It has been such a long time since my last post that I have so many new things to say but I will try to keep it short. I have taken and passed my phase one test, which means that I am able to move forward and do more things with the dolphins. I have been able to give the dolphins SD's (hand signals) for specific behaviors and I have continued to feed and gain more experience while stationing the dolphins. All of the interns and I have also been able to participate in programs. We wear a lifejacket and stay in the water with the groups while observing and helping the trainers if they need us. I have also had more opportunities to assist with dolphin training session and mock programs. The two mock sessions that I have participated in were with our two Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Kamoana and Keimakani). These were both really fun and cool because guests are not allowed to interact with these dolphins yet. With Keimakani I even got to do a belly ride. I love spending time in the water with the dolphins! Yesterday, I even got to do a double foot push with Kekaimalu (the wholphin) and Naia. It was amazing!

I have also done more with the Sea Lions. I am now cleared to feed each Sea Lion group by myself and I can feed with guests. I still do a ton of cleaning but I love my job!

Probably the funniest thing that has happened occurred during one of my penguin lectures. Before I explain what happened I have to give a little background. One of the penguins (AJ) loves people and whenever someone is in the habitat she runs over to check them out. Hina is AJ's partner and she gets very jealous of the fact that AJ likes people. So in the middle of my lecture, AJ runs over to me and just looks at me. Then Hina runs up and bites my ankle until it starts bleeding. I could just picture that in her mind she is thinking 'take that'. This entire time I am still giving my lecture and luckily none of the guests said anything. I just moved to a new location and quickly finished my lecture.

On my days off, I have also been able to do more sightseeing. Last week I went horseback riding and it was absolutely beautiful. The ocean was on one side and the mountains were on the other. I had a great time! This week I am planning on going to the Polynesian Culture Center and on July 7th I have a reservation to go scuba diving! I will update you later with details on those fun outings! I love and miss you all.

Hi!

I know it has not been a week since my last post but I have a few updates for everyone. On Monday, my roommates and I went to Pearl Harbor. It was amazing to see something that is so important to our history. I did not know what to expect and I did not realize that the USS Arizona is still under the water in the place where it sunk. I was so glad I had a chance to see something on the island.

Other than that it has just been more working. I have just been cleared to give my penguin lecture to the park guests! This also means that I am now allowed to feed and station dolphins. Stationing a dolphin basically means that the dolphin is sitting calmly in front of you and focusing on you. I am also permitted to do a hand target with the dolphins. This is simply placing your flattened palm against the dolphins rostrum (the tip of their mouth). I am so excited to start feeding the dolphins, especially because it is going to allow me to become more involved with the dolphin training sessions. I will be directly supervised at all times in case there is a problem and the trainer needs to step in. I hope this will really help me understand more of the training and reasons behind why certain things are done.

I have also been moving forward with feeding the California sea lions. They are so cute and feeding them is one of the highlights of my day. I can give guests the briefing about the sea lion feeding pool but I still can not work the guests while they are feeding. Before I can work with guests who are feeding the sea lions I have to be able to feed each sea lion group on my own. There are 3 different sea lion groups. Today I feed the 3rd group of sea lions by myself at 9:30 and 10:30. This group includes Palanehe (female), Hanapa'a (male), and Pohaku (male). The hardest part about feeding all 3 at the same time is making sure that they sit in their spots and focus on me. Hanapa'a is dominant so he tends to try and steal Palanehe's fish. It was fun though and hopefully I will be cleared to feed all of the sea lion groups soon.

I guess those are all of the updates I have for now. I have a lot of studying to do because I will be taking an exam within the next week or so. I hope everyone is doing well!

All of the other interns and I are starting to settle into our routines at the park. There are always coolers to clean, but if we have time we like to watch the training sessions with the dolphins. I have now been cleared to operate the sound for the show and give the guests a sea lion briefing. I have been practicing my penguin lecture with the trainers and I soon as I get cleared to do that, I will be able to feed the dolphins! Not much has happened since my last post, so I don't have much to update everyone. I am at work most of the time and I tend to sleep a lot on my days off. Last night I fell asleep at 7:00pm! It is hard to wake up for fish prep at 4:30am but once I step into the fish house the cold air wakes me up. I did get to see a movie recently and it was a nice change from everyday work. I saw The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. I loved the movie and I got to spend the day with friends. I have the day off tomorrow and my roommates and I are planning going out to see something around the island. I have so many things I want to see but I haven't had a chance to do much sightseeing. Most of the times I have days off I am in the house by myself and it's no fun to be a tourist by yourself. The bus transportation also limits where and when I can go somewhere but hopefully I will have some opportunities to sight see. It is so beautiful here and I want to take it all in. I love and miss you all. Thanks Gran and Pop for all of your letters. I love reading them!