they swam they managed to get themse...

During my visit to the Dunedin Botanic Garden, there were so many beautiful plants that caught my eye. However, I found the flowers native to New Zealand to be the most intriguing. These were indigenous plants that I would most likely never get the chance to see again, so I focused my attention on these incredible flowers. The first plant I saw native to New Zealand was the Leptospermum Pageant. The pale pink and bright neon green center is what initially caught my attention, and it reminded me of a lily pad. I learned that it is a low growing shrub that grows flowers in order to attract bees and butterflies. The next plant I decided to draw was the Kowhai which is the national flower of New Zealand.  This entire flower is dangerous when consumed, but the seeds are the most poisonous to humans. The Maori also use this plant within their homes because of the bright coloring and for their medical properties. The next plant, the Koru, is special to Maori culture, an...

This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Christchurch and Akaroa, and I recorded memorable moments from the trip. On Friday, we stopped by Orana Wildlife Park, and I got the chance to get up close to the lions which was incredible. We then spent our Saturday in the city of Christchurch and went to the local farmers market. Before we left to go back to Dunedin, we drove down to Akaroa where we went on a boat tour and encountered penguins, fur seals, and dolphins. Overall, this weekend was filled with good food, friends, and cute animals!