The Start of Summer!

I’m Tiana, one of the current summer interns along with Phoebe and Natalie. Though I study in the states I’ve grown up in Hong Kong. Samuel keeps saying that I am practically a “gui mui” (foreigner) but I’m really from Hong Kong! My Cantonese is just a little iffy sometimes.

My first week (plus the two days from the week before) working with HKDCS staff have been very enlightening. It has given me a good overview of what things are like thought I hope to soon start to be able to be of helpful contribution. All the staff are super nice and approachable which helped us interns adjust really quickly. Big shout out to Yuki who I’ve been with everyday at HKDCS. Apart from always making sure to explain things to us interns and give us advice, she was also very friendly and would try to strike conversations with us when we were still relatively shy during our first few days. Everyone seems to be a part of such a family and it makes the working environment very encouraging and fun. I look forward to a great 2 months with everyone!

Thank You British Porpoise

It's time to say goodbye...
It feels like only yesterday I first laid eyes on a Chinese White Dolphin, but it has already been 2.5 months. Where do I start?... First and foremost in terms of work I was able to go on effort for around 2 weeks during boat surveys. It was exhilarating to be allowed on effort but I did feel pressure to find a dolphin or porpoise. It was not for myself. I just wanted to have sightings so I didn't seem inept at my job and inaccurate future data. Luckily before I left I managed to have a Porpoise sighting! As it was my one and only sighting I declare that porpoise a British one! Luckily Perry saw the porpoise too so it wasn't an illusion, unlike Yuki's sighting (only joking). I kept a 100% record of having sightings every time doing boat surveys which was awesome. During my time here I have been to so many places such as Mui Wo and Cheung Chau which were all new to me.

Now it is time to move on to the main part of the article...the People. It was amazing seeing dolphins and porpoises but it is the people I spent my time with that made this internship such an unforgettable experience. I need to go through everyone one by one to show my appreciation and complete respect for them.

• Tiffany: The former intern turned full time staff. She made me feel comfortable from the beginning, sharing her intern experiences with me from the beginning. Amazing attention to detail and such a caring personality (maybe the only sensible one left). Thanks for your help and the chocolate lava cake it was delicious!
• Yuki: Very talkative and easy to get along with. Struck up conversations from the first time meeting her helping me settle in, an incredibly sweet and lovely girl. Also the queen of slang (and sometimes food) as she taught me all these new words. Thanks for everything and your slang haha 
• Heyman: Where do I begin? Apart from eating huge amounts of food at an extremely slow place and having one of the most distinct laughs I've ever heard, she is generally a normal person. Also very helpful and a genuinely nice individual. Thanks for the help and great times
• Taison: Honestly a great guy. Quietly funny and loves all things pretty. Taught me mostly all of the acoustics survey procedures as he was the main man in this area. Easy going and relaxing persona make him easy to work with. Thank you for making everything so enjoyable.
• Karen: The first member of the team I met personally even before Samuel. Like the older sister of the other girls, she can sometimes have quite a task in controlling them. Also an eager teacher helping me in so many aspects. Thanks for the teachings.
• Lung: Sadly I only knew ah Lung for 2 weeks but it is important acknowledge all his input and effort. Was first to teach me how to be the computer operator and scanner during land based surveys giving me so much information. Thanks and good luck for the future.
• Perry: Another great guy who is also very fun. However supports all the sports teams I absolutely hate! My only advice to him and Vincent is to start supporting the best team in the world, Arsenal. Thank you for teaching me about boat and land surveys.
• Vincent: The veteran of the group who went through everything with me in the beginning. Apart from a great memory at recognising dolphins, I found out on my last day he has some of the quickest reaction I've witnessed. Thanks for your guidance and knowledge.
• Samuel: The guy that made this all happen! I'm so grateful for my acceptance into HKDCS, part of my life that would be hard to forget. He has created such a fantastic working environment for everyone to enjoy. Thank you for the having me and all your meals.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, I wish you all the very best! I consider you all my first group of friends in HK and I had a great time with you all. Although I might not have shown it because of my boring personality (even my mum says I'm boring) I was enjoying your company. Even a person as emotionless as me felt a bit of sadness on the last day, I will definitely miss you all! I'm sure we will meet again very soon. I guess this is goodbye then.

Thanks,
Hoson                                  

Final Boat Survey

Final Land Survey

Final Day - Ice Skating

Time Flies...

