November 2011

Wednesday the 9th

The past two weeks were busy as usual. An employee at Yurrah, a landscape design and architecture company founded by a Rotarian in my host club, had a unique idea to have a games night in the large square in front of City Hall. The games are normal size or scaled-up versions of classics: Scrabble, Connect Four, Jenga, dominoes, checkers, chess, and others. The games have been running for several months and are held on the last Thursday of every month, free, and open to the public, so they attract passerbys of all ages and backgrounds. Our Rotary club joined in on the fun and also had nice dinner in King George Square:

I recently did a presentation to an assembly of about 600 students at the Gap State High School. In my 22 October post, I mentioned that a student from this school invited me to the assembly after we met at a Rotary meeting. I also spoke to the principal, vice principal, the head of the science department, and a few teachers. One teacher actually has relatives in Lancaster, PA and has traveled there several times! During my visit, I tried to encourage students to visit the QIMR because there are great opportunities for them to learn about the scientific work that goes on at the Institute. Whole-class visits as well as individual visits for highly-motivated students are a great way to get high schoolers interested in pursuing a science degree at a university.

The layout of the high school campus is very different from what I am used to. Instead of one main building, there are many small buildings connected by outdoor spaces and walkways. There is not a cafeteria but, rather, a tuck shop that sells a few different types of food and drink; most students pack lunch. Since there is no proper cafeteria, students find a spot outside to eat lunch, so many groups of friends are scattered about the campus during lunchtime. Even though this high school is public, a strict dress code is enforced, which is common for both public and private schools throughout Australia. The principal with whom I spoke said that, a few decades ago, the Queensland Government required a certain number of private schools to be built so that the ratio of public to private was approximately 1 to 1. This mandate prevented the Government from incurring too many burdens associated with running a large public school system. Lastly, the concept of the weekly assembly held at this school (and I think many others) impressed me. The 35 minute Friday assemblies are held for grades 8-9 and 10-12, and the principal, vice principal, teachers, and staff attend. This allows everyone at the school to be better informed about school-related news, events, achievements, awards, and opportunities. One outstanding student from each grade is appointed captain, and the captains conduct most of the assembly besides the short talks from the principal and vice principal.

The highlight of the past two weeks and really of my time spent in Australia so far was a boat trip this weekend with 30 other members of my host club, Fortitude Valley. Several of the Rotarians own boats and are members of the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, which is the oldest and largest of the Rotary Fellowships. The 31 participants and our 8 boats:

Here is the 46 foot boat that I was on with four other people:

On Friday, we left the “neighborhood” and navigated the Coomera River out through a network of islands in Moreton Bay.

All of the meals were superb and extremely filling. Our breakfasts and lunches were all cooked and eaten on the boat; the Rotarian that made lunch had the skills of a professional chef, so the flavors in his dishes were very tasty and pleasing. One boat had set crab pots, so I also got to eat fresh sand crabs.

I recently went to a District 9600 Rotary Foundation Seminar with a Rotarian from my host club, Mandi, and her friend, Brendan. At the seminar, I learned about how and how much money was raised by the district over the past year, the projects funded by the district, and also the Rotary Future Vision grant structure that will be implemented in 2013. This structure will eliminate Ambassadorial Scholarships but create new opportunities for students and professionals to study and volunteer abroad.

The three of us then had lunch at the award-winning Maleny Cheese Factory, which was founded by a Swiss master cheesemaker. I had some of a cheese platter, lasagna, and a salad. The cheeses and my meal were excellent!

Afterwards, we went to nearby Gardner’s Falls, a local spot for swimming, diving, and rope swinging. I had an absolute blast here. The deep water was clean and refreshing, the falls were rushing over, the people were nice, the weather was great, and the rope swing was the best I’ve ever experienced. While looking at the picture, remember that I'm about 6 ft tall. Watch the video.

