With my internship nearing the halfway point and the Oregon State school term wrapping up it seems like a good time to reflect upon my internship thus far and offer some considerations for other students interested in similar internships for OSU credit or any working abroad experience at a research facility.
An average day at work: There is always a lot of variety in what I do on a daily basis at the Center but I have settled into a good work routine at this point. I usually work a Monday through Friday 9 to 5 schedule with the occasional early morning or late night if we have lots to do or are headed out for a lengthy field day. Upon arrival in the morning I spend the first few hours of every day tending to the aquaculture stocks, artemia and rotifer hatches and stocks and the aquarium fish. I feed them and maintain the tanks which require testing the water quality, cleaning protein skimmers, water changes and whatever else comes up. Following that I test and record the pH, temperatures and alkalinity of any experiments in the flow through lab and adjust them if need be. Once my routine tasks for the day are accomplished I work on whatever research project I am working on at the time, this includes any variety of tasks including setting up experiments, collecting data from the experiments, field visits, collecting organisms, analyzing the data and composing scientific reports or going on fisheries trawls for bycatch surveys and research. During lunch break (when we aren’t in the field) often times people will spend it swimming, surfing or just hanging out at the beach. If I find that I have free time throughout the day I use that to work on developing an outreach program or reviewing existing publications on the research topics I am working on. With so much to do there is never a slow day at work!
Transportation: My main form of transportation is my bicycle. I live in the “down town” area of Coffs Harbour so I am conveniently close to grocery stores, shops and whatever else I could need. The Center is located a little ways north of the downtown area however so it is possible but not realistic to walk to work. Co-workers are always more than willing to give me a lift if I need but I usually prefer to ride my bicycle anyway so I am on my own schedule and not depending on any one else to get around. I usually bike ride the scenic way so it is about a 20 minute bike ride to work but there are some killer hills and it rains a lot but luckily there is a shower at work! I see my bike ride as a great way to start and end the work day with some exercise and a pretty ride however Coffs Harbour is not an easy town to get around in due to the hills, weather and the unreliable and limited public transportation system so a bicycle is really the best option for anyone who is at least moderately fit, not afraid of the rain and does not want to purchase a car.
Living Situation: I rent a room in a 4 bedroom town house. Finding a place was an enormous challenge but I was fortunate to have Georgia (my main contact at the center before I started) to help me with what seemed like the endless search for a place to live. I ended up staying at the hostel longer than I anticipated while I looked for a good place but it was worth the wait! I have realized that the living situation can really influence the experience you have and I am fortunate to live with young friendly roommates that like to explore!
