Raindrops keep falling on my head

BY: KAITLIN

Here's a fact for you, gleaned from all of three days in my new digs in Queensland, Australia. In the rainforest, it rains...a whole heck of a lot. And since I've arrived here, I've been met with an onslaught of it.

One thing I've never realized is how many different varieties of rain there are. There is the slight misting, which you don't notice until your shirt settles uncomfortably across your shoulders. There's the blinding rain, which is so heavy and oppressive you can barely see through the wall of it. And then there's the pitter-pattering rain, like an old friend--constant and familiar as you fall asleep.

The field station I'm studying at is nestled in the heart of the rainforest, and I'm not just saying that. We are smack dab in the middle of it, and that also means dealing with all kinds of creatures.

If ever I was squeamish about bugs or rodents, if ever I proved other than dauntless in the face of a spider, never again!

Three days have passed and already I've been bitten by four leeches, dealt with a centipede the size of a banana, and chased away three-inch spiders. Seriously...this whole place is teeming with all kinds of animals. I wake up to the sound of birds that sound like car alarms or like children screaming, and even in this short span of time, it's no longer starting to faze me.

One thing that did stop me in my tracks happened last night. Heading back on the forest path, with my little flashlight, I saw something move in the corner of my eye. I thought it was the comically bold brush turkey that hangs around the outdoor dining area, and I stopped to take a closer look.

Let me tell you, it wasn't my friend the brush turkey. Staring back at me, with the beady, shiny eyes of an unscared animal, was a bandicoot. In other words, a rodent-like creature bigger than most house cats. Yech!

But so far, I'm really liking it here. I'm getting tougher than I ever thought I could be, and I love that. If you had told me a week ago that I would unflinchingly be able to pull off a leech from my leg and crush it with the bottom of my shoe, I would have laughed in your face. And then laughed some more.

In my next post, I'll talk a little bit more about the program and about those crazy Aussies. (They really do love their short-shorts, I'll tell you that much.)

Until next time, have a g'day, mates!

All my love,
Kaitlin

P.S. I'll try uploading pictures from the rainforest as often as I may. Wireless in the rainforest is pretty difficult, as you can imagine, so I've only uploaded two from Australia so far. Here's the Web address for my Flickr account: http://flickr.com/kaitlinkyi