Excuse the brag, but I am just bursting with pride today!
I may have mentioned that I had a Very Scary Diversity Exam last Monday. I busted my butt studying, terrified of the D-average last year's class pulled in. Gary's classes are notorious for being responsible for most of the dropouts (or fail-outs.) Everyone is scared of Diversity. It didn't help that on the same day as this first exam we ALSO had two quizzes in the lab portion of Diversity.
However, I am so so so proud to say that we got our first exams back and I got an A!!! Straight A's will put me at the top of the queue for picking animal assignments and manager positions, so I am beyond excited about this grade. Not only that, I totally aced both the lab quizzes. 21/20 points on the slide quiz! I am so good at memorizing incomprehensible latin ;)
Just wanted to share why I am super elated tonight. I am more motivated than I've ever been and working the hardest I've ever had to work, but the prize I have in my eyes is so worth it!
Love and bellyrubs,
Christy
Monday, September 23, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Updates on EATM Life
Hey all! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. We had our first big Diversity exam the same day as our first Wildlife Ed exam AND our slide and lab quizzes. Not only did I have to memorize 30+ more species, I also had to cram 14 chapters worth of information in my already crowded brain. I have never worked so hard before a test that wasn't a final or a midterm. However, I'm happy to say that I feel alright about how it went and best of all I learned how to study for a Gary test. Next one will hopefully be a little less stressful now that I know what to expect!
I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I was elected into Student Council! My fellow members and I have started a merchandise and food table on the weekends to raise money for our class. We're also in charge of planning our Boo at the Zoo event at the end of October. Things are going great so far, we work well together and have been getting a lot done. I'll post more updates about Boo as the event gets closer.
The most exciting thing on the first years' minds right now is the week before Boo at the Zoo. This is known as "Davis Week" to the second years, who will be embarking on a week long field trip. However, for us firsties it is caretaking week. The second years will have left the zoo (and the animals!) completely in our hands.
I volunteered to take on some special assignment animals, ones with special behavioral or medical needs who need extra turnover time. I was assigned to Cain, the chattering lory. I've shadowed his trainers twice already and I am in LOVE. He is such a hoot! He definitely lives up to his name. He has learned all his cues and will repeat them constantly. Circle! Target! Achoo! When Cain is upset and doesn't like what is happening, he will drop his voice and yell "NO." When student have animals out they need a backup, and one of the jobs of the backup is to announce the animal's presence to passerby. During high traffic walk times the Zoo is a chorus of "Emu here!" "Baboon here!" "Horse here!" "Mountain lion here!" Cain has learned from this, and loves to yell "BIRD HERE!" before our backup gets a chance to open her mouth.
Cain also loves tipping over water bottles and playing with casino cups. We gave him a cup in Zoo 2 yesterday and he tackled it, grabbed it with one foot and sprinted about two feet, threw it away from him, and then dove into it so hard it slid forward. No description could possibly convey exactly how hilarious this is to watch, so I'll try to get a video during my time with him. Everyone in the classroom was collapsing with laughter.
Today for Conservation we're going to Point Mugu in Malibu to do a beach cleanup! I still can't believe this is my life.
Till next time,
Christy
I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I was elected into Student Council! My fellow members and I have started a merchandise and food table on the weekends to raise money for our class. We're also in charge of planning our Boo at the Zoo event at the end of October. Things are going great so far, we work well together and have been getting a lot done. I'll post more updates about Boo as the event gets closer.
The most exciting thing on the first years' minds right now is the week before Boo at the Zoo. This is known as "Davis Week" to the second years, who will be embarking on a week long field trip. However, for us firsties it is caretaking week. The second years will have left the zoo (and the animals!) completely in our hands.
I volunteered to take on some special assignment animals, ones with special behavioral or medical needs who need extra turnover time. I was assigned to Cain, the chattering lory. I've shadowed his trainers twice already and I am in LOVE. He is such a hoot! He definitely lives up to his name. He has learned all his cues and will repeat them constantly. Circle! Target! Achoo! When Cain is upset and doesn't like what is happening, he will drop his voice and yell "NO." When student have animals out they need a backup, and one of the jobs of the backup is to announce the animal's presence to passerby. During high traffic walk times the Zoo is a chorus of "Emu here!" "Baboon here!" "Horse here!" "Mountain lion here!" Cain has learned from this, and loves to yell "BIRD HERE!" before our backup gets a chance to open her mouth.