Well it's already been a month and a half since I started my internship, seems crazy. Almost 2 months since I've left the UK and my family, whom I miss very much. However there is much growing up to do and, I know this time away from them will help me mature as a person. living away from them isn't easy, but luckily for me my grandad and nan have been amazing (I'd be eating fried rice and instant noodle everyday if it wasn't for them). Since moving here I feel so much healthier doing much more exercise than I would back in the UK. Just walking up to Shum Wat carrying the Theodolite is equivalent to a months worth of exercise back home.

The work has been great! I can now play both the computer operator and scanner when doing land based surveys. I'm still training my boat survey skills which I'm sure will become better and better soon. Luckily for me I still have a 100% sightings record when doing boat surveys, which fingers crossed will last till my internship ends. Although I have been spoilt from the first 2 weeks of starting, as both dolphin and porpoises have been great to me allowing me to witness them in large quantities. They have slowly become more and more elusive, only seeing one dolphin last week.

Everyone has been awesome! These colleagues are sometimes strange but there is never a dull moment with them. They have been teaching me some Chinese slang which has been hilarious, so my FF is to learn all the ones they know. I've been introduced to many silly things like MKpop and genrally what HK people like to do. They also love to talk about food and, I'm quite sure there has not been one day since I've started where food or eating has not been mentioned. It has been a pleasure working with the guys and ladies, I will keep learning a lot from them!

Anyways that is all, see you here again soon!

It's Dolphin Time!

Hey what's up everybody!
So this is my first time writing here since joining HKDCS as an intern, so let me introduce myself. I'm Hoson, Chinese from the outside and British from the inside. Born in the UK I have always dreamt of one day working in Hong Kong, which I have achieved now thanks to the HKDCS!

Even though I travel back to HK quite frequently I am still in awe of the natural and artificial landscape. There is nothing in this world that can compare to the HK skyline, definitely a sight to behold. However HK's natural landscape is nothing to sneeze at, especially since taking the boat with the team around Lantau. I don't want to go into detail about the work so far as I am still learning, but so far I've learnt a lot from the guys here at work. To be continued...

Everyone has been so friendly and helpful and, some of the things they discuss have been very funny. Each member of the team have their own personality and some are...well...emm...special...but in a good way. Although the guys like to joke around a lot at the expense of certain members, they have all been extremely professional when working. The working conditions are not easy at all, which I'm sure is worse in the summer, so props to the guys. Also learnt one of the guys are leaving, so just want to take the chance to thank him for all he's taught me and good luck to him in the future. All the best..

So far I've had many sightings of dolphins and porpoises! I have also seen the various behaviours like breaching, surfing and porpoising. They are indeed fascinating creatures that need to be protected. I'm especially fond of the finless porpoise's sly and cheeky smile...

Thanks, see you here soon...
Hoson

Surreal Experience.

So this is it guys, I am really sorry that I didn't keep up on my promise, I have only written three posts (including this one) during my time as an intern at HKDCS.  I will try to make this one as long as possible, also as fun and as interesting as possible.

Vincent was forced by the
 reporters to scan the ocean
with the legendary golden binoculars.

As title says, the past 3 months interning at HKDCS was one of the best moments in my life.  Words cannot possibly describe how much I have gained from this "surreal experience".  Everyone in the firm was absolutely professional at what they do, and from being a part of the team, I had been deeply infected with their passions in conserving dolphins in Hong Kong.  I have to be honest and say that it was not the easiest job in the world, these guys work 5 days a week, waking up at early hours when the sun has not even risen, working in the field even if it is raining; not anyone can bear these conditions.  


These hardworking people hold the key to the brighter future of the dolphins in Hong Kong and I was so lucky to be given the chance to meet these people and befriend with them all.  It is no secret that some of them are pretty unique, not necessarily in a positive way, but each and every single one of them means so much to me.  They all assisted me and taught me a lot throughout this internship.  I know I have said this a lot of times, but lots of lots of thank you to Perry and Tony (who's ditched us in Dec) who were patient enough to teach me things and offer me the guidance which I needed.  However, the best time I had spent with them was not during work, it was the silly things we do when we were off work.  From the bottom of my heart, I really hope these friendships will last for forever.

Group photo taken in Sunny Bay after a long day of cycling.

A good day in North West Lantau 

So, let me make a little recap.  I have gone from someone who had never seen any Chinese white dolphins and Indo-pacific finless porpoises, to someone who has made an effort to conserve these fascinating creatures; from someone who had no idea what a theodolite was, to someone who has partaken in countless theodolite surveys; from someone who had never been to Tai O, to someone who has been to every single land-based observation stations in one week; from someone who had never walked so many miles up and down hill just to get batteries, to someone who has done so.      
Good memories those are, and they are engraved in my heart.