Me and Brendan jumping off the falls:

To get back on top of the falls after landing in the water, there are natural hand and footholds to climb. While talking with some local kinds on the rock, I noticed that many of them were shivering. They thought the water was cold, but I thought the water was moderate and could have stayed there for a few hours jumping in and swimming around. I guess the Queenslanders are just used to warmer temperatures. Or I might be a bit different, since I know my body temperature is below normal and my zodiac symbol is Pisces. The local kids also told me that there was an eel in one corner of the large swimming area that liked to bite the toes of unaware swimmers. I swam over to the area, and Brendan walked over to meet me there. I told him to watch out for the eel, but he didn’t believe me. After putting only one foot into the water, he yelped in shock! I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. The eel got its mouth around his toe and pinched it but didn’t break the skin. As I swam away from the area, I felt the slimy eel brush up against my leg; the eel must have a lot of fun on the weekends when new swimmers step into his territory! I will definitely have to visit the Falls again for more fun.

Wednesday the 23rd

Two weeks ago, I visited Bribie Island Rotary for another presentation and small tour of the area. The Island is just north of Brisbane, and most of it is protected park area because it contains important resting and nesting areas for migratory birds and sea turtles. Bribie Island Rotary Club is unique because of the large amount of fundraising they achieve relative to the size of their club and because all members are Paul Harris Fellows, which means that they each donated $1000 to the Rotary Foundation during a particular year-long period or someone else donated $1000 to honor an individual. During my presentation, I commented about the approximate 24% voter turnout on Election Day; this alarmed many of the Rotarians who could not understand why all those capable of voting did not actually vote. Many Australians regard voting as a duty rather than a right and, remember, voting is mandatory in Australia. I think voting should also be mandatory in the U.S.

I stayed with a Rotarian and his wife for a night on the island. They live close to the beach in a modern house that is very energy efficient: no heating or cooling system, solar water heat, most electric is generated from solar panels and, often, electric goes back into the grid for a profit, rain water is collected and used for all applications. My hosts were very generous and pleasant. We had lunch, saw the area, and even met members of the local woodworking club who invited me back!

I also went to the nearby swimming beach.

That weekend, I returned to Brisbane and sold raffle tickets in a shopping mall for my host Rotary club to raise money for a local children’s hospital. I think my accent caught many shoppers by surprise.

Last Wednesday, I went back up to Nambour to stay with a Rotarian, Alan, and his wife for two nights. This was a leisure trip that Alan and I had planned a few months ago. Alan is in a woodcarving club that meets at the house of a woodworker who shares his well-equipped shop area. I went to the club with Alan, but I didn’t carve. There was a lathe in the shop, so I turned my first bowl since I came here in July. I was lucky enough that Alan had a piece of wood for me to turn and allowed me to use a piece of his Huon Pine, which is an extremely prized timber with limited quanities that only grows in Tasmania. This tree grows very slowly (no more than 1 mm per year) and can live for several thousand years; the grain is unlike any other wood because the annular rings are fine with a tiny amount of space in between. The wood also contains a unique aromatic oil that repels pests and diseases. Relative to other pines, Huon is dense and hard but still machines nicely. I hope to visit the area where these magnificent trees grow. Alan and his wife have already been to this area in Tasmania, so they told and showed me their trip. They also explained to me how their family has an interesting history tied to Australia.

After the carving club, I went with Alan and his wife to Coolum for a small tour and a refreshing swim on the beach:

Nearby their house was a pineapple farm. Some of you may be unfamiliar with how pineapples grow, so here’s a picture. They are grown from planting the green tops after being rooted, and a mature field usually produces fruit about two to three times.

On this past Friday, Alan dropped me off at the house of another Nambour Rotarian, Murray, who lives near Noosa with his wife. Murray and his wife have a beautiful property with dozens of fruit trees, large gardens, honey bee hives, chickens, and a Kelpie dog—the same breed as the dog in the movie Red Dog.

On Saturday, we went to the Yandina markets for produce and to look around at the stalls. Later that day, I went swimming and then helped out with tasks around their small farm. On Sunday, I kayaked with Murray and a couple of his friends along the Noosa River that drains into the Pacific Ocean. We were in sea kayaks, which are long, narrow, and have foot-controlled rudders. I really enjoyed taking a break from work and getting outside of the Brisbane urban area.

Today, I had the excellent opportunity to speak at the Brisbane Rotary Institute to current and past Rotary District Governors along with District Governor Elects and District Governor Nominees from a large area across Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. I met many interesting and friendly people and will try my best to follow up and hopefully make time to arrange a visit.