New Beginnings

    
          After all of the planning, packing, cleaning, and tearful goodbye's we have finally arrived to our new home for the next 6+ months. The apartment is better than anything we had imagined- we have so much room for activities now that we don't have furniture to clutter up our living room ;) It's interesting adjusting to life without cable, internet access (we frequent the buisiness center where internet is provided), microwaves, couches, tables or chairs. It's sort of fun seeing what we are able to live without - liberating is the word I am looking for.
             I will have orientation at the zoo this Thursday where after filling out piles of paper work I will be shown around the unit I will be interning in which consists of the Ape House (gorillas and orangutans), Think Tank (orangutans, Sulawesi macaque, and mangabey), Gibbon Ridge (white-cheeked gibbons and siamangs) and Lemur Island (ring-tailed lemurs and red-fronted lemurs). The Think Tank looks at cognition in three areas: tools, language, and society. I watched a youtube video of the Orangs playing a memory game in the Think Tank where they are shown images on the screen and will tap the images to confirm that it has been seen. Then they are presented with a pool of many images and need to recall and select via tapping only the images they were shown. The exhibit goals are to educate visitors about the field and the scientific process, and to build a conservation ethic through the understanding of animals as complex cognitive beings. I am SO excited to watch my first Think Tank demonstration- I am sure it will be a moment I never forget!
           To be quite honest I am just as nervous as I am excited for this internship to begin. Being the "new girl" can be trying especially when you are hundreds of miles away from everything you've ever known. But hey, how could we ever evolve as individuals if life did not present with obstacles. The nerves will wear off but my fufilliment from time spent at the Smithsonian Zoo will not.

Iris was born at the Zoo on April 15, 1987, and was named after IRS (Internal Revenue Service) because of her birth date.

Iris is a very charismatic orangutan who can be quite silly and playful, but also quite stubborn at times, especially when asked to come inside. She is the star of several research programs and loves to participate in our daily research demonstrations at Think Tank. Iris has been instrumental in developing new training procedures and goals because of how quick and eager she is to learn new things. Some of her favorite activities include playing in boxes or under sheets, and painting.