The Art Museum and The Aquarium

Field Trips with My Tribe

The Art Museum

On one field trip we went to an Art Museum, and I got to see oil paintings, historically done mixed media pieces and plays with light sources. In addition to the notes presented by the museum, my Art Teacher (The Lighthouse) added additional information for us to digest.

That was the first time I was in any art museum and looking on as a wannabee artist myself, instead of someone only appreciating another’s art.

I was now on the other side of the curtain and that was a strange feeling for me.

There was an identifying game given by the museum, where you had a specific list of items/people/animals to identify/locate within the various pieces of art. We did that game as a group with my Art Teacher (The Lighthouse) at the mantle. That was a good lesson in subject placement, presentation and visual appreciation.

That experience taught me how to look differently at art, how to identify the various painting stokes, the painting tools used, the mediums, the colors, the blending scales, and the materials used, utilized and manners applied. Between the various explanations and the questions from my classmates, I got thorough lesson in different art viewing and understanding.

The entire day was not long, maybe ¾ day, and then we headed back to our creative home center.

That field trip did a lot for me going forward. That outing inspired me, addressed questions from my new flipped-coin angle, and helped me to ‘thoroughly pause’ along the new road I was on.

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The Aquarium

On another field trip we went to an Aquarium. They had a shallow and open water tank in the center of a room where we could put our entire hand into the water and gently touch the corals or sea animals. The set-up was a small coral reef and the water tank was at a height where children, the persons in wheelchairs, and standing persons, could all access.

We had so much fun on that field trip too. We got to see all sorts of water animals and to enjoy their respective personalities.

Even animals have funny antics and laughable personalities.

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The Leatherback Turtle

The things I was most passionate about, were some of my first memories to return.

Many years ago, and together with some family members, I was staying at a beach-house on a particular beach which was not a common nesting place for turtles to lay eggs. But for some reason, a lone Leatherback Turtle appeared to lay eggs.

It was maybe, just after midnight when the turtle exited the sea, appeared on the beach and word spread quickly among the few beach houses in our area, to share that the turtle was there. Then maybe 10 of us from different houses, ran to witness that great and unexpected event.

I had not previously had a turtle laying experience. I had not heard much about any of it before and really did not have a glue as to what to expect.

And as fate would provide that unusual experience, fate would also provide a bonus – 1 of the 10 of us was a Certified Turtle Guide with the Environmental Division. So, I learnt from nature AND from a properly informed person, simultaneously.

I must say, I have been fortunate, and grateful, to receive regular spontaneous gifts from nature.

I sat and looked on for 2 plus hours as that amazing turtle completely cleared an area on the beach, prepared the area and then proceeded to dig a deep hole to lay 70+ eggs. And then at the end of all that laying, miraculously camouflaged the area from predators.

Wow.

I even remember seeing the turtle use tears to clear sand from its eyes.

When it was time for the turtle to return to the sea, it mistook a streetlamp for the moon and began heading towards the street which was in the opposite direction of the sea.

No one could simply pick up and turn the 900+ pound turtle around. So, the Guide told us to form a human-chain by interlocking our arms and be prepared to be mobile because we were going to run as a unit, to block the turtle’s path until it turned around and was seabound.

That entire adventure may have taken us about an hour.

Whenever our human-wall blocked the turtle’s path, the turtle would go to left or right to get around us, and still headed towards the street.

And it was difficult to simply show the turtle the actual moon, when it was so strongly focused on the pseudo moon.

So, we ran arm-linked all over that beach during those early morning hours with our hopes going up, then down, and then sideways in uncertain moments.

Eventually the turtle did turn around and headed very slowly towards the sea. The turtle was so tired, you could see it.

I remember I had strong feelings for that turtle and all that amazing work done over many hours.

When the turtle finally went into the sea, the 10 of us loudly cheered and clapped. I remember we were so happy and smiling like we just saw our first child leave for college or something.

It was sometime after 4:00am when we got back to the beach-house, and I tiredly headed to bed.

And so began my love affair with the Leatherback Turtle.

Over many years, I never forgot that moment. Brain Injury and all, I remember that moment very clearly, and I can still feel my feelings. Really.

Since then, I have been on turtle-over-crowded beaches where there were many more turtles, than beach or humans. And I have seen that egg laying process again and again. It never got old.

Another time I remember that I got up at sunrise to see the later turtle arrivals, exit the sea to do their laying.

Yes, I have also seen the turtle hatchlings exit the eggs and head to the sea, but it is the egg laying process which still awes me the most.

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Those field trips did some very clear things for me – they got me to have experiences with people like me who I was comfortable with and trusted completely, so I was more relaxed and able to focus on the learnings. The field trips also began to pave a clearer path for me to walk forward and to help bring a clearer future into my view. The other thing the field trips did, was bring back and jog my once lost memories. Things I forgot but was then able to quickly recognize.

It short, those trips helped me see glimmers of a future...my future.