My first week as an Oregon State Summer Sea Scholar has been busy, but already fulfilling. It\u2019s impossible to document every experience that I\u2019ve had, but looking back on my week, there are several moments that stand out. I\u2019ll organize the post by these moments, and hopefully this will make it easier for you to read too \u2013 you can skip the less intriguing subtitles.<\/p>\n
Part\u00a01: \u201cWhere are the hipsters?\u201d (A story of expectations)<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m almost embarrassed to say that I didn\u2019t know much about this region, or Oregon generally before I had arrived. My academic interests surround environmental policy, and I\u2019ve studied Oregon\u2019s history within (really, initiators of) the U.S. environmental movement, and many of their successful environmental policies are fascinating, so I wanted to learn about these aspects on the ground. But <\/em>my academic research on the histories and policies of the region failed to prepare for the cultural and geographic differences from my Mid-West home. Flying in, I had no idea <\/em>that there were so many mountains here! I knew about Mt. Hood, and the mountains in Washington, but mountains, a coast, and a seasonal in-land climate? Oregon, you cool. I also expected just about everyone to be wearing flannel, skinny jeans, and thick-rimmed glasses, but I don\u2019t think I saw a one! There were plenty of Starbucks in the airport, though, and I haven\u2019t had a shortage of coffee while here, so that expectation was met. Also no one told me how cold it was; coming from Missouri, our summers are 100 degrees and humid, but here? Highs of 65 and breezy? I can see why Nike set up shop, you can run forever! Also these trees. Man, the trees! Gorgeous conifers, towering over 70 ft! I thought just the Redwoods (which, I also got to see a \u201cbaby\u201d Redwood on the OSU campus) could grow this tall, but their average tree here is a giant. Really helps put the world in perspective biking among this giants to work.<\/p>\n Mount St. Helens, the river in Newport, and my new hat<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Part 2: The pokey bike ride<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking of biking, that brings me to my first story. So I had just arrived at my new place (also gorgeous, by-the-way — huge ceilings, two stories, queen bed with my own private bath — definitely didn\u2019t expect any of that. Oh, also laundry is right-next-door and I have yet to see anyone else in there), and I was about ready to take my requisite daily nap, when it occurred to me that I had absolutely no food. While I wasn\u2019t hungry then, I reasoned that by the time I woke up, biked the 10 mile roundtrip to town, and fixed my dinner, it\u2019d be too late. Talking myself out of my nap (very<\/em> hard to do), I took off down the road I was told led to Bandon (there\u2019s only one road\u2026). I didn\u2019t get very far when I noticed that the seat on the bike that was donated (thanks a million, OSU!) was a bit too high (surprise, I\u2019m really short). I bent down and realized that the only way to move the seat was with a wrench. So I piddle-paddled-peddled on down to town, choosing between bruising my tailbone and getting poked in the rear with the seat (a difficult decision). After a couple of stores, a lady (in a pharmacy, no less), directed me towards the section that included a wrench, wahlah! She was very surprised by how excited I was to find and purchase such a strange item, and so I explained my long and arduous journey. She laughed and said, \u201cWell now you can add a wrench to your toolbox.\u201d \u201cGreat,\u201d I replied, \u201cit will include one wrench.\u201d But it was a wrench that I was able to comfortably peddle on back to my house (with some yummy groceries that I was also very excited for upon returning).<\/p>\n Downtown Bandon, and the infamous bike<\/a><\/p>\n Part 3: Person, Place, Thing (First Day on the Job)<\/strong><\/p>\n Wow, is Bandon Dunes stunning (photos linked). I had looked up photos before coming, but nothing compared to standing out on the course, warmed by the sun, cooled by the ocean breeze, and in awe as these elements played with the seemingly-endless rolling hills, unbelievably tall trees, and sparkling sand dunes. When I first saw Bandon Dunes, it felt like I was in a dream. Every morning biking to work, it still takes my breath away as I roll through the forest, come down the hill into the resort, and its vast beauty strikes me again. Best perk: I can walk amongst this beauty during my lunch break (see photos from my lunch spot, and a few great trails that I\u2019ve visited).