Emily
Accounting Major

Hello from hot Alice Springs. We just arrived here yesterday and were greeted with heat over 100 degrees. Alice is in the heart of the outback where the flies outnumber the people. Other than these slight annoyances, Alice is a unique part of Australia. It has been said to be a place where the cultures clash, meaning the Aboriginals and Australians.

Today we started out early on our adventures through Alice Springs. We first went to the Alice Springs Desert Park. There we walked around a park where we saw some unique desert creatures and an interesting bird show. During the bird show we were able to see birds of prey indigenous to this area up close. The guides of the show would bring out food to coax the birds down to the dirt in front of our seats. Our next stop was the School of the Air. When I first heard School of the Air, I really had no idea what it was all about, so I was quite surprised to find out it is actually a school that is done entirely over the air waves. There we watched a video about the school and how they are a school for preschool to age 13 for children all throughout the Outback. There are many remote places in Australia where there are very few children for hundreds of kilometers, so this is a unique school where they have classes over the radio and are able to connect with other children. From there we went to the Flying Doctors Station. This operation provides medical service by plane to people in the Outback. Just like the School of the Air, this service caters to the cattle ranchers, park rangers, aboriginal communities and other people who live in remote places of the Outback. Flying Doctors send out doctors and nurses to emergency situations over a vast area of the country where they would otherwise have no help.

All the things we saw and learned about today represented more of what I thought Australia would be like, an open and somewhat-empty country. It is amazing to think that in a country the size of the lower 48 states, its population is only 20 million. Alice Springs is a place that is opening my eyes to another part of Australia and its people and the tension that exists between the Aborigines and the Australians. Overall this trip has been a great chance to really experience another culture and see it from an inside perspective. I'm excited for what the next few days hold and anticipate a great end to a wonderful trip!

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