<p>
	<br />
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}DSC_1203.jpg" style="float: right; width: 250px; height: 188px; " />I have just finished week #2 of Au Sable&rsquo;s winter Environmental Education (EE) Internship Program.&nbsp; With only five days of students so far (the first week was training&mdash;no kids), the jury is still out on whether or not EE is my new life calling.&nbsp; That EE be a good life-fit is of little concern to me, though.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m in this because I believe trying new things is a worthwhile pursuit in its own right.&nbsp; To discover a new passion would be icing on the cake.</p>
<p>
	For me, a nerdy student who spent the last four years of his life refining his ability to over-complicate things in academia, EE feels like a cross-cultural experience.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ve been immersed in first-grader culture.&nbsp; When was the last time you thought about who you were in first grade? &nbsp;&nbsp;For non-parenting &ldquo;grown-ups&rdquo; &nbsp;like myself (I use the word &ldquo;grown-up&rdquo; loosely) there are few reasons to recall a time so distant as first grade.&nbsp; As I&rsquo;m compelled to remember what life was like when I was seven, I&rsquo;m learning lessons in empathy.&nbsp; Additionally, I&rsquo;m learning about improvisation and flexibility.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m learning how to be concise, and I&rsquo;m learning how to visibly express the enthusiasm that normally stays in my head.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m learning that frequent potty breaks are a cornerstone of any successful EE program when younger groups are here, and I&rsquo;m learning that when a student suggests Willy Wonka&rsquo;s chocolate factory might be somewhere in Au Sable&rsquo;s woods, it&rsquo;s viewed as a plausible albeit controversial proposition&hellip; students skeptical of that hypothesis find it more level-headed to propose that Au Sable is actually somewhere in Narnia. &nbsp;</p>
