The End.

My internship and summer have drawn to a close... This was an absolutely amazing experience. It was good to get out of Maryland. I experienced the running of a business other than MD DNR, I networked with many amazing people, and I built up amazing experiences I taught various ages and various class lengths. I handled many animals and learned about even more. I went behind the scenes at many places and learned many facts. I taught many curriculums and various attitudes in children. I observed classes in my spare time, and diversified my knowledge and expereinces at every opportunity. I worked at the gift shop and expanded my customer service and retail skills. I learned to live on my own: do laundry, buy and cook food, budget, etc. I even learned to loosen up and just live a little. There are lots of good, safe and cheap ways to have fun! I made so many friends. Bird Show, Cat Show, Education, Softball, and many more friends that will last a lifetime... I miss it so much. If only I could afford to do another summer in Cincinnati..... I feel like this experience was the best thing i could have ever done with my summer and would not trade it for all the gold in the world.

Until Next Internship (summer '10?).
~Elena

The End is Very Near

The end is so close I can almost taste it.... and it is sad. I taught 4 and 5 year olds this past week. They were so tearful... Ive never seen little kids cry so much. 3 year old, 45 minute, specialty classes are fun, but odd... so short.... im not sure if I like them or not. 4-5 year old Predators Tricks of the Trade is more fun, but the birds we had to see were always hiding, which made for a lame hike.... Arinn left me this morning. My room looks lonely and empty... its sad to go in.... We presented out final projects yesturday. It went well. Then i went with Eunice and Kim and Kyle to the Reds VS Nationals game... Nationals won!! it was a blast. Well, thats all for now.

Until Next Time
~Elena

Behind the Scenes and Summer Camp gone WILD

So this week was uneventful camp-wise, with the exception of the crazy storms thursday night that caused power outages. I drove the girls to the bar in a torrential downpour.. i couldnt see more than 2 feet in front of the car... but i dropped em off and camp home to no power... Amber, Becca, Arinn and I watched Maid of Honor and Fired Up around small portable DVD players and my laptop... we were up til about midnight, then the power came on and I showered, but it went off again shortly after that, and was off until about 8:40am.. they at first thought camp would be cancelled but then they said that the zoo would be closed and camp would be on, which would have been awful because then the bird show and cheetah show wouldnt happen and the indoor exhibits would be closed, and those were the only things i had planned for that day, but fortunately the power came on right before camp started... So on saturday we went to The Wilds, which is a safari adventure like Jurrasic Park only real animals instead of Dinosaurs..... we had so much fun, but im pretty sure that it was only fun because of the people i spent it with (Education Summer Camp Staff) and not because of the activities we did.... Sunday i went behind the scenes at Manatees... then cheetah show.. cool behind the scenes both places but cheetah was crowded.. im gonnna see if i can go back sometime when it is less crowded so i can maybe play with Tommy lots and run around the yard... good stuff.... anyways this week is my first week with 4-5 year olds since like week 2.... and my first time by myself with 4-5 full day... we are in Wolf Woods which is actually rather convenient because of its central location except for the long hike back to the Ed. building at the end of the day.... thats a doozy..... but Amber is fun to teach with, so it will be ok.... more later, after this week is over..

Until Next Time,
~Elena

All Girls Class, Behind the Scenes, and The End is Near )-:-)

So this week was another week of teaching Animal Myth Busters... week 7 of that curriculum I believe. I am the myth master. I dont even have to glance at my curriculum anymore. I just know it! I had all girls in my class. It wasnt scheduled to be that way, but the other person teaching my curriculum had 11 kids in her class and I only had three, so I was told we had to even the classes out, but evening out without seperating friends left us with only one girl in the other class, so i took 8 girls and Chelsea had 6 boys. I love working with girls because they are so much more willing to do things like sing songs and act goofy, which is what makes camp so much fun. Then yesturday, Kim took us behind the scenes at the bird show. It was so much fun to see everything from a workers perspective instead of from the audience. I love the birds. Then we went and saw Alle at the Children's Zoo and I played with the farm animals. The sheep were not as friendly as mine are at home, but the goats definately were, and the cows were cool too! It was good to have a little piece of home life in the middle of the zoo. Friday night I went out to Fountain Square with Alicia and Eunice and some of the other zoo people to listen to some Indie music. We had ice cream and rode on Segways and just hung out. It was a great time. Then we squeezed 6 people into Alicia's Mustang to make it home. Grant, Colleen, and I in the back seat, Alle across our laps, and then Eunice and Alicia in the front... Cozy doesnt even begin to describe it!! Its starting to sink in that the end is very near. I'm ready to come home to Maryland, but I am not ready to leave the friends I have made this summer. I know I will cry. I wish I didnt get attached to the places I work so easily, especially since this time my work was a place I cant just come back to on a regular basis. Torn. One month til my sophomore year of college starts!! such a short period of time left... no more time...

