PDXWildlife has offered internships to study giant pandas in Sichuan, China since 2011. Each intern brings with them a different background and this makes for a unique experience for both Meghan and I, as well as the interns themselves. Along the way, we have been able to continually evolve our program into a productive learning experience that truly broadens ones perspective on the world and endangered species research. Another, considerably more important aspect has popped up in the last few years that we didn’t see coming- Friendships.
Given the size of our projects, we now have the space for four interns during the breeding and cub seasons. This fills our Ya’an apartment to maximum capacity, and puts complete strangers in close proximity for three months. Not only is each individual required to share an apartment, they must also share an office at Bifengxia, discovering each others eating habits, interesting quarks, bathroom experiences, energy levels, etc. Everything is laid on the table for each to see, but this creates a bond between everyone that quickly becomes an enduring friendship.
As China can present a multitude of interesting and difficult transactions, the interns largely benefit from sticking together. When they do this the positive side effect is a tight knit group of friends. We saw this with the previous group (Nicki, Alyssa, Jenn & Ari), and I’m certainly seeing it with the current interns (Hailey, Doireann, Nicole & Bryan). It makes me feel like a proud papa bear knowing that we can bring such talented and worldly individuals together in a foreign research setting, and to have them build a relationship with like-minded peers.
I will be departing in a little over a week, but I always like to leave the interns with a few words of advice-
- Enjoy your time here as you will remember these moments for the rest of your life.
- Take care of one another and give yourself some time off once in a while. You come first, pandas come second.
- Don’t forget to call us with a weekly update.
Left to right- Hailey, Doireann, Nicole, Bryan & Nathan
