밤 마실 : Bush trip.

토요일 저녁 지역 커뮤니티에서 진행하는 이벤트에 다녀왔습니다. 아직 호기심이 충만한 다민이와 다래 데리고 따뜻한 옷 갖춰 입고 밤마실 다녀온 밤마실.

내가 놀랬던 건 그렇게 작은 벌레나 거미, 귀뚜라미들을 보며 아이들보다 더 호들갑 떠는(?) 어른들을 관찰하는 것이었습니다. 촌놈 내 어린 시절이 주마등처럼 스쳐 지나갑니다.

아무튼 아이들과 늦은 시간까지 즐거운 시간을 보냈습니다. 곤충탐사 박사처럼 집중하며 재잘대던 다래와 반대로 덤덤해하던 다민이.

하루 지나서 아이들에게 어제 나들이에 대해서 글로 정리해 보라고 했습니다. 컴퓨터 게임한판 하려고 금세 정리하고 돌아서는 다민이. 무슨 내용으로 잘 써볼까 아직 고민하고 있는 다래.

사진 아래는 다민이가 쓴 글입니다. 이런 생각들을 했다는 게 기특하기도 하고 놀랍기도 합니다.

Date 24.11.24
Yesterday evening, from 7:30 to 9:30, I went on an AWESOME adventure with my family to
this place called 7 Marina Road. We had a super cool mission: to explore a stream and find
out what kinds of tiny creatures, called macroinvertebrates, were living in the water. I learned
about macroinvertebrates in Mrs. Goodwin’s science class, but I didn’t know there were so
many different kinds of them, and I had NO idea how exciting it would be to actually go out
and find them in real life! I was pretty pumped because I love science, and this was like a
real-life science adventure. I couldn't wait to see what we would discover.
When we first got there, we met some really nice people who worked there. They were super
friendly and handed us these contracts that we had to sign. It was kind of like we were
signing up for something top secret! I was kind of nervous, but then I saw a rabbit hopping
around the place and all my worries went away. The rabbit’s name was Penny, and she was
so cute! She didn’t mind us at all and hopped right up to us like we were her best friends. It
made me feel like I was in some kind of magical forest or something. I was really glad Penny
was there because she made everything feel way more fun and cosy.
The first thing we did was check out the water samples. The staff had already collected
some muddy water for us to look at, and we had to use spoons to scoop up any little
creatures we could find. At first, the water looked all gross and brown, and I thought there
was nothing in there. But when I looked closer, I saw tiny things moving around! It was really
hard to spot them at first because they were so small and the water was kind of murky. But
once I found my first creature. We scooped up the water and transferred the creatures into
this big plate thing so we could get a better look at them. Some of the creatures were pretty
weird-looking. Some looked like little squiggly worms, and others were kind of flat and looked
like they had tiny legs. One of them looked like a really tiny caterpillar, but I wasn’t sure what
it was.
Then came the super exciting part: the microscope! I didn’t think it would be that amazing,
but it totally was. We took the big plate thing with the creatures and got to look at them under
these electronic microscopes. I had never seen creatures this tiny up close before. Looking
through the lens. There was one creature that looked like a little maggot or worm, but it was
doing something SO funny. I could see it clearly under the microscope, and it was pooping
nonstop. It was kind of gross, but also hilarious! I didn’t think creatures so tiny could do
something like that.
As I kept looking, I was amazed. There were so many different kinds of creatures, and each
one was doing something different. Some were swimming, some were wriggling, and others
just sat there, chilling.
After we finished with the microscopes, we went on to the next part of the adventure:
exploring the forest! It was starting to get darker, and I could see the sun setting behind the
trees. The forest looked kind of magical in the fading light, like something straight out of a
fairytale. We had to turn on our flashlights so we wouldn’t trip on anything or get lost in the
dark. The air was cool, and the trees looked huge as we walked deeper into the woods. It
was kind of spooky, but also exciting. I loved the feeling of exploring a new place, like I was
part of a secret team on a mission. The ground was all covered in leaves, and they made acrunchy sound when we walked on them, which made the whole place feel even more
mysterious.
Eventually, we made it to the natural stream. It was really cool because it wasn’t like any
stream I’d ever seen before. The water was really clear, and you could see the rocks at the
bottom. It was almost like the stream was part of a secret hidden world, too. I kept thinking
that if I looked hard enough, I might see even more tiny creatures hiding under the rocks!
The instructor was super knowledgeable and told us all kinds of things about the stream. He
pointed out some plants that you could actually eat. I didn’t know there were plants in the
forest that were safe to eat! He showed us one that looked like a big leafy plant, and he said
it was edible, which totally surprised me. I never thought about eating something right from
nature like that, but it was cool to learn that there are plants you can use if you need food in
the wild. I kind of wanted to try it, but I didn’t—maybe next time.
After a while, it started to get pretty late. I knew we had to head home soon, but I really didn’t
want to leave! I was having so much fun, and I had learned so much about the creatures in
the stream, the plants, and the whole environment. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the
forest and the stream. I even started to hope they’d give us another cup of hot chocolate
before we left, but it was already getting late, and we had to pack up. I guess I’ll just have to
save that hot chocolate for next time!
Finally, we said goodbye to the stream and the forest. I was really sad to leave because it
had been such an awesome adventure, and I felt like there was so much more I could learn
if I just stayed a little longer. But I was also really happy because I had learned so many new
things about the tiny creatures that live in the stream, and I’ll never look at water the same
way again. Next time, I’ll know just how much life is hiding in there. I hope we can come
back again because I feel like there’s still so much to explore!

The End.