Why Australia

Many people have asked me why come to Australia. Typically my first answer is why not Australia? Nevertheless I feel it would be beneficial to explain further details about why I decided to move across the world.

School

I came primarily to go to Macquarie University to work towards getting my PhD in Animal Personality. Since I had already studied abroad here I had a great advisor in mind, Jennifer Clarke, who I had already previously discussed graduate work with. Also after working in the animal behaviour lab I was very impressed with their research facilities as well as the amount of publications they produce. Additionally, when inquiring multiple potential advisors about graduate study Jennifer was the only one open - which was great for me since it was my first choice. So career wise this is a great place to be.

Additionally Macquarie University has quite a lot of features I like (although I'm still not impressed with the new library). For one thing, there is no smoking on campus except in a few designated areas. OSU became smoke free after I graduated. Next, due to many students commuting, most lectures are also audio recorded so in case you have to miss it you can always go online to what is called iLearn and listen to the audio and follow along with the lecture slides. Lastly, it is common for classes to only meet once a week with perhaps a  tutorial or lab another time during the week. Although the class is longer, it is nice to have more free days to focus on homework or other errands that need to be done.

Atmosphere

Australia is beautiful! What more can I say. This week I have tried to take some pictures of the surrounding nature I get to see all the time! Besides what you see here there are lyrebirds (see video), bower birds (thief video), and all kinds of other exotic types of birds. Everything is fairly green and even the heat isn't overpowering. The beaches are great, the people are nice and laid back, and who doesn't love a great Aussie accent? My favorite part is that in Australia there are beaches, mountains, and desserts so it's the best of all worlds.

This Week

There are plenty of other reasons to live here, but I have listed the main reasons I came here. This week was great because I was able to get a lot of homework done and I now have a good idea of what I am doing for my literature review in one of my biology classes. I am going to be writing about aggressive mimicry, which is quite a fascinating subject where animals such as the orchid mantis use their mimicry to gain access to prey. As I will be doing a lot of reading on this topic I am glad I was able to find something interesting. This week I also was able to get my financial aid! Friday I went to the Sydney temple with Brock and Kaytlin and stayed the night so Kaytlin and I could go shopping the next day. It was a long day of shopping, but I got everything I needed and at about the exact amount I estimated it would all cost. I'm super grateful for Kaytlin's help as she knew where to go to get the cheap stuff. 

Sunday was also fun because after church I spent time with Jeff and Corrine who are from the US, but moved here for the next two years. Jeff is here for IBM to train new employees. They had to move here with their three kids Ellie (3), Jameson (5), and Jacob (7). James has down syndrome and is adorable. It was good to be doing something with people and I might go hiking with them sometime as well.