I haven't posted for several days because I was too busy taking pictures my last two days in Sydney to process them. Then in Cairns, the free wifi access in the hotel was rarely available and always s-l-o-w. So I waited until today to buy Internet access so I could upload a bunch of photos at once.
One of the study-abroad traditions Dr. Mike Weigold has created involves an Olympic contest of sorts. We did that after class in the hotel today, on Wednesday, May 29.
Students are randomly assigned to a team and receive a study-abroad t-shirt in a color that represents that team: powder blue, mint green, etc. The games are held wherever we can find a park or open space, which in Cairns was just a few blocks from our hotel.
The first contest was a limbo stick. Half of the members of each team took turns testing their flexibility to see how low they could go. Those who were vertically challenged did not have an advantage in this task; some of our tall fellas displayed an ability to curve the spine that would make a gymnast proud.
The second contest involved everyone on the team passing an Australian orange to each person and back again without using hands. The trick was to get a good grip on the orange with the chin so that the next person, with his or her head tilted at a 90-degree angle, could use the chin to take it away.
The third contest was a new one this year, thanks to our AIFS tour director, the marvelous Laura Masters. She introduced a game that paralleled the orange pass, only this time with extra-large tourist t-shirts readily available in tourist-centered Cairns. The first person wore the t-shirt while holding hands with the next person, standing opposite. The rest of the team pulled the t-shirt over the wearer's back, through the hands, and over the back of the next person.
The final task was a water-balloon toss. Five pairs from each team tried to toss a balloon over ever-increasing distances without letting it break or dropping.
Naturally, such contests involve trash-talking and good-natured ribbing. Some coaches, such as Professor Ann Christiano, encouraged their teams to trick-out their t-shirts and attire to create a more menacing look.
Today's winner was the coral red team, coached by Dr. Andy Selepak.
Check out the pictures for more.
One of the study-abroad traditions Dr. Mike Weigold has created involves an Olympic contest of sorts. We did that after class in the hotel today, on Wednesday, May 29.
Students are randomly assigned to a team and receive a study-abroad t-shirt in a color that represents that team: powder blue, mint green, etc. The games are held wherever we can find a park or open space, which in Cairns was just a few blocks from our hotel.
The first contest was a limbo stick. Half of the members of each team took turns testing their flexibility to see how low they could go. Those who were vertically challenged did not have an advantage in this task; some of our tall fellas displayed an ability to curve the spine that would make a gymnast proud.
The second contest involved everyone on the team passing an Australian orange to each person and back again without using hands. The trick was to get a good grip on the orange with the chin so that the next person, with his or her head tilted at a 90-degree angle, could use the chin to take it away.
The third contest was a new one this year, thanks to our AIFS tour director, the marvelous Laura Masters. She introduced a game that paralleled the orange pass, only this time with extra-large tourist t-shirts readily available in tourist-centered Cairns. The first person wore the t-shirt while holding hands with the next person, standing opposite. The rest of the team pulled the t-shirt over the wearer's back, through the hands, and over the back of the next person.
The final task was a water-balloon toss. Five pairs from each team tried to toss a balloon over ever-increasing distances without letting it break or dropping.
Naturally, such contests involve trash-talking and good-natured ribbing. Some coaches, such as Professor Ann Christiano, encouraged their teams to trick-out their t-shirts and attire to create a more menacing look.
Today's winner was the coral red team, coached by Dr. Andy Selepak.
Check out the pictures for more.
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