Coral Bay Western Australia Marine Biology; The Time of Your Life Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Coral Bay Marine Biology is a summer shortcourse lasting three weeks where youo spend one week in class for lectures and the next two weeks at a field camp. You get tons of hands on experience at the field camp. A typical day while on-site in Coral Bay includes a trip to the research station, then head out to spend all day snorkeling the fringing reef doing research and collecting samples followed by write-ups and research at the on-shore lab station. Students worked on two separate group projects while at Coral Bay, each involving data collection, specimen identification, quadrat set up/analysis, CPCe,and a formal written research paper (roughly 7 pages long). It was a good balance of work and fun, but getting the papers written was a little difficult when you would rather be out snorkeling. Instructors were always close by if students had questions but allowed the students to discover and learn on their own. Also, instructors really tried to get to know all the participants and spent all the free time with the groups of students too! Be prepared to learn a lot; everything from the widespread effects of global warming to the discovery of what "goon" really is.

On-site administration of your program

Our contact at Murdoch who helped get all the international students settlede and accustomed to getting around campus and Perth area was very helpful, but very busy so sometimes it was hard for him to keep on top of all our requests. Overall, he was very friendly and helpful. All teachers were very helpful and got things organized for us ahead of time so we didn't waste our short time abroad doing the small things. All the instructors and fellow Australian students were very knowledgable about their country and willing to share with us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The first week we stayed on campus in "flats", apartment style housing, with a combination of American students, international students, and local students. At the field camp we were sleeping in tents, taking salt water showers, continually in and out of the water, eating/cooking outside, lots of walking from site to site, and moonlighting on the beach with both American students and Australian students. The only thing we needed to buy were snacks, basically everything else was provided for us including cot, mattress, blanket, pillow, sheet and all cookware.

I felt that the food options in Australia were very accepting for all types of eaters. They especially took into account vegetarians, moreso than any place in America would. We got to try a lot of the local foods and experience new things!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

If you are into the outdoors, then Coral Bay is the course for you because this program allows you to get the full outback experience. Sleeping in tents, salt water showers, continually in and out of the water, eating/cooking outside, lots of walking from site to site, and moonlighting on the beach are all part of this awesome experience. Don't forget about seeing all kinds of amazing fish, sea turtles, dolphins, reef sharks, whales, manta rays, sting rays, jellyfish, starfish, tiger sharks, dugongs, coral, kangaroos, wallabies and koalas to name a few (viewed on a wildlife cruise and everyday snorkeling/research)! Locals were all very friendly and I played sand volleyball on the beach with them which was super fun. also, every night we learned new games and sayings from the Aussies in our group.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never was worried about getting sick or my safety while I was abroad. The instructors did warn us of a few things and we made sure to follow their advice. At night when we went into town, we would always be in groups. Not that it was necessary, but it was a suggestion.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Local Students