tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19098288916880024052023-11-16T09:23:54.034-08:00JESS' ADVENTURES ABROADUpdates of What Jess is Up To While Playing OutsideJesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-45485044632671395072012-12-12T19:07:00.001-08:002012-12-13T00:53:55.359-08:00Bundle of Joy Born in Borneo!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqlwwWMnNhyphenhyphenZ7nWXKZsrLsBixO9sHlwBfouPDww3lOnDF34CConLRa1-eQTLhlrQgLbbgqocIgTM4bU3tfMGQ51b8vLg5kcNhVaSXo6Ugd_5aKXQ_aRydQG9cOI9yqU674k41Jo7bqKM/s1600/2012.12.01+IndahNewborn+JMS2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqlwwWMnNhyphenhyphenZ7nWXKZsrLsBixO9sHlwBfouPDww3lOnDF34CConLRa1-eQTLhlrQgLbbgqocIgTM4bU3tfMGQ51b8vLg5kcNhVaSXo6Ugd_5aKXQ_aRydQG9cOI9yqU674k41Jo7bqKM/s400/2012.12.01+IndahNewborn+JMS2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Multitasking Matriarch: Indah filling up on fruit while balancing a new baby<br />
© Jess Stitt/OuTrop 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's one more <a href="http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/12/whats-happening-wednesday-issue-1.html" target="_blank">article</a> I wrote for the OuTrop blog: announcing the birth of a new baby orangutan! I was lucky enough to be able to confirm the pipsqueak's existence at the beginning of December, after another researcher (hey hey Amanda) thought she spotted a newborn with one of our longterm resident females, Indah. It's all very exciting when you gain a tally in the win column for an endangered species. Here's the link in full to the post for What's Happening Wednesday!</div>
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<a href="http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/12/whats-happening-wednesday-issue-1.html" target="_blank">http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/12/whats-happening-wednesday-issue-1.html</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sj0D8WnMEGxDTJ9rG4u7PbnhRtrh-hmNQUNdN4AIwcLRj5Ggq-bL9jvN9WUsZkxowmQ3l9VdKatEUctjFS4hQ8i1nDO9ES2DUKLeVVA4oozSYfHygemVYidnt9hYEG0BQUCAFPm43GA/s1600/2012.12.11+IndahNewborn+JMS1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sj0D8WnMEGxDTJ9rG4u7PbnhRtrh-hmNQUNdN4AIwcLRj5Ggq-bL9jvN9WUsZkxowmQ3l9VdKatEUctjFS4hQ8i1nDO9ES2DUKLeVVA4oozSYfHygemVYidnt9hYEG0BQUCAFPm43GA/s400/2012.12.11+IndahNewborn+JMS1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom sharing some love with her miniature marvel.<br />
© Jess Stitt/OuTrop 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-10129526546171638872012-12-09T08:28:00.000-08:002012-12-09T08:49:16.811-08:00GUEST POST: Teaming Up with Team Forestry!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Guess what?! This is a guest post, brought to you by my friend and coworker at OuTrop! How treerific. I'll leaf it to her to do the talking...</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hey everyone!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m
Cassie, one of Jess’ colleagues here in the jungle.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since I’m very good at updating my blog, and
Jess admits that she’s not so good at updating hers, we came up with a little
one-post blog swap.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You’ll be reading my
ramblings today instead of hers!</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR_yFX2mNZpbXm2OSPdKf3VsryUikQcKAVN1gD9Q5vgbjbBxCQ3TPixdwPVRB_8Vca_pchF-xuqEXCh21RGtgr-lHzsjukP8dqXQsGJlS60ap1KxPt_p9IH1MhoYxmGmG9xBUfK6TyKo/s1600/CassieTower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDR_yFX2mNZpbXm2OSPdKf3VsryUikQcKAVN1gD9Q5vgbjbBxCQ3TPixdwPVRB_8Vca_pchF-xuqEXCh21RGtgr-lHzsjukP8dqXQsGJlS60ap1KxPt_p9IH1MhoYxmGmG9xBUfK6TyKo/s320/CassieTower.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To the Tower! Cassie perched high in the sky.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So to start off with, a little bit about myself.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m also from the U.S., although I’m not
entirely sure what state I’m from anymore. My parents live in Minnesota, I went
to college in North Carolina, and then skipped up to NYC for grad school at
Columbia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I just got my M.A. in
Conservation Biology this year.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My
thesis was on post-fire peatswamp forest regeneration and the role of seed
dispersal in that process, and all of my field work was done here at one of
OuTrop’s remote sites (for more information on why this place is important,
Google “Mega-Rice Project”).</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I came back
this year to work as a coordinator for our volunteer program, and now am
transitioning into a new role as forestry scientist with a little bit of
project managing mixed in.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
interesting being here in camp now, because there are very few Western
researchers (3, to be exact) that are not primate-focused, and soon 2 of them
are going home.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That leaves just me to
hold down team forestry- a big job, but I’m looking forward to it.</span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, now to the task at hand.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jess gave me three prompts for this post, so
I will now answer them in no particular order (actually, in the order she gave
them to me, but who’s keeping track?)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: italic; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What is
it like seeing the forest for the trees?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Really nice, actually! Since most of my work focuses on
trees, I’ve been able to learn how to identify quite a few since I started
here. Most people learn the trees that are most relevant to their work (i.e.,
the main feeding trees of their favorite primate), but since ALL the trees are
relevant to my work I’ve been trying to learn them as best I can.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think I see the forest in a different way
from most other people here; I know a lot about the different zones of the
forest, which species are likely found together, and how they contribute to
overall forest ecology, which compliments the way others see the forest.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Plus, I get a major bonus in that I never
have to wake up extremely early to go searching for my study organism and they
never move, which is more than I can say for all of my primate-inclined friends
at camp!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: italic; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How
have your experiences in Indonesia influenced you?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They’ve made me more adventurous and more inquisitive.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They’ve also gotten me interested in a part
of the world that I never really thought I would ever visit, but it turns out
that I really like it here and I have a feeling that I will be spending a good
bit of time here as my career develops Most importantly, my experiences here
have showed me that I’m studying/working in the right field, and they have
given me the opportunity to do some great things. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The downside is that my experiences here have made me a
little bit grumpy about life in America.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The people here don’t have very much stuff, but they’re so happy and
friendly and always willing to share. This stands in stark contrast to us in
the U.S. where we feel like we always need to newest thing and still aren’t
happy.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a major cultural
difference between Indonesia and America, and I think I feel worse culture
shock when I go home than when I come here!</span> </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blueberry
Slai O’Lai. Discuss.</span></i> </i></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For those of you who aren’t in the know, Slai O’Lai are
these magical little cookies we take into the forest with us for energy on long
days.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They come in three flavors:
blueberry, pineapple, and strawberry. I can say with 100% certainty that
blueberry is the best, and there’s no discussion needed. Anyone who says
otherwise is a liar.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></blockquote>
Based on the conclusions drawn here, I have been deemed a liar - on my <i>own</i> blog - as I contend that the strawberry Slai O'Lai cookies are far superior. Alas, at least we can agree that trees and Indonesian adventures are awesome. To check out more of Cassie's stuff, you can visit <i>her </i>blog (which is much more up to date): <a href="http://cathrynf.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">c<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">athrynf.wordpress.com</span></a><br />
<br />
Thanks, Cassie!<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-37957444160241461982012-12-09T07:46:00.001-08:002012-12-11T22:06:33.278-08:00Time to Rinse Off The Mud and Get Back to Work...<div style="text-align: justify;">
It has been a while since I last posted. I have been a bit swamped in the swamp; bogged down by the field work here in Borneo, while wading through grad school applications in virtual reality. The mud has really caked onto my blogging boots, causing me to drag my feet. So apologies to you (both for the delay, and for the re-peat of puns).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByXoDqBEsPH-fN6NXMs0Lhhq9XEaXezNJCGShbNTdEHoOPNT1DmlHbl2XIotMcIWhQPh8BSWvKS74XlKm-lgHqUx3ty3bxaOwt0sMK4wfNOis0sZ34Ak9-M9Ja-YywPWOCVOnHIauO6s/s1600/PeatWater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByXoDqBEsPH-fN6NXMs0Lhhq9XEaXezNJCGShbNTdEHoOPNT1DmlHbl2XIotMcIWhQPh8BSWvKS74XlKm-lgHqUx3ty3bxaOwt0sMK4wfNOis0sZ34Ak9-M9Ja-YywPWOCVOnHIauO6s/s320/PeatWater.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good soak in the red delicious peat water is just the thing for shaking off the mud and stress after a hard day's field work. </td></tr>
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To pull myself up out of the mire of these missing months and re-convene our chipper chats, here are some links to articles I have been writing over at the OuTrop blog!</div>
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This one's an intro to me, and an overview of my early forest experiences: </div>
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<a href="http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-orangutan-intern.html" target="_blank">http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-orangutan-intern.html</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF5C4IDcKrwIOdr559z4XyKWm2wafUxtcbLKiKzpDhs10vGMiBsvZandI48myQ9vwoDaeDygVSH0R1BuqDBlO6EmLb8XifK7OFQ2I-wbOonDBCyyDp4gxCHAkp925vz8bNPOZG8AVrzg/s1600/IMG_3839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF5C4IDcKrwIOdr559z4XyKWm2wafUxtcbLKiKzpDhs10vGMiBsvZandI48myQ9vwoDaeDygVSH0R1BuqDBlO6EmLb8XifK7OFQ2I-wbOonDBCyyDp4gxCHAkp925vz8bNPOZG8AVrzg/s320/IMG_3839.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pensive flanged male orangutan.<br />
Jess Stitt/OuTrop ©2012</td></tr>
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And this one goes into detail about my tarsier sighting*:<br />
<a href="http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/10/rare-sighting-in-forest.html" target="_blank">http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/10/rare-sighting-in-forest.html</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_56ntIRiDFf5o0YDBly34pw8kPNAaEwklfkaiKqnliPG5VOyn4pChGCY2j3reebjZFxSSSYRrN4yoNCFnNqDTU3RoSSCXJs0kz3BdHOBud1uZHe7wGeLK40gPwSQRlWAX8h7XIJvcyZU/s1600/BugEyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_56ntIRiDFf5o0YDBly34pw8kPNAaEwklfkaiKqnliPG5VOyn4pChGCY2j3reebjZFxSSSYRrN4yoNCFnNqDTU3RoSSCXJs0kz3BdHOBud1uZHe7wGeLK40gPwSQRlWAX8h7XIJvcyZU/s400/BugEyed.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Bug-Eyed Beauty of a Beast<br />
Jess Stitt/OuTrop ©2012</td></tr>
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I didn't write this next one, but I was there for it! A very surreal, awesome experience: </div>
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<a href="http://www.outrop.blogspot.com/#!http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/11/slow-loris-causes-rumble-in-jungle.html">http://outrop.blogspot.com/2012/11/slow-loris-causes-rumble-in-jungle.html</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2C34cEpliI5FM0s1tXCb7KDXE6tGibvjEjH12Q1HLBBHYa8E43hi1_-cqtlgsK9-q7lzFYKfElJYFb8bbuqDjeQGohR4V6XhqDZjgNn4b2aWa5VKEZbs-_xVWfZ-hJCPaGevN9T4_sA/s1600/Loris_Bron.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2C34cEpliI5FM0s1tXCb7KDXE6tGibvjEjH12Q1HLBBHYa8E43hi1_-cqtlgsK9-q7lzFYKfElJYFb8bbuqDjeQGohR4V6XhqDZjgNn4b2aWa5VKEZbs-_xVWfZ-hJCPaGevN9T4_sA/s320/Loris_Bron.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A most startled yet lovely loris.<br />
Bronwyn Eva/OuTrop ©2012</td></tr>
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Another one or two more posts by me will appear over there in the coming weeks, but I definitely recommend exploring/following the <a href="http://www.outrop.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">OuTrop blog</a> as it is full of awesome news and events going on at our field site, and all around Indonesia and Borneo as well.</div>
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If you are so inclined, you can also buy a calendar for the shiny new year of 2013, filled with my furry forest friends! The guy pictured above is in there, as are shots of all sorts of critters we've seen over the course of a year. Proceeds go towards supporting our conservation initiatives here in the field. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.outrop.com/shop.html">http://www.outrop.com/shop.html</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX8cNX6zczoZYL6dlRcgrnXgGY2lG2-_1jpwkYHDgi0gj_iEhPlHdwhKNnw5oRGv9Gy-235oDEpHAKuw5_6FdRHZQ-GawmmPv5FBwAkxrDEEF0W6s46Ioljka2KJTGUvIiKDWKtRc36Y/s1600/STITT+PitcherParty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzX8cNX6zczoZYL6dlRcgrnXgGY2lG2-_1jpwkYHDgi0gj_iEhPlHdwhKNnw5oRGv9Gy-235oDEpHAKuw5_6FdRHZQ-GawmmPv5FBwAkxrDEEF0W6s46Ioljka2KJTGUvIiKDWKtRc36Y/s320/STITT+PitcherParty.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plenty of pitcher plants, to quench any ant's thirst.<br />
