Reliving the Rainforest July 07, 2024
By Max C (Conservation Biology, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/02/2024 to 05/16/2024 with
SIT Study Abroad: Australia - Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology
I learned a lot about the biota of another continent and about how to live in another country. I also learned a lot about collecting data and writing scientific papers.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
This program is definitely not the most academically rigorous if you come in with a background in biology. However this does not mean that assignments don't take a lot of time. Some assignments might take up to 5 hours to complete but as with most things if you put in a good amount of effort you will not struggle to do well. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program was very well organized and planned out. You get to learn and experience a lot surrounding Cairns and the Wet Tropics Bioregion in Australia. The program director Tony and the rest of the team know the area well and the on-site programming works well. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
You will stay in various hostels throughout the semester. They are all nice enough but definitely not bougie. It is definitely difficult at times to find your own space and you need to be ok with living out of your suitcase to some extent. That being said all the hostels have kitchens to cook in and are clean and up to typical hostel standards. Not ideal living but alright given the cirucmstances. |
| * Food: |
Food when on program excursions is alright. The lunches are usually make your own sandwiches with many vegetables and spreads available. Dinners vary and the students are in charge of the preparation. The dinners are usually very good and there is almost always enough food. In Cairns you are given a stipend that is enough to live off of if you cook some meals and don't eat out at nice restaurant. I did occasionally run out stipend money but for the most part it went alright. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This is probably the weakest part of the program. Given it is a biology and field methods program this wasn't a huge deal for me but for the most part your interactions will occur within the group. There is time to meet people when you are out at night or on your ISP, but this time is limited and Cairns is a very touristy city so many of the people you meet are not locals. There is a week of the program which is spent with an Aboriginal elder and strong efforts are made to learn about indigenous culture in the area which I appreciated. Do not expect to feel a part of Australian culture on this program, but you will definitely learn about the cultural history of the area and might meet some locals. I met some locals who I became friends with when I attended a tree planting while on the program. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I and everyone else never had any issues. |
| * Safety: |
Coming from a white man this city felt very safe but that is obviously a biased perspective. I can say there is some crime and also the usual dangers of going out at night with the normal substances around. I never felt in danger and for the most part this was true for the other students. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved experiencing the ecosystems of Australia and I met some amazing friends on the trip. Although there were stressful moments and the program isn't perfect I would definitely recommend it. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Once again this program is covered by a stipend so beyond that I did not spend too much of my own money. My expenses totaled $1500 in flights plus maybe $1000 on other expenses but this number could increase if you need to travel far for your ISP. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Impossible to estimate but detailed above. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook food as much as you eat out and do it with other students in the program to maximize your stipend. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Just know that there will be discomfort on this program. Mosquitos, rainy days, hard work, mud, living out of a suitcase. It did not detract from my experience but just be prepared to get messy. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology Seminar |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Tony Cummings and Jack Grant |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | All of the course on this program kind of merge together, however the excursions are what make this trip and much of the learning comes from this experience. I loved the time spent in the rainforest, and Jack and Tony both know a lot about the local ecosystems. My interest is specifically birds, and Jack is an expert when it comes to ornithology so it was an incredible experience to learn from him. The time spent on Lizard Island were some of the best days of my life. You spend hours every day snorkeling and learning about the Great Barrier Reef and the experience was absolutely insane. Be warned that there is a lot of bleaching going on all around the world and the GBR is not spared. However, most of the marine life was in tact while we were there. The time spent with Uncle Russ, the Aboriginal Elder, was pleasant but could have been more educational, although you do learn a good bit about the importance of the indigenous peoples connections with nature. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Independent Study Project |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Tony Cummings |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | For the most part the best part of this program while simultaneously being by far the most stressful. Be warned that this part of the program can be incredibly hit or miss, depending on the advisor and location you end up in. Coming in it was my dream to work with one of AU endangered bird species. In the beginning of the program you need to email researchers across the country that you might want to work with, but the issue is for most roles you might get you will have little to no experience, and the research period is only 4-5 weeks so it is a big ask for many researchers. In addition, during the end of the wet season when I was there most bird are not breeding so there was very little active field research going on. Do not go into this period expecting to find a good research project right away. The directors of the program provided surprisingly few contacts and I emailed almost 30 people before I got a gig, which did happen to come through a contact of the professors. Of the the 30 emails most offered to help but said no, two were interested but had no field work, and only the one I went with had field work. That being said, once I found a program it ended up being the best part of the program. I worked with the endangered golden-shouldered parrot up on the remote Cape York Peninsula. I spent every day in the field collecting data on their nests and feeding behaviors, which was hard work but everything I could have asked for from the experience. While some of my classmates had similarly amazing experiences (working daily with dolphins out in Perth or helping analyze Aboriginal art for signs of early European settlement) others did not and had to create their own projects entirely with the academic director as an advisor or did not get to do any field research. So while for me this part of the program was a five for others it might be a two. In addition, the funds provided for this program section are not enough, and for most of my classmates barely covered room and board, with students having to pay for their own transit to get to study locations. This was alright for me because my transport and room was covered by my research team but I was the exception. Some spent hundreds of dollars of their own money on this part of the program, which might be a barrier for some applicants. The paper itself is something that took a lot of time but is something I am very proud of, and was a strong culmination of my time in Australia. The ISP can make or break your program and while it is stressful can be extremely rewarding. My tip would be start emailing early and email a large number of people, the more the better. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | My one complaint is that I can't get major credit for this because it was an independent study but that is not a huge deal for me. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Environmental Field Study Seminar |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Tomy Cummings and Jack Grant |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I came in with a decent amount of background experience in field studies and report writing so I personally didn't learn too much in this course but you do learn a lot about different methods of data collection, literature review, and paper writing. This part of the course load is solid and well done. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No |