Cain also loves tipping over water bottles and playing with casino cups. We gave him a cup in Zoo 2 yesterday and he tackled it, grabbed it with one foot and sprinted about two feet, threw it away from him, and then dove into it so hard it slid forward. No description could possibly convey exactly how hilarious this is to watch, so I'll try to get a video during my time with him. Everyone in the classroom was collapsing with laughter.
Today for Conservation we're going to Point Mugu in Malibu to do a beach cleanup! I still can't believe this is my life.
Till next time,
Christy
Sunday, September 1, 2013
All Day Area
This Saturday two of my roommates and I had our first "ADA": All Day Area. During the weekends, only a few of the students are required to be at the zoo to keep things running while the public are here. We are still required to be here for morning Area every week (this morning we cleaned for the Lemurs, Samantha the gibbon, and the Capuchin troop again) but only have to come in for the full day roughly once a month.
The first hour of ADA is always what we call "projects." These are tasks that occasionally need to be done around the zoo, and often include things like repairs and maintenance. For example, one of the projects for Saturday morning involved cleaning out the inside and outside of one of the zoo vans. Projects hour usually wraps up around the time that the public is arriving at 11. Usually each station is only assigned one student, but since the first years are learning the ropes we were shadowing the second years in pairs.
After projects hour, my group headed over to Primate Watch. We stood in the blazing sun, trying not to collapse in the humidity, smiling at guests and making sure the kids didn't get to rowdy around Malay, our temperamental Siamang. Primate etiquette says that you should never stare or point at the primates, as they can interpret it as a sign of aggression. They can also get extremely riled up if people are running, shouting, or rough housing. Primate Watch exists to make sure these rules are followed and that all our animals and guests are happy.
After Primate Watch, we headed inside to the refreshingly air conditioned Zoo 2 classroom for a long lunch before our second year left to man the ticket booth and my fellow first year and I sat down at the computer lab to be trained on Dailies. Because a zoo relies so much upon good communication and meticulous record keeping, everything is written down on daily reports. Leftovers, medications, diets, positive checks (making sure the nocturnal animals are still alive and well), and any abnormal health concerns. We also record all behavior enrichment or training activity. These enormous piles of paperwork then need to be entered into a very primitive computer program so that they are easily accessible at all times, and this is where the training comes in. There were a lot of very particular rules and requirements about the way the information needed to be entered, but we got the hang of it all pretty quickly and headed out to join our second year in Tickets ten minutes early.
After our hour in the ticket booth (my favorite - it allows lots of time to catch up on studying and the booth is air conditioned) we headed out for a Round. Since my fellow first year had never attempted one before, my second year let me lead for the half of the zoo that I was familiar with. I felt pretty confident with the procedure, and it was definitely satisfying to check off the seemingly endless list of checks and tasks with barely any help.
We ended our day at Clarence's enclosure for Galap Watch, making sure the guests kept their fingers away from the 90-year-old 500-pound tortoise's mouth. Part of Galap Watch at the end of the day also involves making sure Clarence puts himself to bed, and closing him off in his shed. However, the shed was 117 degrees yesterday and Clarence was having none of that, so we closed the flaps of the shed without him and let him chill in the shade.
At the end of Galap watch we went around the zoo collecting all the Dailies, which we then brought back to Zoo 2 to check. We made sure all the animals had been signed for in the feeding log and that all of them had gotten the correct medication at the correct times, and then we headed home after a long and exhausting day to study until we dropped.
Working here is a bag of such insanely mixed feelings and emotions. I can hardly believe all the amazing things I'm doing and experiencing. This morning I was closing off the capuchin bedroom and one of them reached out and tried to pull my hair. A monkey tried to pull my hair! I'm feeding bananas to lemurs and navigating out of reach of Samantha the gibbon's very long arms, and all of it is so cool I just want to look around and say did anyone see that?? Of course they did, but as we're all experiencing the same things together no one else seems to think it's as cool as I do. One of the hardest things about being here is not being able to share these experiences with my family as effectively as I want to. I wish everyone from home could see this, could follow me around for the day and experience what I experience. I wish you could hear the cacophony of noise the primates make as we arrive in area in the mornings, starting slow with Sam's high pitched squeak of a chatter and building as the Siamangs join in with their booming yells. I wish I could accurately convey what it feels like to walk to school at 6:30 in the morning and hear a lioness's deafening roar. I wish you could hear the emus drumming or see Scout the coati excitedly emerge from her hammock when she hears her name or understand how funny it is when Cain the lory repeatedly chatters "Bird here! Bird here!"
