September 2011

Friday the 9th

Since I frequently ride my bike around the area and into the lab five days a week, I have many opportunities to view the local wildlife, especially different types of birds. Unfortunately, I was confronted by a territorial magpie while riding a few days ago. At first, I thought someone had thrown a newspaper at my head because all I felt was a smack and heard the startling sound. However, when I turned my head around, a magpie was hovering above me in attack mode. I thought that I could escape by pedaling faster, but the bird followed me and swooped down onto my helmet a second time. The bird did not hurt me, but the loud noise and its determination were quite a nuisance. I thought I had gotten away, but the same bird followed me for some distance and made one last attempt to smack my helmet with its wings. After talking with other Australians, magpie attacks on pedestrians and cyclists are common from late August to early October because the males protect their nests full of hatchlings and chicks. Some cyclists put cable ties on their helmets in an effort to prevent the attacks. Others say that looking the magpie in the eye will prevent attacks (I doubt anyone has tried this against an attacking magpie). Watch this video to see the verdict. The best way to avoid an attack is to change your walking/biking route and to heed warning signs that are posted in aggressive magpie areas.

Last week, I gave a Rotary presentation at the Nundah Club, which is approximately 15 minutes north of the city. One of the club members was kind enough to pick me up beforehand and then drop me off after the meeting. Nundah Rotary manages a very successful charity program called Computers 4 Kids, which accepts donations of older computers, refurbishes the units, and then distributes the computer systems to young people who would otherwise not be able to afford a personal computer. At the meeting, I met a former Ambassadorial Scholar who was sponsored by Nundah Rotary and who studied in Switzerland for a year. I enjoyed hearing about her experiences, and she gave me good advice for future presentations. After the meeting, the members invited me to join them with running a food stand at the annual Nundah Festival that will raise money for the Club and the community. I accepted their invitation and look forward to meeting community members as well as seeing all of the events that will be happening this weekend.

This past weekend, I had an excellent dinner with the Whiteman family at their home. David Whiteman is a professor at the QIMR and was critical to the success of my goal to work at the QIMR for a year between college and medical school. In June 2009, I finished a month-long ecology study abroad program in Queensland. I made contact with David prior to my arrival via email because he is on the scientific advisory board for the Melanoma International Foundation, a non-profit organization for which I volunteered as a high school senior, and I figured it would be good to learn about current medical research while in Brisbane. I wasn’t sure what type of response I would receive or if I would receive any response at all. To my surprise, David cheerfully agreed to meet me during the week after my study abroad program. He showed me around the QIMR and introduced me to multiple professors. One of the research groups I met was the Drug Discovery Group, who agreed to have me back after I graduated from college. This is now my research group, so I am grateful for David’s willingness to blindly help me two years ago. In addition to introducing me to other professors in 2009, David also had me over to his house for dinner with his family at the time. Seeing them again two years later was a great experience, and we had a delicious meal with other family friends. The Whiteman’s children also significantly matured in those two years, so I enjoyed talking with them about their current interests as high school students. Since I am in the area for a year, I am sure we will get together in the near future.

During this week, I presented to the Nambour Rotary Club. Nambour is a small town that is about a 1 hour and 20 minute drive north of Brisbane. Sugarcane plantations and a processing factory dominated the area in the past, and pineapples are still grown in the surrounding fields. In fact, a famous landmark was built several decades ago called the Big Pineapple (see below), and many other big things dot the Australian landscape.

Philip took me to a landscape art show in the city this week. Most of the artists were Australian, and I really liked some of the paintings for their precision and crisp details. The paintings were judged by an expert panel, and a popular choice prize was also awarded. At the art show, I coincidentally met the wife of a couple who grew up in the Pittsburgh!

