The feminazi dolphin volunteer...

Tonight was my first dolphin team training. It went about an hour and a half in a very cold room. We didn't actually do anything; this was just a lecture. The whole thing is a lot different from what I had imagined, but kind of in a more exciting way. Basically our job is going to be to research the dolphin and keep track of her health ahd behavior. The part where we get to swim and play with her is like an added benefit for all of is, dolphin included. (I saw videos of her tonight. She is a LOVE.) We're to keep track of her vocalizations (by recording them,) her gestures (with video cameras,) what toys she likes, what she ignores, her breathing rate, what she eats, when she goes to the bathroom, the pH of the water, dude, even the percentage of cloud coverage! We have to moniter the weather and see if and how it affects her.

We're to do our best to avoid anthromorphing her, assigning her human emotions or spirituality and things like that. It's a scientific venture, not just floating around like a mer-fart (*~~Mer-Faerie!!! *Giggles!*~~ ;D ) and playing with a spirit guide or anything. And actually, that is so much more of an awesome experience, at least for me. Fantasizing about spirit animals and mindlessly frolicking would do no one any good; least of all this dolphin and the ones that come after her, who will rely on the data we collect. It's struggling into a dry suit, getting into a freezing tank of water in the dead of winter, scrubbing it clean, or standing around for five hours with a camera, underwater microphone, stopwatch and notebook. Stuff I can actually do, and that's what I really love.

There's a chance I could be starting by next week! So wish me luck!

Oh, and in less fuzzy news, check out how fast this thread went to hell as soon as I said I was a feminist. Now I'm one of those evil women who makes other women feel like failures for wanting to stay home with their kids! Riiiight. And you'd think that rampant misogyny would be confined to places like the useless Kung Fu boards and all, right? Uhh, no. This just serves to remind that women still have a long way to go.

The feminazi dolphin volunteer...

Tonight was my first dolphin team training. It went about an hour and a half in a very cold room. We didn't actually do anything; this was just a lecture. The whole thing is a lot different from what I had imagined, but kind of in a more exciting way. Basically our job is going to be to research the dolphin and keep track of her health ahd behavior. The part where we get to swim and play with her is like an added benefit for all of is, dolphin included. (I saw videos of her tonight. She is a LOVE.) We're to keep track of her vocalizations (by recording them,) her gestures (with video cameras,) what toys she likes, what she ignores, her breathing rate, what she eats, when she goes to the bathroom, the pH of the water, dude, even the percentage of cloud coverage! We have to moniter the weather and see if and how it affects her.

We're to do our best to avoid anthromorphing her, assigning her human emotions or spirituality and things like that. It's a scientific venture, not just floating around like a mer-fart (*~~Mer-Faerie!!! *Giggles!*~~ ;D ) and playing with a spirit guide or anything. And actually, that is so much more of an awesome experience, at least for me. Fantasizing about spirit animals and mindlessly frolicking would do no one any good; least of all this dolphin and the ones that come after her, who will rely on the data we collect. It's struggling into a dry suit, getting into a freezing tank of water in the dead of winter, scrubbing it clean, or standing around for five hours with a camera, underwater microphone, stopwatch and notebook. Stuff I can actually do, and that's what I really love.

There's a chance I could be starting by next week! So wish me luck!

Oh, and in less fuzzy news, check out how fast this thread went to hell as soon as I said I was a feminist. Now I'm one of those evil women who makes other women feel like failures for wanting to stay home with their kids! Riiiight. And you'd think that rampant misogyny would be confined to places like the useless Kung Fu boards and all, right? Uhh, no. This just serves to remind that women still have a long way to go.