Jess Stitt/OuTrop ©2012</td></tr>
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*My first, of three, tarsier sightings. So many tiny primates! I've now spied the double trifecta of primate species here (six total), getting to glimpse the orangutan, gibbon, and kelasi, plus the macaque, tarsier, and loris. Lucky me! Few can boast such a feat, so I am humbled by my forest fortune. Photos and stories in future posts, I promise. Cross my peat swamp heart and hope to dive/fall in a hole.</div>
Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-20950082219022047572012-09-21T23:43:00.004-07:002012-12-11T22:10:30.423-08:00Beware Those Crazy Ground Apes<div style="text-align: justify;">
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By now, most people know that Jess is off monkeying around in Borneo. But what am I actually getting up to day in and day out? Well, it's taken me some time to get to the bottom of this riddle myself, but I've finally worked it out. Basically, I am here to play hide and seek with the orangutans. Usually, the auburn apes like to do the hiding and I try to find them before it gets dark. If they win, I go home and count to eight hours of sleep before trying again. But if I win, I get to follow them around the forest all day! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBhHjIMePKlmbkJltKMyX-oXJU-ZmW3OwPFHcD8Kt6dx_LGp_f7fYczfZim34EgZI7hUCf98sYYSYtOwnLMJgs8SQ_BDgNRBvgb9Ogey0n0GDqXjsn6eIneS4CDMWq_eACDY_AeQKI8Q/s1600/IMG_2443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBhHjIMePKlmbkJltKMyX-oXJU-ZmW3OwPFHcD8Kt6dx_LGp_f7fYczfZim34EgZI7hUCf98sYYSYtOwnLMJgs8SQ_BDgNRBvgb9Ogey0n0GDqXjsn6eIneS4CDMWq_eACDY_AeQKI8Q/s400/IMG_2443.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This bold little girl gets bored of hiding all day - she'll come close and try to push down a tree nearby to get your attention.<br />
© Jess Stitt/OuTrop 2012</td></tr>
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Miraculously, this game of ours lines up with the two main activities I am assigned to do here in camp: Mencari and Menikuti.</div>
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Mencari (to search) involves walking slowly along transects cut through the forest, with lots of pauses to listen for orangutan sounds. The acoustic clues include tree swaying, branch breaking, and snag crashing - which all happen to sound like the wind when it gusts through. So it also helps that the orangutan is a messy eater: dropping lots of fruity bits from the canopy onto the dry leaf floor below, chewing loudly, and "popping" the seeds of certain fruits (they use their massive jaw strength to break open a seed and access the tasty nutrient-rich core). When they go a-hunting for rayap (termites), they make sounds strangely similar to someone tearing apart rotten wood… likely because they are using their impressive upper body strength to tear apart rotten wood. And push down big dead trees. As such, it's usually best not to stand too close when they're binging on invertebrates.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole family goes wild for a big dead tree feast ful of termites! Even the littlest learns how best to pick them out of the wood. (Females pictured, from top to bottom: Georgia, Gracia, & little Gretel)<br />
© Jess Stitt/OuTrop 2012</td></tr>
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Menikuti (to follow) starts once the jig is up and we've tracked down/stumbled upon an orangutan in the woods. A team of observers (usually two humans) will follow the individual all day, taking data on the activity and location of the orangutan every five minutes. This is the heart and soul of the orangutan behavior project, and it (usually) is as fun as it sounds to follow a wild orangutan around the jungle all day. There are endless awesome ways of traveling through the treetops to witness, a bit of quadrupedal walking on the ground to try to keep up with, lots of feeding on fruit and flowers (to sample), and every once in a while a social get together! The juveniles will play together and sometimes the adults join in - swinging upside down, grabbing at the young hooligans, and play-biting each other. And you never know who will show up to hang out: maybe an aunt, perhaps a cousin or two, or why not a big flanged male to really stir things up? By the end of the day, when all the feeding and moving and playing is done, and the sun is setting over the equator, orangutans will go their separate ways and clamber up a tree to build themselves a night nest. Expertly engineered, they pick specific tree species with just the right amount of bend to their branches. Some of the good ones have really big leaves that make for great padding. There are a few females here who like to "sing" to themselves while they work, blowing raspberries as the fold and snap and twist the branches. (I just read a paper all about the awesomeness of orangutan nest building recently, let me know if you want to have a nerdy conversation about arboreal architecture!)</div>
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Once the nest is built and the simian is done singing and snug in their swaddling, we observers are free to head home. We mark the tree where the nest's been built, to return to again in the morning. Orangutans tend to be up from sunrise until nearly sunset and, as it happens, those two are equidistant from each other year-round here at the equator. So 12-hour days are common for nest-to-nest follows; ample time to amble with such amiable acquaintances. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An unflanged male turning the tables to observe us. I bet we make a fascinating study species.<br />
© Jess Stitt/OuTrop 2012</td></tr>
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I often find myself wondering what the orangutans think of us as they peer down upon the hairless hominids who always seem to struggle stepping through the swamp and brambles on two legs. Why us crazy ground apes don't just shimmy up the nearest pohon (tree) is probably beyond our graceful great ape cousins.<br />
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Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-57251475573935352282012-08-26T22:28:00.001-07:002012-09-16T06:12:17.301-07:00A Forest Fit for Fancy Footwork<div style="text-align: justify;">
Moving around the forest here is not as linear as you would expect. The hiking tends to be a bit more like rock climbing mixed with a slalom through small trees, which suits me just fine. However, there are no rocks here, and the ground is quite flat. Everything is biotic, meaning it is, or once was, living material - often mixed with a healthy dose of water in the form of mud. I like to think of my daily treks as Bio Bouldering ... notched up a level if it's done in the dark!<br />
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The ground around you is peat, mud, leaves, fallen trees bits, and roots of all sorts ("normal", buttress, stilted, pneumatophore, secret tripwire, etc.). The "walls" of your clambering cathedral are vines, lianas, tree trunks, small pointy plants, and branches - sometimes covered in ants or caterpillars, sometimes not. Most often, spider webs are strung up across the path to shower whoever gets to walk through the forest first that day in celebratory streamers. The invisible threads tend to go well with the confetti of dirt and leaf litter that rains down upon you all day to add to the mud, sweat, and scratches.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the flora underfoot: a lovely set of pitcher plants!</td></tr>
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But back to the Bio Bouldering. In rock climber lingo: edging, high stepping, and crimping come in handy (and footy) for your traverse. Precise foot placement is important, as you don't want to miss that slippery root you are aiming for, since a knee-deep mud hole certainly awaits your misstep. Or that seemingly-innocuous dry leaf could be covering yet another deep peat dip, so step carefully and stick to the sticks. The childhood game of "the ground is lava" comes in very handy here, as said ground is an unknown mix of mud and material in various stages of decomposition to slow your travel. Now, as many know, I am a big fan of mud, and gravitate towards it wherever I can find it. Yet this slog in the bog can be a bit heart-wrenching at times, as every sink into the substrate completely saps any forward momentum you may have had. But there's no denying the cooling capabilities of a good ol' mud wallow. Babi the forest pig might be onto something...<br />
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Many a fallen tree bar your path, so the higher your leg can reach to help pull you over, the better. Going around the downed giant is not an option, as it has a huge root structure at one end, and a massive tangle of branches at the other. Upper body strength is always welcome to aid in pulling yourself over or out of the mud, and help surmount those fallen trees. Finger and grip strength assist in these endeavors as well - at least when the tree being gripped is not fully rotten. Core body strength seems to help across the board, as balance is paramount, especially on early morning boardwalk walks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2syC3EDkVPXoXxFQx8depLgigo2gcARcJDjKEeQnFmdT0w01QLf6h7AxUFMYXzr0MGe-0H7WzTq2YlDE22mJsU4LqDBZQ3XjpFVeRXYk_nEyFEajjHdnwWcOUb2oVLMxO5MZWhjfMwI/s1600/IMG_0599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2syC3EDkVPXoXxFQx8depLgigo2gcARcJDjKEeQnFmdT0w01QLf6h7AxUFMYXzr0MGe-0H7WzTq2YlDE22mJsU4LqDBZQ3XjpFVeRXYk_nEyFEajjHdnwWcOUb2oVLMxO5MZWhjfMwI/s320/IMG_0599.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two boards side by side on the boardwalk is a luxury that lasts only a few dozen meters into the woods.</td></tr>
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Two additions to make the scampering even more fun-filled are those small pointy plants, known as Pandan and Rattan. Pandan (<i>Pandanus </i>sp.) is kind of like a little palm fern which can cover large swaths of the forest floor and grow taller than a person, but seems to like stopping its growth at eye height. It is covered in smallish spikes that all point outward and make bushwhacking through its green opulence a scratch-tastic experience. Those eye-level tips of the fronds are also sharpened to a spike, and have jabbed more than one wary walker right in the cornea. The only retaliation we can take against it seems to be either stepping on it at the base, thereby flattening it momentarily, or pulling it out at the root and eating the base of the plant. Not too flavorful, but it could sustain you for a time. Plus, biting down and impaling the plant with those spikes of your own tastes of sweet and refreshing revenge. </div>
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Rattan is thankfully a less common companion in the forest, but one you don't quickly forget. It has very thin tendrils covered in very sharp spines that will ensnare you for a solid (painful) minute if you are caught unawares. The best/worst encounters are when both you and your fellow observer get caught in the same set of tendrils and alternate yelping until breaking free of the tug of war with the near-invisible menace.<br />
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After the first couple weeks, the maneuvering becomes a tad easier, and as it is the dry season, the mud holes have been shrinking. However, I haven't been in camp for several days and the rains have been coming in more frequently ... if the rain spirits decree, I'll get to soak up more thigh-high mud again soon!</div>
Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-80451357854247867132012-08-10T09:52:00.000-07:002012-08-10T20:46:06.836-07:00A Breath of Fresh Air<span style="text-align: justify;">Coming to you live from the edge of delicious rainforest, with this first report of life in the peat-swamp forest of Indonesia. And life is good.</span><br />
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The Sabangau forest and the facilities at Base Camp both are above and beyond my expectations – with a wealth of biodiversity and fun muddy terrain to greet me in the forest, and delicious food plus good company to welcome me back to camp each night. Though the highlight for me might be waking up to the singing gibbon duets almost daily ... more to come on that in a later post. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNYzsvS-Cev4uazmFcQgrBm0KI2_cSpf9C2riKtDDwwIsPYtW-gnSWvAsKdNTcE1wam4KH8wMlMTIr1LKjfo-jqMmpT2z3x6xBATo74UtkkCcjgudqWMdz21ZunH6_3BNdveLUV3sSoI/s1600/IMG_0592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Camp Bed" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNYzsvS-Cev4uazmFcQgrBm0KI2_cSpf9C2riKtDDwwIsPYtW-gnSWvAsKdNTcE1wam4KH8wMlMTIr1LKjfo-jqMmpT2z3x6xBATo74UtkkCcjgudqWMdz21ZunH6_3BNdveLUV3sSoI/s320/IMG_0592.jpg" title="" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mosquito-free accommodations where I'll be kicking back in for a spell.</td></tr>
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Base camp itself has no internet access (let alone electricity for more than a few hours per day), but every couple weeks I take a day off in the nearby town of Palangka Raya to recuperate and reintegrate (briefly) into the wired world. [Hooray for US Women’s Soccer and the landing of a rover on Mars!] Blog posts are born during these brief stays in town; I head back into the great green garden again tomorrow. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQeNEwhil322UHHXm9j5TmhI_znej0v3fsY_DGiUmLg7p1Vc3Qk811Mc9D2wThmII8hHD6xrjlSYF4Y7jBBXLrXr8TkwPiRqqYfsVoq7mlBRCoSOw9oqk6rkNdjjTiKXUYZ4tLn59Pjw/s1600/IMG_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQeNEwhil322UHHXm9j5TmhI_znej0v3fsY_DGiUmLg7p1Vc3Qk811Mc9D2wThmII8hHD6xrjlSYF4Y7jBBXLrXr8TkwPiRqqYfsVoq7mlBRCoSOw9oqk6rkNdjjTiKXUYZ4tLn59Pjw/s320/IMG_0595.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small little pitcher plant I managed to capture and take as my prisoner.</td></tr>
