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I've been so busy!! I always assume that if I'm not in school, I shouldn't be busy.. I guess this is what's like to have a real job, I just wish I could get paid..
The most recent news is I survived my first typhoon! The typhoon brought lots of anticipation but also brought some issues. The typhoon wasn't as strong as was predicted, and luckily it shifted so it did not hit us straight on. The day before the typhoon hit, we had to tie down the roof, along with get more anchors to prevent the sea turtle hospital from blowing away. The hospital is located on the far end of the floating village meaning everything hit the hospital hardest.
The storm was only a category 1, but it was enough to knock out our power for a couple days. We ate dinner with candlelight, and just sat back and waited it out. The only issues we faced at home were our windows and doors. The windows in the girl's room leaked. I was sitting on my bed, wondering why it felt like my window was open, when I realized there was a huge leak. We had to push our beds into the center of the room to prevent them from getting drenched. The guy's room was even more unlucky, theire medal door had plenty of invisible openings that allowed a small pond to form. While the storm raged, we all worried about our turtles. Turtles need air, so we were worried that if the water rose higher or it partially sank we could lose many of them. Luckily that didn't happen! We had a few boards missing from the deck, along with losing some supplies that blew away.
The water has been really dirty since the typhoon, but it has brought one perk that I never noticed before. There is bioluminescent phytoplankton in the water. This cool little fact means whenever you touch the water it sparkles all around your hand. It reminds me of fantasia or something, just because as you swirl your fingers in the water, a shimmery thing follows it! It's beautiful!!
I also had the chance to visit Yalong Bay in Sanya. It is sooooo amazing. I see what they meant by the Hawaii of China. It's covered in fancy resorts that look like castles and beautiful, white sandy beaches. We only toured a few resorts, but all I needed to see were the bathrooms and I was hooked on their awesomeness. I have not seen a really clean bathroom since I have been here, and this blew me out of the water!! Wow.. no words can speak of their beauty. It was also a bonus that we got to go play in the ocean!! Woop! woop!
One of the highlights of the last week has been karaoke. Holy cow, I had no idea how huge it was until we went. The karaoke place looked like Las Vegas. The workers all wore glittery outfits and top hats. The led us to a convenience store like place where a boy holding a cart followed us around. Anything we wanted, we would just point and he would grab it and stick it in our cart. We followed him down a halls and halls of doors, and finally made it to our wonderful private room. It was decorated in a ridiculous amount of glittery wall paper, but it boasted a sweet flat screen tv and a bunch of English songs! It was so much fun, but I couldn't help but realize what a horrible singer I was. At one point, I was thought, "Man.. I'm doing really good, I sound just like the real singer".. then I realized not only was the accompaniment on, but my microphone was turned off.. It was definately earth shattering, and I will no longer look at myself the same.
We rescued two more turtles today: a loggerhead (Larry) and a hawksbill (Harry). Both, are not in as bad of shape as our previous turtles, but they are still weak. Larry is huge!! It takes at least 4 people to pick him up. Harry was covered in parasites. It literally looked as if his skin was moving because it was covered with so many. We scrubbed him up and gave him a bath so now he looks great and ready to recover! I love hawksbill turtles, they have such spunky personalities. Our other hawksbill, Quasimoto, has a huge hump in his shell (hence the name) and he is such a cool little guy. He has trouble swimming, but he is constantly fighting the current and trying to avoid getting smashed against the net. It's sad and funny at the same time. Anyway, he is just a cool turtle.
I'm already half way through with my internship. When I finish up here, me and a couple other interns are planning a trip to the Great Wall. I'm so excited to see another part of China! Hainan is awesome, but I kinda feel like it's its own little world.
That's about it! Hope everyone's doing great!!!
- comments
ma I'm sure you got your singing talent from your father. Glad you are having such an amazing time! Love ya!!!
Tim HeYYYYYYYYY I read that. Good blog Laura. Nice to here you get to see some of the clean places in China. The resorts you were at, are they ones you are going to be working at? Love and Miss you Dad
Frank Laura, your mom's just mean spirited! Your dad just needs a couple of beers and he sounds just like Frank Sinatra. I can verify that. Of course I may have had a few beers also, cause I sounded like Dean Martin!!!! What an amazing summer for you. Keep us posted. Love You..........Uncle Frank
Jan Overweser Hi Laura, Wow...what adventures you are having...I am so glad you are saving turtles as the one picture looked like you had a turtle purse on your lap...do you have plenty of Purell with you or do they sell it there...I am thinking not...keep on blogin'!! XOXO Jan
Matt Solberg Sounds epic Laura!!! Take care and keep saving turtles :)
Laura Matt! Your trek around America sounds epic too!