First Day of Class

Unfortunately this has to be kind of short becuase I do not have internet for very long....Upon arriving in Cairns, the two girls I came to Australia with and I were welcomed first, by our wonderful cab driver, but then by the most gorgeous coastal mountains I have ever seen. And throughout the plains below the mountains were sugar cane farms. I have never seen a sugar farm before but it looks very much like corn. Even after being here for only a day you can see that the cultural is definitely different. Everything is much more laid back and there are many influences on life from the aboriginal people(at least in this part of Australia). We were warmly welcomed by our 3 professors during our first block of lecturing. Our daily layout will consist of 2 lectures, lunch, one more lecture, and then a lab session. Lectures today went by really quickly so it didn't even feel like we were sitting in the same classroom all day long. We learned a great deal about the history of Australia and a little about the aboriginal peoples and a lot about climate change. It is really interesting to see a whole different country's take on environmental issues and how they feel that we should deal with them. I assumed Austrlia would be moving much quicker on environmental issues, but they actually aren't moving much quicker than us, possibly even slower, and are having the same difficulties politcally, socially, and economically that we are. I have to get off internet now, but more to come soon! goodnight!