Around the World Week

I forgot to mention in my last post that I'm scared of heights. The primary struggle for me against the rock wall wasn't physical (although that was a very strong secondary struggle), but rather mental. When I set my foot on that blue foothold that I couldn't get up last year, and glided up the rock wall almost effortlessly, my emotion at that time wasn't pride... Just a horrible trigger for my fear of heights. Pride came later.

The whole thing was like a trust exercise. It wasn't one of those automatically stopping protective mechanisms connected to my gear, instead we had a "belay team" which comprised the Summer Program staff holding a rope connected to my harness. They would catch me if I fell.

And I did fall, both on the rock wall and the vertical playground. I was able to climb until I could no longer, then make a move I knew I couldn't make and trust in the team to preserve my life by catching me. I was nervous that they wouldn't be able to hold my weight, just because I amk the largest in the crew, but I put my faith in them, dove into my fear, and found that they could support me.

First week of Summer Program is over. This year we have walky-talkies and fanny pack (and our team is thusly named the Fanny Pack). It's been great reuniting with returning participants. This week was Around the World Week, the only one not booked to full capacity due to being interrupted in the middle by Canada Day. We had a reptile show, where I was able to handle lizards, snakes, a tortoise, and a caiman a member of the crocodilian family). We also went to African Lion Safari.

Remember how I said that when I was a kid, at the Birds of Prey show, they had me and some other kids engage in a foot race against some vultures, and even though they promised me the vulture wouldn't use its wings, it did and took the win with foul play? And then when I went back last year, they had the same show, the kids won, but they announced the vultures as the winners? Well this year, the kids won again, but at least they admitted it.

They need to end that show. It's been going for like, 15 years at least, and the vultures never win. Those are some slow vultures.

Also, remember how I said that last year, during the elephant show, the woman fell off the side of the elephant and playfully teased her two fellow presenters as they tried to help her up? And that when I was a kid the presenter ripped her pants during the performance, causing me to wonder if these comedic blunders were a part of the act? Well this year, the same exact incident occurred as last year, causing me to think that it's scripted.

Unique to this act is that one of the elephants decided to take a poo right as it posed for the crowd. I feel like that might not have been part of the act, although it certainly added to it. But what do I know, it could just be a new addition.