I have the itch to go away, some place new.  Ever since my first independent traveling experience, a few months will pass by and then I start feeling restless, pining for some of that exciting energy that comes with being somewhere foreign, unexpected, and beautiful. Whether on my own or accompanied by friends, discovering new landscapes, architecture, food, people, or whatever, it is the new discoveries that, and as corny as it may sound, make me feel really alive.  I always feel this sense of rejuvenation when I return home from a trip, as little and short as it may have been.  It’s as if a reset button was pushed, and I can now carry on with responsibilities with a fresh and more focused head.  Perhaps I need to start making my regular, daily life a little more exciting, by making sure to go somewhere new (or not new) that will stimulate those excited feelings, but of course going on a big or little trip seems a little more adventurous.

I was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip for 3 weeks two summers ago to Europe, and I was hoping to be able to go somewhere again this summer but alas, summer school takes over.  That is not to say that little local trips and camping will not occur, but a grander experience is what I dream of.  But something may work out in the end if timing and financials go in my favour; a short trip to South Africa at the end of August.  My brother is soon leaving for South Africa to do an internship for 4 months, and has invited me to join him to travel at the end of the internship.  I, of course, cannot say no, although going to such a vast country with so much to offer for just a couple weeks and having to go on such a long flight is a bit of a deterrent, but a trip is a trip I suppose.  I dream of being able to experience some of Africa, visit some parks and go on a safari.  So I will have to wait and see when final exams will be scheduled, and what flight prices will be like, because I know that this is an opportunity not to be missed.

I mentioned in my previous post about summer school, but studying is not (thankfully) the only thing I have to look forward to.  Beginning the second week of May, I will begin/resume volunteering with Wildlife Rescue (WRA) in Burnaby, where I completed a 2 month full-time internship last summer.  This summer, I will only be volunteering once a week at least, perhaps more, depending on how much time I end up having.  I am really excited to be returning to WRA after almost one year.  My experience there last summer was a huge learning experience; in just the span of 2 months I was able to be involved in the feedings and medication administering to nestlings and fledglings primarily, but to older birds and some mammals as well.  I started to learn how to do in-takes of injured animals, although 2 months was definitely not enough time for me to become comfortable in accurately examining a bird as I had no previous knowledge of avian anatomy or any trauma experience with birds.  It was distressing at times to witness just how many injured birds (most of them ultimately succumbing to their injuries or the stress) would arrive daily at the centre, but also uplifting when an injured or sick animal was able to be released back into the wild, especially when I had a little part in the process.

Something that somewhat surprised me during my internship was how much I came to care about and see the individual personalities of so many of the birds.  I never thought that I would see that in common “pesky” birds such as gulls and pigeons,but they really took me by surprise.  I’m excited to be able to interact again with so many different species of birds, and to hopefully be able to continue with and expand on the skills that I acquired last summer.

I seem to be procrastinating worse and worse as my ‘academic career’ carries on, but hopefully I can just pull it off for the next 2 (and hopefully last 2) semesters.  It seems like I’ve been at college/university for so long (about 6 years) that I am never going to finish and move on with the next chapter in my life; and even though the end-point is quite near, it is difficult to realize.

This term seemed to go by at super speed.  I was registered in 3 courses, APBI 495 (Wildlife management and implications), PSYCH 306a (Animal behaviour), and BIO 306 (advanced ecology).  I was pretty excited for these courses due to them being all animal-related, but unfortunately did not enjoy them (with the exception of APBI 495) as much as I was hoping for.  I think the presentation of the material and structure of the classes had a large part to do with the slight underwhelming feeling I had, along with realizing that maybe ecology is just not for me.  APBI 495 however, was really a thought-provoking, eye-opening, and engaging course.  Admittedly, I missed one too many classes, which is a great loss for me, but I still feel like I got so much out of the course.  The course made me realize that I really had no idea what ‘wildlife management’ actually was and what it entails and how it is often carried out.  I did not realize just how much money and politics determines new laws or guidelines relating to wildlife, when one would hope that management plans would be based mainly on valid science, species ecology, natural history, guidelines from wildlife professionals etc., which is often not the case.  It is no wonder that so much of what is referred to as ‘wildlife management’ has proven to be a failure.  By the end of the course, I think that I am probably now opposed to most ‘wildlife management’.  Overall, I highly recommend this course and the professor (Tom Sullivan).

Summer is just around the corner, and so is summer school.  3 courses for me (FRST 231, calculus, and EOSC 315).   Calculus will be brutal I know, I’ve avoided it for years which also means I have not done math for quite some time, but hopefully having it be a go-at-your-pace independent study course, I may just get through it.