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Gaining access to the canopy-covered camp, where the orangutans dwell, has three steps: </div>
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Step 1. Take a local taxi to the outskirts of town to get to the harbor. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5w9pZC5-Tk7qYLHoRYQe8T16j1fWE_TCzBZ6iZfwn9doIUVkwwox91QIHeYz7E6xpQzXMjupqjcAykYYP1BYa_VOGsS7pkIVDzMYsrGHSUlzd9IOTxtutSQ352C1C3pvCIIgqmFL908I/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kereng" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5w9pZC5-Tk7qYLHoRYQe8T16j1fWE_TCzBZ6iZfwn9doIUVkwwox91QIHeYz7E6xpQzXMjupqjcAykYYP1BYa_VOGsS7pkIVDzMYsrGHSUlzd9IOTxtutSQ352C1C3pvCIIgqmFL908I/s320/IMG_0650.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kereng, the town on the edge of town. They have the boats.</td></tr>
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Step 2. Board a klotok (small outrigger canoe) for a delightful journey down a broad river flanked by dense palm-like pandan. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacSftGAZEPpPtt_PuBe-UQw5WVH85hznTAotJXpCWTslmXCM_gOWVGvYYztIwPkBML6Ol2I1o44Jfzbg4jnHbASIO4UU3fw71wLMFVCZkLL0anuTHHXozkVcrB4-93sWlPcMHjGPR3xs/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacSftGAZEPpPtt_PuBe-UQw5WVH85hznTAotJXpCWTslmXCM_gOWVGvYYztIwPkBML6Ol2I1o44Jfzbg4jnHbASIO4UU3fw71wLMFVCZkLL0anuTHHXozkVcrB4-93sWlPcMHjGPR3xs/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun and the breeze are quite divine when traveling by klotok.</td></tr>
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Step 3. Hop out of the little boat and hop into a “lorry” (mini-train) to chug up an old logging railway and reach base camp once more!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMxplS17YKygPV8VJCZ95-l3R7Z5H1i0jeZl8r0G2cpODzzwXX1PzOE82geZ6TN1Ul_b-SUH2QD-UEjFLXV-ge1ASREIGVDGcasdP98G5h0n_ewpSBF3f_gq1qYs7N2CYvmS_ksVt_lo/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMxplS17YKygPV8VJCZ95-l3R7Z5H1i0jeZl8r0G2cpODzzwXX1PzOE82geZ6TN1Ul_b-SUH2QD-UEjFLXV-ge1ASREIGVDGcasdP98G5h0n_ewpSBF3f_gq1qYs7N2CYvmS_ksVt_lo/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Down the track, clackity clack.</td></tr>
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On the charismatic megafauna front, many lovely beasts have made themselves known in the forest thus far – from gibbons to a wild pig (who I think is charming) to the star of the hour and/or next six months: the orangutans! My tally to date is three separate females, each with a young baby; one juvenile male; and one shockingly large flanged male.* I am still in training, learning how to walk in the muddy forest and search for the big red apes, and how to follow them once I find them. Add in a dash of trying to identify the different individuals by sight, plus learning basic Indonesian on top of it, and you’ve got one tired new orangutan intern. A daunting learning curve to be sure, but one that requires me to sketch lots of ape faces for practice! Photos are also encouraged. The project I’ll be working on will have me trying to find as many females as I can and hopefully witness some of them interacting to gain a better sense of female social networking out here. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom & son (Feb & Fio), snacking on some flowers, as orangutans are wont to do.</td></tr>
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Other fun creatures seen include a whole bunch of new birds like the Brahminy kite (looks a bit like a bald eagle), a teeny pit viper or two among other snakes, praying mantises, tree shrews, fire ant armies, macaques, turtles, and a species you’re certain to hear more about from me: red langurs – cool little monkeys that are fun to follow too! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babi the Pig is a stunner ... staring you down out behind the kitchen.</td></tr>
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I’ve <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/117594516136562715492/JessJungleJaunts?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">linked</a> this post to some of my photos up on Picasa – they sum up my time going from Jakarta to Palangka Raya to Base Camp pretty well … but are a tad lacking in forest photos as of yet. Though I tossed in some baby orangs to make up for it for now! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small Fio learning termite etiquette.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmEU2gQ9rSc437c1pyaqeGa7FHgXQK7HxESWFPjilrQXh5EpuA1keyPX1YRI6lS8oSaMk4DwagfxxlFB435s9KJSNRZ_bkZU0nAv2EFOLeqmH9NpZ_nx16TFw0VtQJmCGANxjlYxk7nA/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmEU2gQ9rSc437c1pyaqeGa7FHgXQK7HxESWFPjilrQXh5EpuA1keyPX1YRI6lS8oSaMk4DwagfxxlFB435s9KJSNRZ_bkZU0nAv2EFOLeqmH9NpZ_nx16TFw0VtQJmCGANxjlYxk7nA/s320/IMG_0665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As well as the art of true downtime.</td></tr>
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Enjoy the photographic journal I’ve made you, and “sempai nanti” (until next time), </div>
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Jess, signing out!</div>
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*What the heck is a flanged male you ask? Here’s a sketch I did of one a little while back: </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuikx_GD7iWXDkG8QkLgY2o8Pn_12SG0AyxUChuY107AMby2v2H87b9oHZFGBrr3HQBY3pplFMVcEHik_p7-QpVGymCIuSgpaZT8c27AI9_HWNLXS0Rl27vo_EY9GEJvgdRqXhAfd7S0/s1600/OrangutanMarker_31Jan2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuikx_GD7iWXDkG8QkLgY2o8Pn_12SG0AyxUChuY107AMby2v2H87b9oHZFGBrr3HQBY3pplFMVcEHik_p7-QpVGymCIuSgpaZT8c27AI9_HWNLXS0Rl27vo_EY9GEJvgdRqXhAfd7S0/s200/OrangutanMarker_31Jan2012.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flanged males: they've got big cheek pads (flanges) and throat sacs, and some also sport inspired hairdos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-23270295969971371662012-07-19T09:42:00.000-07:002012-08-10T09:55:25.453-07:00Jess in Jakarta!<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Jess here, out and about in a new place across the
Pacific! I am dusting off this blog in an effort to record my new adventures following
orangutans around the Indonesian wilderness. At present I am in Jakarta,
capital of Indonesia. This post is intended as an overview of what I would be
up to, if things manage to go according to plan!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHERE</b>: I am going to be living in Indonesia, an
island nation (made up of ~20,000 islands) just north of Australia. Specifically,
I will be on the biggest one, known as Borneo. It is shared between a few
countries, and the Indonesian share is called Kalimantan, which encompasses the
southern two-thirds of the island’s landmass. Within Kalimantan, I will be
working in a tropical peat swamp that is part of the Sabangau Forest. Lots of
acidic water, relatively “flat” marsh/land, and copious amounts of wildlife! I think. Photographic
evidence forthcoming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHEN</b>: I arrived in Jakarta today (19 July), where I
will be until paperwork clears; once that hurdle is overcome, I shall head on
over to the far less urban jungle. I'll be staying at a field station in
the Sabangau Forest a large majority of the time, making forays to the nearby
village/town/city of Palanga Raya every few weeks. The camp does not have
internet, and so it will only be during trips into town that I may update this
lovely electronic diary of my monkey-minded mania. The plan is to remain at
camp until mid-December, whence I intend to begin my journey back towards the
Americas. Five-ish months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHAT</b>: I will be working as the orangutan intern at
camp, taking part in research on mainly the orangutan population’s behavior and
ranging within the Sabangau Forest. This means trekking around muddy woods staring
up at apes in trees for twelve hours a day. Needless to say I am excited (mud,
trees, apes, what’s not to love?). There are only two places in the world where
orangutans live, and both are located within Indonesia. The islands of Borneo
and Sumatra each hold one of the two subspecies, found living in pockets all
over each island. I shall be endeavoring to add to humanity’s cache of knowledge
regarding the Bornean orangutan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHO</b>: Me, Jess extraordinaire. I will be working
with an organization called the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project, OuTrop for
short. They have been monitoring orangutans at this site for nine years now,
and are the reason this forest is protected as well as supported by the World
Wildlife Foundation. In addition to recording “Days Of Orang Lives” as the
local soap opera, they also run studies on gibbons, biodiversity, the forest
ecosystem, red langurs (type of monkey), and a clouded leopard study using
camera traps! Needless to say, lots of exciting things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHY</b>: Getting the chance to work with orangutans has
kind of been a life passion of mine. Not to mention, getting to sit and walk
around a jungle for almost half a year does a naturalist’s mind good. Lots of
food for PhD. directed thought. In addition to conducting field research, I hope
to squeeze in time to not only take an absurd number of photographs, but also
do a fair bit of sketching!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I was in the US, I was practicing my visual observation skills
by visiting zoos wherever I happened to find myself! Here are some sketches I’ve done traveling
around the US…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Out in Seattle (Woodland Park Zoo):</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcX8TtiFiItUpboTljYMg-bDrap6MYYjGQbYnER3hIh_JS55va9oCCQ79yYtNqgFfIPMXOHgd0eFG1l0soeTzUU0ckWk7IHZc2aTl3Ng4JCrdD7aSTsWMEwrnlmRU8HGVV0mieviL4QE/s1600/ZooSketches_SEA03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcX8TtiFiItUpboTljYMg-bDrap6MYYjGQbYnER3hIh_JS55va9oCCQ79yYtNqgFfIPMXOHgd0eFG1l0soeTzUU0ckWk7IHZc2aTl3Ng4JCrdD7aSTsWMEwrnlmRU8HGVV0mieviL4QE/s320/ZooSketches_SEA03.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Komodos & tapirs.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0f8fWAXny3jk_U_Mlkqx2y72ZpwnptbjQuXfQVExB4esVBg6J-vPJ-GhYZB_qWLDH5mFaJ-YWvWqSC3PO-j7gzzrv2fJUxWgmF7GVdj5pQsmhlRZYvDoT_7ZJdEMqAsPC3FSHnNH5qk/s1600/ZooSketches_SEA07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0f8fWAXny3jk_U_Mlkqx2y72ZpwnptbjQuXfQVExB4esVBg6J-vPJ-GhYZB_qWLDH5mFaJ-YWvWqSC3PO-j7gzzrv2fJUxWgmF7GVdj5pQsmhlRZYvDoT_7ZJdEMqAsPC3FSHnNH5qk/s320/ZooSketches_SEA07.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">All sorts of birds.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEa5ElrTGD72fGsDsJaE2XecGzuQkujRkwwZDKNTrnF1sPZQilUEddhFFW4vLYoTHAbzaRLw7PJFo3RXhf_VSXr9L8Eqxo1_kJDRy5fqV9QiKYiHIOmX9En1VZ8sLvx1gD3Ww1JaYLxb8/s1600/ZooSketches_SEA06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEa5ElrTGD72fGsDsJaE2XecGzuQkujRkwwZDKNTrnF1sPZQilUEddhFFW4vLYoTHAbzaRLw7PJFo3RXhf_VSXr9L8Eqxo1_kJDRy5fqV9QiKYiHIOmX9En1VZ8sLvx1gD3Ww1JaYLxb8/s320/ZooSketches_SEA06.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Turtles, vipers, tree kangaroos, & horned lizards, oh my!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPO-iWNTBPlHwBFMRXX6e9TZbpwqdgpcUcC9VrP0JP1n98FPTs0zhIUmQRXujiqKZwMI3320elDzPuWP_LyFxeOqOpYvNEMHDTMhzbL6BlFYVY-ApVW4HTZxel1_P0M2miQYqjdV0baXY/s1600/ZooSketches_SEA09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPO-iWNTBPlHwBFMRXX6e9TZbpwqdgpcUcC9VrP0JP1n98FPTs0zhIUmQRXujiqKZwMI3320elDzPuWP_LyFxeOqOpYvNEMHDTMhzbL6BlFYVY-ApVW4HTZxel1_P0M2miQYqjdV0baXY/s320/ZooSketches_SEA09.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">African oddities: the hippo & the giraffe.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Down in DC (National Zoo):</i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cOd9xFgmNrTBmdA28YN3DxMXgnncPjIHZktQgNY0EPFEWodtl9UW7dXkm8I8e0WAKmV2RY8IAMJ6jR1pwFXbj_yvH6wiPZkjPmFpnRoacbBt_b41DB1mtkDQCwFQobwtiXT3wYu14uM/s1600/ZooSketches_DC2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cOd9xFgmNrTBmdA28YN3DxMXgnncPjIHZktQgNY0EPFEWodtl9UW7dXkm8I8e0WAKmV2RY8IAMJ6jR1pwFXbj_yvH6wiPZkjPmFpnRoacbBt_b41DB1mtkDQCwFQobwtiXT3wYu14uM/s320/ZooSketches_DC2.jpeg" width="184" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">A few relatives lounging about.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Close ups of gorillas.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Menagerie of small creatures: tenrec, marmoset, burrowing owl, naked mole rat, meerkat, oh and the not-so-small cheetah.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Sun bathing sun bear.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Around NYC (Bronx & Central Park Zoos):</span></i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Primates, pythons, & a parrot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life Aquatic: puffins, a funny bird, & a seal.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red pandas, snow monkeys, and the emperor himself.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hopefully this serves as enough of an intro to keep
your interest for a while; I likely won’t be updating again anytime soon until
I get settled in at camp, and figure out just what is required of me. But I
intend to return triumphantly with smashing snapshots, daring drawings, and
less embarrassing employment of the Indonesian language.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Goodbye for now! Selamat tinggal!</span><span style="font-family: Courier;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0Jakarta Capital Region, Indonesia-6.211544 106.845172-6.464111 106.52931500000001 -5.958977 107.161029tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-68883143142168815472011-11-04T19:00:00.000-07:002011-12-06T19:03:09.343-08:00New Year, New Look, New News!Oh, hey there 2011. How's it going? What's that you say? You're almost over?! And it's been exactly a year since my last post?! Wow. Crazy how things work out sometimes.<br />
