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From: Rusk, Angela Hello everyone:) I hope that all is well in Indiana. I hear that the news in Indiana has been reporting about the Cyclone that hit Innisfail (Northern/Northeast Queensland), Australia. They hit in the state of Queensland. For a geography lesson....Queensland is the Northeast part of the country. One of the main cities that most people might be familiar with is Cairns. This is the city where most tourists travel to to go and tour the Great Barrier Reef. It is actually that city that I have been to as well, to take a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef to scuba dive. Reports have stated that the cyclone hit approximately 40km south of Cairns, and there are not any current reports as to how much damage was done to the barrier reef. The towns and all of the sugar cane and banana crops that were hit have been quite devastated. New Orleans has been mentioned briefly in some reports and that Australia hopes that the devastation isn't as great over here. Fear of disease is a big concern at this time as it is the tropical region of Australia. The storms have not affected our weather in Southeast Australia. I have had some questions about my host Rotary Club. For another geography lesson, Melbourne University is located in a location the city of Melbourne called Parkville/Carlton. My host Rotary Club is the Carlton Rotary Club. The club meets across the street from the main block of campus at a university owned building called The Graduate House. The Carlton Club is very comparable to the Attica-Williamsport Rotary Club in size. There are approximately 40 members in the club. The club meets weekly on Tuesdays at 1pm. A majority of the members (according to my impressions) appears to be male. Ironically, several members have connections with family members or close associates who are physiotherapists. I have already been invited to join a Rotarian and his friend for supper within the next couple of months. One other Rotarian stated that his wife was also a retired Paediatric Physiotherapist who travelled with him to set up Physiotherapy clinics in several Middle East cities and countries. I have met with the 3 other active Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars who are attending the University of Melbourne. Ryan is from Kansas, Mary is from Alabama, and Momo is from Japan. We have been meeting in preparation for the 9800 District Conference this March 31-April 2, 2006. We are planning to present a mock interview process to introduce ourselves and why we chose to attend the University of Melbourne, explain how we learned of this scholarship and experience, what we plan on doing while in Australia. We are also going to discuss our first impressions of the country and differences between our countries. Another question is what we have brought with us to share with the Australian culture. I have quickly stated that I am very proud to have so many state quarters. My fellow scholars also felt that was a neat idea. Since this is a large city I am located in, I will also be able to present them with a smaller home town perspective and also bring some agricultural and farming background with me as well. I will send an up-dated e-mail to let everyone know how the presentation and District Conference went. My Pediatric Physiotherapy courses are going well and keeping me quite busy. In the Master of Physiotherapy by Coursework course there are approximately 30 full and part time students. In my pediatric stream specifically, there are 5 fulltime/part-time students and 5 postgraduate certificate students. We will be starting our clinical placements shortly; however, we were delayed in starting these due to the Commonwealth Games being held in Melbourne. I have been enjoying watching the various Commonwealth Games sporting events on the television. I was also able to purchase a ticket to attend the morning session of the Athletics sports and watched the men's high jump, mens 200 and 400 meter races, the decathlon, and some of my favorites.. the EAD events. EAD stands for Elite Athletes with Disabilities. These athletes have been included (participating against each other) on the same days and nights as the elite athletes without disabilities compete. So, you might watch 10 swimming races with the Commonwealths best athletes and then watch a couple races with the Commonwealth's Elite Athletes with Disabilities. I really enjoy how they have been included and not placed in separate Games. I was also able to do some quick traveling this past weekend and went to Warrnambool for the weekend. Warrnambool is a smaller city of approximately 25,000 4 1/2 hours away from Glen Waverely by train. It was nice to visit a smaller city. While there I was taken to a nature preserve where I was able to see a couple of Koala bears and a couple of Emu as well. (YES I DO HAVE PLENTY OF PICTURES) Most of the time Koala bears are quite dormant animals as their main food source (/Eucalyptus/gum tree leaves) does not provide much nutrients to allow large times of movement; however, I was lucky enough to have the koala bear wake up, move around in his branch, and then as we were driving away I saw him move from branch to branch. I was quite excited! I hope that everyone has a good week. I saw on the news that a large winter storm was headed your direction. I hope that the towns aren't hit too badly! Sincerely, Angela
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