Culture at the Minnesota Zoo
In the spring and summer, the Minnesota Zoo has a large event known as farm babies. This is the boom of young farm animals that are born in the spring. Before the pandemic the zoo would bring on additional volunteers during the busy time. In January of 2020 I was inducted as a Minnesota Zoo Volunteer with the intent to be focused on the farm. I started some basic training but once the COVID-19 pandemic arose training changed from some online zoom calls to nothing at all as the volunteer team reformatted the entire system for new volunteers. I was told I would need to be patient before continuing my training; the zoo was only allowing a limited number of volunteers back. This waiting period was frustrating, but I understood, the entire world around us was changing so it had become routine for things to shift and there was a need to wait to return. I had done the same for my final two years in high school. We swapped between hybrid schedules, only going in person two days per week, while other days were online. In the fall of 2020 when cases of COVID-19 spiked again, we went right back to online learning full time. The pandemic’s effect on my high school experience pushed me to be more flexible and patient in the waiting period between in person learning and online which was a transferable skill to the zoo volunteer waiting period occurring at the same time.
In the summer of 2021, I was able to come back and start training to be more simply a trail interpreter. I have been able to continue in this role as I can with my school schedule. I was excited to begin training, but once I was able to get on the trail, I was nervous to begin greeting guests and intervening to give them information on the animals. As a people pleaser, I felt when I was greeting guests that I was annoying them or even ruining their zoo trip with useless facts they already knew. After observing and shadowing some of the other more knowledgeable volunteers it became much easier to connect with guests and develop an opener such as “Do you know much about the Sea Otters at the zoo?”. Although, things became more difficult when I ran into language barriers. My small amount of Spanish knowledge was disappearing quickly after being away from classes. The memory I had left was enough for minute interactions like directions to the bathroom or when restaurants would be open but not enough to have meaningful conversation about animals and conservation. It made me sad that those guests would not receive the same experience with volunteers and learning that English speakers did. The power dynamic that native English Speakers have on a global level is astronomical. I do not need to know another language or go to college in a country that primarily uses my second or third language like many international students at Minnesota State University – Mankato do. I was naturally equipped with the most widely used language in the world whereas other countries learn English as a requirement in schools. I saw how well those with English as their second language spoke on the trails. Although it became a challenge to decipher if they did know English by simply standing near or walking by. In an attempt to break the language barrier, I greeted the guest or if they asked a question, it provided relief for me to know we could have a conversation. This was not always effective in finding common ground. For example, a guest asking “where is the bathroom” did not help me to begin conversation about animals and a simple hello is a common phrase for people to know in many languages. In these early stages of volunteering, I did my best to be approachable by smiling and greeting people, although I could improve by approaching them with “Do you speak English?” Additionally, asking if they knew much about the animals at the zoo seemed to work well. I am inquiring if they know English well without asking and potentially accidently offending the guest. Working with people of all cultures and ages may become a crucial part of my career.
A page from my trail notes on the Northern Trail.
In addition to language barriers, I spoke with guests from three years old to retired folks. In my childhood, I disliked it when educators talked to me in a baby voice, so I do my best to get eye level with children and speak with them the same as I do for adults. No matter what age of person I was talking to there was varying knowledge. Some children knew far more than adults and I would even learn from children. The saying “age is just a number” became very apparent in my life after my experiences at the zoo.
In a similar way, I found many differences in lifestyle and generational differences with other volunteers. When I arrived on my first day, I expected to see a wide variety of ages but was surprised to see most of the volunteers are retired. After some time, this began to make sense to me, and it is a perfect way to spend one day a week in retirement. My experience working with adults previously to the zoo, was with the church I grew up in. Volunteering with adults there was a welcoming, positive environment therefore I figured the zoo would be the same. They inquired about what stage of life I was in, and I got to know them as well. Each day there is an hour given for lunch and I got to hear everything about the volunteers’ grandchildren and even their baking around the holidays or gardening in the summer. This was comforting to me since I do not have any more grandparents in my life. I had really missed the warmth of older generations. I got a taste of what my life could look like in the next 30 years, I can picture myself continuing to volunteer all the way into adulthood and retirement. The older generations have a slow pace in life which is something I find myself struggling with as a college student. Each time I go to volunteer I am reminded by my older friends to take things a little slower and how important that is for your mental health. They do not take little things like a nice day or a tasty lunch for granted. I have started noticing myself doing the same; seeing or feeling the warm sun can make a bad day just a little brighter.
Since many of the other volunteers are older, they may not be as in tune with the progressive society we have today. One of the volunteer coordinators is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Differing pronouns was still something new to me as a freshman in college, but I did my best to correct myself if I used incorrect pronouns. I made a conscious effort to respect the volunteer coordinator as an equal to myself through an ethnorelative approach, they were in turn using my correct pronouns. I quickly became more used to progressive gendering techniques as I became closer friends with a trans gender woman. I learned the struggles, fears and indecency of people just by being around her and her friends. People misgender her regularly and when people do seem to accept who she is, it is a huge triumph. It makes me sad and angry that people becoming comfortable in their own skin is looked down upon by so many and the first reaction is that they are wrong or “confused”. These people seem to follow an ethnocentric belief in that their way of gendering is the only correct way, as if they are superior. The older generation seemed to disregard the correct pronouns but not necessarily purposefully, they just did not seem to be trying diligently to get the pronouns correct for the volunteer coordinator. I have gotten the excuse that older people may just be “stuck in their ways” but that is no excuse to accept someone for who they are. Instead of correcting the other volunteers, I just made sure to use the correct pronouns in conversation with them; sometimes they would catch on, but others just seemed to ignore. In my future education jobs talking about wildlife with guests or coworkers I may experience people who do not make the effort to accept differences to be sure everyone feels comfortable. It is a goal of mine to get to a place where I can stand up for people and correct those who use the incorrect pronouns in a polite way that would not cause turmoil. It is unfortunate that the United States have made human rights a political topic, this makes it difficult to confront about the issue for fear the conversation would escalate. This could also be applied to those who may dress outside of “societies normal” as well, such as men wearing women’s clothing or the opposed. Celebrating these people instead of asking “why” or commenting on the strangeness is most important. Then, everyone can be themselves in a healthy way.
I was surprised with the amount of culture I experienced while walking the Minnesota Zoo trails talking about animals and conservation efforts. It gave me insight into how people may react when engaging with a language barrier present. I have learned that language should not be a barrier and interactions without speaking such as smiling and greeting can be important as well. With this in mind, I think there are better ways to engage on a deeper level with these guests; especially knowing a majority have English speaking skills. Further, the generational differences with other volunteers were positive encounters or induced learning. Taking life a little slower to enjoy the little things can help lead to a more happy and fulfilled life. On the other hand, I know how to stand up and speak up to allow people to feel comfortable in a group setting or to be sure they know I am an ally. Since this experience, I have seen other examples of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism. In each instance I utilize my belief that everyone should be celebrated equally by correcting pronoun usage or pronunciation of a name. I have experienced numerous cultural celebrations now and found numerous differences worth celebrating while not forgetting the oppression it took for those cultures to get where they are and how much farther they need to go. I aim to use the knowledge I have learned through my intercultural experiences to expand further into other groups. Oppression is synonymous amongst every group, and education from direct experience may disprove your way of handling a situation.