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As I sit out on the balcony of our accommodations, I gaze up at Mount Cook. The full moon is shimmering down onto the mountain face as the stars twinkle brightly in the sky. I can clearly make out the few constellations I know as the Milky Way shoots vividly throughout the sky. The only light comes from inside the…
Continue readingNew Zealand is a country of breathtaking scenery and rich culture. In three weeks, I traveled all around the South Island visiting places that were all so dramatically different allowing us to truly experience New Zealand. I hiked the base of the tallest mountain in Australasia, learned Maori tribal dances, hiked a glacier and ate a Fergburger in Queenstown. While it…
Continue readingAntarctica truly is a dramatic and pristine environment unlike any other landscape on earth. I spent days sailing in open ocean before discovering land like an early explorer. I heard gentoo penguins as they inspected my campsite and massive whales as they surfaced alongside my zodiac. I enjoyed the Drake Lake and survived the Drake Shake. Each daily expedition provided…
Continue readingTuesday night saw Texas A&M Wintermester students venture to Sydney Opera House to watch ‘Le Grand Cirque: Andrenaline’. For most students just visiting the Opera House was a big enough event, but a 90 minute show packed with crazy, edge-of-the-seat acrobatics, stunts and skits may have even outshone the setting. The gasps, shocked faces and questions of ‘how is that even possible?’…
Continue readingAfter time in New Zealand, the Texas A&M Wintermester students arrived in Sydney on Sunday to begin the second leg of their three-week program. The students are staying in the newly-opened Sydney Harbour YHA located in The Rocks, which is a fitting accommodation for these students studying sustainability. The YHA is the largest archaeological urban development ever completed in Australia.It is built upon…
Continue readingCan you name what’s on the reverse side of a standard twenty-cent Australia coin? That’s right, the platypus! Spending 10 to 12 hours each day in the water and diving about 75 times per hour, the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) certainly qualifies as a water lover. North Queensland and South Queensland students accompany their field guides for the opportunity to spot…
Continue readingJam-packed with activities, the Fiji program constantly has students on the go learning. One of these activities is a day trip to a remote highlands village and a kayaking trip down the Luva River with Rivers Fiji. Driving up into the highlands, our group stops in Nakavika Village, which 500 to 600 people call home. Homes and meeting halls, pictured…
Continue readingWhile on the Coral Coast of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, our Fiji students learn about the history and evolvement of tourism in the area. Dr. David Harrison from the University of the South Pacific speaks of the changes in tourism since its origins in the area. Tourists began traveling to Fiji in the 1920s with the bulk of Coral…
Continue readingOn the Coral Coast of Fiji, our program stops at Kula Eco Park to observe endangered species of Fiji and learn about necessary breeding methods to restore dwindling population numbers. Kula serves as Fiji’s center for the captive breeding of endangered species and the environmental education of school children. By instilling an environmental conservation mentality in young children, the Park…
Continue readingAs the Sydney program concludes, we asked our students, pictured left, to name their favorite activity during the past eight days. Many said they couldn’t possibly choose just one aspect of the program or their free time, as every day held something new and exciting. Here’s a sampling of what each students cited: John Byrnes: Hiking in the Blue Mountains…
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