About Halfway!

This past week started off with the flu, So I missed work on Tuesday and Wednesday making it a 3 day week. I finally got better after spending 4 days at my mom's in Tennessee and missing 2 days of work! Everything at the aquarium is finally back to normal and we're back to our normal routine. This week was the best week I've had, and no its not because it was only a 3 day week. This week I got to have a whale station in front me! I had a whale to myself! The senior trainer told us that we would be starting to do training with the whales. To start off, we have to have the whales get used to us so we start off by having the whales station up in front of us while we just slowly feed them. The day after I did that I got to do the same thing except ask the whale for different behaviors with SD's and then bridge the whale, which means I actually got to train a whale, by myself, of course with the trainers watching though! I cannot even explain the excitement I felt at that moment or even how it felt. I guess it would be comparable to a little kid finally being able to ride a bike after months of practicing or nailing the audition and getting the part you wanted or even how a little kid feels on christmas morning looking at all the presents under the tree. It was the best feeling in the world and it just made me further realize that I am on the right path and going the right way in life. I have fallen more and more in love with this career and I cannot wait to be done with school and finally get a job that will let me further my career and finally become a marine mammal trainer.

As much as I miss my friends back in Orlando, I've made so many new friends here in Atlanta along with falling in love with the Georgia Aquarium, the animals that occupy it and the trainers that take care of the wonderful animals. I hope to someday end up here again even if its just a stepping stone or making this my career home. I am not looking forward to the end of this internship for many reasons, but I am excited for the experiences I will have by the end of this!

Hectic 2 Weeks!

So I've been so busy that I haven't had time to write down everything that's been going on. Although it's a lot and I so much want to talk about it, but I feel as though I am not allowed to say anything, as of yet... The schedule that I am normally on is all wishy washy. It's nice to have a little bit of a different day but I definitely prefer a schedule I am used to.

 

Although I cannot say anything about what has been going on, what I can say is that the trainers at GAQ are amazing and love their animals basically more than their own lives. Working here for the past month and 2 weeks has really shown me how much love that one animal can have from so many people. I have grown to love these animals, although I've already had love, it's more of a deep bonding love. I understand more about belugas, through observation, training and just asking a bunch of questions. I take every opportunity I can to learn as much as I can about them. I already knew they were social animals, just like dolphins, although until you see it first hand, you don't really realize HOW social. They bond together and when something is going on with one of them, they all seem to be together in it and I love that about them.

 

With everything that has been going on, we (as interns) haven't been able to see much training in the sessions, it's been a lot of helping the trainers where ever we are needed, but I've also seen a lot that I wouldn't have thought I would have and for that I am very grateful.

Here's to hoping things slow down again!

Also, I'm signed up to dive with the Whale Sharks March 4! Nothing explains how excited I am!!! :)

 

Reply to Anonymous:

This is by far the best internship I've had. Learning and hands-on wise. I live with a roommate that is another intern at GAQ, we got together by an email that the trainer put us all on to communicate with one another. We split rent, which includes water & garbage services, we pay for eletric, cable & internet and then we also rent furniture. I spend give or take about $1000 a month (not including gas, grocheries & others). We live about 15 mins away from the aquarium and I have my own car down here. The aquarium did not help us find housing, we had to find it ourselves. We get (I think) 15% off at the gift shop & sharp shooter along with tickets into the aquarium, we don't get friends & family in free. I would say probably by the end of the internship about $5000. And as far as I am aware and from when I applied, there is no GPA requirements!! I hope this helped, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!! & Good luck with getting in!!

One Month In

I cannot believe it has already been a month! I love it so much here in Atlanta and I'm sad to realize that a month has already come and gone. I hate thinking about leaving even though I still have another few months, it just doesn't seem long enough... Weekends go by fast with weeks going by even faster. My 5 days at the aquarium each week go by in the blink of an eye.

 

This past week has been pretty good. We're being able to do more and more with each passing week. We've been able to do some SD's ( an SD is basically a hand signal that is added in when you are teaching a behavior), help feed out their diet, and choose some of what to do during a session. I've been learning a lot about how training is done, from the beginning of a behavior to the end of one and what exactly all the terminology means. I've read the book "Dont Shoot The Dog", which is a training book and helps explain training and different terms. It helped put perspective on training and also helped me understand more, but being able to see everything put into action makes it make that much more sense and its more fun!

 

I've also come to the conclusion that I think I would much rather work at Georgia Aquarium then end up at SeaWorld. I've truly fallen in love with this place and I could see myself working there. I've also realized that as much as I have wanted to work with dolphins since I was little that they are starting to lose more and more space in my heart. Beluga's just have so much personality and it makes training them, working with them and even working around them fun! I can't see how I could love working with dolphins more than Beluga's. Although I feel that way, I wouldn't ever say "I don't want to work with them" because I would, but I know that working with them is NOT where I want to end up.

 

I took some pictures of the Beluga's from above the water... I hope you enjoy as much as I do :)

 

This is Qinu. She's a 4 year old female beluga, the youngest at the Georgia Aquarium and my absolute favorite. To me, she's got the most personality and seems to be the most curious and everything.

 

 

This is Beethoven. He is the largest male at Georgia Aquarium being about 13 feet long and 1700lbs. He is my second favorite because he's very smart and seems to listen to the trainers the most and also has an extensive behavior background.

 

 

This is Grayson. He is a 5 year old male. He is a little special and takes a while to learn behaviors but he's still cute!

 

 

Last but not least, Maris. The oldest female at 11 feet long (the top whale above Beethoven). She was a mother last May but lost the calf a few days after being bored. She's very skittish but still very smart.