These phrases can pretty much sum up what has happened to me over the past week. I am currently sitting on base at the Taiwan National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in a grad student dorm room that has been rented out to my fellow colleagues and I for the next week or so. The reason I am in such an amazing place, a field course on Cetaceans that I am taking for a credit at my university. To me field courses are the best thing a student can participate in since it allows for hand-on interaction in the area you are interested in and, like I always try and assure my mom, grades arent everything ;)
This journey started out last sunday when I took my first international flight over the north pole (waved to santa and everything) and flew 15 hours into Hong Kong airport. If you fly to Asia I strongly reccommend Cathay Pacific, great movie selection, decent food and nice big comfy chairs...as big as they can get on a plane! The scenery in Hong Kong is very similar to any tropical area, lush mountainous regions with many birds, bugs and water buffalo. I have not seen the city yet, but there is always time for that on the way back through. We stayed the first couple of nights in Pui-O vacation houses up the mountain. Thanks to the Hong Kong dolphin conservation society we had a place to stay and a boat to research on!
We went out with the main conservation/cetacean expert and his crew to learn the area where the humpback dolphin, sousa (also known as the Chinese White Dolphin to locals) resides. This population of dolphins has been studied by his crew for 10+ years, photo-id's, trasect surveying and observational data-keep were just some of the tasks we helped with. Finless porpoises have also been seen in the area but due to their shy nature and small, finless backs they are difficult to spot. We then boarded a plane to Taiwan landing in Kaohsiung, a large port on the SW side of the country. We drove two hours to get where I am now, the museum/aquarium/research center. It is a great learning facility and we even have unlimited passes to the aquarium which houses millions of fish, a whale shark and two adorable belugas. We leave tomorrow for a bus trip around the perimeter of Taiwan visiting fishing ports and taking more boat tours along the way. I will try and post more as we go but you never know when the internet will be available when you are on an excursion like this!
Till then zaijian (goodbye in Mandarin)!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Happy April Fools
This morning I woke up to a nice pile of manure on my front porch. Still being dazed and confused before my morning coffee I didnt know what was going on. Then I realized it was April 1st. Good ol' April Fools day today. Living with an agriculture student sure has its glories (eh Stin?). Even Facebook played a prank on me, telling me the patriots were trading Randy Moss, what kind of sick joke is that? So in honour of this prankful day I thought I would take the time to look up a little on the history.
I found a great website that explains it quite nicely:
April Fool's Day History
The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.
Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.
This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way.
In Scotland, for instance, April Fool's Day is devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are known as April 'Gowk', another name for cuckoo bird. The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to the Scottish observance.
In England, jokes are played only in the morning. Fools are called 'gobs' or 'gobby' and the victim of a joke is called a 'noodle.' It was considered back luck to play a practical joke on someone after noon.
In Rome, the holiday is known as Festival of Hilaria, celebrating the resurrection of the god Attis, is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day."
In Portugal, April Fool's Day falls on the Sunday and Monday before lent. In this celebration, many people throw flour at their friends.
The Huli Festival is celebrated on March 31 in India. People play jokes on one another and smear colors on one another celebrating the arrival of Spring.
So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, don't be surprised if April fools fall playfully upon you.
The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.
Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.
This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way.
In Scotland, for instance, April Fool's Day is devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are known as April 'Gowk', another name for cuckoo bird. The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to the Scottish observance.
In England, jokes are played only in the morning. Fools are called 'gobs' or 'gobby' and the victim of a joke is called a 'noodle.' It was considered back luck to play a practical joke on someone after noon.
In Rome, the holiday is known as Festival of Hilaria, celebrating the resurrection of the god Attis, is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day."
In Portugal, April Fool's Day falls on the Sunday and Monday before lent. In this celebration, many people throw flour at their friends.
The Huli Festival is celebrated on March 31 in India. People play jokes on one another and smear colors on one another celebrating the arrival of Spring.
So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, don't be surprised if April fools fall playfully upon you.
