Hey everyone,
So this is a rather huge blog post because I have been naughty and not been writing my blog as regularly as I should - but as you will find out I have been VERY busy!!! And I have many little adventures to share with you all! I hope you enjoy and don't feel like you are reading too much of an essay... there are plenty of pictures to break it up!
Day out with Kaitlin's family
So a little while ago, Kaitlin's family came to Virginia to see her for a few days and they kindly invited me to go sightseeing with them. I was very excited because as you know - I love seeing new things. We set off towards Luray Caverns - the largest caverns on the East coast of the USA. I love caves and always have - the rock formations fascinate me and it is amazing to think how they have formed so perfectly over such a long time by nature and nothing else. I can't imagine what the man who first discovered the caves must have felt. The caves were actually discovered fairly recently in 1878, due to cold air rushing out of a limestone sinkhole at the top of a big hill west of Luray, Virginia, which blew out a candle held by the town tinsmith. He recruited some friends to explore what he suspected to be a cave and sure enough, they discovered an eerie, candlelit world of stalactites and stalagmites. On arrival at the caverns, the first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the cave - I have been down a few caves before but nothing the size of this. As we walked through the caverns, each room seemed bigger than the one before and passages were woven in and out of these rooms like a giant honeycomb.
So this is a rather huge blog post because I have been naughty and not been writing my blog as regularly as I should - but as you will find out I have been VERY busy!!! And I have many little adventures to share with you all! I hope you enjoy and don't feel like you are reading too much of an essay... there are plenty of pictures to break it up!
Day out with Kaitlin's family
So a little while ago, Kaitlin's family came to Virginia to see her for a few days and they kindly invited me to go sightseeing with them. I was very excited because as you know - I love seeing new things. We set off towards Luray Caverns - the largest caverns on the East coast of the USA. I love caves and always have - the rock formations fascinate me and it is amazing to think how they have formed so perfectly over such a long time by nature and nothing else. I can't imagine what the man who first discovered the caves must have felt. The caves were actually discovered fairly recently in 1878, due to cold air rushing out of a limestone sinkhole at the top of a big hill west of Luray, Virginia, which blew out a candle held by the town tinsmith. He recruited some friends to explore what he suspected to be a cave and sure enough, they discovered an eerie, candlelit world of stalactites and stalagmites. On arrival at the caverns, the first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the cave - I have been down a few caves before but nothing the size of this. As we walked through the caverns, each room seemed bigger than the one before and passages were woven in and out of these rooms like a giant honeycomb.
After visiting the caves, we went for food and then headed into Shenandoah National Park. We drove through the Northern area of the park on a road called the 'Skyline Drive'. This is a tolled scenic route with various parking areas along it where you can stop and admire the views, which took my breath away. It was absolutely stunning despite the fact that it was a very hazy day - I can't even imagine how it would look on a clear day. Before coming here, I never knew what a literal description 'the rolling hills of Virginia' was. The round hills literally do roll into each other, as far as the eye can see, seemingly endlessly and you can never really get above them to get a distant view as they tend to be similar in height. However, from the Skyline Drive, it is the first time I have actually felt like I am above these rolling hills and I was able to see the beautiful landscape around me.
After driving through the park for about an hour we were coming to the end of the Skyline Drive and heading down the side of the hill when suddenly something incredible happened.
I stared in amazement and gasped.
My eyes must be fooling me, I thought. But everyone else was staring too. Everyones' eyes can't be fooling them, I realised. The car was slowing down but I was hardly aware of it because I was so intent on what was sauntering across the road. He strutted across without a care in the world before casually jumping on the wall beside the road. At this point I came to my senses and began desperately scrambling in my bag to try and find my camera and take a picture of this incredible sighting of....
A BLACK BEAR!!!
He looked like a young bear that had probably only recently left his mother. Seeing this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life - he was so close to us, just a few meters away - and it was so unexpected. Unfortunately, after he got on the wall he didn't stay around for long so I didn't manage to get a good photo. In my excitement, I hadn't focused my camera properly so I only have a very dodgy looking picture that looks like I am making the whole thing up - but I have 4 witnesses who can verify my story haha!!!
Before coming to America I joked lightheartedly that I would be living with the eagles and the bears - never expecting to actually see any. However, Virginia has lived up to the stereotype and my musings became reality.
I stared in amazement and gasped.
My eyes must be fooling me, I thought. But everyone else was staring too. Everyones' eyes can't be fooling them, I realised. The car was slowing down but I was hardly aware of it because I was so intent on what was sauntering across the road. He strutted across without a care in the world before casually jumping on the wall beside the road. At this point I came to my senses and began desperately scrambling in my bag to try and find my camera and take a picture of this incredible sighting of....
