Today began the rest of my life; but it was more uneventful than you might imagine. We began with standard procedures for all Zoo volunteers, the boring, nitty, gritty stuff that no one really wants to talk about but always has to talk about. But it didn't matter to me. I was there, at the zoo, happy as I'll ever be.
Then came the more exciting stuff. The schedules. And that's not sarcasm, I was super excited about these schedules, detailing all the activities we'd be doing over the course of 8 weeks. I really love mapping my time out, but we don't have to get into how OCD I am. It was awesome, I found out we were doing two projects, one with the whole group (all ten of us) that would later be presented to a board of employees from ExxonMobile (they're sponsoring our internship), and another with just one other person researching the conservation efforts on one specific animal. And guess what?! They gave me my new-found favorite animal: the Okapi!
For those of you who don't know(cause I didn't until December), what the Okapi is, it's kind-of a new discovery. It was found in 1901 and is known to be very illusive. It related to the giraffe, having the ossicones(little horn-like things) that are apart of it's skull on its head, tall legs, and a pre-hensile tongue that can reach incredible distances and grab just about anything. It's fur is dark and silky and it's legs have white stripes on them to hide them in the rainforest. They're beautiful animals, just like every one of God's creation, but they are special because they are so unknown and mysterious.
After the introductions, and some interesting Ice-breakers, we got the chance to go on a tour of the Zoo, my personally favorite part of the day. They told us all about the animals, their names, their history, and even if they had had babies recently or their temperaments. We got to see the Maned Wolf, the Elephant, the Rhino, the Anteater, the Jaguar, etc. Nearly everything! (The spectacled bear had a box of Cheez-Its, and people were worried that it was litter, but it was simply enrichment! Oh, the things we do for these animals! Remind me of the iPads for Orangutangs)On the tour, I got to learn more about the Cougar and how they are usually housed in Zoos, not because they are endangered, but because they are abandoned by their mothers, or their mother's are shot by poachers. They have incredible range, all the way from Canada into Mexico and down into South America! And they have multiple colloquial names, the Mountain Lion, the Puma, etc. One of the two at the Zoo is actually the University of Houston's mascot! Her name is Shasta and she is one of the rescues that they have.
One of my other favorite parts of the day was the Giraffe feeding! Of course, I've done this before, so I'm an old pro, but this one was different! They were right in your face and very anxious for that piece of lettuce that you had. They all had really cool African names, and were identified by the marks on their body. One of them actually had a few shaped like hearts! Being that close to such a huge animal really makes you think about your place in the world; it shows you that there are things in this world beyond our control, and that's something really beautiful.
We ended the day with our plan for tomorrow, a trip to the prairie to help a conservation project for the Prairie Chickens. It sounds a little lame, they're chickens, but chickens can be just as cool as any lion, if you let them. We got our awesome shirts(I'm really legit now) and we were set free!
Then came the adventure with the bus. Just when you thought I was done. So my dad had driven me that morning, in an effort to keep me under his care and safety for as long as possible, but with the traffic of the afternoon being foreboding, he had advised me to take the bus home. Little did I know that the bus does not pick you up where it drops you off. Now I know that seems like common logic but when the bus stop is half-way down the other street, and you can't see it, it seems as good of an option to pick the one you know. I thought it was a good idea (no blonde jokes!), but it didn't work out in my favor. So instead of taking the 4:45 express, I got to take the 5:40 bus, with a little lesson in humility and patience included. But I made it home(I know you all were wondering)! Safe and sound and starving.
Not everyday ends up like you expect it to. Not every experience ends up like you want it. But it's all a part of the bigger plan of your life that He has in store for you. While today wasn't perfect, it was joyful and I am grateful for that.
Here's to praying that tomorrow brings more joy than pain, more delight than sadness, and more peace than strife.
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