VanCity Livin'

Alright yo.

So I have some time to blog now, and I figure I owe everyone an update. (Plus, I Skyped my mom, and she said I really should blog.)

So much has happened in the past few weeks. This new internship is totally different from the ones I've done in the past. But then again, they were all different from each other in many ways, so in a sense it's nothing new- but all new. Make sense?

We start out in fish house. Fish house is not like fish prep at my other internships. Fish prep for those usually started out in the early morning, and was only a few hours. From there you would go about other daily duties, etcetera. Fish house lasts all day. For as many animals as we have, it is an all-day thing. It's a lot of work, but it's so intensely important to how the facility and departments run that you begin to develop a real understanding for everything that goes on.

I've beeng getting more exposure to my daily duties, which is nice and exciting. I have gotten to watch more beluga sessions, and even seen a few otter talks, which I love. The otters are so cute and fluffy. :) They're funny when they groom themselves. OTTER FACT: otters will hold hands to keep from drifting apart while they sleep. (Cue the 'aww's)

So one main difference I've noticed between this internship and Dolphin Quest, besides the difference in animals, is the uniform. Dolphin Quest I was in a bathing suit, nearly 24/7. At VanAqua, I wear: a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, my short sleeve intern t-shirt, thick wool socks, yoga pants, waterproof work pants, tall rubber boots, a hat, and occasionally my raincoat. Oh yeah. Talk about layers. We also have shorts, a fleece, and Keens (a type of shoe) as part of our uniform. Clothes clothes clothes. And we all smell like fish. All the time. It's bad. Haha! (If you're my friend on Facebook, there is a lovely picture of me posted in my uniform. Oh yeahhhh.)

Aside from that we've been trying to learn our animal FAQs and just gather our bearings and try to learn all our information. It's been a busy, educational time.

Some of you may have seen the very very sad news we had last week. Our youngest beluga, Tiqa, died on Friday morning. Losing an animal is one of the saddest things I have ever experienced. For animal trainers, it is akin to losing a family member. It is something I would not wish on anyone. That day was so sad, and it was all I could think to do to just do my duties and get everything done on time and done right. As horrible as it is, it is part of the job. Thank you to everyone who expressed support and condolences for the aquarium and the staff in this difficult time.

I'll do my best to take some pictures and get stuff uploaded. Along with more updates.

Love you all.