A BLACK BEAR!!!
He looked like a young bear that had probably only recently left his mother. Seeing this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life - he was so close to us, just a few meters away - and it was so unexpected. Unfortunately, after he got on the wall he didn't stay around for long so I didn't manage to get a good photo. In my excitement, I hadn't focused my camera properly so I only have a very dodgy looking picture that looks like I am making the whole thing up - but I have 4 witnesses who can verify my story haha!!!
Before coming to America I joked lightheartedly that I would be living with the eagles and the bears - never expecting to actually see any. However, Virginia has lived up to the stereotype and my musings became reality.
The World Equestrian Games (WEG) preparatory trials
The interns of the MARE center were lucky enough to get the opportunity to attend the WEG Preparatory Trials which were based a few miles down the road at the well recognised Great Meadow equestrian facility in a local town called the Plains. The event included the typical dressage, show jumping and cross-country sections you would expect, which were spread across the course of two days. However, the event also included a bareback puissance competition, which I will discuss shortly. It was a great experience to be able to watch riders and their horses of such a high caliber (many of the riders were in or had been in the USA Olympic team) perform at such an intimate event.
The interns of the MARE center were lucky enough to get the opportunity to attend the WEG Preparatory Trials which were based a few miles down the road at the well recognised Great Meadow equestrian facility in a local town called the Plains. The event included the typical dressage, show jumping and cross-country sections you would expect, which were spread across the course of two days. However, the event also included a bareback puissance competition, which I will discuss shortly. It was a great experience to be able to watch riders and their horses of such a high caliber (many of the riders were in or had been in the USA Olympic team) perform at such an intimate event.
For those of you that aren't 'horsey', a puissance is a form of show jumping in which horses and their riders jump over one jump which is raised higher each time. The horse and rider are eliminated if the horse knocks the pole down, if the horse refuses to jump it or if the rider falls off for another reason. Therefore, the pole is raised until all horse and rider combinations are eliminated except the last pair who are then crowned the winners! As you can imagine, this puts a lot of pressure on the horses and their riders to get it right and it is very exciting to watch. I had never seen this done bareback before, which was all the more reason for me to get excited about it!
When the puissance began, it became clear that there were a few that were clear favourites and some 'under dogs' or should I say 'horses' in the competition. One of these was a 13 year old 14.2hh mustang pony who was much smaller than his competitors and was definitely not as athletic looking as some his show jumping superiors. I was rooting for this little guy but didn't really expect him to go far. However, as the puissance progressed he began to impress the crowd with his big bold jump and before long, half of the competitors had been eliminated... but the mustang remained.
As the pole was raised above the 4 foot mark, more competitors were eliminated and before long the mustang was clearing an impressive 4 foot 6 jump! In the end, the little guy came second as he narrowly clipped the pole at 4 foot 9 which meant instant elimination - but it was still an incredible achievement and very fun to watch! The atmosphere at the puissance was really fantastic - the crowd was often in hysterics at some of the drama occurring with horses running off and generally pretending they were in the rodeo - it was very entertaining!
When the puissance began, it became clear that there were a few that were clear favourites and some 'under dogs' or should I say 'horses' in the competition. One of these was a 13 year old 14.2hh mustang pony who was much smaller than his competitors and was definitely not as athletic looking as some his show jumping superiors. I was rooting for this little guy but didn't really expect him to go far. However, as the puissance progressed he began to impress the crowd with his big bold jump and before long, half of the competitors had been eliminated... but the mustang remained.
As the pole was raised above the 4 foot mark, more competitors were eliminated and before long the mustang was clearing an impressive 4 foot 6 jump! In the end, the little guy came second as he narrowly clipped the pole at 4 foot 9 which meant instant elimination - but it was still an incredible achievement and very fun to watch! The atmosphere at the puissance was really fantastic - the crowd was often in hysterics at some of the drama occurring with horses running off and generally pretending they were in the rodeo - it was very entertaining!
The county fair
One evening, Melissa and Emily invited me to go with them to the Loudoun County Fair - so of course I jumped at the opportunity as I really wanted to experience some true American culture. When we arrived, the first thing that struck me was the sheer amount of food stalls that were splattered across the fair. Some of these couldn't have been louder and more stereotypically American!
One evening, Melissa and Emily invited me to go with them to the Loudoun County Fair - so of course I jumped at the opportunity as I really wanted to experience some true American culture. When we arrived, the first thing that struck me was the sheer amount of food stalls that were splattered across the fair. Some of these couldn't have been louder and more stereotypically American!
