Fred Brack   Raleigh, NC

Michelle's Trip to Australia

In July 1999, Michelle left the USA for Australia, where she completed a semester at James Cook University, located near the Great Barrier Reef in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. She went back for a second semester, returning July 2000.

What follows is a record of Michelle's experiences during her two semesters in Australia. Her "newsletters" to us are posted below. Michelle can be reached at .  (NOTE:  Some of the offsite links may be broken by now ... sorry.)

July 2000: Michelle is back, having nearly been delayed due to decompession illness experienced while diving, for which she had to spend some time in a hyperbaric chamber! Her planned trip to New Zealand on the way home was shortened due to this problem, but she did spend a few days there. She is spending her summer working for our local veterinarian before returning to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, for her senior year.

February 2000: Michelle has returned for a second (and final!) semester. Classes start February 28th, but she had to return early for registration and orientation.

• Newsletter 6, March 13: Starting Second Semester ... Sick

• Newsletter 7, April 9: Fall Break Trip to the Northern Territory

December 1999: Michelle returned home for two months before returning to Australia for a second semester. She worked as a veterinary assistant for our local vet. She liked it so much, she is investigating veterinary schools!

• Newsletter 1, July 28: Bush and Farm Orientation, Arrival at Campus, Cairns Trip

• Pictures From Australia! August 14

• Newsletter 2, August 14: Dorm Life, Social Life, Billabong Sanctuary, Magnetic Island

• Newsletter 3, August 25: Classes, Australians, and Slang

• Newsletter 4, September 7: Scuba Diving and Another Semester

• Newsletter 5, September 22: More Diving, and Lava Tubes in the Bush

Interested in flying to Australia or the South Pacific? If you are a student, we suggest you contact Peggy at Global Quest International. She was referred to us directly by Qantas airlines. Her number is 888-336-6635. She has been selling students tickets at best prices for years.

Here's a summary of Michelle's first semester experience:

• After a grueling flight from LA to New Zealand, then on to Cairns, Australia, Michelle and her fellow group of students (from various colleges, headed to different schools in Australia, organized by Butler University Institute for Study Abroad) were immediately taken on two field trips
• The first trip was to the Australian "bush" (details in Newsletter 1)
• The second trip was to a typical farm (Newsletter 1), where she milked her first cow!
• Then she was taken to James Cook University (JCU), where she has a single room
• The room is decent sized, with a telephone and ethernet connection (for her computer)
• There is a washing machine nearby, but no working dryer! She complained at first of having to line-dry in her room, but now she is content that she has a "working system" of lines!
• Meals are served during limited times, with very somewhat limited choices of food. She says the Australians cook a lot in fat (yuck). She also says they eat vegemite (yeast) on toast for breakfast!
• Michelle says she quickly adapted to the time change (currently 14 hours ahead of EDT -- varies from 14-16 depending on which country observes Daylight Savings Time -- remember, they are on the other side of the world and below the equator!)
• On July 20th, she and new friends drove to Cairns (4-hour trip) to sightsee before school registration opened the following week. She said the treetop skyway and train ride through the forest were wonderful. (Newsletter 1)
• During the semester, Butler encourages all the international students to travel frequently, so she will be some trips within Australia, some of which are organized by the University
• We (Fred and Kathy) are planning to visit Australia in the fall for our twenty-fifth anniversary trip, and Michelle will join us in Sydney, Adelaide, and Kangaroo Island for a week
• The weather is anticipated to be warm during all of her stay (through November), as Queensland is a tropical area, even though it is currently their winter
• Michelle has taken a scuba diving course which included a dive on the Great Barrier Reef
  
• To our great surprise (since she hasn't done this in years), she purchased a bicycle, since she says local transportation is expensive and she needs it to get around town! She bikes to the beach occasionally.
• She likes life at James Cook so much she has arranged to return for a second semester!
• She completed her first semester by taking a tour from Townsville to Melbourne to Sydney to Adelaide and finally on to Perth, before flying non-stop (except for changing planes) home to Raleigh (whew!).