Today, I presented to the Brisbane Mid-City Rotary Club. They meet in a high-rise building at lunchtime, which is different from all of the other clubs I visited so far. The club members were genuinely interested in the topics that I discussed, as many asked questions about my adjustment to Brisbane, research, and my future goals. One of the Rotarians I met chairs multiple committees at the QIMR and donates money to the Institute; he also knew several people that I have met at the QIMR. Another Rotarian already invited me to an upcoming presentation at the Wesley Research Institute to learn about some of their ongoing projects. Finally, a Rotarian who is a physician and lecturer at the University of Queensland School of Medicine informed me about the opportunity to work on a clinical rotation at the med school as a visiting medical student or, eventually, as a visiting doctor; this is very appealing to me! As you can imagine, I get to meet a large variety of interesting and influential people at each new Rotary club I visit. The challenge now is to keep track of each person, stay in touch, and to follow up with the info that we exchanged.

Sunday the 25th

Two weekends ago, I helped members of the Nundah Rotary Club with one of their sausage sizzles at the annual Nundah Community Festival. The Club owns a trailer to haul their gas barbecues and supplies. We sold about 450 snags (Aussie slang for sausages) and about 250 steaks. There were many other stands at the festival, including those of local businesses, crafts, and other types of foods. Different bands played, an antique car show was held, and I estimate that several thousand people attended.

Also during that weekend, I saw the poignant YouTube film called Life in a Day. All of the footage was shot by many people (not professional film crews) around the world on 24 July 2010 to document what life is like on a single day and also to answer a few basic questions proposed by YouTube, including what’s your story?; what’s in your pockets?; what do you fear?; etc. It is unlike any other film that I previously saw, and I think it portrays the comment I made on 15 August 2011 describing how all people, regardless of nationality, have the same basic needs, desires, and worries (“[…] the vital essence of humanity […] rests upon subconscious foundations of innate socialialty that transcend any particular nationality”). The film also drew interesting parallels between developed and developing countries in addition to highlighting unfortunate disparities that inhabitants of developed areas often fail to appreciate. I did not enjoy the ending of the film but think it was purposefully created to demonstrate that, although most days are ordinary, a lot of interesting events are occurring elsewhere around the world, and the next day brings new opportunities for each of us.

Last week, I presented to Redcliffe Rotary Club, and Philip came with me. Redcliffe is about a 20 minute drive north of the city and located along the coast by Moreton Bay. I mention Redcliffe in some of my previous posts when I rode my bike to this area. At the meeting, I met several Rotarians as well as Carolyn Krueger, who is the current District Governor for my host Rotary district (9600). She spoke about her trip to some of the South Pacific Islands, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands, all of which are part of Rotary District 9600. In addition to meeting local residents and Rotarians, she traveled to these remote areas to formulate ideas for helping the inhabitants with basic medical and shelter needs. Fortitude Valley Rotary Club is already working on a project to fund the purchase and shipment of a microscope that will be used for ophthalmic surgery (e.g. cataract removal) in Papua New Guinea. One Rotarian I met at Redcliffe also enjoys woodworking. He told me about an event called Turnfest, which is Australia's largest woodturning symposium that draws woodturners from around the world in March; I intend to go! I also exchanged my Oakland Rotary Club banner for their banner.

As I mentioned in my last post, a Rotarian from Brisbane Mid-City Rotary Club is a member of the Wesley Research Institute Board in a suburb called Auchenflower. He invited me to one of the Institute’s periodic Advocates Presentation. These presentations bring together the Board members, staff, researchers supported by the Institute, people involved with clinical trials run by the institute, as well as family members of each of these groups. Thus, there is a very interesting mix of people at these events with whom I spoke during my time there. The evening started with time to chat over hors d'oeuvres and drinks. We then listened to two presentations by medical researchers supported by the Institute. The first was about altering diet to curb weight gain after breast cancer treatment, and the second was about lymphedema in women who underwent pelvic surgery. Audience members were allowed to ask questions and, afterwards, I met the presenters along with more attendees of the event. I enjoyed learning about the ongoing research supported by the Wesley Research Institute and meeting the people who have been directly affected by various clinical trials, so I am looking forward to attending future Advocates Presentations. That night, I met Dave (Ambassadorial Scholar from Pitt studying in Armidale) and another American student from Wyoming for dinner in the city. They were in town for a bit, so I met them a few other times for dinner and to see different parts of the city. One night, we saw a good laser show accompanied by music that was on for the Brisbane Festival.

