Luisa Helena Pérez Mujica
October 2008
Update
I started this month in the beautiful beaches
of Queensland, swimming in the coral reef, taking the sun in the
four mile beach in Port Douglas and walking the rainforest with the
KuKu Yalanji tribe of aborigens. This one week experience has been
one of the best I have lived so far and I know it is just the
beginning of this journey discovering this vast continent. I got to
share some of my very little knowledge of herbs and Mexican
indigenous knowledge with our guide through the jungle.
I got back to Melbourne with a beautiful tan by
October the 2nd and started preparing myself for finals.
I can´t say I haven´t stressed, I must recall that in last letter I
established I would look for a counselor in Monash, which I did and
really helped me organizing my thoughts and emotions. I think
I was very nervous because this is the first time I have to do a
final exam, in México I am used to having several partial exams
during the semester but never one compiling all the information. It
has been more interesting than I expected, and I am prepared
emotionally wise.
As far as my volunteer work in the
Sustainability Institute, I have been allocated in a new project.
Somebody working with water in the institute found out that there
was a little Mexican person working there as a volunteer and
assigned me this new job. It all starts with the journey to
“Western America” of Alfred Deakin (an M.P. in the
Victorial Legislative Assemly) in 1884” in order to
investigate irrigation systems. This journey also included
Mexico. In 1886 he introduced a new water legislation using
some of the information he gathered though his journey. My job in
one hand is to compare the Mexican legislation of 1884 (Newly
independent Mexico) with the legislation of Albert Deakin and in
the other hand to analise the current Mexican legislation in order
to see if the Australian could use it again or not for new reforms.
I am using every single contact I have with water Authorities in
Mexico, I must recall I had a course in environmental law and some
of my classmates where current workers of several water organisms
in Mexico. So far one of my classmates has replied with
information. Eventhough I am very interested in this project
due to the possible contact between Mexico and Australia in Water
resources, right now I must focus on finals and then I will
allocate more of my time in this project.
September 2008 Update
September was a month
filled with mixed emotions from the first day until the last one.
Well first of all I was accepted at the Monash Sustainability
Institute to work as a volunteer in a research project. My job
includes research in water issues in Victoria due to the water
crisis that the region has suffered the past years. Right now I am
analyzing the legal organization of competences between the states
that comprise the Murray-Darling basin. I find this kind of
work of most importance to my professional development, because
learning about sustainable development from a country that actually
has this kind of development will give me the grounds to look for
something similar in my own country. I work every Tuesday
from 2 to five and throughout the week I read about
australian political organization.
As far as the school is
concerned, I have been constantly studying and working on my
different projects. The Animal Behaviour project about the
aggressive behaviour of the noisy miners gave a lot of
problems because of the way reports are written here in comparison
with Mexico. I had a problem particularly with the deadline because
I got absolutely confused when it was and handed it way overdue. I
explained my lecturer what happened to me and he was very
understanding. He told me that he was going to take into account
the fact that I am an international student and that he has seen
that I have been working constantly and very hard. In my other
units I have handed in almost all of my assignments with a
satisfactory outcome to me. I don´t have the results now but I feel
I have completed all the requirements (I already have all the
manuals that a person can have about how to write different kind of
assignments). I think I will be seeking for some
psychological help, nothing to be worried about, but as I had a
psychologist in Mexico to help me with anxiety, I think it is
healthy to me to talk about what makes me nervous before I feel
overwhelmed. I can´t stress enough the fact that seeking for
emotional help is something I am very used to and it doesn´t mean
that I am having problems.
Here at the Melbourne in
other matters things have been pretty much the same, after studying
and reading my eyes off I go out with my friends to the city for a
coffee or a movie. This month I went to a music festival at High
street called the High Vibes where I listened to all kinds of music
in different venues. I also went to the Melbourne Zoo as part of
one of my units to study the adaptations of different animals to
their environments.
I think the highlight of
this month was my trip to the Great Barrier Reef during the
Mid-semester break. I went there with my Danish friend Julie and my
French friend Pauline. We arrive at Cairns first and took a boat to
snorkel at the reef. It was something absolutely beautiful (but I
guess that after reading lots of reports from non Austrian students
you are used to these kind of comments). For me the contrast of the
people in the southeast of Australia (Melbourne) and the north was
overwhelming, been able to share with the aboriginals during a walk
through the jungle is something I will treasure my entire
life.
I can´t thank enough
for this opportunity
Luisa
August 2008
Update
This past month, which constitutes my
second one in Melbourne has been rather difficult for me. Not in
terms of life outside of Mexico because I have managed to get used
to the fact that I have to take care of myself instead of relying
in my family for it, but more in terms of school. I wasn’t prepared
for the amount of work I am required to do as it takes me double
the time to finish some assignment than it would take me in Mexico
due to the language barrier. Writing a report has turned into the
hardest thing to do but I have managed to succeed in it. For three
of my four units I have written several reports, being one about
the digestive system of fish the most difficult so far (it took me
one week to finish it ).
