Baby Sea Turtles

One day on the job we were learning how to clean the turtle tanks. Upon walking into the turtle's tank I saw what appeared to be baby turtles lining the perimeter of the tank. I asked the instructor if they had any baby turtles, but she said they did not. When we got to where they were sitting the instructor saw that they were babies but she assumed they were dead. Knowing better I quickly got a bucket with water and place the babies inside. I got the LSS (Life Saving Support Team) to take care of the turtles and nurture them back to good health. We used nail polish to help strengthen the turtles shells so they would survive better. Thanks to our quick action they recovered and were not eaten by the older turtles. They are currently at the front of the center for all the visitors to see. In total all eight turtles survived and were named after famous sea turtles from movies.

Turtle Autopsy

One of my many interesting experiences while in Australia was taking part in a green sea turtle autopsy. The lead veterinary technician drew a photo for me leaving instructions and tools for dissecting the turtle. I had previous experience dissecting other animals so I was slightly better prepared than other interns for the job. This particular turtle was one that had been tagged and released by Dolphin Marine Magic so we were curious as to its cause of death. Upon cutting into the turtle I could see that there were white patches on the turtle’s organs which were larvae from worms that were living in the turtle’s intestine. I inspected the lungs under the suspicion that the turtle had drowned. We found that it had air in its lungs showing that our assumption that it had drowned was correct. After confirming the cause of death we took blood and tissue samples from all the major organs to see the levels of blood cell types and trace elements found in the blood. This was a great hands on experience and built useful skills for my future endeavors.

This photo displays a green sea turtle during a postmortem procedure

Cultural Shock- Adjustment Period

A few weeks in to my stay in Australia, I started to get used to things and find my place. This was the third stage or the adjustment period where accepting the new culture begins. The convenience of air conditioning, drying, name brand foods, and transportation no longer seem mundane. They are not necessary to my new way of life and I am beginning to adjust to the slang and speaking like a true Aussie saying things like uni (university), sunnies (sunglasses), and rubbish (trash). I am starting too really like living here. 

Hokey Pokey

One of the exercises we learned at the Dolphin Marine Magic center was the process they use in training the animals. However since I am not a payed employee I had to train a fellow intern the hokey pokey. We used the Premack principle which states that "high-probability behavior reinforces low-probability behavior", so if you teach the animal the hardest part of a trick and then move onto the easier parts it will have higher success. I determined the spin at the end of the Hokey Pokey would be the most difficult part of the dance so I taught that to the intern first relating the movements to certain signals. Next I taught her the motion of moving her hand in and out, which according to the Premack principle is easier and as suggested led to greater success in teaching this trick. After reinforcing the intern we perfected the trick and performed it for the animal handlers who were impressed with our performance. This exercise taught me more key skills in the field of animal care & entertainment. Overall it was a wonderful experience that I won't likely forget.

Cultural Shock- Crisis and Disenchantment

The second stage is the crisis or disenchantment stage where the honeymoon ends and reality of my new culture sets in. Some things become disappointing, and people can feel homesick, lonely, helpless and confused. I experienced similar feelings during my stay

 My accommodation had no air conditioner, no fans, and very little plug outlets. The weather in Coffs Harbour is very hot and humid, and most days rainy. Often I would have to open the window in hopes that a cool breeze would come in. These conditions were unpleasant and made me feel sticky, sweaty and unclean. I was so used to having air conditioning at home, that the new living conditions disappointed me.

Another difference is that many Australian do not have dryers for drying laundry. Detergents are all eco friendly and environmentally safe. These subtle changes had positive effects because they helped saved on electric and had environmental improvements. However, I was unaccustomed to waiting days for my clothes to dry, which was frustrating since I was used to instant gratification of clean dry clothes. Not only that, but I felt like my clothes were not at the same cleanly standards that I was used to. I work with dolphins and seals so my work clothes often become soiled and smell like fish. After washing my uniform did not have the fresh scent, I was hoping for, and sometimes had a musty odor due to improper drying. I missed the convenience of a dryer, but I learned that it was not a necessary item for life. 

Transportation is also different here and needs some taking use to. In big cities like Sydney, transportation is convenient and easy, but in comparison to the area I, am staying public transportation is nonexistent. I have to ride my bike everywhere since a car was not an option and buses often run off schedule. I often have to cross main highways to get to my desired location, and bike paths are not available. In addition, cars are different in design because they drive on the opposite side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the opposite side. The first time I tried to cross the road I was almost hit by a car. This is because I was in the habit of looking left to right, however in Australia you need to look right to left. I learned that lesson very fast.

Food shopping was my biggest cultural shock. Meat here is so expensive that I cannot afford to buy a small steak based on the budget I set aside for myself. Bread goes bad within a week, and fruit goes bad two to three days after I buy it. Many people go food shopping every three days for that reason. All the name brands I know and love from home are hard to find here. A box of fruit loops, which is the only cereal I recognized in the isle, cost 8 dollars, and that was for a small box. Shampoo and conditioner are also expensive. A small bottle can cost ten to 15 dollars. Water here costs more than soda. When I went into the cheese isle, I did not recognize anything. They have cheese names such as very tasty. I have learned to buy very tasty cheese because it is the closest thing I could find to the American cheese I love. Australians are also very big on vegemite, which is a yeast spread for toast. Well I tried vegemite, and it is not very exciting. It is salty and gross, but with the tasty cheese, it makes for an all right breakfast. Although I found the prices and brand names to be very different, I was excited to see that healthy foods were more reasonable then foods back home. I was never big on eating vegetables and fruits, but here I had the opportunity to change that as I started to be more conscience about the foods I was consuming.

I found relating to the people I worked with to be very hard because I felt as if I was in the way since I had not yet found my niche and I had a difficult time understanding the slang. People acted like they were interested in me and talked as if they wanted to hang out, but I found that many were had their own lives and were unable to spare time to show me around. For the first few weeks, I had nothing to do, and nowhere to go. I felt very lonely because there was a 15-hour time difference between my friends and family back in New Jersey. When I was awake, they were asleep, and when they were awake, I was asleep. This combination made me feel so alone and as if I would not make any friends here in Australia, because no one wanted to get to know me outside of work, and because I was missing everything that was happening back at home.