Saturday, June 19, 2010

A new chapter

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I am going to change the direction of this blog. Originally it was meant for comedic relief, a candid look into my life and my many adventures using the Kansas City Public Transportation. Since starting this blog, however, my experiences dwindled down to one every month instead of each and every time my toes touched the rubber encased steps.




The reason my thoughts had taken me down this particular road is because my path, once again, is shifting. I could easily document the steps I have to take to prepare myself for my journey outside the states or I could keep up with the comedic side of my life and try to maintain the simple, yet delightful, glimpse into situations that could “only happen to me”.



I suppose as I continue to write I shall ultimately make my decision. If you know me at all you can probably guess which way I shall lean towards. However, since the country I shall be living in for the next year is full of rich history and interesting traditions I am almost positive a lot of my contributions will be educational and hopefully offer a new perspective on this ancient culture.



I swear that will be the most exciting part. Ancient History has always been a little passion of mine. This is because I always love a good story and much of what we know from history was passed down by word of mouth. I think any class would have been a lot more interesting if it had all been presented to us as “story time”.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

So I got in...

What I have probably mentioned in the past is that I have been applying for a 'job' in South Korea teaching English.
I got it.


I can't believe it. I got it. I am so amazed that I feel like I should get everything done right now so I can ensure my slot in the next semester's program.

I had the interview on Monday and less than 12 hours later I had a response saying I had passed the interview stage and they would like to invite me to go to South Korea.

WOW!

So I guess the whole theme of this blog will change from my adventures in KC to my adventures in SK....

Weird

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Two kinds of spiders....and only one Houdini

In Missouri there are two kinds of spiders you really have to worry about. The Black Widow and the Brown Recluse.
I'm honestly not too worried about the former but the latter because...I think one is in my house. =(

Now, getting a bite is dangerous but not necessarily DEADLY. It's just that when it happens the skin starts to rot away around the bite until you get it fixed. I won't post any pictures because just that one is giving me the wiggles.

 As for the Houdini part...I swear to you I have killed it three times. THREE times.

First time I saw him I sucked him up in the vacuum. Shoulda killed him. Works with other spiders. I mean, I sucked him up and kept RIGHT on vacuuming. Shoulda been at least burried with the dust and dirt from the rugs, right?

Second time I saw him he was in the bathroom. I soaked him with air freshener but when I went to go collect the body...it was GONE.

Then I saw him creep and crawl a day later on the arm of my couch. I smashed him with a shoe...but no body.

HOUDINI has possessed the body of a spider and my momma is coming down this weekend.

I have mourned his death three times now and NO MORE. I shall find him and his death will be swift and merciful--I hope.

I really really hope he dies this time =(

Ok, so I still feel a little bad. =(

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Camps! 2

So camp finally started this week and what a WONDERFUL event it is =)

I have three campers in this camp that i had last year in the younger group. How exciting is that? Kory and I got some amazing reviews and the best part? We didn't have to ASK them what they thought of the day. They TOLD us (without asking, I say again) that they had fun!!!

PHEW

What did we do?

We fed Lorikeets:

                       
They are the loud birds not too far from the entrance of the zoo!

Then we went back to the classroom and had a discussion about the 4 cornerstones of the zoo. These cornerstones are affiliated with the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) To be AZA certified you have to meet a set level of standards. Super HIGH standards. It is hard to become AZA certified and difficult to maintain it for some zoos. It was made to ensure the health and safe management of the zoo animals so there is no unregulated breeding or unsafe habitats for them. It is really for the overal safety of the animals. So if you ever go to a Zoo as if they are AZA certified....if they are not...then just be wary of what you see.

So I mentioned the 4 cornerstones, right? Well here they are:
1. Conservation
2. Research
3. Education
4. Entertainment

I work with Education but people in our department are a part of the Research part of the zoo. To be AZA certified you are given a special "animal" to do research on and work towards conservation of that animal. So obviously they are endangered and research is needed in order to protect and conserve these animals. What is the Kansas City Zoo's animal? The Wyoming Toad! EXCITING!?!?





They are dying do to a fungus that has literally wiped out a majority of the species. We have special "ark's" where they are raised. Security is so tight around these little guys that you have to be a specialist to enter the 'ark' to care for them. Once they have grown to adulthood they are then transported, by people from the KC zoo, and released (after they've been microchipped) back into the wild.
Their hope? To boost the population and see if any fungus-resistant toads make it!!

Anyways, we also went to Africa and had a keeper chat. SO much fun.

Tomorrow we're going to Austraila and Asia, doing an OIL spill lab, and working on Terra Cotta warriors (it will tie in with the Asia segment of our tour).