Under the Sea

What have I been up to lately? ECOLOGY! One of the primary reasons I chose Creation Care Study Program was that it would fulfill the Ecology course requirement to wrap up my Biology Major... not to mention that New Zealand is a pretty ideal place to study ecosystems! We just finished part one of the course, Marine Ecology with Beth Horvath from Westmont College. Instead of sitting in the classroom for hours on end, we spent the majority of our time in the tide pools of the Kaikoura Coast – not a bad way to spend a morning! Throughout the week we identified a total of over 100 species, including sponges, seastars, anemones, invertebrates, birds, mollusks, and green, brown, and red algae (shout out to Dr. Lewis!) .

A cetacean mammal that I was privileged to observe up-close and personal was the Dusky Dolphin! On Tuesday we went on Dolphin Encounter, one of Kaikoura’s big attractions, and several of my classmates and I elected to pay the extra cost so that we did more than just sit on a boat and watch them… WE SWAM WITH THEM! So out we went, very early, into the Pacific Ocean, all wet-suited up. Our skipper quickly found a pod of about 30-40 wild Dusky Dolphins, sounded the bell, and I slid into the deep blue beneath me. They are so curious and playful, especially when you sing to them. So I flipped my flippers as fast as I could, even though keeping up with those guys is impossible, and alternated between singing “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 and “God Bless America” to attract my new dolphin friends. Weird playlist, I know. AH it was so AWESOME! At the end of our swim we ate ginger cookies and took some pictures, which I’ll have to upload later because I’m writing this on the Convent computer (that has very little bandwidth.. I’m looking forward to wireless back in the states!)

Field biology isn’t as easy as it sounds, however. We went out in all sorts of conditions, even when it was freezing cold and raining. My field notes sometimes look pretty terrible, because all the blood had left my fingers. Our professor ran a tight ship, so by the time I was done with a 2.5 hour exam on Friday night, I was definitely ready for the weekend.

Weekends here can be pretty low-key. No TV or internet or car access makes entertainment on a rainy Saturday afternoon more of a challenge. But I hunkered down with a historical fiction novel and had some good loner time. Everyone needs some of that once in a while.

Tomorrow, Monday, we leave on a 10-day trip to the West Coast of NZ’s south island for Terrestrial Ecology with Joe (our prof). The south island can be so variable – the west coast is actually a temperate rainforest. All three of our big white vans will be packed to the brim with people and luggage and food. I don’t know all of the details off the top of my head, but it’ll be one big road trip with several stops along the way and sleeping in marae’s. Our group could definitely use prayer – that we can be gracious and patient with one another since we’ll be together ALL the time. I hope that this doesn’t turn into a National Lampoon’s west coast nightmare, haha.

We will be back on November 23^rd, which means we’ll be able to have a huge Thanksgiving FEAST back at the Old Convent on that Thursday! It’s a bummer to be missing Thanksgiving at home, but as far as food goes, I’m sure I will be sufficiently stuffed. And I’ll be contributing by cooking one of my favorite T-giving dishes.. CORN PUDDING! Yum.

Happy Thanksgiving!