JambaLyle: Catching Some Waves (And My Breadth)

So the last week or so has had me pretty much on the go, so I apologize for not updating as diligently as I should be. Enough with the excuses though and down to the specifics.

After leaving the City Backpackers Hostel in Brisbane, we headed to a part of the East coast of Australia known as Seven Mile Beach. Our destination was this pretty swanky and exclusive beach community. This was where we would be “camping” for our three day orientation to SIT and Australia. No complaints from me. As a group we all set up our tents next to a building called “The Crab” as this was where we would be meeting for our orientation sessions. One particular nice feature of our location was our proximity to the beach, about 200 yards. To make it even better, it was a private beach that was split between us and the residents of this community, which basically meant we were the only ones on the beach. Having such a nice outlet for afternoon swims certainly made orientation significantly more enjoyable.

Speaking of things going swimmingly, I definitely aced my first test of the semester. To be fair, it was a swimming test, but I’ll take what I can get. Passing the swim test was pretty important though, as without it I would’ve been a bit more limited in my afternoon swims at the beach.

Our first real taste the Pacific actually came the following day. We all woke up around 5:30am and piled in the bus and made a b-line for the iconic Byron Bay Lighthouse to watch the sunrise on the most easterly point of Australia. It was more than a little spectacular, and waking up early was a cinch as we were all still on U.S. time at this point. So after a brief lecture at the foot of the lighthouse we descended to one of the many beaches and had an early morning dip. I can think of few better ways to start off a morning.

The next day we got a chance to have some more fun in the waves and actually try our hand at one of Byron Bay’s most popular activities, surfing. Apparently our Program Director figured that there was no way we could get oriented to the local culture without some surfing lessons, a sentiment we were all more than happy to agree with. So off to the beach with some seriously large boards and not so large waves. I don’t think I could’ve looked any more like a noob if I had tried. I definitely felt like “Squid” from Rocket Power. It was pretty easy to spot the group of Americans learning how to surf. We all had matching black “Rashies” (long-sleeve shirts to reduce chaffing form the board), 10ft bright red and blue surfboards made of plastic and foam, and were having more fun than any local would have thought possible in 3ft of water. It was really fun, and we all seemed to get the hang of it. By the end of it, we were all posing for pictures before we headed back to the crab for another round of orientation and our last night at seven mile beach.

After some morning meetings and the hustle and bustle of packing up our belongings and tents, we started the process of moving into our apartments in Byron Bay. The apartments themselves are pretty nice, certainly by dorm-room comparisons; and they are made all the nicer by virtue of their being a mere two blocks from the main beach and the heart of Byron Bay. Having moved into our apartments, we were on our own for food until our upcoming trip to Melbourne, Tasmania, Sydney, and Lismore. As a result five of us guys decided to pool our budgets and make a little grocery group. We have surprised ourselves and everyone else with our culinary competency. Here is just a taste of what we’ve been cooking up: Dinner Kebabs w/ stir fry rice, potato and onion pancakes w/ homemade applesauce, Pasta w/ lamb meatballs, french toast, smothered kangaroo over rice, and (of course) Jambalyle. Needless to say, we’ve been eating well.

Now, I’m sure that up to this point my Studies abroad have sounded more like a vacation than an academic pursuit, but I can assure you that is not the case (unfortunately). The morning after moving in was our first day of class. Getting to class involved deciphering what turned out to be wrong directions and walk 3km (approx. 2.5 mi) along a highway. We were not very happy campers when we arrived. To make things even better (read sarcasm here) the first class was a breakdown of the approaching ISP (Independent Study Project) section of the course. Without even having started this 4 week research period, I seem to have managed to fall behind already (I’m just noticing how much I’ve been using parentheses). It is not just me of course, in fact it is everybody in the course, but still I was definitely starting to freak out. If we wanted to do anything with Aboriginal peoples, which I do, we apparently needed to have already arranged something with a local organization or community, an expectation which I had zero clue about. So after some panicked emails and internet research, I’m feeling a little bit better about where I stand. I have also been overwhelmed with the amount of journaling required for the course. We have our sustainability journal in which we are supposed reflect on readings and coursework to write down ways of implementing what we’ve learned, then there is the ISP journal in which we are supposed to be documenting the development of our ISP topics and resources, and then there is the journal I am trying to keep. In short, too much journaling.

Before I get all Negative Nancy though, class time in Australia can be pretty sweet too. Take for example the kayaking field trip up and down the Brunswick (a local river) estuary, or the “welcome to country” ceremony put on for us by the local Bunjalung People. There is certainly a lot about the down-under which can bring me up. I mean c’mon, where else would I be able to play a hundred year old Didgeridoo, or hang out with a baby Kangaroo? Or rent a surfboard on my day off and paddle around trying to look less and less like someone who doesn’t know how to surf? All in all, I am managing to catch my breath along with the occasional wave.