It’s been so hard to concentrate this week
because my parents and sister arrive this weekend! I get the lucky pleasure to
plan out their entire trip, which has proven to be a lot more difficult than
expected. I’ve written down a list of must sees along with some fun things I’ve
picked up along the way such as an awesome market on Saturday mornings, Old
Biscuit Mill, and a nice beach day in Camps Bay. It’ll be difficult to squeeze
in everything I want them to do in such a short amount of time but we’ll have
to wait and see I guess!
When I haven’t been planning, I’ve
been very busy at my internship this week. On Tuesday I got to accompany the
collections team on a trip to Hout Bay. Hout Bay is a small town on the water
where the aquarium sometimes goes to get some specimens for the exhibits. This
time we were on a mission to get some shrimp. We suited up and headed into the
water with a large net and dragged in various different batches onto shore. To
just anyone it may not seem so special, but I loved every second of it. Anytime
I’m out in the field I’m reminded of what I want to do with life and how happy
and lucky I am to be studying something so fascinating, the ocean.
On Wednesday things really spiced up
when we had to take out a ragged tooth shark to inspect for release. Bright and
early a few divers went into a quarantined tank to retrieve the shark. A bunch
of staff including the vet inspected the shark’s gills for nematodes, a type of
parasite that can be harmful to the shark. We were supposed to release that
shark in addition to another but it’ll need to undergo some treatment due to
the remaining nematodes. It was such an amazing experience getting that close
to a shark and actually examining it on a medical level and then getting to see
the blood and gills in the lab.
By Thursday my parents had arrived
and it was time to start their vacation! But not before long I had to leave
them for a short while to go sky diving Friday morning!!! A bunch of students and
myself got the opportunity to travel a bit outside of Cape Town and prepare to
jump 9000 feet out of a little plane. Group by group we flew up for about 20
minutes until we reached the appropriate altitude. Onna and Jess were in my
plane as well and I was the last to jump out. After seeing their faces right
before emerging from the plane, my nerves finally kicked in. For a split moment
I had a feeling of doubt and questioned doing it. But before long my legs were
hanging out of the plane and we rolled out before I even had a chance to 2nd
guess myself. We free-falled at first and it was the most amazing feeling I’ve
ever experienced. Once I got past the initial, “Oh shoot I’m falling from
9000ft in the air” feeling, I really started to enjoy it and feel invincible. I
was essentially flying…. It was definitely one of the top three things I’ve not
only done here but in my life. 
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