Two weeks since I updated the last time? About time then. No words come closer to mind than "Time flies". On Thursday I will have been here for a month already. I'm in some sort of in between feeling of my time here just rushing by so fast and at the same time I feel so at home so it feels like I've sort of always lived here. Everything is good with me by the way. I can't really grasp how fortunate I am to get this opportunity to work in the position that I do. It's a lot of work sure, but when  your enjoying yourself it doesn't really feel like you're working at all. Since time is going by so fast I try and keep busy all the time and just make the most of my time. So there's stuff I've done and there's still a lot of stuff to do that I hope I will get the chance to enjoy.

Doing some volonteer work with the people working on AFB helping out with the harvest in St. Louis Zoo's herb garden. The herbs are used as enrichment for the animals.

The African Painted dogs (Do you know the Swahili name Helena?) enjoying some of the Lemon Grass we harvested for them,

Out for a walk a few miles from were I live.

Apprently the Montgomery Fair with the city Parade took place last week. I didn't plan to go at first but before finishing work a coworker called and said "Hey you wanna ride the animal shelter float in the Parade?". Well I had never in a parade before so I jumped on that wagon (literally).

Cutest thing on the Parade.

Visited the Whetstone Creek Conservation area and went for a walk. It wasn't the most walking friendly place but more adapted for cars but I managed to find some nice spots anyway.

Encountering Wild Tortoises is a new experience for me.

Mike - A super cool Labrador/Dobermann Mix.

View from the porch. I go out on the porch in the mornings and eat my breakfast just enjoying the view as the sunrises.

Sofia - Were currently longing her and hopefully I will start riding her (and learn a little western riding) by the end of the week.

Lucky

A lot has been happening the last week and I just try to keep up. My mind has just been bombed with new impressions this last week. I started Monday to go the main office for the company I will be working for which was a really impressive office building. My days in the main office were mainly focused around going through a lot of security training and being informed about the policies of the company. I also got some time over to plan my project and trying to get all the little things in order just the way I want them. On Wednesday I moved in to my new home on a farm close to Montgomery city where I will be staying for the remaining sixth months. I must admit, it was a big change going from a suburban apartment to an older country home. However, after the first night adjusting to the new environment I felt right at home.

  The arch of St Louis. A symbol for the westward expansion. It is huge!

Thursday and Friday was holidays to celebrate 4th of July but I was invited to go out a little earlier to the research center where I will be working to get the chance to get acclimatized before going through new security training and more planning of the project. So I've been spending my days following the animal care takers around and just been learning so much. It was especially interesting to follow the vet techs around and help them out in their work. The staff is all wonderful and nice people and one of the vet techs actually took the time  to teach me how to give IV fluids to the cats. That was just a great experience I must admit I felt kind of proud afterwards.

4th of July was I spent in a modesty on farm having a bbq and watching the fireworks blossom out far away from the porch. 4th of July is, however, not a celebration you take lightly and if you thought it is a one day celebration you'd be wrong. From Thursday until Saturday there has been some sort of  4th of July celebration around. Saturday I got the opportunity to go in to St Louis (The big city around here) for a big 4th of July fair which was pretty neat. I live far out from the big city, about 1h 30min and getting in for the fair didn't look very promising and going alone didn't seem that appealing. Luckily, however, I got in contact with another exchange worker via my exchange organization who also was interested in going to the fair. So this guy took it upon himself to go pick me up and we had a really great time just hanging out at the fair just getting to know each other.  So he told me about his time in America that, to me, was just an amazing story. He took a break in his studies, got a job in America learned how to drive a truck for the first time and starting driving a truck all over the U.S and got to see so much on his way on the road. He told me that he had mounted a camera on his truck and taken pictures while he was driving across America and that he in the end would make a time laps out of it. I really hope I get to see it someday.

St. Louis Fair 4th of July celebration just starting up.

This is the same area as the previous picture a few hours later with 'The Fray' on stage. So. Many. People.
    

So much here in the U.S is similar to how it is at home and still there are all the little things popping up here and there that takes you by surprise thinking "Hey that's new". Everything is different and still so similar at the same time if that makes any sense. I think, so the differences and similarities are just a small part of travelling like this, it's rather the new opportunities and adventures that presents themselves to you that is the most wonderful thing with all of this as well as all the new people I get to know and to hear their stories. I had some many great experiences already after my first week here. If I would try to describe how I'm feeling right now is that it's like I have looked at a painting for a really long time and then all of a sudden decided "You know what? I'm going to stand on my head and watch the painting upside down for a while." It's the same painting but it's a new perspective on everything you know.