<\/p>\n Bandon Dunes<\/a><\/p>\n For the actual \u201cwork\u201d, I get to do what I love, research, for a cause I support. A bit on Wild Rivers Coast Alliance (WRCA) \u2013 they\u2019re a local non-profit that is funded by the proceeds from Bandon Preserve, a 13-hole, 3-par course open to anyone at a much lower cost than the other courses at Bandon Dunes. Mike Keiser, the visionary, creator, and owner of Bandon Dunes, created WRCA to help give back to the community. We work with local businesses, other non-profits, and the state to fund projects that meet the \u201ctriple-bottom-line\u201d of conservation, community, and economy. We help the south coast develop sustainably, which are exactly my academic interests. My job? Provide information to make this happen. Currently I\u2019m working on a report of the Oregon Coast Trail that I\u2019ll provide to Travel Oregon on how to increase the accessibility of the trail, while protecting the ecosystem that it runs though. Later, I\u2019ll be compiling data on the tourism initiatives in the region to help develop curriculum for Oregon State\u2019s new tourism program. I\u2019ll also get to work with a fantastic local organization called \u201cWashed Ashore\u201d, which collects local sea debris and turns it into art, and then a conversation about the effects of sea litter on our ecosystems (see photo of \u201cHenry the Fish\u201d who lives in downtown Bandon). Basically, this position is perfect. It\u2019s like no other \u201cjob\u201d I\u2019ve had before because it doesn\u2019t feel like a job. Every day I am excited to show up and learn as much as possible to support such a great cause. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this organization, and I am so grateful to be a part of the team.<\/p>\n Meet Henry, from Washed Ashore<\/a><\/p>\n Part 4: \u201cDo you know how I can get to Portland?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n When I envisioned Oregon before my arrival, I guess I basically thought that it would be Portland all across the state\u2026 that\u2019s a bad assumption. But with that assumption I also thought that I would be just fine trying to navigate around with just a bike. Oregon is bike-friendly, right? Sort of. What I didn\u2019t realize was just how small Bandon is (the town where my program is), and just how far away it is from everything else (even my office is 2 miles from where I live, so I\u2019m getting into some decent shape, whether I want to or not).<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been lucky enough to receive a scholarship for my tuition. I\u2019m truly grateful, but one of a few stipulations of the scholarship is that I have <\/em>to attend a workshop in the middle of the summer, meaning that I had to determine how to get from Bandon to KC and back again as quickly as possible. For my Missouri friends, I likened this task to trying to get from Camdenton (similar to Bandon) to either Springfield (like Eugene, has a smaller airport) or Kansas City (like Portland, large-ish airport with more options, but much farther away) with only a bike. Now, I lived in Camdenton for over 5 years, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to tell someone how to do that. Do they have an Amtrak? I\u2019m pretty sure there\u2019s an Amtrak from Jeff City to KC, but how would you get to Jeff? Local bus from Osage Beach? And then I\u2019m not sure if there\u2019s a local bus from Camdenton to Osage Beach? My point is, I\u2019ve learned what I didn\u2019t know about myself growing up in a small town \u2013 we don\u2019t take public transportation, because there basically isn\u2019t any. If you live in a small town, chances are you have to commute to a larger town for most things, and so you\u2019ll need a car, which I\u2019m running short on. So after many conversations (a lot very similar to my description of transportation in rural Missouri), lots of google searches, and tremendous help from my travel enthusiast\/saint of a grandmother, I found a route that includes a couple 30-min taxis, 2 greyhound buses, two flights, including the \u201cred-eye\u201d flight (1 am departure) from Las Vegas into KC, and finally a 3-hr drive to my workshop in Columbia, MO. That\u2019s the trip out, I\u2019m still working on getting back in since I just found out that there are no buses back to Bandon on Saturdays. I\u2019ll keep you posted.<\/p>\n Looking forward: Week 2<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re still reading, (thanks!), you\u2019re probably wondering about several aspects of my experience that I haven\u2019t mentioned. This certainly isn\u2019t close to everything that I have to talk about, including my roommates, workmates, and the wonderful people I\u2019ve met around Bandon so far. But I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll fill in the gaps as the weeks progress and I continue posting. I\u2019ve already set out some goals for the summer, for my internship, professionally, and personally, and I\u2019m excited to share those next time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first week as an Oregon State Summer Sea Scholar has been busy, but already fulfilling. It\u2019s impossible to document every experience that I\u2019ve had, but looking back on my week, there are several moments that stand out. I\u2019ll organize … Continue reading