Let's all try to keep our humour on this day and may the pranks you play be good-hearted and painfully unique....cow dung on my porch...amazing
Cheers,
Montana
Sunday, March 22, 2009
My very first post!
So I have decided to start a blog. This is both for my benefit- to keep a journal of the important things that are happening around me everyday but - also for my friends and my family to share in some of the experiences I don't get to tell them about everyday. This is also a place that I can share interesting things I come across on a daily basis with you!
Now most of the credit for the creation of this blog should go to my housemate Christina (www.storiesfromacountrygirl.blogspot.com/) who is a brilliant avid blogger and whose blog is worth checking out! She made me realize that sometimes its nice to have people read about what you're thinking...it can be quite interesting! Also, I have too much stuff in my head right now, writing some of it out is quite therapeutic.
I am, as my name suggests, an aspiring marine biologist. I have been since I was old enough to stick my feet in the ocean water and understand the feeling of sand between my toes. As most people will tell you, becoming a marine biologist is a childhood dream. As I will tell you, I am no longer a child and I am living that dream! There is a book I would like to share with you that illustrates this point quite well. It was given to me by my dad when I was visiting home. For those of you who have read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch or even seen him present it (if not I suggest you YouTube it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo), this book is comparable in terms of its inspirational qualities.
The book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, itself was published in 1986 by Robert Fulgham. It is a compilation of small thoughts he has had over the years on different subjects. He says that everything that is useful to us in our daily lives revolves around those little lessons we learned in our very first classroom setting:
1. share everything,
2. play fair,
3. don't hit people,
4. put things back where you found them,
5. clean up your own mess,
6. don't take things that aren't yours,
7. say you're sorry when you hurt somebody,
8. wash your hands before you eat,
9. flush,
10. warm cookies and cold milk are good for you,
11. live a balanced life-learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and 12. play and work every day some,
13. take a nap every afternoon,
14. when you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together, be aware of wonder.
If you are smiling right now then you, like me, know that he's right. These lessons made us very happy when we were children, and if we all followed them on a regular basis, we would all be a little happier :)
My copy of the #1 Best Seller in its day has yellowed pages and a $.50 sticker on the front from where my dad picked it up at a garage sale. The best things in life aren't always free and dishing out two quarters for this find was a bargain!
Now most of the credit for the creation of this blog should go to my housemate Christina (www.storiesfromacountrygirl.blogspot.com/) who is a brilliant avid blogger and whose blog is worth checking out! She made me realize that sometimes its nice to have people read about what you're thinking...it can be quite interesting! Also, I have too much stuff in my head right now, writing some of it out is quite therapeutic.
I am, as my name suggests, an aspiring marine biologist. I have been since I was old enough to stick my feet in the ocean water and understand the feeling of sand between my toes. As most people will tell you, becoming a marine biologist is a childhood dream. As I will tell you, I am no longer a child and I am living that dream! There is a book I would like to share with you that illustrates this point quite well. It was given to me by my dad when I was visiting home. For those of you who have read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch or even seen him present it (if not I suggest you YouTube it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo), this book is comparable in terms of its inspirational qualities.
The book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, itself was published in 1986 by Robert Fulgham. It is a compilation of small thoughts he has had over the years on different subjects. He says that everything that is useful to us in our daily lives revolves around those little lessons we learned in our very first classroom setting:
1. share everything,
2. play fair,
3. don't hit people,
4. put things back where you found them,
5. clean up your own mess,
6. don't take things that aren't yours,
7. say you're sorry when you hurt somebody,
8. wash your hands before you eat,
9. flush,
10. warm cookies and cold milk are good for you,
11. live a balanced life-learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and 12. play and work every day some,
13. take a nap every afternoon,
14. when you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together, be aware of wonder.
If you are smiling right now then you, like me, know that he's right. These lessons made us very happy when we were children, and if we all followed them on a regular basis, we would all be a little happier :)
My copy of the #1 Best Seller in its day has yellowed pages and a $.50 sticker on the front from where my dad picked it up at a garage sale. The best things in life aren't always free and dishing out two quarters for this find was a bargain!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)