It’s a four-week class where we meet for
two hours four times and then we take off
and drive down to Baja where we go out on
the boat and interact with whales.
It really was indescribable. I’ve never
heard of any sort of trip like this for marine
biology with any sort of university or community
college or anything at all. So this was really
an extremely amazing opportunity that we had.
We just pulled off in an example of the Sonoran
desert so that we can learn more about the
natural history of the area and it is absolutely
beautiful. It is one of the most beautiful
deserts I have ever been in. The cactus here
are insanely huge and I am so excited that
I get to learn more about it.
The ecology of Baja California is really incredible.
The deserts, they are very diverse. It blew
my mind at how many different species of cactus
can be found.
Taking a look at some cave paintings on our
way to go see the California gray whales.
They really emphasize the field experience,
which is what we all love and what we want
to do so a trip like this just makes us, it
kind of solidifies that this is what we want
to do with our career.
I just loved every minute of it. Going out
there. I loved it when we met the mom and
the baby that were super friendly and coming
up to us. And then we left them and then the
baby came and followed us again. And then
they came back up and they all just let us
pet it and hug it and kiss it. And it was
an amazing experience. I hoped for something
like this and it totally exceeded my expectations.
It was amazing. We were very lucky that we
got to have that.
It was so cool. I’d say one the coolest
parts was when one of the babies came up.
Close enough to just grab its face and give
it the biggest kiss right on it and let him go
I think every single one of us cried on the
boat at some point whether it was just seeing
the whale for the first time so close or touching
it but it was an emotional day. But it was
absolutely indescribable.
There is no prerequisite for this class. In
fact, anyone can take this class.
This is definitely going to open a really
big door for students like us who want to
experience things in the world that we would
not have the chance to do without OCC.