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Well then, I better get to it. Long year short: I've been living it up in Seattle since my previous post (over a year now); I completed my superawesome scientific illustration program (I got certificated and everything...all sorts of pictures and ridiculousness can be found at the dedicated <a href="http://orangutangled.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span id="goog_2032441705"></span>site<span id="goog_2032441706"></span></a>); I am getting my barista skills on at a fantastic local coffee shop known as <a href="http://fuelcoffee.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Fuel</a>; I'm volunteering in a UW lab doing conservation work in the form of scat analysis (heck <a href="http://conservationbiology.net/" target="_blank">yes</a>); oh, and in T minus 117 days, I will be headed to the South Pacific island nation of Indonesia to study orangutan behavior for six months. At a <a href="http://www.outrop.com/" target="_blank">field station</a>. In the jungle. So, things are pretty much business as usual for Jess.<br />
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The scariest part of all this to me is how freakishly accurate my timeline in a previous post was: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVvtAMmZa-EEhlaSbzGhRX62RhK0DSvgnQbMDArw0hG2XcVqnksGgXoVfzpL2wDppKQ8tU4WsmbccIu6ZEwR-ReO9FL1a2vSdrrtpd29MEzVB2A-sOxBxWzvYk4P1xn2yMtjsuX9DUGY/s1600/LifePlan+2010.jpg" target="_blank">2010 Life Plan</a><br />
Art school in 2011? Close enough. Tropical field internship for 2012? In the works. Grad school in 2013? That's the plan. Seeing as I have trouble structuring any given day, this disturbs me. These things are way more concrete than intended... moral of the story = be careful with the colorful flow charts I make in the future, lest they determine more of my life than I bargain for.<br />
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Anyways, I'll be soaking up as much of the Pacific Northwest life as I can until February, when I make my pilgrimage back toward Eastern shores for a bit. Can't predict when my next post will be, but I intend to lay out a new & improved timeline for those who are curious, and there is sure to be a plethora of words and photos once I am immersed in equatorial green hell once more.Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.43492 -122.64792779999999 47.777499 -122.0162138tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-55908303814171303682010-11-04T23:03:00.010-07:002011-12-06T19:04:42.013-08:00Up, Up, & Away<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fall 2010 has been rather busy as I picked up and moved across the country! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now living in Seattle, I am enrolled in a Natural Science Illustration program at the University of Washington that lasts from October through June. And I'll have a shiny new certificate at the end to show for it! I will also have a portfolio of art work, consisting mostly of ... natural science illustrations. These pieces are attempts at accurate depictions of plants and animals that can be used in textbooks or scientific papers - or even National Geographic! (Nat<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Geo does awesome stuff like <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/photogalleries/100127-new-dinosaur-colors-feathers-nature-pictures/">this</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">)</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In an effort to document my work, I'll be keeping another page dedicated to Science Illustration, consisting mostly of the pieces I create for my classes these next 9 months :D Here is the link to that if you feel so inclined to check it out:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://professorsweetlovin.blogspot.com/</span></span></span><br />
(UPDATE: new site name for my blog -<a href="http://orangutangled.blogspot.com/">http://orangutangled.blogspot.com/</a>)</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In addition to taking awesome art classes, I am also searching for a job, and getting ready to move into my first ever studio apartment so that I can fully grasp how it feels to be an artiste.</span></span></span></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-91186598258432460132010-09-30T21:45:00.013-07:002012-03-16T10:13:44.656-07:00Getting to Know US ... and IT<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For purposes of symmetry, after a cross-country trip along latitudinal lines and a jaunt down the West Coast Amtrak-style, I needed to balance out my movements with some north-south train travel on the East Coast as well. I ventured down to Baltimore and Washington D.C. to kick off August in capital fashion, visiting with friends and family (and the free Smithsonian museums filled with awesome knowledge), and quadrupling my collection of silly bands! And then for good measure, I flew across the Atlantic to the Italian countryside with my family -- throwing my symmetrical plans all asunder. But the pasta was good.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trips to such historic places as Pompeii, Roma, and the ever-dramatic isle of Capri left me feeling inspired by great figures of literature, and I decided to embark on an odyssey to Ithaca, in homage to Homer. But I chose the city in New York, not in the Mediterranean to drop in on once I returned to the States. And so, with trips to several states & multiple continents under my belt by the last day of the eighth month, I considered my summer travels to be a success.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This summer, I traveled. And I learned. These two great ways to love often transpire for me into appreciation of my two greatest loves, Science and Art. As I continue in my ever-elusive quest to unite my disparate passions, I certainly have traveled and learned a lot on the way. But most of all, I have loved every minute.</span></span></div>
</div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-81859255360038474092010-07-11T13:33:00.035-07:002010-09-30T20:43:03.897-07:00Flux Aeterna<div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: justify;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Kmsx5TSNKvGJyLBUfJBm7DsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzDwFGRJAY9-vAz2QjFAZTBhYlGegvKlUJwjUGDQSVSNgb51AdLRvpPR4uljYFmifx0hv_0SyU83mSEg6Qem_UpbE1oLb9D2LpbyntdjcO6gUzij_nja4hUv95NHRkkK88hSyYJKVJYw/s144/IMG_9910.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Flannery, the miniature horse (Indiana)</span></i></span></div></i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I recently learned that most people fit into one of two groups: Settlers and Travelers. Settlers like staying put, getting to know a location, becoming a ‘regular’ at the coffee shop downtown; Travelers enjoy constant motion, new sights and new experiences, and they are always checking maps. I undoubtedly fall into the Traveler group.</span></span></span></div></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: justify;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7IXCzzeCELIp39dmykUpuDsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegaT7C4nqoTg3R8tiow3CqoaLmJ4KF087LsRzXUEOx3klU-tXMl56SL7eZyfk0vaXJQbsQ-NlVCAMdfLtX3HO5P013c1yf7Kj8-hka4G0_KeySHNv2YO0I30Q5JEsFXoCB3Nf2qzQ1jg/s144/IMG_9987.JPG" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: right;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Nick working on the farm (Pennsylvania)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I first became aware of this dichotomy during my final weeks of college, while discussing the dreaded question of post-graduation plans with my friends. I was perplexed when some would tell me, “I just can’t wait to settle down and be in one place for a while.” I realized that others’ zeal for moving about was not as strong as mine, but I didn’t register that stillness was preferred to movement until it was fully explained to me. There’s this desire to keep one’s house neat and tidy, to develop a daily routine, and to really get to know an area so that you recognize when something changes. There is certainly a lot of merit in being a Settler, in part because it all seems so comfortable. But what I’ve been discovering is that being comfortable makes me rather uncomfortable! I like living with a dash of the unknown, or a hint of danger, or even a sprig of chaos.</span></span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: justify;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iFx-4DJlxePWbil2Oh8TSTsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEDYwo59Qdwe0SOUPF1EMPpV5apXnXis968QtD-9SVkybgd_sbRO019xzoV5mLYajkT3_A-x4nTqNFMckaNx7JRbIF3dzlDkDDlEgJmlVBcI18snxLMGCfDsjjI9dtfL7utYMKMZWn-U/s144/IMG_0060.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Rainbows in the Plains (Iowa) </span></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I find it an interesting coincidence that one phrase that’s been popping into my mind as of late has been, “Never settle.” I intend it to mean, “Don’t get complacent” or “Always seek excellence,” but I suppose it can also apply to my case of wanderlust: “Don’t stop moving” or just simply “Always seek.” Whatever the cause of my need for endless change, the side effects include a post-grad summer filled with new environments, fascinating people, and lots of all-American adventure.</span></span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: right;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bgGJepzaCs_YpUsuYBUYNzsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRnmus7CoMVjwb6fVg9WRG3vPOIZ_CZveh9ImpnX_F1Nknj1tv4I37Sd2jt3VwjBGisCt8dbI-zreTKTKO6WmyTYAnQ7BJZ0212HcyObEbBlB4vqhzVj-MPq_Nwags6dbGXg2jJ7E6LE/s144/IMG_0127.JPG" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">James, Lola, & Amy in Badlands National Park (South Dakota)</span></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Speaking of that whole non-elation post-graduation situation, I’ve been asked by pretty much anyone I come in contact with, “What are your plans for next year?” As anybody who has tried to set up social engagements with me knows, I don’t perceive time as rigidly as most (that’s not to say I don’t try to be on time, I just miscalculate a lot). Based on my travels thus far, you could blame my lack of punctuality on Tico Time or the Kenyan Clock or even on the Belize Syndrome. But if you think I am going to tie my plans to anything resembling a standard amount of time as measurable as a year, you are very mistaken. Contrary to the belief of many, I DO have a plan – it just does not adhere to a strict timetable. Rather it exists in a place where time does not. (For a mind-bending hoot, discuss the existence of time, or lack thereof, with your neighborhood theoretical physicist!)</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table style="text-align: right;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UexqohIQ1Ru8dcRi_19BuTsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17ZtSwJptkhFW4TZCttrjTCHbjzUkgOManD9um5uMzFOA47xGNZ17YVT-IZZ5tRH6i6HxfAUe4d80024jN9QKF2SGkXRDJo_F57P-H70FCZ9bO_XQKRIkeGR8m6-UdPcDUfvI4hHOK0o/s144/IMG_0520.JPG" /></span></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The Mighty Yellowstone River (Wyoming) </span></span></i></span></div></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></i></span></div></i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size:medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">And now, without further ado, my "plan":</span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></div></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqtQhaAM78Hl-AMuuJRMWqRHG3gyLNLUsTfl25TpyzZrMzSo0rvcg5dZXpqS32oVG3HzPFDsGTrX9eyTD_3MMNeWqOXZPAodgsTZBjTm_egqd8SgrAVcBp20dRLXZzq5DJE6eSufV91E/s1600/Summer2010+Schedule.jpg"><img style="text-align: right;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 132px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqtQhaAM78Hl-AMuuJRMWqRHG3gyLNLUsTfl25TpyzZrMzSo0rvcg5dZXpqS32oVG3HzPFDsGTrX9eyTD_3MMNeWqOXZPAodgsTZBjTm_egqd8SgrAVcBp20dRLXZzq5DJE6eSufV91E/s400/Summer2010+Schedule.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492753536884720338" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVvtAMmZa-EEhlaSbzGhRX62RhK0DSvgnQbMDArw0hG2XcVqnksGgXoVfzpL2wDppKQ8tU4WsmbccIu6ZEwR-ReO9FL1a2vSdrrtpd29MEzVB2A-sOxBxWzvYk4P1xn2yMtjsuX9DUGY/s1600/LifePlan+2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVvtAMmZa-EEhlaSbzGhRX62RhK0DSvgnQbMDArw0hG2XcVqnksGgXoVfzpL2wDppKQ8tU4WsmbccIu6ZEwR-ReO9FL1a2vSdrrtpd29MEzVB2A-sOxBxWzvYk4P1xn2yMtjsuX9DUGY/s400/LifePlan+2010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492753766955814050" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">(Just to add, I do not know if I have been accepted to the art program yet... that would change some things, or at least my location)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: right;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UhO3j3lJTfRdM6dKSwan4jsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-PBoZ7JYLijwFBmPLvr02hXR9y9QvXsf1o_eJPqABwWJFgLm4CsIFoQXQT2Jdt95tX58tevvPkLSqBw7orjHNIKhji4V3oAm_2i3jlGkBB5TUQZfVaMX8pL5FqX7V8xKkTG-yxox9ZE/s144/IMG_0333.JPG" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Climbing through Beartooth Pass (Montana)</span></span></i></span></div></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The funny thing is, it seems like my plan is more solid than those of many other college graduates I know. Perhaps I just need to adjust my thinking, and start saying that I have built flexibility into my plan, on purpose, to ensure that it runs smoothly and stays on track. Just like shock absorbers are built into mountain bikes!</span></span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table style="text-align: right;width: auto; "><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LrBLQEzwxbGpGgyUZyZvDDsbEjTBmgcLAwuwjUQEgVM?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqCH2rvemlgCwLXZAnQvy9e85G6Qwu9Bi1VJDf4BkJ5mP3bN4zoDn30TDmY9DYMgKCMWvrhB6aZRgDstUYscuYdWCdTFaFV6Vk0Aw92i1oLFCXzCv2q5g1LNxL1nVJXEzZrYwblZa8xsE/s144/IMG_0706.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: right;font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">A Sound View in Seattle (Washington)</span></span></i></span></div></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></i></span></div></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></i></span></div></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><ol style="display: inline !important; "><li style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"></span></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></li></ol></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Next up, more photos and an update on my summer adventures thus far!</span></span></i></span></div></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: center; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="text-align: left; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><i><div style="text-align: justify; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></i></span></div></i></span></span></div></i></span></div></i></span></i></span></div></span></i></span></div></span></i></span></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-91744610094421166772010-06-06T10:30:00.022-07:002011-11-04T23:35:40.014-07:00Waking Up from Hibernation<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, it has certainly been a long time since I wrote anything here! Around 11 months to be exact.</div>