Yes, I know we have food stalls at English fairs too, but the amount of them at this fair was probably 5 fold the amount you wound find at home - it was crazy! There was sugary food, savory food, Mexican food, Spanish food, American food, frozen food, hot food, more sugary food, Chinese food, Italian food, deep fried sugary food and probably some more sugary food. They even had deep fried cheesecake, which made me feel a bit ill so I didn't try it, but I did try a deep fried Oreo - not something you could eat every day!
Despite the rather differing food selection, the atmosphere was reminiscent of English fairs; terrible music coupled with excited screaming children, a few teenagers secretly enjoying themselves yet acting as though they were too cool for the rides and parents wanting to go home but unable to locate exactly where their children had gone. I guess the fair was similar to what we might call a county 'show' in England, as there was also a livestock auction and other forms of entertainment, rather than just rides. There were lots of animals for sale at the fair, most of which were advertised by young farmer children - like sales used to be in the UK before health and safety went wild and stopped all the fun. They also had a miniature zoo which was fun and we got to meet a couple of very friendly camels which made my day! I love camels!
Oatlands historic house and gardens
One day Kaitlin, Melissa, Sarah and I decided to go for a day out to a historic old house that looked like a fun place to visit. I love going to stately homes and gardens in England so I was excited to visit the estate. When we arrived we were the only people on the tour which meant it was very personal and our tour guide wa s really good and let us ask loads of questions. The interior was very basic compared to what you would see in England - a lot of the furniture had been claimed during various changes of ownership. The house had actually been altered architecturally to look less English after the war in the 1800s - English style was somewhat out of fashion at the time for obvious reasons! What really struck me about the place was its history of slavery. The estate had been a plantation which was home to the largest number of slaves in the whole of Virginia - a total of 128. |
It really struck home with me that a house is relatively newly built (1804) in comparison to many old English homes (even my farm house is dated back further than this house!) was home to slaves so recently. In fact, most of the building and stone masonry at the house was built by slaves. It is hard to imagine that in recent history people were treated so unjustly, but then it is hard to imagine that this kind of thing and worse is still going on in the world as I write this. In fact, the tour guide told us how just 30 years ago in the Southern States of America there were still separate toilets in a lot of places for black and white people and different drinking wells. I actually found it really shocking and I guess I have been naive to think that such extreme racism is a thing of the past in the Westernised world. Please don't think I am segregating the states as a racist country - I have met a lot of racist people in the UK too that would probably act like this if they had the chance! |
It also it made me realise how lucky I am to be raised in the country and time that I have been - I have so little to worry about compared to a lot of people that have lived in the past or are currently suffering.
The estate was also home to some very pretty gardens - they weren't the grandest or most showy gardens, but were really charming with lots of hidden enclosures. The gardens were just overgrown enough to have a magical and mysterious feel and were different to other gardens I have visited. I decided I would like a garden in this style one day!
The estate was also home to some very pretty gardens - they weren't the grandest or most showy gardens, but were really charming with lots of hidden enclosures. The gardens were just overgrown enough to have a magical and mysterious feel and were different to other gardens I have visited. I decided I would like a garden in this style one day!
Tubing on the Shenandoah river and the town of Harpers Ferry
Ever since I first arrived at the MARE center, the girls have been planning to go 'tubing', which is basically floating down a river on a big floating ring. We have planned to go tubing pretty much every weekend since I arrived, but for various reasons we haven't been able to go and something has always come up! However, this was the last weekend we would all be together so we were determined to go! One of the girls couldn't make it but we decided to go anyway as there would be no other opportunity. I was slightly nervous because I have always been a little afraid of water and although I am a much better swimmer than I used to be, I still have a fear of the unknown. However, when we were on the river it was really relaxing and fun and not frightening at all - I even began to wish we had tried the white water tubing instead of flat water! I even managed to jump off a tree swing into the river - I have never felt so brave!
Ever since I first arrived at the MARE center, the girls have been planning to go 'tubing', which is basically floating down a river on a big floating ring. We have planned to go tubing pretty much every weekend since I arrived, but for various reasons we haven't been able to go and something has always come up! However, this was the last weekend we would all be together so we were determined to go! One of the girls couldn't make it but we decided to go anyway as there would be no other opportunity. I was slightly nervous because I have always been a little afraid of water and although I am a much better swimmer than I used to be, I still have a fear of the unknown. However, when we were on the river it was really relaxing and fun and not frightening at all - I even began to wish we had tried the white water tubing instead of flat water! I even managed to jump off a tree swing into the river - I have never felt so brave!