I have also done 4 miniquizzes online for my
physiology unit and I am proud to say I have passed them all (75,
66, 91 and 75). I am also required to do a research project for my
Animal Behavior unit in which I have to watch this Australian bird
called Noisy Miner to record their aggressive behavior towards
other species of birds at Monash campus. Because of this project I
spend 6 hours a week doing field observations with my other
classmates in order to write a report showing our results.
What I am trying to state is even though the
amount of work is very big I am managing to do it on time without
compromising important activities in my daily life like: running
every morning for at least 30 minutes before going to school,
cooking myself dinner almost every night (this point is really
important to me because before coming to Australia I didn’t know
how to cook and that´s why I have called my grandmother a couple of
times to ask her for recipes) and sleeping well.
Besides school (which has been absorbing most
of my time) I have been in touch with different organizations to do
my volunteering, I went to the city to the Friends of the Earth
organization and submitted a research project which is in current
revision, if they don´t accept it they offered me a volunteer work
in one of their facilities (book shop or dinner). Next week after I
finish a couple of project due to Monday I will go to Amnesty
International because I met a guy in Melbourne Uni that works there
as a volunteer and could get me into one of their
programs.
Last Friday August 8th the other
Mexican recipients in Monash and I organized a Mexican Lunch for
the people of Monash Study Abroad to thank them for all the support
they´ve given us and to show them a little bit of our food
culture. I took us 2 weeks to plan the lunch and we actually
had it in a kitchen provided by Monash. WE decided to make
chilaquiles, guacamole, frijoles charros and a dessert I cooked for
the first time in my life calles “suspiros de novia”. It took me a
couple of tries to perfection it but I think it went really good.
The staff from Monash abroad was very happy about it and
brought some present for us.
We also had a meeting with the other Melbourne
recipients to join Melbourne uni in an event they´ll have this
September and in which we will be selling tickets. Some of the
sells will be for the Afganistan fund raising.
Well I think that´s it for this month and once
again thank you for this opportunity.
July 2008
Update
This first month for me has been filled with
different experiences and emotions both pleasant and unpleasant.
First of all, leaving my family and friends for the first time was
rough on me but I have managed to handle it and actually I am not
sad about it anymore. People here in Melbourne have been wonderful
towards me and have helped me the numerous times I have needed
help. I found accommodation on campus at the halls of residence in
Monash University, my hall´s name is Richardson and here is where
I´ve met most of my new friends due to the orientation week for
international exchange students.
After my first week of orientation I spent one
week exploring the city just by walking through all the streets I
could find and getting into alleys, galleries and museums, almost
anywhere I could enter. Even if the orientation for exchange
students lasted for only one week, during the second week I also
had to attend to the University orientation week where I got in
touch with my faculty which is the faculty of Science as well as
some classmate who also attended. Also got enrolled to my classes
and worked on my allocation.
I also made friends with the President of the
Exchange students club who has been helping me towards getting a
mentor. The mentor program is special for students who are not used
to the way things work in Monash and Australia in general. My
mentor´s name is Andrew, his mayor is in film and tv and we have
became friends as well because I love movies myself.
Studying wise I have four units that will be
revalidated in my university. I´m enrolled in a class of population
genetics in which we study the development of different kinds of
populations, including the human in terms of the way genes and the
environment work together. I am also in a physiology course
learning a lot about how the different kinds of body plans
(invertebrates as well as vertebrates) work as different parts of
one unique organism.
In my animal behavior class I am really using
my research skills because we have to develop a research project in
a specific bird that lives on campus. My last unit is the one that
excites me the most, it is in biotechnology and we are going to do
some really interesting exercises like cloning bacteria, which I
must add is something I would never do in my University due to the
lack of material in general. This unit in particular will take me a
little closer towards my career goal which is the legal regulation
of biotechnology.
I have been involved in a lot of the activities
concerning my group of international students like learning how to
play Australian footy and booshdancing because we were almost alone
in the university for the first two weeks, but after the classes
started I joined another club on campus and that is the Hispanic
club. I joined this club not only because I´m Hispanic and I
love latinamerica as a whole, but because I want to share about my
culture with other people who might be interested in it. I
have also sent a couple of e-mails regarding doing some volunteer
work in sustainable development.
One of my first choices is the Monash institute
for sustainability which actually is next to the halls of
residence. I am still waiting for their answer.
I am also going to meet next Tuesday with
Carlie Blake because I would like to share my culture with
everybody who is willing to listen to me and share about
their own. As one of my passions is music and I sing myself I would
like to organize something that could involve Mexican music, but
I´m still thinking of it.
As far as travelling is concerned, I haven´t
gone outside of Melbourne but I think there´ll be plenty of time
for it later, right now I just want to settle and make of Melbourne
my new home, even if it´s only for one year, because I think home
is the place where you feel loved and appreciated.
Thank you for everything