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I had had plans to write of my adventures after I left Costa Rica, but quite frankly, nothing seemed exciting enough to be able to compare. At least, not exciting enough to get me to sit down and focus long enough to reflect on it and write about it. (To put it in the terms & context I was looking at: going from snake & spider infested jungle to sedate college campus seemed a little boring) There was also that whole 'withdrawal from leaving an amazing experience' going on. But I'm past all that nonsense! Plus, now I'm considered an "adult" -- complete with a college degree and everything! To me, being an adult means making decisions for yourself, and my decision is to take up writing this blog once more!</div>
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I write this post as a recap, to help fill in the gaps between July of 2009 and July of 2010:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I returned from my semester abroad in Costa Rica with a greater awareness of the world around me and a renewed passion for what I was studying at Cornell. It was hard to be back in the States, after coming off the high from such a powerful life experience as studying abroad (I recommend living in another culture for an extended period to anyone who is fortunate enough to be able to find the time). Within a week of re-entering the United States, I celebrated my 21st birthday, thus beginning my transformation into an adult!</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Summer 2009 was spent working at the Arnot Forest just outside of Ithaca, NY. I lived in cabins with four other interns, and spent most of my time out in the woods pounding wooden stakes into the ground, looking for salamanders, and sorting through leaf litter. All for a project on biofuels (summary of data = if you take away all the sticks and logs from the forest floor, you remove the habitat for many organisms and change some ecosystem dynamics). For the two and a half months that I lived at the Arnot, I collected a lot of data, played a lot of frisbee, and did a lot of hanging out in the nature-y places around Ithaca.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Fall 2009 brought another intense semester at Cornell, with me throwing some art in among my science classes, and spending a lot of time playing Ultimate (frisbee) with the Cornell team. Previously, I had played a little frisbee on the side when I wasn't climbing , but this semester found me trying to balance between weekends spent in on lead in the Gunks and on the field at frisbee tournaments. While it was great to be back in the familiar surroundings of Cornell's beautiful campus, I had a difficult time readjusting to life in the northeast. I started bringing into question a lot of the aspects of my lifestyle that were out of line with my post-Abroad views of the world. This effect was compounded by the fact that I was taking Ethics as one of my classes this semester. I spent the fall of my senior year questioning the type of person I was, who I should be, and who I could be.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once the temperatures dropped and the snow started falling in Ithaca, I thought, "Screw that!" & made a plan to go back to Costa Rica over winter break. When I had left the country the previous spring, I had left feeling unfulfilled in some ways, and knew of just a few more things I wanted to do and see in the entrancingly beautiful little Central American republica. This adventure was challenging, exhausting, and exhilarating. I visited beaches and jungles in the southern reaches of the country, seeing Manuel Antionio and Corcovado National Parks with my Cornell friends Jeff, Joe, and Alex. Corcovado was very high on my list of places to see in the world, and it was a most fulfilling adventure to hike in along the beach, spend a couple days in the jungle, then trek back out - seeing breathtaking views and awesome wildlife the whole way, and I got to see two of my favorite Ticos, David and Andres (fellow students during my semester in Costa Rica). We also visited a pretty cool volcano called Poas just outside of the capital city of San Jose, and played lots and lots of card games ... I like Rummy! We tried to spend as little money as possible, which proved to be quite tiring when you are moving from place to place via public transportation (in a foreign language) with only a backpack and a pair of ratty old sneakers. But when I left Costa Rica this time, I felt entirely fulfilled - no more loose ends to tie up, no more what-ifs. My mind had found time to settle down and accept that now was the time to move on. I'll probably visit Costa Rica again some day, but without the desperate desire to see everything and be everywhere all at once.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">As Spring semester 2010 dawned on me, I began to accept my fate of 'graduating senior.' Aside from the occasional panic attack, I was looking forward to a post-grad life unlike the one I had known for the previous 20 years. As a perpetual student, all I have ever known is school - nine months on, three months off, furthering your education every step of the way and always doing something to be better prepared for that next step. I decided that I needed to stop. Just for a brief time, to contemplate what I actually wanted to be doing with my life instead of continuing to ride the current of my education. I had been following the path of least resistance, but I decided that it was time to add a little resistance and see which way that pushed me. Amidst the continuing cycles of endless questioning of "What do I want to do with my life?", I was determined to enjoy my time right out of college. I've had plenty of stress for the past four years and my final semester at Cornell was certainly no exception. I've done my time in school, worked hard, and now I get to decided what I am going to do with my life. Now that I am all done growing up, my life is my responsibility and my choice. Time to start living!</li>
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When I first began to write this log of my adventures back in 2008, it was fueled by a large contingent of friends and family asking, "So, where exactly are you going?" Since no one is ever really certain of what I am up to, I figured I would put it all in one place, so people could figure out where I was, even if they couldn't find me in person. As I leave college behind, I find the same question is being posed once more. And I plan to provide an answer once again ... in my next post! </div>
</div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-3715221843095165772009-07-28T06:20:00.012-07:002010-10-01T00:27:50.976-07:00La Vida Loco<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:48px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Life has been hectic.<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As you may have noticed, my last post was in March – approximately five months ago.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Just to cover my bases, I made it out of the jungles of Costa Rica mid-May and returned to the US just in time for my birthday.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> S</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ummer 2009 will have a separate post dedicated to its adventures; for now, I must take a step back to post a quick synopsis of my final weeks in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">[Written May 11, 2009]</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I am currently sitting in the same hotel where I wrote my first Costa Rica entry upon my arrival in January.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Funny that it was written about nostalgia because I am in a place that used to feel unfamiliar and new, yet now holds many memories and is comforting to have returned to.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I feel nostalgic about this hotel as I sit here now.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So it seems I have come full circle.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I write this last entry from my time abroad on my final night in Costa Rica, for tomorrow I am headed to the airport for a flight to the United States.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I have been doing a variety of things and traveling many places since the last time I updated this website:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">learning Spanish in the capital city of San Jose</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">surfing on the Nicoya Peninsula</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">hiking around the Monteverde cloud forest</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">snorkeling in the waters of Cabo Blanco on the Pacific coast</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">bushwacking around La Selva Biological Station in true rainforest</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">relaxing at Rincon de la Vieja, located at the base of a volcano </span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">All the while I have been learning a great deal about Costa Rican culture, tropical ecology, and myself. </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Every place was an entirely different experience than the previous, and each time I felt a renewed sense of awe for the biodiversity of Costa Rica and the inexhaustible energy this planet has to offer.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I want to say I am “going home,” but that phrase holds little meaning to me…where is my home if I can feel comfortable any place in the world?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A safari tent in Africa or a mosquito-netted bunk bed in the neotropics feels just as relaxing to me as an air-conditioned, queen-size bed in the northeastern United States. The main thing that changes is the people around me when I awake (and the various diseases being carried by the mosquitoes of the region).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">They say home is where the heart is, but if I have promised my heart to the world - with all its beauty and biodiversity, then aren't I home anywhere I go?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">[End of post]</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In regards to the above post: I hope to go into detail about the bulleted points (a.k.a. weeks of ridiculoso adventures) in upcoming posts, along with a few other topics that have been brewing in my mind for some time now. The goal of this write-up was to re-establish my semi-regular posting as my adventures of Summer 2009 come to an end and my final year as an undergrad at Cornell begins. I hope to bring this journal up to date and then continue to log my adventures beyond graduation. Yippee!</span></p><p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-14684315427661827642009-03-17T11:49:00.002-07:002009-08-02T19:14:23.820-07:00Patterns of Time Budgeting in Jessica stitt as a Function of Work Load and Environmental Stimuli<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Introduction</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This update was meant to serve as a brief link to fill in the gaps between the visit to the mangroves and the start of San Jose … but it looks to be just about as long as usual; ¡Pura Vida!</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Plus – lucky you – I am in a paper-writing mindset, so I have organized this post just as I would a research paper! Needless to say, it has been a whirlwind of a week, and my brain is a little fried. </span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Everything is a little hazy but the underlying structure of the week consisted of two days given to us to study for our midterms, a third day set aside for taking the midterms, then two more days allotted for rewriting our scientific papers.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On the morning of the sixth day we packed up and headed to San Jose. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Methods</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now, that all sounds pretty bland and boring.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But it turns out that if you give Jess a total of four days to “study” or “rewrite,” she will inevitably procrastinate and find better things to do with her newly-created free time.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So while some of my classmates were stressing over learning ecological terms or trying to find more sources to cite in their papers (Stitt 2009), I was out exploring … or napping in the hammock.