Today was the beginning of the third week. It’s pretty amazing to think that I’ve already been here for more than a month while most people haven’t even left yet for studying abroad.
Anyway, what made today special, other than finding out how to effectively catch and preserve a spider, were the bird sightings. In the morning I finally figured out that the bird my housemates and I had been seeing quite frequently was a “Bustard”. It’s a large-ish bird that stands on these tiny skinny legs and we only see them after dark in pairs. They look a bit like an over grown roadrunner and apparently it is easier to approach in a vehicle than on foot, or so the bird book says. Another exciting bird find was the sighting of Figbird (the northern form). It’s about the “size of an oriole” and has a bright yellow chest and a red mask. It’s nice to see bright bizarre species like this remind me that I’m actually right next to the rainforest. Right after class I rushed home to record it in the bird book, which has now become pretty much a scavenger hunt guide for my housemates and me.
I finished off the day by going to the first “training” for the Cairns vs. Townsville competition. The two JCUs (James Cook Universities) in this region have a competition in a bunch of different activities and one of them is a co-ed soccer game. However, because JCU Cairns only has a men’s soccer team they are asking any girls at the university to join for this one game. My housemate Jennifer and I went out and ran around for about an hour and a half and had a great time, and I learned I was very out of shape. It was a pretty good way to start the week, although it was rather exhausting.
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