It took a bit more of the hike to find the main event - the sword dance of the Waved Albatross! I did not realize how LOUD it would be! First comes the bow. Then the opening of beaks followed by smacking beaks together. This is where the sword dance analogy comes from! bow, bow CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK HAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I do a great impression of this dance and have a ball teaching it to my littles back in Arlington. It's also a great party trick!

I must add that not all attempts at the sword dance are successful. You'll see some pairs participating below, as well as some groups where a bird is able to choose from a cluster if one dance does not go as planned. I suppose this is a wildlife version of a dance off?! As our naturalist for the hike, Kike, mentioned to us, by this time of year many pairs were already made and eggs laid. However, some males were still trying to find a mate. This explained the competition circles you'll observe in some photos in comparison to the tender pictures of matched albatrosses.

If you're interested in seeing this in action, check out this Lindblad Expeditions video from 2012 to hear and see the experience for yourself.

As the light began to dapple with shadow and night called us back to our zodiacs, I noticed that the waved albatross pairs took on an almost human approach to nighttime. Just as I like to come home to my husband, eat dinner together and perhaps take in a movie, the waved albatross couples began to gather together for an evening snuggle. These were some of the most tender moments on my expedition. Watching the mates care for one another reminded me that there are many models of care in this world, and I felt grateful to watch nature give a reminder to use humans - stop working, go home, enjoy the sunset, and be with the ones you love.

So Priscilla and I, touched by what we had seen, headed back to the zodiac...but not before we could get a Waved Albatross "usie"!

If you would like to learn more about the Waved Alabtross, or albatrosses in general, check out these great links from National Geographic, the Galápagos Conservation Trust, and World Wildlife Fund! I also recommend you follow Tom Peschak, a National Geographic photographer, conservationist and sea bird enthusiast, on Twitter and look at this article from National Geographic that he took photographs for about the Galápagos! I heard him speak at the 2018 Explorers Festival and was inspired by his sciencetelling about seabirds - check out this video to hear his story (begin at 28:05!). He's got incredible tales of perseverance with birds to tell, and if you act soon, you can go on expedition with him in 2019 with Lindblad Expeditions!

coming Up Next: floreana - Where evil came to eden!

Photo by Jennifer Burgin

From left to right: Dawn Amin-Arsala + Jennifer Burgin at a Kennedy Center's CETA course

March 26, 2018

I'm an only child - an only of onlies of almost all onlies! This creates in me a sense of adoption - constantly inviting others in to be a part of my family. This weekend it was solidified for me that I am a part of the National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions Grosvenor Teacher Fellows Family.

Along with Peg Keiner, Mitch Arsenie, Kelly Meade, Anne Lewis and Wendi Pillars we helped train the 2018 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow class.

Wendi led a session on visual note-taking based on her book Visual Note-taking for Educators - A Teacher's Guide to Student Creativity. Anne and Peg spoke on the National Geographic Geo-Inquiry process. Peg, Mitch and I shared how Google resources supported our deliverables (see mine in the February post below). We all spoke to our teaching area and expedition area siblings answering questions, offering ideas and encouragement.

Throughout the weekend each one of us former fellows expressed how honored and surprised we were to be back. Why did we not expect this experience to radiate throughout our career? I believe it is because many professional development opportunities have a beginning and an ending period. You are trained, taught, and sent on to share what you learn. National Geographic Education does it differently; not only are you trained, taught, and sent out to share what you learn, but you are also mentored, fostered into a family of educators online and in person, constantly checked in with, invited into new opportunities and exploration and encouraged to return home to share your expertise. This family does something different. They invite you to "Go Further."

To my National Geographic and Lindblad Expedition Family - I love you. You are changing my life, therefore inspiring generations of young learners through me. Thank you.

Click on this video to learn what Go Further means. If you look carefully, you can see that National Geographic is celebrating 130 years with a bit of footage from my class last year!!!

So what was my reward for jumping in? What was the pure magic?

I learned that deep water isn't so bad. It's called deep because you can't see the floor, but it's not so deep that hammerheads or whale sharks come near (though with my new bravery I'm scinterested about that, too!).

I saw fish in their natural habitat I had never seen before.

I took shaky and silly film footage with my friends' underwater camera. My finger is in the way, but at some points you can hear me sigh or laugh, and those captured moments of pure bliss are priceless to me.

I swam with sea lions! They rival the Royal Russian Ballet underwater! My heart was pounding as they came near.

I saw my first blue footed booby! It was above us on a tiny cliff, it's feet a more brilliant blue than I could have imagined. Brighter than pictures in a book. "This is real life!" I thought to myself!

I grew. I laid down my fear and strengthened the muscles of "I will try." That is one of the most precious gifts I received...and I would need it a few days later when I snorkeled with a 2nd grader and a shark!

One does not have to go to Galápagos to try something new...but I'm grateful it was the setting for my setting down my fear.

Top Row: Jennifer in her 360 snorkel mask and a zodiac

2nd Row from top: Starfish and parrot-fish

2nd Row from bottom: The cove off of Española from above and below (colors more authentic underwater than in video)

Bottom Row: A blue footed booby and looking to the sky from where we snorkeled

All photos and videos taken by Jennifer Burgin.

Image of comfort zone from Google.

Coming Up Next: Española's sword Dance of Romance - The Waved Albatross

August 22, 2017

Back2School is coming to Arlington, VA! This week many professionals in my community are spending time at our annual Festival of the Minds (FOM). Today I co-led a professional development workshop about educators as explorers with my colleague Kate Miller, a physics educator at Washington - Lee High School. She traveled to Antarctica in early 2017 and conducted research at the South Pole with the team at the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory. Her story-telling about her time at the South Pole is outstanding, and I highly encourage anyone to check out more about her expedition through her journals! My 2nd grade class followed these journals last year and they were amazed by what she experienced.

