Internship

Hello friends. Long time no write! Sorry to just jump right back into it, but I figure that's better than nothing. Tomorrow, I start my internship at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. I took the train in last night, and can't wait to get started. My big project for the summer will be to examine the museum's newly opened Tugs! exhibit. I will be evaluating the exhibit, observing visitors, and helping determine if and where changes need to be made to help improve the visitors' experiences. It is a different direction than my interpretation past, but I am really excited to do something new. Two days a week I will be working with the public, one of which I'll be in the Tugs! exhibit and the second we're not sure about yet. Two other days will be spent in seminars with the other interns and the final day will be field trips. Our first trip will be to Boston!

I took the train out, which was definitely an experience. My first train was running three hours behind, but I was still able to make my next train with about ten minutes to spare. I met some interesting people, including a girl from Scotland who I had a really good discussion about artifact repatriation with. Other than that, it was a good chance to read, and I managed to start and finish In the Heart of the Sea by Nathan Philbrick. It is about the whaling ship Essex, which was attacked by a sperm whale. The story was Herman Melville's inspiration for Moby Dick. It was a really interesting read, and I learned some interesting things about whaling and ships in general.

I got into Mystic last night at around 10:00pm. One of the museum staff members, Lisa, came and picked me up at the station and drove me to my house, which is right next to the museum. Unfortunately, a frequent museum goer who suffers from epilepsy had a seizure, so she had leave quickly after dropping me off, but I was glad for the ride! I can't wait until Monday to get started! The picture below is of the tugboat at the entrance of the museum. My house is the brown building there behind it. Yay for proximity!