While getting on to the plane headed for Australia, scared wasn’t a strong enough word to describe my emotions. Of course the excitement of anticipation was mixed into the thoughts speeding through my mind, however, fear of the unknown seemed to triumph the positive. I had no idea I was about to embark on a journey that will change my perspective on the world and on myself.
So many fabulous adventures took place during my time in Australia. The program I was in consisted of 16 students from different universities all across the United States and two professors, one from Long Island University and the other an Australian native that resided in Cairns. We spent three weeks on three different islands staying at University driven research stations. On each island we learned the ecology through journeys with our professors. We created research questions, developed an experiment, ran the experiment, analyzed the data collected and presented our completed projects to the class the night before we left for the next island. In between our data collections we were free to explore the islands by ourselves, either through hikes, snorkel trips or boat trips out to the flats. We stayed one week on each island and spent the remainder of time in various towns up the coast during our travels to the different research stations.
The research stations were fabulous accommodations. I seemed to find myself being slightly more adventurous than I believed myself to have been. There were numerous (too many for me to count) occasions when I found something interesting and it was quickly followed by “Michele, put that down it’s poisonous”. I discovered some instinctive survival skills (or my Man vs. Wild obsession finally paid off) after a couple of classmates and I got lost on Orpheus island for 5 hours when we decided to hike up the mountain without the trail just to get to the highest point of the island (yea I scaled a coconut tree for water and a tasty treat). I mingled with folks shooting a series for national geographic. (highlight of my trip to Straddie island by far was helping identifying fish caught on film!!!...Well I was hogging the field guide in attempt to memorize as many species of fish as possible). I went on night snorkels, chased down sharks, came face to face with the biggest sea turtle I have ever laid eyes on, snorkeled in stingray infested waters and completed research projects on the most amazing natural wonder of the world. As much fun as I had on my adventures on the islands, I believe the moments that impacted me the most was the exploring of historical cities and finding the courage to strike up conversations about Australian culture and history with locals (especially on Straddie). North Stradebroke Island’s population mostly consisted of aboriginal peoples. While it is mostly against their beliefs to share too much information about their culture with those not related, I was able to learn enough to understand where they came from and their current day struggles.
I learned more in Australia than I planned. Yes, I was ready to learn a new culture. I knew I would encounter more species of marine life than I knew existed. I knew the adventures would last forever in my memories. What I did not expect was the discovering of the new me. A me that was always there and fighting to come out but never had the courage to break through. I found the excitement that can occur when I step out of my comfort zone. When I break free from a pack and discover the world by myself whether it was wondering off on an island to find an echidna or striking up a conversation with a complete stranger. The new adventurous slightly less afraid and extremely more confident me will serve well in the upcoming adventures of my life.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Final Paideia Reflection
When I joined Paideia I had no idea what I was getting into. Literally I didn’t know what the curriculum consisted of or how the program worked. I was a freshman seeking something more from my education. As a freshman I felt well plugged in with extracurriculars; I was in clubs, sports and had an abundance of friends from an array of educational disciples. However, I was worried about my educational growth. I talked to some upper classman about my concerns and immediately Paideia was suggested as a solution. They broadly explained the concept of Paideia to me and I agreed to try it hoping it would satisfy a hazy need I was feeling.
Three years later, I appreciate what Paideia has done in my academic endeavors. Paideia served as my liberal arts outlet. Even though we attend a liberal arts school and have the opportunity of expanding our knowledge past the standard curriculum for a given field, little integration of subjects actually occur in the classrooms. I was able to learn about subjects not typically encountered in my major classes but the most impactful lesson was being able to add a psychological or scientific perspective on the topics I would never relate to science. We actively engaged in conversations about issues, everything from governmental or political debates to social problems in school systems. Paideia opened my eyes to new topics and just how interconnected different fields of study are. It let me grow academically and forced me into opportunities I was not aware I could obtain in college.
Paideia forced me to expand my cultural experience further than I was planning. Each semester we were forced (harsh word but honestly I would not have attended half of the activities I did if it were not for the required end of semester reflections) into attending an event that did not pertain to our field of interest. By the end of Paideia (the past couple of semesters) I actually had difficulties choosing between the wide array of activities I attended to reflect on. Each experience brought me into a new understanding of the world around me and taught me just how little I actually knew.
The first semester of Paideia was interesting. I spent a majority of our meetings attempting to blend into my surroundings while a few of my cohort members fussed over a controversial topic. I had the urge to step in and mediate the conflict but I typically just sat back and enjoyed the show. Our group size reduced slowly over the semesters. It was disheartening to watch our group dissipate because our diversity of viewpoints followed suit. However, the smaller group size was not necessarily bad. Much of the arguing reduced and more productive conversations were allowed. I became more comfortable sharing my opinions in class, not sure if that was due to actually being able to find a break in a conversation to input my thoughts or from the certainty that my thoughts would not be immediately rejected by at least one member of my cohort or simply because I became more confident in my opinions. It is quite possible it was a mix of the three, regardless of the reasoning I changed in my role from the passive listener to the engaged contributor.
Paideia is a great program aimed enhancing our education. I enjoyed the deep conversations I had with my cohort and the perspective of education I obtained. I hope to further my lessons from Paideia as I move on to further my education by reaching out to different fields offering my scientific background as advice to understanding the world around us differently.
Three years later, I appreciate what Paideia has done in my academic endeavors. Paideia served as my liberal arts outlet. Even though we attend a liberal arts school and have the opportunity of expanding our knowledge past the standard curriculum for a given field, little integration of subjects actually occur in the classrooms. I was able to learn about subjects not typically encountered in my major classes but the most impactful lesson was being able to add a psychological or scientific perspective on the topics I would never relate to science. We actively engaged in conversations about issues, everything from governmental or political debates to social problems in school systems. Paideia opened my eyes to new topics and just how interconnected different fields of study are. It let me grow academically and forced me into opportunities I was not aware I could obtain in college.
Paideia forced me to expand my cultural experience further than I was planning. Each semester we were forced (harsh word but honestly I would not have attended half of the activities I did if it were not for the required end of semester reflections) into attending an event that did not pertain to our field of interest. By the end of Paideia (the past couple of semesters) I actually had difficulties choosing between the wide array of activities I attended to reflect on. Each experience brought me into a new understanding of the world around me and taught me just how little I actually knew.
The first semester of Paideia was interesting. I spent a majority of our meetings attempting to blend into my surroundings while a few of my cohort members fussed over a controversial topic. I had the urge to step in and mediate the conflict but I typically just sat back and enjoyed the show. Our group size reduced slowly over the semesters. It was disheartening to watch our group dissipate because our diversity of viewpoints followed suit. However, the smaller group size was not necessarily bad. Much of the arguing reduced and more productive conversations were allowed. I became more comfortable sharing my opinions in class, not sure if that was due to actually being able to find a break in a conversation to input my thoughts or from the certainty that my thoughts would not be immediately rejected by at least one member of my cohort or simply because I became more confident in my opinions. It is quite possible it was a mix of the three, regardless of the reasoning I changed in my role from the passive listener to the engaged contributor.
Paideia is a great program aimed enhancing our education. I enjoyed the deep conversations I had with my cohort and the perspective of education I obtained. I hope to further my lessons from Paideia as I move on to further my education by reaching out to different fields offering my scientific background as advice to understanding the world around us differently.
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