A Snail’s Start: Opalescent Nudibranch
SUBJECT: Nudibranch
- A sea snail (hermissenda crassicomis) without a shell that lives in the kelp forest in Monterey, CA
This beautiful creature is found in many habitats from the cold rocky ground of kelp forest (49 degrees F) to warm bays and estuaries in the Gulf of California and even Japan.
It eats small stuff on the ground, most notably sea anemones and its own babies (it does not discriminate, so run babies run!…crawl)
Oh, and it stings. If you couldn’t already tell by its vivid bright colors (amongst camouflaged cameo creatures in the kelp forest). It’s because it eats creatures that have stinging cells (like the anemones) and inherits these weapons to use as their own.
STORY:
Yesterday, Wednesday, as I stood in the bart (SF’s metro system) back home, I noticed that my summer purse (the one that’s totally appropriate for a sunnier residency such as San Jose) was totally inappropriate for San Francisco (a tan shoulder bag with colorful half-dollar sized flowers all over). No one else had purses or sidebags with any variety of colors or prints (which is odd considering the diversity of outfits the residents don). After thinking about it, I conclude that it’s because people don’t want their valuables to stick out in the city (like a target for purse snatchers). So, to better blend in with the city folk, I found a solid colored purse so I could better camouflage and fit in with the rest of San Francisco.
It’s been like that most of the week. Slowly absorbing information at work, slowly observing how residents dress, slowly discovering where to buy fresh food, and even slower trying to figure out what to do after work.
Oh, did I mention that my projects have changed again?
Now I am working on 3 main projects: one on Belize, one on small scale fisheries, and one on shrimp trawling in upper Gulf of California (Vaquitas). My roles in 2 of these projects changed, but I think they’re going to be steady after this week.
I also found out that one of my old college friend’s twin sister works in EDF. That was unexpected.
REFLECTION:
While it’s fun standing out, that’s not the point when trying to integrate into a society and into a new organization. I expected this to happen regardless that I am doing my internship in the US (versus in Palau or Chad) because every place in the world has its own flavor.
As I start to blend in, it means I am adapting, and my snail’s speed will increase as I understand my projects better (improving my efficiency), I find my favorite food places, start making local friends, and finding my niche of activities outside of work.
I will then become SUPER SNAIL!
First Day: Vaquita
SUBJECT:
Means little cow
Gulf of California, Marine Reserve
Did you know this little marine mammal, that has black spots which makes it look like a cow, is the tiniest Marine Mammel that exists?
Did you know its entire species is being surveyed by helicopters and protected with machine guns?
Why? Because it’s about 4-5 feet long and SO CUTE! They’re shy too.
Did you know only 80-150 exist and soley because humans keep accidentally killing them? Yes. They’re actually quite resilient to natural changes….but humans can harm even the most resilient of creatures.
STORY:
(Disclaimer: I want to blog in a different way, so please give feedback while I experiment)
As I sat in the darkened conference room learning about the situation between shrimp trawlers and the extremely endangered Vaquita , I finally had the chance to reflect upon my packed day.
The day was not stressful by anymeans, but I began my internship with 53 other Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) interns around the nation. In my department, we were 3 which started today.
I began my day taking the bart to work, right into the famous financial district. The first things I noticed: people’s shoes. Females in business clothes were wearing a range of cowboy boots, flip flops, and lots had on sneakers. Luckily, my housemate (who has been living in the city for a while) stopped me on the way out and gave me Shoe 101: wear comfy shoes to work, and switch to painful shoes before you enter the office. JUST LIKE IN THE MOVIES! I’ve lived in places where you suffer the painful shoes or you drive to work, so I’ve never experienced this transitory shoe system before.
As I walked towards the marble security station in the main lobby, with my heels clipping on the pristine floor, there was adrenaline. My work gets the best view on the pent-house floor, but getting there is a stomach jostler (28 floors in what feels like 10 seconds).
As for the actual day, meeting my supervisor, my new teammates, took up most of the morning.
We also shared a webcast meeting all the other interns from around the nation where we introduced ourselves.
We interns are a very impressive group of people. I am still in shock that I am here, but I know I am just as qualified.
Also, what I initially thought I would be working on was entirely changed.
I am no longer working on data-poor fish stocks (which I spent 2 weeks reading up on and what I’ve been broadcasting to the world), but instead I will be working on three OTHER projects.
One involves the vaquita- that project is fixed.
For the summer, I will be focusing on two projects as my personal projects where I will have deliverable products, however, my whole team (the Research and Development team: loosely similar to the show “Better off Ted”) will be innovating solutions on how to solve the ocean problems as they occur. An example of this is the Vaquita case:
These endangered porpoises are being accidentally caught in shrimp nets, and while we want to save the porpoise, we also understand that these fishermen also want to eat and earn money to survive.
Eventually, I stopped reflecting on my day, and I was able to ask poignant questions to prove my alert attentiveness during the presentation. I am then assigned to work on supply chains and biological data indicators of this shrimp versus vaquita problem. My supervisor Rod Fujita, started my experience with an “intake interview” so he could have an idea of what I wanted to achieve this summer. Therefore, the problems set before my team: Research & Development, can be attacked efficiently by our available skills and passion.
REFLECTION:
Passion I have, skills I am still building but I think I have a decent amount.
MIIS, you have prepared me well my first year to be fully engaged in my internship: Data analysis, GIS, International Environmental Laws, Economics, and exposure from my colleagues and their interests have me set for a good start (one colleague presented about her interest in RARE in Indonesia, and now we may be asked to work on helping RARE in Indonesia!).
So, Vaquitas, I will now try my best to save you (while remembering the livelihood of fishermen and related ecosystem also matter).
Testing 1, 2, 3
Ready for the story of a summer internship in San Francisco?!
Okay…not as glamerous as my classmates’ internships in Palau, Belize, and other exotic places, but I will tell you better stories.
Luckily that’s what I do at the Monterey Bay Aquarium every week as a guide. So, I’m well practiced.
So, this isn’t going to be a documentary, or a journal. I’m going to describe my experience in stories, because I want to change it up, and that’s how I’m going to win this audience to read MY BLOG, versus the OTHER CBE blogs.
I do love my classmates, so I’m going to link their blogs to mine in the tool bar to the right. But love mine the best. Cheers!
-Cynthia Yeh, EDF San Francisco, CA, USA,
