The Animal Mix

Hey guys the first time I uploaded this video the quality was really bad. So I decided to try again. These are just various shots I got from different shows throughout the park during our orientation days.

All On Our Own

Well guys the time has come for us new interns to step up. Today was the old interns last day and even though I finally have two days off (Saturday and Sunday) I know when I go back that it's showtime. No more old interns to hold our hand and help us out. It's all up to us now. Let's show 'em what we got Summer 2011 interns! Good music in Fish House today, of all the things I thought I would be doing while listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana sorting capelin fish was never one of them :) Oh well just another fascinating experience in this internship. The video is a collection of highlights from the show I will be participating in called the Cove Dolphin Show.

Welcome to the Fish House

Well today was my first day in Fish House, as you could probably figure out it is the house where we sort all of the fish. The fish come in from the freezer in 20-30lb blocks the night before and they are thaw controlled throughout the night in the fish house. It is pretty cold and very wet in there because we use hoses to finish thawing the fish and then to wash literally the entire room after the fish is sorted (including walls and doors scrubbed with soap and washed thoroughly with hoses). Right now I am only cleared on sorting capelin. We only use the males because the females being filled with eggs could cause problems throughout the day by bursting and such. So there I am in fish house hosing and sorting and singing along to a spring intern from England's ipod shuffle when low and behold I got a throw back to my middle school days. The next song that came up on the speakers was none other than "Bring the House Down" from my all time favorite band S Club 7. It was surreal to say the least, but it put me in a really good mood. One good thing about coming into work at the Fish House at 6am was that Sea Life gives you a free breakfast. Today was pancakes :). The rest of the day went pretty much the same set up for sea lion feeds, scrub buckets, watch the 12:30 dolphin show, scrub buckets, observe gating procedures......and scrub buckets. It's really not that bad but there is a lot of cleaning involved. Got a few more pictures to add today. One is just me killing time getting ready this morning and the others are of the amazing view I get to look at everyday!!!  My first day off is this coming Saturday...it will be nice to be able to relax and be on a Hawaiian beach, which is something I have been too busy to do so far.

The First Two Days

These last two days have been crazy. I am in the Cove area at the park and it is a super fast paced place to be. I've learned a lot about the dolphins in cove including their names and species and a few of their ages. I've also learned about gating or "moving around" the dolphins for shows and what all is involved in basic care and health needs for these animals. Besides all that I am well on my way to learning the names and identifications of the 11 sea lions in the cove area, all the while trying to take in the scheduling and proper cleaning and logistical procedures involved in working at cove. It is by no means an easy area to work in, but I know I am learning from some of the best in the world and it can be very rewarding and fun if I just put in the time and effort to soak up everything and make the most of my 14 weeks here, which I fully intend to do. All my house-mates are amazing and some of the coolest people I know. Right now I am sleeping on an air mattress that sits on top of a futon until the old interns move out but its not bad there's just a lot my stuff that isn't as organized and easily accessible as I would like right now. I just got back from the Aloha party at the park. Since Aloha means "hello" and "goodbye" in Hawaiian it was a party saying goodbye to the old interns and hello to us new ones coming in. I've gotten to know a few of the old interns and it will be a little sad to see them leave. The park gave them leis and allowed the old interns to take a professional photo with their favorite animal in their area. I am enjoying Hawaii soo much!! The scenery I get to look at everyday is literally breath taking! This summer is going to be so cool.

And So It Begins

The orientation is done!! I have learned so much in two days but I am ready to start the actual work experience tomorrow. In the words of Spongebob "I'm Ready I'm Ready" :)

Aloha from my new Island Home

Well I did it...I got up this morning at 3am Alabama time and left my small town life for a summer in Oahu Hawaii. I said my sad goodbyes to my mom and fiancee and walked behind the TSA check point...with my Tri-beta Bio-hazard shirt on, which I now realize is probably not the best thing to wear when one is spending all day walking around various airports. The flight from Huntsville to Dallas was good, although I'm pretty sure the guy beside me was getting motion sickness. Then a 4 hour lay over in Dallas where I simply walked around in various shops and had a nice lunch at Bennigins. It was kinda lonely and kinda scary to know that I was that far away from anyone I knew if something happened, but at the same time it was a level of independence I have never felt before, it was odd but cool. Then came what I am told was only an 8 hour plane ride although to me it felt like I was on there for double that time. It probably didn't help that I got a seat in the center of the plane scrunched in between three other rows of people on either side, and the one movie I was actually interested in watching on the plane was Shrek and it was in Spanish!!! I landed in Honolulu at 4:20pm Hawaii time so add five hours to that to get Alabama time and as I am writing this right now it is 10:30pm Hawaii time so again add 5 hours and you'll see how long I have been awake. I am living with a couple of really cool trainers in Hawaii Kai. The first day of the internship starts Tuesday!!!  This trip has taught this shireling so much already but like Bilbo said "The Road Goes Ever On and On". My traveling is done but my adventure is just beginning. 

The following pictures are various views from the condo I am living in:

This last picture is just a really cool hand painted sign that the trainer I'm living with has up by the TV. It is a bunch of different painted images that spell the word "Aloha"