Last Day at the Uni: Day 17

Hello all,

Today is our last day in Hobart. I'm writing my blog a bit early because I will be busy packing for an early flight in the morning. Today, I called our, "INSPIRE polo day". Nathan and I dressed up in our polos given to us by our National Science Foundation grant. One, because we honestly forgot to throughout our research stent here and two because we wanted to be the poster child of international research.

So what did we do on our last day at the Uni. Well, we said our goodbyes. Had our final in depth conversations about individuals on Arko's team about research they are conducting, and took a couple of good INSPIRE worthy pictures. Here I am explaining to Nathan the basics of ArcGIS using imagery from a practical (lab) Arko taught earlier this week.

Nathan working with me in ArcGIS

Another task at hand was taking a photo of me getting GPS points. While I've been taking them over the past three weeks, I have been by myself when doing so and honestly can't do both at the same time (take pictures and GPS points). Therefore, I got Nathan to grab a quick shot.

This will pop up on a research poster by next year. Gotta love the face

While I am not done with the blog, at least 3 days left, plus a recovery post, I must say that this trip has been life changing. The opportunity for me to travel to such a place as Australia has opened my eyes to the availability to education in other places besides the United States. While I always knew it was there, it is beyond word how fortunate I am to have set up a connect with the University of Tasmania. I hope to continue staying in contact with all of the individuals I met.

On another important note, I recommend everyone travel to places outside their comfort zone before they die. Even if it means staying in the United States (for finanacial reasons). While I have been fortunate and have traveled internationally a few times now, I beg parents to never hold their childern back with any fear of the world. Also, I recommend avoiding big tour companies. Plan but very little. Just go for the leap. You won't regret it. Talk to you guys from Sydney.

Cheers.