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