The Wonders of Oz

My name is Timothy Walls, and this past spring semester 2002 I studied abroad at Curtin Univeristy of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. Here are a few pictures of my journey. Though these pictures could never capture all of my experiences and what one might see in Australia, I hope that it might be a taste, an appetizer of what you might see if you venture there.

The first week that I arrived in Australia, my flatmates decided to make dinner for everyone. We sat down to dinner that night and talked about where we were from, what we were studying and why we chose to go to school in Australia. That night was very enlightening. I learned many interesting new aspects of different cultures of which I did not have previous knowledge.

Some locals in Australia might say that sports is the internatioinal language, however I say that music is the international language. This was the week before school, we found out that we all played guitar. We came  from countries such as Denmark and Malaysia, but we were all able to come together and jam on songs such as "Hotel California! "

One of the most exhilirating times I had in Australia was in my Terrestrial Ecology class week long trip to the small town of Westonia, population 130! The week was long and arduous, waking up at the crack of dawn surveying the local flora and fauna, including the neverending attack of flies in the 40 deg C heat which is common in the northern part of W.A. At night we would hang out at the local tavern and converse with the locals. The whole class bonded during this trip, there was a greater sense of comradery after our experience.

The Aboriginal Spirituality Class I took at Curtin was probably one of the most enlightening classes that I have ever enrolled in.  The trials and tribulations suffered by Aboriginals were brought to my attention.  One of our projects for class was to make a flag representing the seasons and life of Aboriginals. After the banner was completed, we hung it on the balcony of the Aboriginal Centre

Curtin Univeristy of Technology has one of the most amazing campuses that I have ever seen. The art and architecture that is peppered throughout the campus makes you feel as if you are in a tropical environment. Around every corner is an beautiful sculpture or piece of art, or a magnificent building. The scenery makes your journey to class more like a trek rather than a mere walk

One of the first adventures I embarked on while in Australia was visiting Rottnest Island off of the coast of Western Australia. A few of us rented bicycles and biked around the island to uncover many beautiful lagoons such as the one pictured above.  Rottnest is truly an island paradise with many scenic beaches and other lush features about it.

The city of Perth is one ofthe most beautiful, scenic, clean and colorful cities that you could imagine. The nickname for Perth is the "City of Lights." This picture is an overview of the city skylilne from King's Park, a memorial park for the soldiers who lost their lives in the world wars.

Westonia was put on the map because of its many gold mines. Here is a picture of an old gold mine called the Edna May gold mine,which was named after the towns founder's sister. When all the gold had been stripped from the mine in the early 1900s, the canyon was left unused, allowing nature and time to fill up the recess with beautiful clear water. Though the riches of the earth were taken from this canyon, nature was able to restore the richness of its beauty.

In my Aboriginal Spirituality class we had the privelege  to go on a field trip to Yanchep Park. Yanchep Park was a reserve where we were taught some skills and the way of life of Aboriginals. The day ranged from making tools, observing dances, learning to throw spears, boomerangs and tasting kangaroo meat. Oh by the way, kangaroo does not taste like chicken!

I was very fortunate to get a chance to spend a week in the outback area of Westonia. Being from the city, I was never able to get a good look at the stars because of the lights and buildings. However, when I was at Westonia, I gazed upon the majesty of the stars in the skies every night. The stars were so close that I felt that I could grasp them. This picture was from the last sunset of the trip in Westonia. Just the sight of this sunset made me realize how lucky I was to have seen the beauty and bounty of this amazing country.