Of all the insanely difficult things about this program - the long hours, the manual labor, the impossible amounts of homework and studying, the terrifying lack of money - I think the hardest of them all is being here alone. There are days I wish I could hop on a plane and fly home to what is comfortable and familiar and safe. But if I really think about it, I know I belong with these animals. As hard as the next two years will be (and as insanely expensive...) I know I'm heading towards a prize that is beyond what most people could ever dream of. And somehow, all of this will be worth it in the end.
That's all for today. Don't forget to send me any questions you have!
Love and bellyrubs,
Christy
The first hour of ADA is always what we call "projects." These are tasks that occasionally need to be done around the zoo, and often include things like repairs and maintenance. For example, one of the projects for Saturday morning involved cleaning out the inside and outside of one of the zoo vans. Projects hour usually wraps up around the time that the public is arriving at 11. Usually each station is only assigned one student, but since the first years are learning the ropes we were shadowing the second years in pairs.
After projects hour, my group headed over to Primate Watch. We stood in the blazing sun, trying not to collapse in the humidity, smiling at guests and making sure the kids didn't get to rowdy around Malay, our temperamental Siamang. Primate etiquette says that you should never stare or point at the primates, as they can interpret it as a sign of aggression. They can also get extremely riled up if people are running, shouting, or rough housing. Primate Watch exists to make sure these rules are followed and that all our animals and guests are happy.
After Primate Watch, we headed inside to the refreshingly air conditioned Zoo 2 classroom for a long lunch before our second year left to man the ticket booth and my fellow first year and I sat down at the computer lab to be trained on Dailies. Because a zoo relies so much upon good communication and meticulous record keeping, everything is written down on daily reports. Leftovers, medications, diets, positive checks (making sure the nocturnal animals are still alive and well), and any abnormal health concerns. We also record all behavior enrichment or training activity. These enormous piles of paperwork then need to be entered into a very primitive computer program so that they are easily accessible at all times, and this is where the training comes in. There were a lot of very particular rules and requirements about the way the information needed to be entered, but we got the hang of it all pretty quickly and headed out to join our second year in Tickets ten minutes early.
After our hour in the ticket booth (my favorite - it allows lots of time to catch up on studying and the booth is air conditioned) we headed out for a Round. Since my fellow first year had never attempted one before, my second year let me lead for the half of the zoo that I was familiar with. I felt pretty confident with the procedure, and it was definitely satisfying to check off the seemingly endless list of checks and tasks with barely any help.
We ended our day at Clarence's enclosure for Galap Watch, making sure the guests kept their fingers away from the 90-year-old 500-pound tortoise's mouth. Part of Galap Watch at the end of the day also involves making sure Clarence puts himself to bed, and closing him off in his shed. However, the shed was 117 degrees yesterday and Clarence was having none of that, so we closed the flaps of the shed without him and let him chill in the shade.
At the end of Galap watch we went around the zoo collecting all the Dailies, which we then brought back to Zoo 2 to check. We made sure all the animals had been signed for in the feeding log and that all of them had gotten the correct medication at the correct times, and then we headed home after a long and exhausting day to study until we dropped.
Working here is a bag of such insanely mixed feelings and emotions. I can hardly believe all the amazing things I'm doing and experiencing. This morning I was closing off the capuchin bedroom and one of them reached out and tried to pull my hair. A monkey tried to pull my hair! I'm feeding bananas to lemurs and navigating out of reach of Samantha the gibbon's very long arms, and all of it is so cool I just want to look around and say did anyone see that?? Of course they did, but as we're all experiencing the same things together no one else seems to think it's as cool as I do. One of the hardest things about being here is not being able to share these experiences with my family as effectively as I want to. I wish everyone from home could see this, could follow me around for the day and experience what I experience. I wish you could hear the cacophony of noise the primates make as we arrive in area in the mornings, starting slow with Sam's high pitched squeak of a chatter and building as the Siamangs join in with their booming yells. I wish I could accurately convey what it feels like to walk to school at 6:30 in the morning and hear a lioness's deafening roar. I wish you could hear the emus drumming or see Scout the coati excitedly emerge from her hammock when she hears her name or understand how funny it is when Cain the lory repeatedly chatters "Bird here! Bird here!"
Of all the insanely difficult things about this program - the long hours, the manual labor, the impossible amounts of homework and studying, the terrifying lack of money - I think the hardest of them all is being here alone. There are days I wish I could hop on a plane and fly home to what is comfortable and familiar and safe. But if I really think about it, I know I belong with these animals. As hard as the next two years will be (and as insanely expensive...) I know I'm heading towards a prize that is beyond what most people could ever dream of. And somehow, all of this will be worth it in the end.
That's all for today. Don't forget to send me any questions you have!
Love and bellyrubs,
Christy
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