We also had a look round a local West Virginian 'flea market', which I realised we would call a car boot sale. It was different to the Virginian culture I had been used to - filled with Harley Davidson memorabilia, guns, Jack Daniels souvenirs and cowboy boots. I could have happily spent a few hours there but we didn't have much time so it was rather a rushed visit. After tubing, we headed into Harpers Ferry, which is a small town filled with American history.
Harpers Ferry was home to the first successful American railway, was the place of John Brown's attack on slavery and had the biggest surrender of federal troops during the American Civil War. It also was home to one of the earliest integrated schools in the USA, providing education for free people that had previously been enslaved.
The town is quaint and pretty and provides magnificent views of both the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers. It is also situated on the Appalachian trail - one of the longest trails in the world at 2180 miles in length. It was also a stopping point for Lewis and Clark during their famous expedition across America.
The town is quaint and pretty and provides magnificent views of both the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers. It is also situated on the Appalachian trail - one of the longest trails in the world at 2180 miles in length. It was also a stopping point for Lewis and Clark during their famous expedition across America.
After looking around the town and visiting some of the cute little gift shops, we decided to take a walk across the railway bridge over the river, where there were stunning views of the Shenandoah river. A perfect way to end the day out!
Educational activities at the MARE center
I have been telling you all a lot about the adventures that I have been going on in the States but not much about what I have been learning - so I thought I would give an update on the educational side of my time here. We attended a lecture recently by Dr Kent Allen who is a very well respected lameness veterinarian in the USA and has been the vet for the Olympic team! We were lucky enough to hear him give lectures about hind suspensory injuries and the equine back at the National Sporting Library. He was a great speaker and was very informative - it is also interesting to hear the opinions of an American equine lameness specialist in comparison to British vets, as their information sometimes differs due to locational factors.
I have been telling you all a lot about the adventures that I have been going on in the States but not much about what I have been learning - so I thought I would give an update on the educational side of my time here. We attended a lecture recently by Dr Kent Allen who is a very well respected lameness veterinarian in the USA and has been the vet for the Olympic team! We were lucky enough to hear him give lectures about hind suspensory injuries and the equine back at the National Sporting Library. He was a great speaker and was very informative - it is also interesting to hear the opinions of an American equine lameness specialist in comparison to British vets, as their information sometimes differs due to locational factors.
We have also been assisting with the photography and videoing of the young horses at the MARE center for advertisement purposes. This is a team effort and requires a lot of patience as it can be very frustrating at times. It may sound simple, but to get a good photo of a horse, you need the horse to be behaving, to be in the best possible position so that it is shown at its full potential, the horse handler needs to be out of the way of the picture, the person getting the horse to look attentive and prick its ears needs to be efficient at their job AND out of the way of the picture, the lighting needs to be good, the background needs to be neutral and not distracting, the photographer needs to be in the right place, the camera needs to be behaving, in the case of foals the mare also needs to be behaving and out of the way as does the mare handler! As you can imagine all of these factors rarely happen at once! Sometimes it just isn't the day for that particular horse and it has to be postponed to another day but sometimes it goes right and when it does, it is very satisfying as you know that all that effort has paid off.
In addition to his, I have been working in the laboratory and helping to perform ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) tests and blood glucose and lactate tests, which have been very interesting. I have also been assisting with data analysis - somewhat challenging at times but I really enjoy it because I am a bit of a geek after all! For those of you that have never heard of ELISA, I won't bore you, don't worry! But in short, it is used to identify the amount of a substance within a solution by binding certain molecules to it that give the solution a colour - the more of the substance being measured within the solution, the brighter the colour will be!
I also came up with an idea which I wasn't initially sure would work - an equine model of a spine with cut out pieces of cardboard that represent each vertebrae tied together with string to represent the spinal column. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated to cut out the 'vertebrae' but after cutting them all out, I coloured in the 5 different regions of vertebrae with Kaitlin's help (thank you Kaitlin) and eventually the spine model was complete!
I have never presented anything to children before so I was slightly nervous on the day but I am so glad I did it - I learned so much myself! It is so true when people say that when you teach a subject it is when it really solidifies the knowledge in your brain. Anatomy is not my strongest subject but I can safely say it has improved since designing and giving the lecture to the 4H kids. I also learnt that you have to go about teaching children in a different way than you would adults and it made me think about the things I had learnt during my degree from a different point of view. Melissa, Kaitlin and James all did fantastically with the kids and their teaching was top notch - I was proud of us all for pulling it off, even if we did scare the kids a little with some of the gory bones we brought (oops)! I can't stress enough how much I learnt from teaching a few kids for a few hours - I would definitely recommend it to anyone if you ever get the opportunity.
