"Breathe, Breathe in the Air"

As you walk down the crowded city streets rushing to your job that you are already twenty minutes late for, the last thing on your mind is the quality of the air that you are breathing in as your nostrils flare, and you catch your breath at the red stop hand on Broadway. Similarly to the average business person, I have been running around for the past week at my internship doing my job and not thinking about my surroundings for one second. Today was the first day that I sat on the ground and was able to "breathe, breathe in the air, don't be afraid to care (Breathe, Pink Floyd)." As I was watching for bellbirds, hidden in the depth of the forest near a flowing stream, I thought to myself, why have I not taken the opportunity to take a deep breath of true fresh air? That was the best breath I have taken in a while, crystal clear, cold,, beautiful air. Call me crazy, but you will understand when you go off the trails at Zealandia in New Zealand.

In other news, I had a great first weekend here in Wellington! I went shopping on Friday afternoon for some things that I did not bring from home like a cute jacket (but don't worry, it was on sale!) for going out, and a pocketbook! Saturday and Sunday were relaxing days. I went out for long walks with Jeff and Noah, my roomates to explore Wellington and take some photographs. Before I knew it, the weekend was over and I was back on the 7:35 A.M. bus to Zealandia.

On Monday, Erin and I observed Kakariki, a species that was brought into the Sanctuary about three months ago. We saw a good number of them and they seem to be adjusting well! In the afternoon, we were assigned to watch some Bellbirds, and walk along a transect that cut across a barley warn trail that was located on a huge slope. It was quite a challenge to get up it, a rope was required, was even more of a challenge to walk along it, and the worst of it all was getting down to flat ground. My tactic: The Butt Slide (Results!). I managed to slide completely down the hill. It was quick, but resulted in a dirt covered body. I am adjusting slowly but surely to walking through town with a butt covered in mud after work.

Today, I received basic training in the morning about how to use their Google Documents system. A long hour of training was followed by Bellbird monitoring for the remainder of the day. I was with a great group of three other young women. We got along very well and hopefully will become better friends over the next few weeks! We also found a Bellbird nest, which was exciting for the bird-lovers!

Tonight was pretty eventful. I came home, showered, plopped down to watch television, and made Tofu Parm again! This time, I fried it on a frying pan, then put it in the oven to crispin it up, and melt the cheese. It came out even better then last weeks!

More dirty adventures to come!