Australia: Day 1
March 25, 2012
I already wrote a bit about what happened the first day I got here. Basically we all had some bonding time and explored Brisbane proper a bit. I managed to learn everyone's name in the first day. Everyone is super nice and chill, probably on account of the fact that 9/16 people are from UCSC. I don't feel an immediate connection to anyone despite the fact that I actually don't dislike anyone either! But, we all share a passion for animals and marine bio, so there's no shortage of things to talk about.
I have to say, there is something to be said of being surrounded by people who love the same things you do. One of the guys here is actually pre-vet. We can all sit around and totally geek out about animals and fish and ecology without being judged. And now, I am free to make my "weird" observations, and they're not actually weird. When one of us sees something cool, we all go running over to check it out because we're all just as curious. Sometimes I feel like when I'm at school or at home I can't look at things too closely or people will think I'm weird. Or, they just don't understand why I would even bother looking. But now, it's not even a problem.
Actually, if anything, I feel pretty incompetent. Most of these people are marine bio majors and they have an extensive knowledge of EVERYTHING, from ocean chemistry to Latin names of flora and fauna. They all ask intelligent questions and I have no idea what they're talking about half the time. Not to mention everyone here is such an overachiever! They all work/volunteer in labs that are doing legitimate interesting research--and they're all actually conducting some of it. Some of them volunteer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the marine mammal center that's near Santa Cruz. All of them are SCUBA certified, because apparently a lot of their marine bio classes require it. One of the guys is actually a dive master, with 270 dives under his belt. HOLY CRAP! They can get certified through their school though. Why don't we have something like that? The other pre-vet guy goes to Berkeley and already has his >3000 hrs of vet experience. Even the other girl from SD (who is a Environmental Studies major) is crazy. She works 20+ hrs a week, has an internship, works in a lab, and has set up a research opportunity at UQ she can do while she's here. Another girl from Berkeley just got back from an internship in South Africa working with sharks and she'll be heading to Costa Rica once this program is done. EVERYONE HAS DONE SO MUCH COOL STUFF AND I'VE DONE NOTHING.
What am I doing with my life?
I already wrote a bit about what happened the first day I got here. Basically we all had some bonding time and explored Brisbane proper a bit. I managed to learn everyone's name in the first day. Everyone is super nice and chill, probably on account of the fact that 9/16 people are from UCSC. I don't feel an immediate connection to anyone despite the fact that I actually don't dislike anyone either! But, we all share a passion for animals and marine bio, so there's no shortage of things to talk about.
I have to say, there is something to be said of being surrounded by people who love the same things you do. One of the guys here is actually pre-vet. We can all sit around and totally geek out about animals and fish and ecology without being judged. And now, I am free to make my "weird" observations, and they're not actually weird. When one of us sees something cool, we all go running over to check it out because we're all just as curious. Sometimes I feel like when I'm at school or at home I can't look at things too closely or people will think I'm weird. Or, they just don't understand why I would even bother looking. But now, it's not even a problem.
Actually, if anything, I feel pretty incompetent. Most of these people are marine bio majors and they have an extensive knowledge of EVERYTHING, from ocean chemistry to Latin names of flora and fauna. They all ask intelligent questions and I have no idea what they're talking about half the time. Not to mention everyone here is such an overachiever! They all work/volunteer in labs that are doing legitimate interesting research--and they're all actually conducting some of it. Some of them volunteer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the marine mammal center that's near Santa Cruz. All of them are SCUBA certified, because apparently a lot of their marine bio classes require it. One of the guys is actually a dive master, with 270 dives under his belt. HOLY CRAP! They can get certified through their school though. Why don't we have something like that? The other pre-vet guy goes to Berkeley and already has his >3000 hrs of vet experience. Even the other girl from SD (who is a Environmental Studies major) is crazy. She works 20+ hrs a week, has an internship, works in a lab, and has set up a research opportunity at UQ she can do while she's here. Another girl from Berkeley just got back from an internship in South Africa working with sharks and she'll be heading to Costa Rica once this program is done. EVERYONE HAS DONE SO MUCH COOL STUFF AND I'VE DONE NOTHING.
What am I doing with my life?