I processed my last batch of samples from field work at Alsea from last week. It was strange to know this was the last time I would be in this fume hood. Working in the dark for the last time.

In other news, at Bier One this week, there were didgeridoo performances! Crazy cool stuff. I had never seen a didgeridoo performance before, and it was really cool to hear this instrument I had only heard about/seen on movies/TV shows.

In addition, seeing this performance sparked a conversation I had on the phone with a friend from back home, shortly after discussing whether instruments and music are able to be culturally appropriated. Are music and musical instruments exempt from being appropriated if a huge part of music is about sharing? Or is it not about sharing? A didgeridoo, originating from indigenous Australians, is now being used all over the world (cue map showing how far Australia is from Oregon). Cultural appropriation or cultural exchange? What if the culture of interest are oppressed people and the ones appropriating are the colonizers/oppressors–this implies appropriation, or does it? In this case, colonized indigenous peoples of Australia were oppressed and still are, have an instrument and music style originating from themselves, are now being played by Americans, a country built on colonization. Is this cultural appropriation? What about other cases? What if the two groups are of “equal” levels of treatment, ie) not oppressing the other, is this count as an exchange vs appropriative behavior? Some food for thought…

BUT also at Bier One, I learned a new game, called “Box” which is super easy, where multiple players roll a dice and on a scale of 1-9 tiles, put tiles down in correspondence to the numbers rolled on the dice. The object of the game is to end up with the lowest value combination on the 1-9 scale. Apparently it is a popular game in Newport, according to a local passerby-er.

The next day, we discovered the vastness of the JC Thriftway (a supermarket down the street from us) bakery section. BROWNIES FOR 50 CENTS? why haven’t I been here before?! This was shortly after going to the Rogue Public House on the Bayfront for the first time. Best clam chowder I have ever had in Oregon so far.

Aaaaand the highlight of the week– definitely, the Great Albacore Tuna BBQ Challenge! Amateurs and professional chefs come together across the street from Hatfield and compete for cash prizes for their best tuna dishes. For a student ticket of $10, you can try all the dishes and help judge/vote for a People’s Choice award! With bellies full of tuna (and some of the best dishes I have ever tasted), we continued to eat and try foods for three hours straight while checking out the classic car show that was also there. That’s what I call my ideal Saturday–food/eating and classic cars.

On Sunday, we attended the (now declared historic) Bernie Sanders for president rally in Portland. I personally never really keep up with politics and have never attended a political rally before. It was super fun, super tiring, and really inspiring. A lot of standing around, a lot of screaming and whoo-ing, a lot of emotions and near-tear moments.

And here we are, at my last week at Hatfield. It’s definitely bittersweet saying goodbye to the swallows that fly by my office window and swoop up under the roof and the amazing view by my window: PNW forested landscapes, a mudflat at low tide, and a bay at high.

I am attending the American Fisheries Society annual meeting next week in Portland, representing the Davis-Sacramento Student Subunit! So I won’t be at Hatfield during our week 10. However, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of photos from PDX to share next week.   I’ve been working non-stop on my poster and final presentation for the Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar student symposium this upcoming Friday. I finally finished printing it!!!!!!!

We had our last EPA intern workshop today as well, talking about elevator speeches and practicing introducing yourself to a variety of different audiences. It was helpful considering I’ll be in those situations where you’re expected to introduce yourself in 30 seconds to a stranger, soon to be colleague, next week and even this Friday.

It’s crazy to think the next time I’ll be writing a blog is after I will be done presenting my OSG scholar work. Time has flown!