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Below are some examples of how I spent my time:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Crocodile hunting</span></span></i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This activity requires nightfall, marshland, a headlamp, bare feet, crocodiles, and the ability to disregard that voice in your head which tells you not to do stupid things.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">You slowly wade into the marsh, sweeping your headlamp back and forth, looking for the eyeshine (reflection from the eyes) of a crocodile half-submerged in the water.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It is important to keep quiet.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This is often hard to do because the marsh is very windy, knocking you off balance, and you sink up to your calves in the mud, which makes loud squelching sounds.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When you locate a pair of eyes, you must keep the light trained on them, so as to keep the animal blinded to your whereabouts.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">If you manage to get close enough without the scaring the croc away, you plunge your hand down around the snout – keeping its mouth closed as you bring your other hand around its belly.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Then you bring the animal out of the water and hold it against your belly to keep it from thrashing.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When you’ve had your fun, you release the croc back into the marsh, making sure to orient it away from you.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was just as hard as I imagined to willingly thrust my hand towards a mouth full of tiny razor-sharp teeth.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yet even with my adrenaline pumping and my bladder threatening to empty itself, I managed to catch a caiman about 3ft long, from snout to tail, and emerge (nearly) unscathed.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I discovered that the teeth really are razor-sharp!</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thank goodness they were tiny.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bouldering</span></span></i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">During our orientation walk at Palo Verde three weeks ago, we passed some lovely boulder fields, and I promised myself I would return to play around on the pretty rocks.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As the weeks passed away, I began to get frantic, because I had not found free time in which to go bouldering!</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thank goodness for study time.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On two separate occasions I found my way into the forest to climb around on the very sharp limestone boulders that were scattered about.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The second time I went with two of the guys here, Gabe and Allan, who were also interested! </span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The rocks were a bit chossy, but there were tons of bomber holds and a few nice overhanging roofs, complete with solid huecos … yay climbing jargon!</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">However, the limiting agent was to be the two species of cacti (Family Cactacea) that inhabited these rocks: </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Stenocereus aragonii</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Acanthocereus tetragonus</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Days later I was still pulling their mini spines out of my legs and fingers.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(Side note: on the trip with Gabe and Allan, we found a really cool carpenter bee that was half black, half yellow; we showed our professor – who is an entomologist – and he had no idea what was up.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So it has been put in a jar and taken to Universidad de Costa Rica, where they can hopefully shed some light on the insect’s strange morphology … how bee-zarre!)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sunrise hike</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On one of our last mornings at Palo Verde, a group of us woke up pre-dawn to hike up to a point called La Roca and watch the sun rise.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I needed a little help stirring from my sleep, but once I was awake, the three of us (Erin, Gabe, and I) set off on our trek up to La Roca around 4:45am.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La Roca is one of the best vantage points in Palo Verde: it is an exposed rockface that overlooks the marsh and the surrounding valley.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">From time to time, a black vulture would glide by, riding the thermals up past our lookout point.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We arrived at La Roca in time to see not only the sun rise but the moon set.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It appeared to be a full moon and looked huge as it disappeared behind the mountains.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The sunrise was slightly delayed because a cloudbank prevented Mr. Sun from making his way into full view until about 6am.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Nevertheless, it was beautiful, as most sunrises are.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We also caught another sunrise on our last morning at Palo Verde – but this time we watched it from the tower on the marsh (meaning 5:30am wake up instead of 4:30am).</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Also beautiful.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And both days we were the first students at breakfast. Wepa!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Following monkeys</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On one of the days allotted for paper writing, I found myself napping in the hammock one afternoon, after reading Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility for a while.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When I woke up around 3pm, I noticed a group of howler monkeys dozing in a nearby tree.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Great minds think alike, as they say.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I got up from the hammock and went to go get ready for a brief solo hike in the woods.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I grabbed my camera and went in search of a trail that supposedly originated near the dining hall.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On my way, I saw the same group of howlers! They took had risen from their afternoon naps, and were on the move.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When I eventually found the trail I was looking for, I looked up to see the howlers again.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We seemed to be heading towards the same area – this trail must have tasty leaves. I watched the troop try to solve the problem of getting from one branch to another, and recognized the same actions as can be seen by a group of people trying to get up a rock climbing route.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One would try to get across, get nervous, and step back while another gave it a go.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Once one monkey figured out a good way across, the rest would follow the same path.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was able to get some nice pictures of the mantled monkeys moving from tree to tree before our paths diverged and I continued my hike up to a very nice lookout point (complete with some good boulders).</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On my way down, I came across a group of white-faced capuchins nimbly making their way through the branches.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Any day is made better when monkeys are added to it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Results</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">By the time we were getting on to the bus on the last day at Palo Verde, I was fully content that I had gotten the most out of the trip that I could.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I remembered that I had some regrets as we were leaving Las Cruces (the first site we visited), so I invested the energy at Palo Verde to ensure I did not leave with the same sentiments (there is still a large strangler fig at Las Cruces I am determined to climb at some point in the future, as well as a nice riverside lunch I have yet to have there).</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Getting the most out of my time at Palo Verde </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">was painful at times – waking up at 4:30am, getting sliced by crocodile teeth – but I am glad to report that I have no regrets.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Discussion</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Now this is not to say I did not prepare for my tests or do a good job editing my paper; those activities define the </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">study</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> portion of </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">study abroad</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and are essential to my education and the active learning process I love so much.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">However, I feel it would be a tragic mistake to neglect the </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">abroad</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> portion of </span><i style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">study abroad</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> too.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Why read over notes in an air-conditioned classroom when there is a perfectly good tree to sit under? From which you can watch scarlet macaws fly by at 3pm, or see a troop of capuchin monkeys swing through at 4pm?</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I cannot be assured I will ever get free reign over a national park in Costa Rica again to spend unencumbered time walking the trails and snapping photos of anything that moves.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Acknowledgements</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yes, I realize that I am a biology nerd.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And that I enjoy the structure of scientific papers just a little too much. Thanks for reading! </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-54868133259828802302009-03-13T07:43:00.002-07:002009-08-02T19:14:23.820-07:00Manglares Y El Mar<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After finishing my first Costa Rican research paper – a nice ten-page essay all about the extrafloral nectaries of morning glories – I hopped onto the bus for yet another Costa Rican adventure.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seemingly as a reward for completing the first draft of our papers, we were taken to a mangrove forest on the coast of Puntas Arenas the following day.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mangroves are plants adapted to live in areas of high salinity, meaning they are only found near the ocean, often juxtaposed by sandy white beaches.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The place we visited was no exception.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However, our first stop was an inland mangrove that only floods during the rainy season.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There were two species of mangroves here: white mangrove and red mangrove.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The white mangrove deals with salinity by excreting the salt from glands on its leaves.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This leaves a coating of crystallized salt on the surface of the leaf – and it tastes extremely salty!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This species also has roots called pneumatophores that look like little pencils sticking up from the ground everywhere.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The red mangrove is even cooler in my opinion.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It uses lenticels (openings) on its roots to filter salt out of the water and so must expose its roots to the air.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Since the tide often inundates these trees in the rainy season, the roots must be high enough out of the mud to be able to breathe at some point every day.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This means that in the dry season, when the mud is exposed, these rhizophorous roots can be up to fifteen feet off the ground!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They are often in a big tangle and, since the species is a hardwood, the roots are very strong.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The main reason that I am spitting out all of this natural history is to illustrate that these mangroves create the perfect treeclimbing environment!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the dense thicket of trees you can easily move between multiple trees while remaining off the ground completely …</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">natural ladders are also abundant, lending themselves to exploration and copious amounts of swinging.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Needless to say I have discovered a profound liking of mangroves.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When we had all had our fill of monkeying around in the mangroves, we were taken to yet another biological station.