I finally presented to my host club (Fortitude Valley) last week as well. Many of the members attended, and I had a good time fielding questions along with planning future events.

This past weekend, I got a haircut, met friends from Rotaract, and tried a Spanish taperia called Pintxo that was tasty. Just as sushi restaurants have sushi trains (sushi on a conveyor belts), Pintxo has a tapas train with people sitting around it. Customers pick the food they want off of the conveyor, and prices are based on color-coded plates.

On Tuesday, I presented to Albion Rotary Club, and Philip came with me. Albion is a Brisbane suburb, and the Rotary Club is rather small because there are not many members. However, the members I met were genuinely interested about me, and they had neat stories to share. One of the Rotarians used to operate a fine furniture business and even made a jewelry box for the Queen of England. Another Rotarian works on and races rally cars. They also told me about interesting places to visit in Australia, like Lake Eyre and Margaret River.

On Thursday evening, I went out with a friend to dinner and a concert. We ate at a very good vegetarian restaurant called Govindas that I will definitely try again. Afterwards, we went to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre for a Led Zeppelin tribute concert that was awesome. There were multiple singers, some of whom sounded just like lead Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, and most of the band’s greatest hits were played. Members of the Sydney orchestra accompanied several songs with their string instruments. The three-hour concert ended with all of the musicians joining together for a spectacular rendition of “Whole Lotta Love” that included the use of a theremin. An interesting tangent: one of the singers in this concert was Jeff Martin from the band called The Tea Party, which may wisely sell their domain name to the ridiculous political movement that is using the same name.

On Friday, I was a volunteer client for law students who are taught by a Rotarian from Fortitude Valley who is also a professor at the Queensland University of Technology Law School. I acted as if I had been in a motor vehicle accident and wanted the stubborn driver who hit me to pay for the damages to my motorcycle. The law students had 20 minutes to interview me to figure out my problem and provide potential solutions while dealing with the unnecessary details that I threw at them, which simulated the tendency of real clients to digress. I enjoyed these sessions a lot and, at the end, the students, other volunteers, and I had an opportunity to discuss our thoughts about the exercise.

Last night, I went to a fun birthday party for my lab head at his house. The plentiful food and company were all excellent, and many people from our lab, their partners, and friends were there. Our lab group also had a morning tea and went out to lunch a few days ago to celebrate his birthday.

I went on a couple of bike rides this weekend. During one of those rides, I was abused by THREE different magpies that swooped on me several times, emitted angry squawks, and smacked me with their wings. As I said on 9 September, there is not much one can do to avoid magpie attacks besides changing routes because helmet adornments are not effective, and magpies are protected animals. I am now quite paranoid of these birds while riding, so I know to look for roosting spots and hovering shadows plus listen for the approaching sound of flapping wings. Here is a map of magpie attacks in addition to pictures of magpies in action.

Today, I went on a bike ride with a Rotarian from Nundah, his brother, and some of their friends. I enjoyed the ride because I got see to several Brisbane suburbs, ride over some of the city bridges, and learn a few of the many trails that traverse the greater Brisbane area all without being attacked by a magpie (maybe riding in a group is a deterrent). The good weather was likely responsible for the impressively large number of cyclists also out this morning. Afterwards, we had tea and coffee, and the Rotarian’s brother took me for a fun ride in his MG British sports car. He also showed me the possums that sleep under his sink during the day. These possums were quite different from those I have seen in Pennsylvania because they were friendly and let me feed them bananas (don’t worry, the rabies virus is not in Australia!).