One of the unique things about living here is that the seasons don't really change. I have mentioned this before but during this past week I began to realize just what that means to me. At home, the changing of the seasons provide reference points for your life. You plan your garden around the last frost, you swim and fish in the summer, football is in the fall and so on. You are either putting away the summer clothes and getting out the winter clothes or doing your spring cleaning or looking for a winter project, so much of what you do is seasonal.
Here, when every day is the same, it's like time stands still. The days can just fly by. I have heard from Heather and Paul about the snow at home and it is hard for me to even imagine. The other day, a friend asked me when Thanksgiving was and I had to stop and realize that this is November. It is very strange actually.
Another fun thing about living here is all of the people that you meet. For example, there's this guy from Seattle that is just crazy about gorillas. He works like a mad man, volunteering his time to raise funds for MGVP, he even put this web site together http://www.gorilladoctors.com/ . This year he has raised over $30,000 for us. He was here back in October and finally had the chance to go and see the gorillas and meet everybody. He even put this little slide show together to use for fund raising events http://www.vimeo.com/2301443.
Then there is a veterinarian who has a clinic in Baltimore. He provides a tremendous amount of support. During his most recent visit, he brought along a documentary film maker to try and capture all of the positive things taking place in this region. He has actually put together a group of donors who want to support the local community by providing the equipment necessary for small scale cheese production. I am working with some local folks who have cows and are interested in making cheese so maybe we can start moving some of these capacity building ideas forward.
We also get to work with some really great students. The MGVP internship program is taking off. This past year there was a veterinary student here from Yale, a second from Tufts, and a third from Italy. Thus far we have been in contact with a student from Cornell and one from Scotland. The neat thing is that they are not just attracted to the gorillas, they are interested in the livestock work as well.
And to top it all off, I will be planting my very first pineapple in the garden later today.
Here, when every day is the same, it's like time stands still. The days can just fly by. I have heard from Heather and Paul about the snow at home and it is hard for me to even imagine. The other day, a friend asked me when Thanksgiving was and I had to stop and realize that this is November. It is very strange actually.
Another fun thing about living here is all of the people that you meet. For example, there's this guy from Seattle that is just crazy about gorillas. He works like a mad man, volunteering his time to raise funds for MGVP, he even put this web site together http://www.gorilladoctors.com/ . This year he has raised over $30,000 for us. He was here back in October and finally had the chance to go and see the gorillas and meet everybody. He even put this little slide show together to use for fund raising events http://www.vimeo.com/2301443.
Then there is a veterinarian who has a clinic in Baltimore. He provides a tremendous amount of support. During his most recent visit, he brought along a documentary film maker to try and capture all of the positive things taking place in this region. He has actually put together a group of donors who want to support the local community by providing the equipment necessary for small scale cheese production. I am working with some local folks who have cows and are interested in making cheese so maybe we can start moving some of these capacity building ideas forward.
We also get to work with some really great students. The MGVP internship program is taking off. This past year there was a veterinary student here from Yale, a second from Tufts, and a third from Italy. Thus far we have been in contact with a student from Cornell and one from Scotland. The neat thing is that they are not just attracted to the gorillas, they are interested in the livestock work as well.
And to top it all off, I will be planting my very first pineapple in the garden later today.