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This one was quite small and we were only staying the night, but we made the most of our time in such a mesmerizing place as the mangrove beaches proved to be!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">About 500m from the station there was a very nice white beach that opened onto a sheltered cove with waters of a brilliant aquamarine.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As this was our first real chance to swim and our first interaction with the ocean thus far on the course, many of us threw on our bathing suits and booked it to the water’s edge for the remaining hours of daylight we had that first day.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seeing the ocean for the first time in a little over 6 months, I immediately jumped in.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A frisbee was pulled out and a game of 500 commenced in the surf, complete with many unnecessary layouts and tackles.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Once satisfactorily exhausted and salty, we watched a painfully beautiful sunset over the cove before heading back to the station for dinner. Rice and beans are still going strong.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After dinner I returned to the beach with a few friends and refreshments to enjoy stargazing and watching the tide come in.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The next day we visited some more mangroves along the beach and spent some more time playing in the surf.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was definitely a great break from collecting data and writing our research papers.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I knew that once we returned to Palo Verde that afternoon, the following week would be consumed by studying for midterms and working on final drafts of the research papers.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But before leaving the beach, we were able to do a bit more exploring in the waters just behind the station, where a boat launch leads out into a swathe of ocean bordered by a vast spread of mangrove forests.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There were several small dinghies anchored around the boat launch, and about 10m out there was a larger, wooden vessel.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The clan of guys on the course who call themselves “the BioPirates” decided that this would be the perfect craft to commandeer as their pirate ship.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They swam out to the boat and, naturally, I joined them.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The vessel was really only half a ship capsized, and with its portside mostly absent.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was encrusted in barnacles and ridden with broken planks of splintering wood, as well as ropes covered in a thick green layer of slime.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After deciding that it really only needed a paint job and a few touch-ups, we climbed aboard (this was harder than anticipated since the boat was leaning at a 45-degree angle).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All five of us ended up bleeding by the time we gained stable footing on the boat…the barnacles and broken planks proved to be very sharp!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So the color of choice for the paint job was chosen to be blood red, since we already had a head start.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">With a bandana flag raised at the helm and the mission hailed as a success, we descended the ropes back into the salty water and went ashore to grab some grub.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our afternoon was spent traveling … through the Nicoya Peninsula and through time.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On our way back to Palo Verde, we stopped at the Megafauna Park alongside the road.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is a set of trails complete with life-size statues of many of the large animals that used to roam Costa Rica’s lands. Giant sloths, massive armadillos, and the famed gomphotheres were all on display – in addition to the towering tyrannosaurus rex that greets you at the entrance.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oddly enough, we spotted a ctenosaur (big iguana) sitting in the jaws of the T-Rex.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I felt that this display aptly captured the living ctenosaur’s triumph over the extinct tyrannosaur. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I am now back at Palo Verde, mentally preparing for the onslaught of the coming week.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Only seven malaria pills left… that’s less than seven weeks left in the jungle!</span></span><!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-22433916105576657442009-03-07T06:27:00.013-08:002009-03-09T18:31:12.436-07:00A Stomp in the Swamp<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As my friend Erin pointed out to me yesterday: "Jess [pronounced 'yes' in Spanish], you can remember new flavors you've tasted, but not whether someone owes you money?" It is true, so if any of you owe me money out there, consider yourself lucky, because I don't recall any of these debts. But I think it's a pretty good insight into my character; I definitely value experience way more than I value monetary sums. If I was faced with the choice between one million dollars or a trip to Indonesia (orangutans included of course), I would easily pick Indonesia...or I'd use the million dollars to fund my trip to Indonesia.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Anyway, I've picked up and moved again in Costa Rica, and am currently in the NW part of the country at a national park called Palo Verde. It is a marsh, meaning lots of water, mud, and bugs. It's the dry season, so the mosquitoes are next to nothing - supposedly in the wet season, you walk through an area and the ground slowly rises with the small humming bloodsuckers...they would eat me alive, since I am deemed "sweet meat." I count my blessings that we're here in the dry season. But the rest of the bugs are crazy: giant praying mantises that follow you with their creepy eyes, cockroaches the size of my hand, and big kamikaze katydids by the dozen. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There is also a bug here we were warned about called the Assassin Bug: it creeps onto you while you are sleeping and sucks your blood, using an anticoagulant. This is all fine and dandy, except the bug often defecates right after its meal, close to the open wound. In your unconscious state, you feel a tickle of the blood on your skin, and try to wipe it off; this mixes the bug poop with your blood and goes back into your bloodstream. This all would be just a mild nasty story, except that the Assassin bug is a carrier of Chagas disease, which weakens your heart over time and eventually causes it to fail. That makes it a scary nasty story. I am glad we have bug nets for our beds here. They also keeps out the scorpions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The average daily temp here is 90F, often making it too hot to nap in the afternoon - if any part of your body contacts another, you begin sweating profusely. Yet it's a worthwhile tradeoff for the beauty of this place...<br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Like most bodies of freshwater, the marsh draws all sorts of higher-level organisms, including lots of bird species like egrets, storks, roseate spoonbills, and huge waders called jabirus. There are also crocodiles and caimans in the marsh, adding a dash of danger to any walk in the muddy waters. On land, there are two species of monkeys: mantled howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins. We get to see both fairly often which is awesome. At around 530 every morning, the howlers let out a disconcerting gutteral roar that shakes you the first time you hear it. Wild. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The other cool land animals I've gotten to see include coatimundis, which are like large raccoons with super long tails, tamanduas, which are big slow anteaters, collared peccary, which are little pigs, and - best of all - the ctenosaurs (pronounced teen-o-sawrs), which are big iguanas that lay around all day and strangely remind me of Reptar. There is also a pair of scarlet macaws that fly overhead almost daily, and it still amazes me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But my semester here is not all fun all the time; we still have a fair bit of work assigned to us. In our first week we were involved in faculty-led projects that took us out into the field at 5am, and then for my independent project I found myself getting up at 430am for a week straight. To study flowers. But doing hands-on research has been cool, since I love being in the field collecting data. One of the faculty-led projects was studying howler monkey time budgeting, so we got to follow a troop of howler monkeys for 6 hours and record whether they were eating, sleeping, or pooping. Not the most exciting work, but it was an excuse to tromp through the woods following monkeys. The next project also involved hours of observation, except it was spent watching plants instead of animals. Not as exciting. In fact a little mind-numbing. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The independent project was more in depth and involved collecting nectar from morning glory buds at dawn, then measuring the volume and concentration. Suffice it to say the project was looking at plant behavior - a very interesting concept, given most people only attribute behavior to animals. The idea that plants can react and actually interact is a relatively new field...and it reminds me a little of the talking trees in Lord of the Rings.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But once all the data was collected, the research paper needed to be written...all 10 pages of it. Fortunately, I've gotten a lot of practice with such things, especially during my time in Kenya! Next up, a visit to the mangroves, followed by exam week. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Learn Spanish!</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">marsh: humidales</span></span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">monkey: mono</span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">flavor: sabor</span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">high five: alto cinco</span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">awesome: wepa!!</span></span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Also, my photo library is being moody, so my posts may not contain pictures again until I reach San Jose. Use your imagination!</span></span><br /></div></div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-34721980638642923442009-03-07T05:18:00.013-08:002009-08-02T19:31:15.463-07:00Self-Realization<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When I was a kid, I had this picture in my mind of what "my future self" would look like, all grown up. The image was basically Jane Goodall, wearing field clothes and sitting in a jungle with a notebook, staring up into the canopy. As I was crouched beside a watering hole the other day, watching a troop of howler monkeys foraging overhead, I realized that I had become my future self. The thought caught me by surprise, and for a split second I was looking at myself from outside my body - which was kind of strange but cool.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It brought my thoughts to the fact that many of my friends are still struggling to figure out what they want to do, while I have known what I wanted since I was eight. I have learned that this makes people jealous, and apparently gives me a great advantage, in the sense that I have security in my identity that lots of college students lack. I have tried to imagine what it would be like to not have a clue as to what direction I wanted to take my life, and it seems terrifying.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Even with the knowledge and sense of security that has come from pursuing my chosen career for over a decade now, I am still far from being at ease. Every question I have ever asked has only brought up additional questions, so that now I have accumulated more than I could ever hope to answer. But as I walked down the dirt road back towards camp after my realization - with my dusty baseball cap and sunglasses perched on my head, my hair in a bun, a camera bag slung over my shoulder, and wearing my white button-up shirt, rolled-up field pants, and tattered sneakers - I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was pleased with who I am - and ecstatic to be where I was. It feels nice once in a while to be reassured that the thing you've been trying so hard to attain for so long is still the thing you want to attain.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-2760136268592832982009-02-21T11:43:00.002-08:002009-03-07T08:13:43.643-08:00A Brief Encounter with Civilization<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In our travels up north after leaving Cuerici, we stopped in San Jose for a day.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Our first initiative was to find food.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One of the guys in our group knew of a good place that also served vegetarian dishes (a non-issue for me, but it affected a majority of the group).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was a nice eatery called Shakti, and I recommend it to anyone who visits San Jose.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sorry, but I can’t begin to tell you where to find it since I have no sense of direction.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After eating our fill and ending the meal with milkshakes, we headed to the Avenue Central and walked around for a few hours.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We passed through the artesian mercado and the Mercado Central, both very interesting places. