Before dinner last night, Bill, Sonia, Williams and I had a bottle of “Lady Elliot” red (i.e., bad cabernet sauvignon) on the beach as we watched the sun set over the glass snorkeling boat, rolling gently in the outgoing tide. Humpbacked whales spouted just off shore. I will miss this adventurous and relaxed group of academics! I took photos of a particular tree that I’d seen on my runs around the island. Sonia informed me that it was a pandanus tree, held by the aborigines as sacred and a character in many of their stories. I can pick ‘em. Sonia treated me to an early morning Tai Chi lesson on the airstrip, and it was off to Brisbane airport for the night, and then homeward bound.

In one of William’s lectures about the life of coral reefs, we learned that 50-70% of them are threatened, mostly due to human impact coupled with a warming climate. By the year 2100, the earth’s reefs will be gone, completely bleached (bleached=dead) due to rising sea temperatures. It’s hard to believe that anything could hurt these huge creature-filled underwater worlds of endless motion and color. Reducing our carbon footprint, especially as Americans, couldn’t be more important (very happy to work for a green company!). These students - studying, living, and learning here - are seeing and feeling this first-hand. Perhaps that’s the start of turning it all around.

Good-bye
That’s the end of it folks. It’s off by small charter plane to Brisbane, then to L.A., then back to Boston. I’ve enjoyed writing about the countries, people, and unis that I work with. I hope it’s been somewhat helpful to you, whether you’re a student, an advisor, a professor, or a wishful world traveler. I’m heartened to know firsthand what a great education our students are getting in New Zealand and in Australia. As I think about leaving, I’m already scheming for how I can come back here again…