Getting Settled In...

Hey Everybody! "Work" has been a lot of fun. I've been slowly progressing at the park with being able to do a little bit more and more everyday. It's still so surreal for me to drive into the SeaWorld parking lot, go through SeaWorld security with my SeaWorld ID, and then walk into Shamu stadium and say good morning to 5 killer whales. Am I dreaming?

It's been really nice getting closer to everyone at work, getting accustomed to what a day at work includes, and getting to know the whales' personalities. I really enjoy all of the people that I work with. The seasonals are all really fun and we make a really great team. The upper level trainers are all very knowledgeable and more than happy to answer a question or explain why something is done or not done. 

On that note, I've been hit with a bout of homesickness which was a little surprising for me! I guess it's very understandable since I moved somewhere completely new, 7 hours away from the life I had and my best friends. My work is great, the people here are great, but surprisingly, 3 weeks isn't long enough to build relationships like I had at home ;)! I've been doing my best to stay busy and understand that this is just for the summer, but after talking to a friend last night, I realized that this is good practice for after I graduate. Hopefully, SeaWorld will turn into a career and unfortunately, there is no SeaWorld in Baton Rouge. I'll need to get used to changing life circumstances. I just need to keep myself busy, enjoy the here and now, realize that I'll be back home in 3ish months, and to enjoy the hell out of this experience right now. It was really great talking to a close friend about it and realize that it wasn't just me and what I'm going through is completely normal. But still, I'm a Killer Whale Trainer at freaking SeaWorld. This is what I've wanted to do since I was 4 years old. How many people in their lives get to achieve their 4 year old dream?? 

So some cool things that have happened since my last post:

Late last week I got to touch my first whale! I know some of you may find that surprising but being an apprentice for only a couple weeks at the time, it was a huge deal. Everything, especially at Shamu stadium, is earned. I'm not getting thrown in the middle of everything, I have to slowly work my way up and earn privileges (which I like!). So Katie let me give Keet a pec rubdown which was so cool. AND later that day Leslie let me feed him and point him to a fish that he had missed. So very incredibly cool! 

Watching the shows, it's still great for me that I get chills down my spine every show as I realize that I've made it, I'm living my dream. I went to the park on one of my days off to check out the water park, rollercoasters, and other shows that I haven't been able to see yet. I was really relieved that the park hadn't lost its magic to me. I still loved it, thought the animals were amazing, and smiled like a 4 year old the whole time. Haha. 

Trainers at Shamu have to pass a second swim test (which I mentioned in an earlier blog). We have to dive in at one side of the pool, go down to the bottom (40ft) and come up on the other side of the pool. I was so nervous about it and had a lot of anxiety but I finally stop putting it off, sucked it up, and did it! I passed on my first try and was so relieved afterwards. Passing the swim test means you get your trainer whistle! And although I can't really use it for anything yet, it feels like a status symbol, like I'm really a trainer now. Haha!

Surprisingly, we all leave work very exhausted! Somehow running around in a wetsuit, carrying 4+ buckets of fish at a time weighing 30lbs each in the scorching TX heat makes you tired?? What? Haha. So after work, we don't really do too much. But we have been trying to be proactive with doing things outside of work. It was a couple of guys' birthdays that work in the entertainment part of the Shamu show this week so it was fun hanging out and meeting some new people. I am starting to get close to a few people that I work with which is really nice. Good to call them when I'm bored and just go explore San Antonio to find something to do. 

The pictures here are from a couple days ago. Had a little down time so I got to take some pictures to prove that I'm actually doing this! Haha. The whale's name is Keet (that's Russian for "whale") and he's playing with one of his toys in the picture above! Also, I'm going to be posting new blogs weekly. Not enough happens in one day to post every day but a good week recap should be interesting to read! Really miss you guys a lot! Thanks for keeping up with my summer, looking forward to hearing from ya!