We have also had the arrival of a new member of staff at the MARE center - Dr Bridgette Mcintosh who is an equine nutrition specialist - an area of research I am particularly interested in! She gave us a lecture about grass species and weeds in this area of Virginia which was really helpful to me because I had absolutely no clue what they were. She is a fantastic teacher - the lecture was really interactive and we went out into the fields and did a pasture walk with her - much better than trying to learn from a book!
We also have been involved in soil testing at a different local farm owned by Virginia Tech and got to take samples of hay for analysis - both things that I have never done before. These were really valuable experiences and very interesting, which you wouldn't really expect when thinking about soil and grass haha!
We also have been involved in soil testing at a different local farm owned by Virginia Tech and got to take samples of hay for analysis - both things that I have never done before. These were really valuable experiences and very interesting, which you wouldn't really expect when thinking about soil and grass haha!
The last week with the other interns....
The other interns started a month earlier than me, which meant that they would leave a month earlier too. I had known this since when I first arrived but I hadn't really thought about it a great deal as I wasn't expecting it to come around so fast. But unfortunately it did. I must admit I was really sad that they were going to leave as I couldn't have asked for a lovelier set of girls - they were welcoming, fun and a good laugh and I knew I would really miss them when they left. We went out for a final meal together as a group at our favourite pub - Hunters Head (yay for British style restaurants!)
The other interns started a month earlier than me, which meant that they would leave a month earlier too. I had known this since when I first arrived but I hadn't really thought about it a great deal as I wasn't expecting it to come around so fast. But unfortunately it did. I must admit I was really sad that they were going to leave as I couldn't have asked for a lovelier set of girls - they were welcoming, fun and a good laugh and I knew I would really miss them when they left. We went out for a final meal together as a group at our favourite pub - Hunters Head (yay for British style restaurants!)
We made the most of our last week together and did a lot of social things which was really fun and we had a lot of laughs. I really hope I get to see these girls again - I have convinced some of them to come and visit me in England (Kaitlin I know you are coming!!!)
Kailtlin had been saying that she wanted to hike to the Salamander resort for weeks so the last we week she was here we decided to make it happen. The Salamander resort has only been open in Middleburg for about a year so it is a very new addition to the little town! We got slightly lost and went a very long way round, but eventually we arrived. The resort is really pretty and very posh - we looked very out of place wandering round in our casual clothes! It costs approximately $250 a night to stay at the resort and they even have accommodation for your horse (about the same again I think) so think I may need to earn a few more pennies before I can take a horsey on holiday with me to the Salamander. We did go to the gift shop though and we found really cute cuddly toy foxes - yes I am 22 and still like cuddly toys and I am proud haha!
Both Sarahs had already left and then before I knew it, the morning when Kaitlin, Emily and Melissa were leaving had arrived. Kaitlin asked me to go for a walk before I started work with her to watch the sunrise - something I have never done in my life because as you probably know, I HATE MORNINGS! However, as it was the last time I would see Kailtin I decided to brave the early morning and set off to a big hill that she had found to watch the sun come up. It was all very romantic haha! However, I couldn't imagine that a sunrise could be as beautiful as some of the sunsets I have seen here....
However, this morning was crisp and dewy, with low lying fog that hadn't yet been burnt away by the sun. It was so quiet outside without a sound to disturb the sounds of nature - birds, frogs, the continuous hum of crickets and the occasional cries of deer. As we sat down on top of the hill, the sky was turning beautiful reds and oranges and for the first time I actually appreciated how beautiful mornings could be.
I wouldn't say that I prefer the mornings here to the evenings - I just think they are equally as beautiful now and are well worth getting up for and missing out on sleep - something I never thought I would admit. Thank you Kaitlin for dragging me out of bed and making me witness my first ever sunrise that I have purposefully watched! I might even be becoming an early bird... Although I don't know how long this phase will last, as American summer mornings are prettier than British ones!
So I am now the only intern left...
It was hard to say goodbye to the other girls but I still had another month at the MARE center to learn new things and go on new adventures....
Who knows what that time will bring - I watched the the sunrise over a new chapter of my time here.
So until my next update (hopefully smaller and sooner!) - thank you for reading and take care.
Charlotte
XXXXXXXXXX
So I am now the only intern left...
It was hard to say goodbye to the other girls but I still had another month at the MARE center to learn new things and go on new adventures....
Who knows what that time will bring - I watched the the sunrise over a new chapter of my time here.
So until my next update (hopefully smaller and sooner!) - thank you for reading and take care.
Charlotte
XXXXXXXXXX