Livin' the Dream: Dolphin Cove Internship!: Creating a lifestyle down here in the Keys!

I think it has been about a week since I've blogged, sorry about that! Lately I've just been enjoying my days at work and spending time with my new friends down here.

Last Friday we went to a dance recital that was based off of Peter Pan. There were dancers of all ages, ranging from 3 years old to seniors in high school. It was entertaining and fun to do something different.

Saturday was probably my favorite day at work I've had so far. There are three main types of swimming programs offered at Dolphin Cove. The structured swim is a more "high energy" program, it involves behaviors such as foot pushes, dorsal toes, and superman through the water. The shallow water encounter is a program that takes place on a platform. It's great for younger kids who want to interact with dolphins. They get to do behaviors like rubs, kisses, handshakes, but also get a close up of the dolphins to see their anatomy. The last main swimming program is called a natural swim. It is actually unique to Dolphin Cove and their sister facility, Dolphins Plus. It's a program where swimmers get to snorkel wearing a mask and fins with the dolphins in their own environment. The trainers are not asking them to do any behaviors nor are they feeding them any fish. You have the chance to swim along side with them and sometimes if they invite you, you can dive down with them and swim side by side underwater. So far I have participated in a structured and a shallow water program, but, on Saturday I got to participate in all three! It was my first time doing the natural swim as well. I felt like I was in the water more than I was working. After the natural swim the trainers and I got to hang out on one of the platforms for a good half hour just playing, holding, kissing, and rubbing the dolphins as they came to investigate what we were doing. It was very enriching for them, first we all get in the water to swim...and then we stay and hangout to play some more? They loved it, but probably not as much as I did! :)

For my day off on Sunday I went to the Wild Bird Center here in the Keys. We actually donate any fish we don't use for our dolphins to their facility. The guy that works there recognized me from when he comes to pick up the fish and he gave me a behind the scenes tour of the facility. He saw me trying to take pictures through the gates of each of the birds and decided to let me go in each of the cages to get some better shots. It was awesome. I even got to feed some of the pelicans they have there. However, I couldn't leave with out a little bit of an incident. He let me hold one of the cockatoos so I could get a picture with it. The bird decided not to stay on my arm and climbed his way up my shoulder. After the picture, the guy tried to take the bird off of me and he wouldn't move. His talons were digging into me so hard he was making me bleed. He was also violently trying to bite the guy anytime his hands came near to grab him. The guy's exact words were: "He must really like you..." (hmm, the feeling was not mutual). He finally grabbed a towel to take him off of me, and as a last effort to stay on me the bird turned around and tried to hold onto my shoulder with his beak, leaving a nice puncture in my skin. Despite all of that, though, I had a great time LOL!

Work is still as awesome as ever. I am getting cleared on more and more things every day. I definitely have the hang of the routine and all of us interns can initiate tasks throughout the day without being asked. I have also been giving a briefing to the public at least once a day. I am completely comfortable with it now, and I have had many people compliment me telling I did a great job! :)

Last night was Holly's 21st birthday. The girls and I went to my favorite restaurant down here called the Big Chill. Coincidently, they have Ladies Night every Tuesday from 6-7 pm, free drinks! I think she had a good time lol. I was driving so I enjoyed watching her while I sipped on my diet coke :) It is a great place to hang out at. They had live music and some of the songs we just had to get up and dance to (cupid's shuffle and the electric slide!!). There is also a magician that does a show there every Tuesday night as well. This guy was AMAZING!! He was even on America's Got Talent. His name was Michael Tricks and was pulling live birds out of thin air, it was very entertaining!!

Today was another day off for me and I just relaxed and got some stuff done. I cleaned my entire place and read a lot too. It was a very relaxing day. I go back to work again tomorrow, so it will probably be an early night for me. I finally have some pictures to attach from recent adventures, yay! :)

Goodnight!