A Duke Goes Down
Under
Biology
major studies Australia's coral reef, rain forest and outback
In the land
of 'roos and koalas, biology major Christine Zelenka ('03) found a new
love along the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
Studying for
six months (from February to July 2001) in Townsville, in northern Queensland,
Zelenka enrolled in two marine biology and two indigenous studies classes
at James Cook University. The experience gave her the opportunity to
explore the unique people and places of the land down under.
Zelenka says
she had always wanted to travel to Australia and decided James Cook
was the place when she read about its science-based program so close
to the coral reef, the rain forest and the outback.
"It wasn't
really a matter of deciding to go. It was go-Go-GO!"
The unique
animals of the outback interested Zelenka, but it was the marine world
that captured her imagination. For her Functional Marine Biology course,
labs were conducted on the beach. Students collected species of fish
and observed coral and the structure of the beach.
"Every lab
was exciting and unique," Zelenka says. "This class gave an overview
of various aspects of the marine environment as well as the creatures
within it." Her other marine biology class, Tropical Crustaceans, was
"intense" but ended with a barbecue of prawns and seafood.
While the
biology classes drew her to study abroad at James Cook, Zelenka found
the indigenous study program an exciting part of her studies abroad
experience. Each of her professors for the program was of the aboriginal
people from mainland Australia or the Torres Strait.
"They all
had a great knowledge of their people, history and culture," she says.
"They shared stories, memories and feelings about the past and the future.
Talking one-on-one with [my professors] gave me a perspective of Australia
that otherwise I would have never experienced."
The students
traveled for weekends at a time to visit aboriginal rock paintings and
sacred places.
"This was
very special to me, because it was as if I was living history and actually
standing in the exact places and viewing what took place thousands of
years ago," Zelenka says.
Because Australia's
seasons are the opposite of those in the United States, when Zelenka
arrived in February, she found a balmy, tropical climate.
"When I left
my home in the U.S.A. in February, I was trudging through a foot of
snow; and when I stepped off the plane, I needed my bathing suit and
suntan lotion," Zel-enka says. "The strangest thing about the environment
was not only the opposite seasons, but the beaches. Marine stingers
[jellyfish] are deadly in northern Australia. So to make your way into
the open ocean, you needed to wear a stinger suit [Lycra]."
During her
orientation at JCU, Zelenka was told that she was among students from
50 countries. She says they made the trip so memorable.
"I don't think
I have one favorite experience. I cherished the whole thing," she says.
"But if I had to choose just one, it would be meeting all the interesting
and wonderful people along my journey. Because it was the people that
made my experience what it was."
Story
by Donna Dunn ('94) Design by Carri Elder ('03)
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