My Life in Training

It’s been awhile, I realize… So this has the potential to be lengthy. But I will try to summarize.

Things continue to go great here – I can’t believe I’ll be home in 20 days! I’ve made so many friends here, it will be hard to leave them and the relaxed lifestyle I’ve come to love. Since the last post, we’ve had a few BBQ’s and just bonded more while working. From fish prep singing to dancing at backup…

The highlight of the summer came when my parents, aunt, brother, brother’s fiancee, and boyfriend all came to visit. The first thing that everyone noticed, including myself, was how tan I’ve become! Haha. We were able to do a lot together and I was able to get that fix of love to last me until I come home! We did a jet ski tour, beach time, rented boats, snorkeled like crazy, jumped off shipwrecks, ate yummy food, relaxed, took awesome pictures, and, of course, SWAM WITH DOLPHINS. It was so fun to share that with everyone. They all got to see first hand what I’ve been a part of this summer and just how awesome the creatures I work with are. I think everyone was surprised about the intimacy of the program and just how fun the dolphins can be. My parents also got to watch me while I worked one afternoon, helping entertain the dolphins during the program. Nea was pumped up and exciting to watch that program, which was great! I was so sad to see everyone go. Watching my man get on a bus and wave goodbye brought me to tears. Saying goodbye to my parents on their last night was tough for me as well. If any of you are reading this, I love you and I appreciate your love so much – I miss you.

Here are a few of the favorite pictures:

What is awesome about the internship I am a part of, is that we get to see everything: the cleaning, the guest services, the programs, the training, the socilizations, the good times, and the hard times. There are days where you see breakthroughs with the dolphins, there are days where you help with the medical side or things, and there are days where you roll your eyes at the personalities of each animal. We’ve gotten to take part in different sides of a research project going on with the new babies throughout the summer. We got to take part in safely transporting dolphins. Not just dolphins, we’ve made friends with the two sea turtles that call Dolphin Quest home. It has been nothing but amazing.

AND IT ISN’T OVER JUST YET!

I look forward to these last few weeks, soaking up all I can while I am here, spending some quality time with the dolphins, finishing up the lecture series, and continuing to grow closer to awesome friends.

I also look forward to my return and sharing my experience with everyone!