             

Lastly, I would really like to thank everyone again for offering me this opportunity, not only that it has proved that there are few dedicated people who are willing sacrifice their time to help conserving animals, but also for widening my view and bringing up my interest in conservational biology.  Being someone who has been taught physiology and zoology for most of her life, I used to think conservation biology was boring.  Now i realise it is the integration of all biological disciplines that could help save an animal, not just from one solely. 

Dolphins surfacing on my very last day of work. WEEEEEH that was rewarding.

Well then, I guess this is when I should mark the end of my time at HKDCS.  Good luck to you all and please do keep up the effort.  I hope to return one day and seeing the dolphins living a better life.

P.S.: EAT LESS, HAYMEN & YUKI. ITS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH.

FUN

Hello people, it's me again :D. Its been long since I last updated my time in the HKDCS.  The past few months have been great, I have learnt a lot of things from the guys from being on-effort, to learning new acoustic tracking techniques.  You can never ask for a better working environment than in the HKDCS.  Anyway, besides all the serious work we normally do on our working days, last month we managed to gather around on a saturday for a day of great fun.

We organised us a cycling plus picnic day.  We cycled from Tung Chung to the Disney Inspiration Lake, which was a 2-hour ride.  And then we settled at the Inspiration Lake for lunch.  We, like any other day of work, met up in Tung Chung MTR station, and as always, Viena was late xD.  Before heading to the bike rental, we went to get us some snacks for the picnic from the supermarket.  Once we all got our bikes, we took a group photo and started our day of cycling.  The scenery along the cycling path was fascinating, and it was an easy ride until we reached Sunny Bay, in which we had to cycle up a steep road.  It was terribly rough especially after 1.5 hour of cycling.  Some of us had no choice but to hop off the bike and push, while the rest were so much stronger and biked all the way up the road.  Once we reached the peak, everything became effortless and we arrived in Inspiration Lake in no time.

We set up a perfect spot for lunch overlooking the lake, Karen prepared lunch for everyone, there were bolognese spaghetti, and chicken wings.  Although I could not taste the chicken wings, but I could tell they were good, just like the spaghetti.  While everyone was away getting drinks, I witnessed something totally ludicrous, Viena and Yuki rolling on the grass like 5 year-old children.  Apart from eating, we also played board games together.  When the sun started to set, it marked the end of our fun day, so we began cycling back to Tung Chung, remember I mentioned about the scenery on the way to Sunny Bay? With the scene of the sun setting, the scenery along the cycling path was 10-times prettier, it was breathtaking.

After returning our bikes to the bike rental, we left Tung Chung for a tummy-filling dinner in Mongkok.  At the end of the day, it was generally an enjoyable day, it was a day where we got to know each other better.  Anyway, I guess this is where I should end the story :D I will see you guys next time.

Not the end yet!

For the past three months, my time with HKDCS has been very fruitful. I am fortunate to join the team, meeting wonderful people and gaining new experiences every day. For those who are looking into the field of cetacean research and marine conservation, this internship is certainly a great opportunity to explore your interest and most of all, you won’t regret it!

One might think that research work is always boring, however, this is not the case when it comes to the research done in here. Since we cannot predict what sightings we can get during the surveys, I always look forward to what I will experience each day. Among all field surveys, I particularly like to spend my time with the dolphins and finless porpoises at sea. It is never tiring to see them especially when you can recognize a few through photo identification. Just weeks ago, I was able to get a picture of the mother and calf pair near Lung Kwu Chau using the 7D camera. My photography skills were better this time and I was able to capture the moment when the calf peeped out of the water. It was really cute indeed!

Apart from conducting field research, I was glad to be involved in other related works such as data analysis, the DRT show, school talks and many more. Recently, I have spent a lot more time working on the SROI project. We did several questionnaire surveys already and most went well. Regarding the issue on the third runway project proposal, the supporting and opposing voices were both strong. Through the process of setting up objectives, creating questionnaires and conducting interviews, I learned that the work of conservation involves good communication and the collaboration between researchers and other parties such as the general public. It is a difficult job but I believe every change starts with a small step.

All in all, this internship was really memorable and the experiences I had will certainly last for a lifetime. It has inspired me to explore further in the field of cetacean research and was useful to help me plan my future career. Also, the staff members were extremely helpful and it was my pleasure to work with them. Though my internship period has ended but at the same time it has turned a new page in my life. In the coming months, I am glad to continue to work at HKCRP (as one of the staff this time J) and surely there will be more exciting events waiting for me ahead.  

I got to say bye now. All the best to future interns!

Tiffany =)