Teacher Q&A-
1. Did you see big sharks?
Honestly, I'm not a shark person, so I wouldn't know if it was a big shark that I saw or not. We only went shark cage diving one day, but we saw four sharks on that day an they did say that one of them was big. A cool thing I learned the other day! On National Geographic and Animal Planet, when there are shark shows- there is usually a filming here in Mossel Bay, South Africa because of the Oceans Research professionals who are working right next to me! I was just hanging out with Ryan, my director's husband, today. He is also the director of Oceans Research and has been on many shows. There is also his partner, Enriqo- who while we were here, was actually on TV during our down time! It was crazy to watch our friend as a professional on TV.
2. What is the difference between blacks and coloreds in the South African society?
This is a big question, my friend. Blacks are people who are very, very dark and have no mixed complexion. They are the ones with two blacks parents. Coloreds are those who have a black and white parent, or some ancestry of the type. They are also the color of mocha.. as I like to say :) But politically and economically they are totally different. Blacks take labor jobs, coloreds take restaurant or clothing store jobs. There are also more blacks than coloreds, so the blacks have the majority vote on all things in South Africa. Tons of differences!
3. Why, or how, are you finding it difficult to be yourself?
It's difficult to be myself because the majority of people here at the internship liked to party a lot, every night, all the time, and the mindset of the majority of people was very secular because of the people who were in the group. It was also difficult because we didn't have much time to be by yourself, which also meant that I didn't have much time to be with the Lord- which makes me who I am. It was also difficult because the majority of people were very sarcastic, which I don't like to be at all. So much of the time I would either have to join in, or be silent for the majority of the day. This made things really hard for me. But throughout this, I have been able to learn to not fear man, and also not just to love the people and BE POSitive when they were so negative, but also to answer the questions that they throw my way.
4. Had you had much experience with Photoshop prior to the internship?
I didn't have much of any experience with Photoshop prior to the internship. Two semester ago, I had a class that let me dive into only the bare minimum ideas of Photoshop, with cropping and adjusting exposure, but that was about it!
5. What skills do you think you bring to the table to contribute to the group? Which ones do you still need to develop?
The skills that I contribute... is responsibility, honesty, modesty, and being positive. Through these personality skills, it really has been helping the group. I don't have many skills with photography that have contributed to the group, but anything that I've been taught- I've been able to remember and teach others quickly. But I do need to develop more photography skills, such as the marketing and business side, as well as understanding what cameras are good, and what kinds of settings to have when I take different kinds of photographs.
Now to continue with the blog!
This week we were actually quite busy and I learned a LOT! We went to take HDR photographs at the Cango Caves, the oldest caves here in South Africa (or so I hear). The HDR photos we took would potentially combine an underexposed, accurate, and overexposed shot of one still image, which would give it a creative effect with great highlights and lowlights that restaurants and buildings usually like for their interior to look like. We also shot an underwater model in an inside heated pool- due to the terribly cold weather conditions outside. This was an absolute fail though, because the camera was on manual focus- and we were unable to change it. So all of our photos came out blurry. Through this trial and error though, we learned how to coordinate and work with a model and underwater equipment. We also learned how to do burst photography, where you would stitch continuous shots together of one person in five different positions in five still frames together in photoshop. This would bring together the photo to show that person doing the entire choreography. We then created a video for a final presentation- since it was the end of the month, and on Friday we had a South African bonfire and presented our videos from the month. It was great! The presentations came out phenomenal and all the faculty and interns from the other Oceans Research came out to watch. We also had a photographic competition where everyone put in one photo, I did not win- due to the fact that my photo had a background story that one just looking at it would never catch (figures!) but the winning photo was one where a leopard was biting a fence-- but through the lens of a fish. and the colours were brilliantly done. It was great!
I did accomplish a lot this past week. I accomplished the baby step of 100% depending on God for restructuring and redesiging this internship, as well as making the interns positive about the internship. I also accomplished finally being myself in this group, through being my positive self and letting God come out through the times of helping hands. Just today, a lot of the interns last day, I accomplished being selfless instead of selfish- and gave into God again. It's been really challenging and difficult to be positive, but this week he has been working a lot in me. And I have accomplished so much more internally and mentally with Him- as well as spiritually.
The internship also accomplished becoming organized and structured! We did so much this past week and learned a lot, which was an accomplishment in itself.
The professional expectation here at the internship is to be on time to things, wear warm clothes, and ask questions if you have them. It is an open door policy, but generally the administration has not known what is going on because Fiona, the director, is the one who calls the shots, so if she is not there- many things are unorganized and in a disarray. This is not what I expected, I thought that it was going to be a lot more organized and that the scedule would be a lot more tight. This is very nice, though, because I am learning much more in this kind of environment since there is time to process and ask questions the second that I have them. The offices of the people are really close, so it's fine to be quick to ask questions and get answers, but you need to go and ask... if you don't- you really don't know what's going on.
I am very comfortable with expressing my ideas for projects to the administration. They have actually asked that we give feedback and suggest the things that we really want to do, because then they are able to make the internship better. This is only the third month that the internship has been running so things have been messy, but through our feedback, things have already gotten better and more direct in why we are doing things, and what we are doing!
My responsibilities have changed since I first arrived. I was given a lot of learning experiences in order to get a feel for things when I first got here, but now they have set me on bigger projects. Such as writing a editorial for a magazine about a place that we went. I've also been given and asked of many times to lock up the office at night, or get things prepared for the next day. A lot more responsibilites have been given to me, so that I am giving back instead of only being given to. I love it :)
I will be very tired tomorrow after tonight though. This is the end of the month, so the majority of the interns are leaving and it has been a mass of tears shed and memories that won't be forgotten. The new interns have already arrived and we watched the EuroCup Final Match between Spain and Italy tonight, Spain won hands down, but the interns have not yet won our hearts. Our last oldie intern just left, and water works will be continuing throughout the night.
The group we had was so amazing because as difficult as things may have gotten, we could literally sit down with anyone from the Oceans Research, Oceans Aware, and Underwater Photography interns and have a blast. I met so many amazing people and now have friends all over the United States. But it's going to be a difficult switch to go from these past interns to the ones who just got here.
There is still hope though, because excitment still happens. Shark cage dives are still new- rock climbing and wild hikes are still here. This is Africa, TIA. Everyone is new, and everything is good. We are blessed and are blessing others through the relationships we make here. And the Lord is working :) As He always does.
Cheers my friends, I'll let you know how the first week has turned out by next Sunday!