I was able to share about ecological naïveté, the human geography of Galápagos, and how stepping into the shoes of an explorer showed me how I've been an explorer all along! Kate and I then led other educators through an exercise of wandering while wondering - allowing space, time and resources to look around you in your community and simply ask the questions you may be too busy to otherwise ponder. The joy and pride felt by all who participated was incredible, and I can say that both Kate and I felt that we helped more educators see themselves as explorers.

If you would like to learn more about my FOM session with Kate Miller, contact me at jennifer.burgin@apsva.us! I'm happy to share our materials.

Top Left: Physics Teacher and South Pole Researcher/Explorer Kate Miller shares about her experience and the extremes of the Ice Cube Neutrino Station. She got me wondering about astrophysics!

Top Right: A sample from our session - four educators used the same topic and came up with completely different ideas for our student populations. As the group shared, more ideas were generated. Amazing things happen when we cross curriculum and grade levels!

Bottom: Kate Miller (left) and Jennifer "hands on hip" explorer style!

Photos taken by Jennifer Burgin.

August 1, 2017

Yesterday I visited a friend's house and went to pet her cat, Maddie. This kitty is usually shy but today she decided to sit atop the arm of a sofa and watch me. As I approached her I did all of the usual "cat expert" things I do - allow the kitty to smell my hand, slowly reach for the cat's head, gently pet the cat down the spine. Maddie was liking this. Then randomly, something shifted and she hissed. She was frightened (perhaps I was too close to her tummy?) and I removed my hand. Maddie has an instinct that has been with cats for, well, forever to protect themselves from humans and predators. Even though she is domesticated, she still watches out for danger.

I share this because I want to set the stage for what ecological naïveté is not. It is not that the animals on Galápagos are tame and act naturally among humans because they have learned to trust them. It is not that the humans are so good to the animals that they have a special friendship. The animals on Galápagos have had such little interaction with humans that they do not know better to fear us or remove themselves from our presence. Ecological naïveté, sometimes referred to as island tameness, is also not just about humans. It is due to the lack of a presence of larger apex predators.

On June 4, 2017 I visited Española. This spot is constantly photographed because of it's pristine white beaches covered in snoozing sea lions. This was my first experience with ecological naïveté. The day before our ship leader had taught us about experiencing animals in Galápagos with a six foot space between us. Despite all of us following the rules, it was the sea lions who wanted to break them! As we walk they approach us. As we photograph them they look back. When we swim they swim nearby. It is important to know that these animals are wild. With that in the forefronts of our minds we all observed and related to them in a safe and respectful way.

This would be the first of many times where animals interacted with us instead of us with them. Think about that for a moment. Who usually initiates with animals? It's us! Here on Galápagos it is different.

One example was on this day in Española. I ran into one of my younger friends, a 12 year old boy traveling with his Grandfather. He was excited to show me his iPhone with a photo of a sea lion pup's head on his foot. He said, "I was six feet away and this sea lion just rolled over and put his head on my foot and looked at me! Can you believe it!?" He told me he stood very still until the pup was ready to roll away. I had a similar experience with sea lions while snorkeling and with a giant land tortoise on a tortoise farm (more on that later).

These experiences are one of many reasons why Galápagos is set apart from other places in the world and why we must protect it - these animals are almost pure and Eden-like in their behavior, able to truly act as animals would without the intrusion of man-made constructs. This is why scientists are able to study the animals here in a way they can not any where else in the world. This is also why groups such as National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions are so careful with how many ships and guests they bring to Galápagos.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, some adorable photos I took of sea lions on Española!

Photos of adorable sea lions on Española taken by Jennifer Burgin

Curious why so many sea lions are sleeping? It's not that they are lazy! Consider their food source and methods of getting food. Why do you think the sea lions are sleeping with that hint in mind?

Coming up next: snorkeling in Española

Top Left: Genuine shock on Jennifer's face as a Giant Land Tortoise moves toward her on Santa Cruz Island.

Top Right: Tortoise selfie at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island.

Bottom Left: Dancing to traditional Galápagos music with Galápagueno dancers and friends made on the ship!

Bottom Right: Interview with the ship's videographer, Rodrigo, while visiting a Tortoise Farm (they get to graze and roam - no, they don't get eaten!)

July 16, 2017

Last night my husband and I watched a film called The Galápagos Affair. This is NOT a movie for children (sorry, sweet ones) but an intriguing true dramatic triangle unfolding about three groups of people who attempted to live on Floreana, one of the most southern islands in the Galápagos. The documentary does a great job of expressing both the wildness and the allure of the Galápagos and how it pulls one to come and visit, or even to stay.

I feel like the call to visit the Galápagos is best described by Henry Nicholls in The Galápagos - A Natural History, a book I coincidentally began reading yesterday! (It was a Galápagos kind of day!) He says, "The landscape is both hostile and beautiful; the wildlife is sparse yet striking...For those who have been lucky enough to visit, a trip to the Galápagos is likely to be up there amongst the most memorable experiences of their lifetime. The animals show no prejudice, no fear, but accept humans for what they are, just another species attempting to live in this inhospitable outpost. Experiencing this equanimity with nature is so moving that it has the power to alter the course of human lives, to transform the way we think about our place in the world and the way we behave towards its inhabitants, human and non-human alike."

Zoinks, that's powerful!

Allow me to demonstrate the power of change the Galápagos has:

Coming Up next: ecological naïveté on Española