If You’re a Bird, I’m A Bird

As usual, its time for me to recap my week for all you lovely readers! Monday was pretty boring; I did my chores, grocery shopping, and a little bit of homework. The most interesting part of the day was going to the Queen Street Mall with Jess and Kelly. We made a few stops into some different stores that did not sell groceries and I actually ended up getting a new pair of sunglasses and some other fun accessories. We also went into a candy shop on our way home and I got some really yummy chocolate covered almonds and macadamia nuts. Those barely lasted the rest of the week!

On Tuesday I had class. In Drama we talked about aboriginal authors and read a play called The 7 Stages of Grieving, which was very moving. It rained on and off the whole day, so Meg and I found it quite difficult to relax in the sun during our break. Every time we thought the sun was there to stay, a cloud would roll in over our heads. We made the most of our afternoon by walking around campus and making a stop at the library to pick up some plays for our drama class (we have a major paper due as a final that we need to start working on). In English, we talked about Dracula in the context of psychoanalysis, which was… interesting (Thanks, Freud). At the end of the day, I got home a bit later than usual, but just in time to watch the Australian Spelling Bee finale and book a trip in October with my friends. We will be doing a day cruise of the Whitsunday Islands to kick off the end of our time here. They will be continuing up to Cairns from there, but I will be returning to complete my final assignments (joy).

Wednesday was the most interesting day of my week. I got to my internship and helped Mary Ann unload her car, which contained a mascot costume for Nudgee Beach. I was told that I would be in the office for most of the day making posters and doing some odd jobs. When Amy was unable to come in to work because her son was sick, I was also roped in to wearing the mascot costume for that morning’s prep program. Since the program was about how animals move, I was also required to dance to the song “Move It, Move It” in said costume. Being the good sport that I am, I let them dress me up as Ellie the Eastern Curlew and I did dance for the preps. It was actually pretty challenging, since I couldn’t really bend my ankles or knees while in the suit. Kerry had a little too much fun taking pictures of me, but managed to get a few good shots that are pretty humbling. The preps loved my performace; I almost felt like a celebrity.

On Thursday I had a similar schedule: office work and a special dance as Ellie. At the end of the day, Kerry asked me to take the Todos back to the beach and release them. Normally, we keep these fish on site because theyre easy to catch and have the students hold and touch. Since Thursday was the last day of the term that would have students, we didn’t need to keep the little guys hostage any longer. What I didn’t realize was that the tide was very low at this point, so I had to walk all the way down the beach. I certainly didn’t mind; it was a beautiful, warm day and it gave me a chance to look for cool shells (even though I’m not supposed to take them from the beach…).

On my walk, I saw a blue jellyfish right there in the sand, very far from the water. I snapped a picture so I could ask someone about it when I got back to the center. Kerry informed me that the jellyfish is called a Blue Blubber and that they’re one of the major food sources of sea turtles. Unfortunately, sea turtles sometimes mistake plastic bags for these jellies and will eat them accidentally. This creates a pocket of gas in the turtle and inhibits their ability to dive down for food, effectively causing them to starve. Its very sad, so please dispose of your trash properly. This has been a PSA.

Friday was also rainy on and off, which made philosphy pretty boring. We were also learning about evolution and how that theory ties in with ideas about human nature. As a biology major, this was something I already have heard a lot about, so I struggled to stay awake. To add insult to injury, we only watched a movie in tutorial, so I regretted my choice to be responsible and not leave early. That evening, the girls and I watched some movies, ate snacks, and painted our nails in true “girls night” fashion.

On Saturday, Claudia, Jess, and I made our weekly trip to the farmers market. On the way back we could not resist stopping at a playground and letting out our inner children. We spent the better part of an hour climbing, sliding, and hanging from the jungle gym equipment. We also realized how much upper body strength goes into these activities; something we apparently took for granted as kids. After some lunch, Claudia and I went to the mall to pick up the last few things we needed for the week. While we were there, we heard an orchestra was playing music from Phantom of the Opera right in the square, which was really cool. We also saw a human “statue” of a guy painted silver; Claudia gave him some change and he only moved to shake her hand. The rest of our afternoon consisted of going to the gym and sitting down to watch more movies.

Sunday (today) I got back into bead promptly after returning from church. I didn’t sleep, but I did read several plays so that I could start working on my Drama paper. The afternoon was pretty lazy from there, but I don’t feel too bad since the day was cloudy and overcast. Tomorrow, Claudia and I will be going to the library in the morning to do some homework without using up all our data. Hopefully it will be nice in the afternoon so we can get ourselves down to the river beach for some sun. Of course, Monday always comes with the promise of chores, but its nice to have some routine.

Have a wonderful Sunday, America! Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Luisa