Adventuring :)

Alright, so I guess I'm beyond overdue for a post. I apologize to everyone for my delay. I've been very busy these past couple of weeks!

So I'll start with work. We interns have been making lots of progress. We've started talking during the programs and sharing dolphin information with the guests, as well as doing a few behaviors. I don't remember if I've mentioned DDAs before, but I'll talk about them anyway. DDA stands for Daily Dolphin Assessment. Basically it's a series of layouts that we do with the animals to check their bodies over for any scratches or injuries. We do it every morning and throughout the day. It's part of our extensive husbandry (medical behavior) routine. So they taught us interns how to do the layouts and we've been doing them in programs. It's very exciting to be able to contribute and have the animal respond to you. We've also started learning how to do those DDAs 'deep', which means that we are swimming while we do them. It's definitely different doing a behavior with an animal when you're deep, because you are fully in their environment, and it's harder to see them because you're on a lower visual level.

I'm sure you all remember my buddy Challenger. He's still hanging out, and we are feeding him and doing talks fairly often on the microphone to the guests. It's not as scary anymore, but I still feel like I talk too fast. I just like feeding him. His gaspy breaths still freak me out a little. The other day he took a breath and some lettuce shot out of his throat at me. That was... nice. (Not.)

But work has been keeping me really busy, and I'm trying really hard to progress and take initiative. It's a bit more difficult for me than the other girls I think, and I think it's because I'm shy. Takes me a little while to break out of my shell. Oh well, I'll get there. This is something that I want so badly, and I am not going to let my shyness get in the way.

Sunset off the ferry.

As far as Bermuda adventures go, I'll start with the most recent. My fellow intern Chelsea and I (yeah, I know, Chelsea Kelsey. Everyone says it.) went to the beach this Fourth of July. We got coolers and had some drinks and snacks with us, and it was a lot of fun. The beaches are BEAUTIFUL here. I don't like leaving them to go home. The only thing I will say, is I wish all of them had showers so you could rinse off the sand. I'm still finding sand in places it shouldn't be haha! But we spent the entire day at the beach and then wandered around a little outdoor night market here in Dockyard. Sadly, there were no fireworks. It's a shame, because it's my favorite holiday, but it's super expensive to import them here and pay for the show.

Panorama of the beach.

Fourth of July. :) Rough life.

We also adventured to the town of St. George a few weeks ago, and just traveled around. We put ourselves in the town stocks, which was an experience. I can definitely say I'm glad I didn't live in the medieval times, because I would have HATED being stuck in those things for a day or two. Eep!

Chelsea and I in the stocks.

The interns did a tour of the Casemates as well. Casemates used to be a soldier's barracks way back in the day- when the fort was functioning. It was also used as a prison for awhile, and is now abandoned. The museum is trying to raise money to renovate it and open it as an exhibit. The maintenance man- Andrew- took the interns and a bunch of DQ people and the archeology students that lived here on a tour of it. It was a fun time had by all. Definitely interesting, and beautiful views.

All the DQ interns at our Casemates tour! Back three from left: Annie, Chelsea, Kayla. Middle three: Liz, Lindsey, Melissa. And then me! :)

Aside from those big adventures, we've gone to Harbor Nights (which is a street festival in Hamilton) on Wednesdays, and toured around Hamilton a little bit. I will say I miss places like Target, as American as that sounds. It's nice to have one store where you can go and get everything that you need. I have found a place that sells postcards and stamps, so if you want a postcard, message me your address! :)

So I will try my hardest to update this thing more frequently. I feel like I always get so caught up in living life here that I forget to sit down and write it out. I miss all of you back home. While I am living quite the adventure here, I do miss my homeland. :) If you see my dogs, hug them. If you go to the zoo, thank God that it's still open, tell the dolphins and otters I say what's up, and that I miss them.

I hope you're all well and kicking! I hope to see many of you when I'm home for 6 days before shipping off to Vancouver to do this all over again! Love love.