Peru: Field Biology
Hello from Biology in Peru! We´ve arrived at Machu Pichu and the students enjoyed it greatly. They will explore the town tomorrow.

The students are all in good shape and have learned a great deal about the biology of tropical forests, We have seen the elfin forest at the Amazonian Conservation Center, Spent 5 days at Pantiacola lodge in the heart of the rain forest on the rio alta madre de dios, spent 2 days in the lowland rain forest at Tamboblanquillo and saw many different types of birds, plants and animals. The students have completed their research projects including one on frog calls as well as habitat analysis at each of 3 locations. We´ll see you soon.

Australia: Aboriginal Studies
Part I
On the morning of January 20th we awoke in Hyden to some of the first real rain we have seen to date. The temperatures have ranged from 107 in Albany to around 55 at night here in Hyden. We traveled to many Aboriginal landmarks such as Katta Keech, now known as Wave Rock, and a rock cave known as Hippo’s Yawn with our tour guide Michael, a young Aboriginal local man. Hippo’s Yawn served as an Aboriginal women’s birthing place due to its protection from the elements. We learned that Wave Rock served as an Aboriginal meeting place due to the abundance of food, water, and the rock’s natural ability to serve as an amphitheatre. It was interesting to see how these important Aboriginal sites have turned into popular ecotourism attractions. Before lunch we visited a wildlife park where we saw a large menagerie of native Australian animals including a free roaming kangaroo that stirred a rack of excitement.

In the afternoon we visited Mulgah’s Cave, traditional watering and bathing holes, and a large rock mountain known as the “humps.” Mulgah’s cave is the site of a sad Aboriginal tale that is the reason for the absence of Aboriginal people in the area. It is said that a boy by the name of Mulgah, who was born from a forbidden incestual marriage lived there. His peers teased him because he was born cross-eyed and was unable to hunt. Mulgah became so enraged that he killed two of his peers and ate them. He also killed his mother who had witnessed the act. After this, the Aboriginal people left the area in fear that such a place had been cursed due to the violation of Aboriginal people’s law. The watering holes that we visited showed great insight into how the Aboriginal people used the land. They would heat the large rocky landscape up to the point where they were able to easily break it. By repeating the process over and over they were able to create large holes in the rocks, known as gnamma holes, which they then used to collect water for bathing and drinking. The Humps offered a great view of the surrounding area and served as an Aboriginal meeting place. It was a difficult hike up the Humps, with a fair amount of wind that just about caused Professor Curry to lose his hat; but in the end, it was well worth it to get the full experience of the site. Our last stop was to our guide Michael’s family farm. Here we learned what it was like to be a western Australian farmer. At the farm, Michael’s family grew a wheat blend, and raised all natural chickens and cows. It was interesting to observe how Michael’s Aboriginal roots translate into a continued emphasis placed on sustainability. The farm also gave us our first chance to dawn our very fashionable fly nets. Tomorrow we are traveling to a monastery in New Norcia. It is going to be a long drive, but it will give us all a chance to reflect on our busy day in Hyden, and possibly get some sleep.

Part II
On Tuesday morning, we boarded the bus and set out for the five hour drive from Hyden to New Norcia. Along the way, we stopped in the country town of Northam for lunch, and then continued on to arrive at the New Norcia Benedictine monastery before dinner. After a home-cooked meal and doing our dishes, we met with Dome Chris who told us about his daily routine as a monk: Monday-Saturday 5 AM wake up, prayer 7 times per day including 1 mass and 6 chantings of the psalms, 3 meals per day, daily chores, and watching the recorded ABC news. Sundays are the monks’ day of indulgence; they are able to sleep in until 5:45 AM, not do their daily work, and are able to have longer siestas.

Here in New Norcia, only 12 monks live in the monastery, which was founded in 1846 by Spanish Bnedictine monks. The monks here range in age from 31, a Nigerian man in his 2nd year of training, to 98 years old, who has been at the monastery for 80 years and is the last Spanish monk in New Norcia.

After sleeping in the old convent, where the Aboriginal girls once stayed, we had an early wake up at 7 AM Wednesday morning. We ate breakfast before heading out on a walking tour of new Norcia and monastery with Samantha Brown, our liaison here. After visiting St. Gertrude Church, we took a short break before heading to the St. Joseph Exhibition Museum and Art Gallery. If you notice, there are no pictures posted here form the museum. They strictly prohibit photography because in 1986, 25 paintings were stolen in an attempt to sell the art on the black market. All but 1 painting was recovered after catching the thieves. Today, the museum proudly displays the restored art.

At noon, we attended mid-day prayer with the monks. The prayers consisted of psalms, which the monks pray in their entirety over a span of two weeks. The service is done lyrically in response style while the monks sit on opposite sides of the room facing each other. After prayer, we ate lunch, and then participated in an Aboriginal art workshop with Debesha Yappe. Our creations included traditional colors and Aboriginal symbols, ranging from emu and kangaroo tracks, to campfires, to rain. Afterwards, we had a discussion with Lester Jacobs, who told us about his life on the mission in New Norcia as a child. This was followed by spear and boomerang throwing workshops and a trip to the Prendiville Room, an exhibition showing Aboriginal and the monastery’s history as well as the two groups relations. These included food and meals, sports, games, and hunting, religion and dreaming, music and dance, language, home life, and survival skills. Father Rooney an anthropologist is an adopted member of the Yuat people and he is the consultant for the knowledge of the Yuat people. He was instrumental in the creation of the Prendiville room.

After an informative day and dinner, we packed up the bus and headed back to Perth.

Ireland
If you stand still in Ireland long enough, the moss covers you. Luckily for our group, we haven’t been still very long. In Northern Ireland, students visited the ruins of Dunluce Castle on the rocky northern coast and braved the sleet and rain to walk the basalt landscape of the Giant’s Causeway. Since then, we’ve made our way to the metropolis of Dublin, where we’ve enjoyed James Joyce’s stomping ground. Today, we visited the 5000 year old passage tomb of Newgrange and watched a simulated winter solstice sun rise from inside the mound itself. From great live theatre to a special tour of Parliament escorted by Senator Mark Daly, Dublin keeps us busy. Tomorrow, we head back out into the country to Glendalough and the Powerscourt Gardens.

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