I followed Angel through the campus grounds. It was deadly quiet. Tumble weed bustled over the desert sand. We had purposefully timed our approach to be like this, so we could avoid masses of children. Forest tiptoed in front of Angel, smelling all of the new and exciting smells. A girl walked past, "Oh my god, is that a wolf?" Another passer by stared at us. Several girls in a large group. Children pouring out of classroom doors. Angel checked her watch and realised her mistake. This was the start of change, not the end! We were bombarded by children asking us questions. Angel found a small wall between the path and the building that she could hide herself and the wolf behind. We really didn't want him getting scared. Children asked me questions such as, "Where are you from? Why do you have a wolf here? Does he bite?" We found the door we needed to go in, the door that would let us escape the masses, but it was locked! Luckily we had developed a few fans, who had already gone round the other side of the building and opened the doors. We went inside. It was quiet again. Angel set up for the lecture whilst I fumbled round with the camera, thinking of angles I could use. Forest lay down for the entire lecture. I moved around the edges to film and felt like an official sanctuary member! The girls of the department were very helpful and showed me to the restrooms and carried Forests water bowl when my hands were full. The lecture was quite informative. I felt proud to be from the sanctuary. We took Forest back to the van and fed him some chicken. It was then time for me and Angel to eat! It was a great day out, and left me with more footage for sanctuary films. I could quite easily get used to the filmmaker lifestyle!
This purpose of me attending the education programme was to film more footage to make a five minute video for the sanctuary website. It became more of a cultural experience, talking to the high school students and seeing a school in the middle of the desert! It was quite strange! The Sandia Crest was in the background, erupting out of the desert plains. It was amazing to think that people actually live, work and study out here! Forest was really good for the entire day. He was really friendly and even scent rolled on some of the students. I'd never seen a full wolf of that size be so friendly.
I had another interesting wolf encounter on my day off. There was a banging at my door. I ignored it at first, but then it came again. I fumbled around for my boots, still half asleep, and opened the door. A furry head poked through. It was Gia! Jason had decided to come and give me a wolf wake up call! I also had a little conversation with a local Indian man. It was very enlightening to hear his philosophy on life. It was even more interesting to see a man who had known me two minutes open up and tell me all about his life!
The week ended with a campfire back at the dome. Me, Katie, Jason, Robin and Kristina gathered round the fire pit at night and made smores! I was so happy to taste the authentic American version - A Graham crackers, one piece of Hershey's chocolate and a toasted marshmallow. We even toasted our marshmallows on sticks! It was so good. I was very excited about my trip to Vegas. Angel and Katie had given me lots of good advice on places to go. As I slept, I dreamt about the second stage of my American adventure!
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