Until Next Time
~Elena

Best Class Ever

So, my class this past week are the kind of kids that make me want to teach. They were amazing. No problem children, no lack of enthusiasm. They sang every one of my camp songs. Cheered louder than anyone at the bird and cat shows, and were so polite and smart. I wish every week was like this one. No complaints at all!! I cant believe i only have 4 weeks left.... sad times....

Well, it is bedtime; im pretty sure no one reads this anymore anyways, so...
Until Next Time,
~Elena

Called Off Sunday....

So, once again, i was called off of work at the gift shop. I've been called off two of my four weekends as their employee so far.... and the two days I have worked have totalled 8 hours of work. But, since I was off with nothing to do, I wandered around the zoo with Brea and Nicole and Caleb. We went behind the scenes in Caleb's houses, Nocturnal and Insect, and then Brea's house, Elephants. I got to pet an Aardvark. His name was Diggy and he acted like a big dog. It was fun. We also saw Pottos and some sort of Anteater. In insect world I watched them feed silk spiders and saw tons of baby insects. I held some sort of millipede whos legs did the wave as the moved... it tickled. Then in the elephant house we chilled with the girls, Mai Tai, Shatzi, and Jati. We fed Mai lots of monkey biscuits. I got to put them right in her trunk. It was very strong. Then we petted her tongue... that was a weird feeling. After that we wandered through some other houses, went and bugged some people who didnt get the day off :D, and came home and watched Madagascar and hung with Cooper, Alicia's weiner dog.
Overall a good day.

Until Next Time,
~Elena

Glad that week is over.....

So, I am terribly sorry for those of you who follow my blog that I have not updated lately. This week was terribly long. I was teaching 8-11 year old full day camp, a curriculum called Monkeying Around. Im not sure what exactly made this week so bad. Maybe it was that I didnt really have a day off last weekend to recooperate from the week before. Maybe it was that it was a full day camp instead of two half day camps. Maybe it was the group of kids I had. Maybe it was the frustrating layout of the curriculum. Whatever the case may be, I am so glad it is over. On one of the days I made a camper hold my hand for punishment, and that didnt end well. He enjoyed it far too much. Not in a creepy way, he just decided to take the opportunity to try to embarass/inflict pain on me. UGH! Then on Friday, i misplaced one of my campers. That was a terrifying freak out moment. Friday night i went to Zoo day at Reds Stadium which was super fun. I really liked getting to work with my boss Melinda. I worked the zoo temporary tatoo booth before the game, then went and watched the zoo animal parade around the warning track. I got to see Sam, our Bald Eagle, make a flight during pre-game; thats pretty much the most spectacular sight EVER. The Star-Spangled Banner Playing, Eddie standing on the mound with his glove in the air and whistle in his mouth, then from the top of the stadium comes the same Eagle I see atleast once a week. He swoops down over the stands, down over the outfield, and onto the awaiting glove. So majestic, so beautiful... it gave me chills. After he landed though, he kept banking and it was such a painful thing to watch... so majestic and then so scared.... I got to hold Terra the Demerils Ground Boa for a fan meet and greet during the first inning, that was so much fun. I didnt stay for the game; they didnt have enough tickets to go around, so I gave mine up and volunteered to come back to the zoo to help Melinda put animals away. Overall that was one of the most amazing experiences so far. I hung out with my friends and our animals, just chillin at the stadium. Alicia and Eunice had out Sir Francis Bacon, our Red River Hog, and Pow Wow, one of our Anatolian Shepards. Amanda and Nicole and Amber and Candice and Jocelyn and Cheryl were all there too. It was just a great time to hang with people in a non-classroom work setting. Last night we went out to dinner at Max and Erma's for Arinns Birthday. It was good food. Then we drove to Blue Ash to catch the fireworks. They were decent, but we were pretty far away (we sat in a parking lot). It made me homesick though, because this was the first time ever that I have skipped the fireworks at the Charles County Fairgrounds. The experience just isnt the same without Uncle Mike and his firetruck, Grandmommy's popcorn trail mix, the family all around, and the Southern Maryland Concert Band playing in the background. The internship is officially a third of the way over now, so i will be home in about 7 weeks. Seems like such a short time, yet forever away at the same time. I know i will miss this place incredibly, but can't wait to be home. This coming week I am teaching Animal Myth Busters for the 3rd week..... I know the curriculum like the back of my hand now, which makes prep time easy.

Well, i guess I better go.
Until Next Time,

~Elena