The first 2 days.

Alright, I have successfully survived the first two days of my new internship with Dolphin Quest Bermuda (DQB). And may I say, whoa.

With any new job or internship, the first days and weeks are going to be stressful, because you're learning everything. There is so much information thrown at you that it's hard to comprehend it all and I know that I for one, get overwhelmed. The first day at DQB was exactly that. So much information thrown at us. Who the dolphins and turtles are, what they eat, how much they eat, why they eat it that way, the husbandry (voluntary medical behaviors) behaviors, which pool is which, where to do laundry, where to do fish prep, how to do laundry and fish prep. The list goes on and on and on. And that's not even making a dent.

My place of work- DQB!

But let me start at the beginning. I woke up at 3:45 on Monday morning to catch my flight at 6 AM to Newark. Earlyyyy. I get on my flight and sit in my seat and a middle-aged man sits next to me. Fine fine jolly good. No. 5 minutes after we get into the air, I hear this grinding noise. My hopeful naive-ness thinks it's gears grinding from the landing gear or something. Wrong again. It's the dude. He's snoring. In my FACE. It was still so early that I was too tired to care. I just laughed at the story I would soon have to tell. But he didn't stop. This guy snored the ENTIRE FLIGHT. People within a 5 foot radius could hear him. And when the flight attendant came through with the drink cart, he just looked at me and laughed. Hysterically. Thanks bro. Fortunately I do have a sense of humor and saw how unfortunately funny it was.

Anyways, had a decent layover in Newark and then hopped on my flight to Bermuda. It was probably one of the most enjoyable landings I've had. The view is gorgeous, and the water is my favorite kind of blue color. You could see the whole island (it's only 21 square miles). Customs and immigration went easily, and off I went. My cab ride was pretty interesting. The roads are SO narrow and winding. They drive on the left here (it is a UK country), and they honk at everyone they know. Since the population of the entire island is the size of Eagan, they know quite a few people. But my driver stopped at Horseshoe Bay and let me take a look. I'll have to make a day trip there. It's a beautiful beach. Absolutely gorgeous.

This is Dockyard- place where ships dock and tourists flock!

My living accomodations are... interesting. I'm living in a hostel, inside an old military fort- that is now a museum. Ha. My room has 12 beds in it- there are 3 of us now, will be 4 this weekend, and in June, every bed will be full. (An archeology class is coming through... woo). Needless to say, it'll be an adventure.

The long white building in front is where I'm living, the large building in back is the Commissioner's House.

One of the views from my front yard. :)

Speaking of adventures. Let me tell you about our epic battle:

Liz, Melissa, Kelsey VS. THE COCKROACH. Nasty.

I was laying on my bed on my computer, and I noticed movement on the wall next to me. An enormous cockroach (close to 3 inches) was skittering up my wall. I freaked out and shot off my bed and pointed it out to Liz. I believe her exact words were, 'Oh no. No. No. No.' (Bear in mind, while I do love most animals, I do not like the creepy crawlies.) It reached the ceiling and started fluttering its gross little wings. So, we summoned Melissa in, and tried to come up with a plan. Our original plan was to kill it before it made it to the floor. Plan A failed. It made it to the floor, and we took to the high bunk beds. We amassed an assortment of weapons: Liz had the swiffer, Melissa had the umbrella, and I had the flashlight. We began moving furniture to find the thing, because we all knew that we wouldn't be able to sleep until it was dead.

Every time it scurried from under something we would all scream and run away. Not effective. Finally we got it under a dresser and when it came out Melissa went nuts and killed it with a shoe. It was admittedly impressive. I don't think I've laughed so hard in my life.

The cockroach killers- from left: Liz, Melissa, myself

And so back to DQB. First day, we got there and pretty much spent the entire time reviewing company policy and understanding our responsibilities, etc. After lunch we got our uniforms, and then we watched some sessions. Which were exciting. I definitely like the way they train there. The trainers and the animals have obvious relationships and there's a huge amount of trust there. The dolphins' names are: Cirrus, Caliban, Cavello, Cooper, Ely, Bailey, and Marly. Haha try to keep that straight. All girls except for little Cooper. :)

Then, after we reviewed some more policy information and basic duties, we got to go in the water!! (My thoughts: EEEP!) We all looked pretty snazzy in our matching swimsuits and rashguards I must say. (For those who don't know, rash guards are those shirts that surfers often wear to prevent getting a body rash from their surfboard.) So we got to sit on a platform and do some basic rubdowns with Cooper and Caliban. (I think it was Caliban) :) Then one by one we got into the water and got to do a special behavior with them. I got to play the piano on Caliban's rostrum and she did a great vocal. I loved it.

After that, it was more learning the basics. After work we all took the bus to the grocery store because we were living off the food we brought. I had had Chex Mix for breakfast that morning. Ha! Bermuda is expensive let me tell you! It's crazy! Something like $6 for 6 apples.

Then we got home, and the cockroach battle ensued, and then I went to bed very tired. Today was a little more interactive at work. We didn't get in the water, but we got to learn more about our basic duties and got our hands a little dirty with fish and such. It was a lot of watching programs and getting guests suited up in wetsuits and life jackets for their encounters.

All I can say is, it's been an adventure so far, and it is definitely an island lifestyle. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon. Hope you enjoyed!

Love, Kels