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Dispatches from the Field Archive:
Michelle Di Fiore

Koala Bears and the Great Ocean Road

Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 20 -- It is hard to realize that we only have a few weeks left in Melbourne and that soon we will have to say goodbye to the friends that we have made down here.  To make sure that we live each moment to the max, our sightseeing and adventures continue.  A few weeks ago we took a tour of the Great Ocean Road, which hugs Melbourne’s beautiful coastline for more than 400 kilometers.  We left our hotel early in the morning for a day full of windy roads and postcard-perfect scenery.

Our tour guide, Eddie, explained that the Great Ocean Road is known for its three main parts: the Surf Coast, the Green Coast and Shipwreck Coast.

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Meeting Penguins and Kangaroos

Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 6 -- Cars racing on the left side of the road are no longer a shock but just the norm. I no longer think in Pacific Standard Time except when I make calls home, where everyone laughs when they think that my day is ending while theirs is about to begin. After a month of coping with 12-degree weather, riding around Melbourne in trains and eating meat pies for dinner, I can finally say that I am adjusted to life here in Australia.

I even finally had a close encounter with this country’s best-known native animal, the kangaroo.

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Hospitality and Research

Melbourne, Australia, July 16 -- This summer, instead of filling my suitcases with swimsuits, towels and sunglasses, I stuffed it full of scarves, jackets and socks.  Then I took an 18-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean to Melbourne, Australia, with four other UCSD students.

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