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After walking around the Mercado Central for 20 minutes, I realized that I had been there before! Once again, it was something I had previously seen during the Costa Rica Tree Climbing course in 2007. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Except this time I had a slightly better idea of what was going on.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We slowly made our way back to the hotel after spending five hours in downtown San Jose.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Needless to say I was exhausted.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After napping, the next hour of the evening was spent looking up and down many streets for open restaurants, learning that many are not open on Mondays (it was Monday), and finally walking back to a small place about a block from our hotel, where we got grilled cheese sandwiches and heaps of French fries.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We walked back towards the hotel, stopping by a convenience store to legally buy some alcohol (it’s still a novel feeling), then w</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">e returned to the hotel and drank our beers around the pool, talking and enjoying the last of our free time in San Jose; the next morning would be spent driving up to our latest field station: Palo Verde. However, while I am thrilled to be going back into the depths of the jungle, I am beginning to look forward to my upcoming homestay, where I will live with a family in San Jose for two weeks, taking Spanish classes and trying to imitate the Ticos.</span></p>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-43773016291382995402009-02-20T17:20:00.008-08:002009-03-07T08:13:43.644-08:00Head in the Clouds<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Living in a cloud forest is rather surreal and enchanting. It is called a cloud forest because clouds literally roll through the area.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In the middle of the afternoon, the sun suddenly disappears from view in this montane oak forest and you are engulfed in a thick mist that is a passing cloud.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This high elevation area tends to be rather quiet, although birds can be heard in the distance.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What made a striking contrast to the wet forest that we came from was not only the cooler climate, but the lack of insects droning constantly.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This area was devoid of crickets calling and cicadas drumming incessantly, making the place peaceful and a bit eerie. Thankfully the mosquitoes were also lacking.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JSuz6-Ydu3Vh1k6EGGkverQN01KRptYTeD2pjhhIsaMp5tK6HmCTCDgky3bqMpyb54R7IoHa9OM4RrCTmJf6KrA52csbmZ5qS2jYPEraoeOymoIz13jYQuE_mxbuuykB76Yn8EJ6oMk/s1600-h/IMG_3671.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JSuz6-Ydu3Vh1k6EGGkverQN01KRptYTeD2pjhhIsaMp5tK6HmCTCDgky3bqMpyb54R7IoHa9OM4RrCTmJf6KrA52csbmZ5qS2jYPEraoeOymoIz13jYQuE_mxbuuykB76Yn8EJ6oMk/s400/IMG_3671.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305108090601036354" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " />clouds in the cloud forest</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To add to the perceived enchantedness of the site, there was a white horse that would appear around camp, contentedly grazing and just being gorgeous.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Soon after arriving in Cuerici, I decided to take greater advantage of my surroundings by waking up early and going on walks in the woods.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This (not surprisingly) proved to be a very calming activity and often produced resplendent animal sightings! On one such occasion, I awoke at 5:30am, pulled on my boots, arranged my wool hat-and-baseball cap combo, and sleepily headed out the front door of the cabin. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As I stepped onto the porch, I was greeted by the sight of the white horse, peacefully grazing just in front of me, surrounded by mist and the pale blue light of early morning.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Not to mention the backdrop of stunning mountains and verdant slopes.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I half expected a group of sparrows to fly down and adorn me with a flower crown.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjO0Y0CnnLa2QBBQa9paVV1Y6rMii-zwp9t2r0a9xks66W7nH24XXbaFxRNYffMgYZ3jNgoP41g3w7TGZ4IZC5crcTbCbw5cOV8kNYFxMwfdJ26tGwH_JpqTD2BKaa3SQ9L_bliYM0Lx0/s1600-h/IMG_3666.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjO0Y0CnnLa2QBBQa9paVV1Y6rMii-zwp9t2r0a9xks66W7nH24XXbaFxRNYffMgYZ3jNgoP41g3w7TGZ4IZC5crcTbCbw5cOV8kNYFxMwfdJ26tGwH_JpqTD2BKaa3SQ9L_bliYM0Lx0/s400/IMG_3666.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305301548569380658" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigM3OoEPxzvJw4UbvEZ4AtVrYozb82AH3yWT9FuDcoa2M9N3wo_yeqQztg1yRClvjNv1xGXUhptgJ2nrhKThcHbGfKqBY7F8YwtSrxHRLyN8rtSqP6Xdn-GmJFcx8d6Fg05xhxbS_d0kQ/s1600-h/IMG_3589.JPG"> the white horse</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">At each of the field sites we go to, we are required to spend at least half an hour in the field, observing.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Obviously upon hearing of this I was ecstatic at the prospect of sitting by myself in the jungle.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One afternoon, after a somewhat depressing lecture about how to sustain a forest reserve, I was feeling rather glum.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To improve my spirits, I decided to go do my field observations.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I pulled on my raingear and departed the camp, heading for the 3km trail that looped up and over a nearby mountain.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As I rounded a corner, I was greeted by the white horse again, grazing along the side of the path.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I skirted around him and continued walking, but t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">o my surprise the horse began to follow me! He would stop to pull up some grass along the way, and would then trot to catch up to me, walking alongside me on the dirt road.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">At one point I stopped to pet him and feed him some tasty dandelions.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Eventually I reached the end of the dirt road where there was a barbed wire fence and the start of the mountain path, and had to say goodbye to the horse.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Any unexpected encounter with a large charismatic animal always brightens my day.<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I hiked up the trail to a nice ridge overlooking some large, mossy oaks.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And when I say large, I mean massive trees, hundreds of years old – this forest is certainly something to marvel at.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I picked out a nice place that had a view of the valley and sat down to begin watching and listening to the forest. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was also making a sketch of the area, focusing on one oak in particular on the horizon.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I noted that a cloud was coming in, reducing visibility drastically, such that I could no longer see the oak I was sketching.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As I looked up, I noticed a large shape swooping quietly into a nearby tree – a quetzal had decided to land 10 meters from me!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was hard to make out in the clouds, but I could just see the outline of its body and long tail feathers. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I turned away to grab my camera and when I came back up it had gone.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was amazing how silently it flew into and out of my sight.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And then it rained for the first time since we had been there.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7aFxtS5FOT5NVTczhs3yzNHrw0XP7muKlPn2Ir2qSPtxb0xwBNRkdXd3X7SIAdYzz1hv3EcJ4o5rVZYaS44BknXsF76qdeAualmERXOC_y3v0aXMv9ZJV59LysVp9rbcCYIxaEoya1Q/s1600-h/IMG_3636.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7aFxtS5FOT5NVTczhs3yzNHrw0XP7muKlPn2Ir2qSPtxb0xwBNRkdXd3X7SIAdYzz1hv3EcJ4o5rVZYaS44BknXsF76qdeAualmERXOC_y3v0aXMv9ZJV59LysVp9rbcCYIxaEoya1Q/s400/IMG_3636.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305301542021715138" style="cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " />giant oak</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The montane oak forest is a pretty spectacular place, with each moss-covered tree seeming to have a presence – I could almost feel the trees taking deep breaths and slowly exhaling.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When walking through the forest, my eye was immediately drawn to the huge base of a tree, spanning more than two meters in diameter.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Slowly, I started to follow the trunk up, craning my neck more and more until I eventually found the crown some 30 meters in the air.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">At that point, my tree climbing instincts kicked in: I began looking for solid branches that could hold my weight and were exposed enough to shoot a line into.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There were some pretty promising candidates, and it wasn’t until 20 minutes later that I actually spotted some p-cord tied around a sapling!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The small tree that this thin piece of cord was wrapped around stood next to a very large, very old oak. The p-cord ran up into the oak, out of sight, and probably over a nice large branch.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was very excited at the idea that tree climbing was already established in this forest, at least for arboreal studies.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Perhaps I’ll come back to this area on my own someday and play around…</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On another morning, the group packed into the OTS van and drove to an ecosystem known as parámo, a habitat in the exposed high elevation areas where all the plants are dwarfed.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This ecosystem has daily freeze/thaw cycles, meaning that anything containing water gets quite the beating (i.e., all the vegetation).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Therefore the plants have evolved special adaptations to this, including fur on their leaves.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Not many animals live in the environment full time; they migrate into the area to feed occasionally, such as coyotes and hummingbirds.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was a pretty neat area – we stood on the continental divide and were able to see the Pacific; supposedly on a clear day, you’d also be able to see the Atlantic on the other side.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It makes me realize how small the country really is and how important its watersheds are.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Speaking of watersheds, the Cuerici reserve is owned by a local campesino named Don Carlos, who runs a trout farm on a small part of the land.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It is cool to see hundreds of trout at every stage of their life – and they taste pretty good too!</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> The farm i</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">s chemical-free = good for the environment & for me. </span> The water from the trout ponds drains into a natural stream, which runs downhill and powers a hydroelectric turbine that provides electricity to the reserve.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> All in all the place is pretty sustainable - the biggest resource expense is firewood to keep the cabin warm at night.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb4b2ZCpAfMtHS788leeeIz83Gu9DfrekdTfV3EJsSQEfI46vkhBqd73ujE7OMyfUzV_GGbCaRe7gwHsfnFH6qBNKxiPzBflVKYnsYZHfVfuVNrGb3NqO_b9gV5NgelTR3Pk-WBYoBWA/s1600-h/IMG_3602.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb4b2ZCpAfMtHS788leeeIz83Gu9DfrekdTfV3EJsSQEfI46vkhBqd73ujE7OMyfUzV_GGbCaRe7gwHsfnFH6qBNKxiPzBflVKYnsYZHfVfuVNrGb3NqO_b9gV5NgelTR3Pk-WBYoBWA/s400/IMG_3602.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305108097464700610" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " />Don Carlos, owner of Cuerici</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We learned that there was a small shack at the top of the mountain trail, near a nice overlook. Some of the people in the group decided to hike up one night and sleep in the shack, in order to see the stars and the sunrise the following morning. I unfortunately had to decline the offer since I did not have a sleeping bag (and the temperature dropped into the 40s at night). But I really wanted to see the sunrise, so me and another girl woke up at 4:30am to hike up in time to catch the view from the top of the mountain...it was well worth the trouble, and we reached the peak just as the others were awaking in the shack. The views were spectacular, and we headed down for breakfast around 6:30am, lucky to be greeted by tasty pancakes!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NVSq9wdYYFocp5RIc5EZZbbuXFLtDo4hvLR3ky4BYTee5zG25jxL7I_BJuzhURHbu9Yv6iaN6VQJPVPJTRE7kUoFrHfC1aXX7jzYSrL_6kytziyTGaPradtuhWGovTH0OoHmVtaYgXQ/s1600-h/IMG_3656.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NVSq9wdYYFocp5RIc5EZZbbuXFLtDo4hvLR3ky4BYTee5zG25jxL7I_BJuzhURHbu9Yv6iaN6VQJPVPJTRE7kUoFrHfC1aXX7jzYSrL_6kytziyTGaPradtuhWGovTH0OoHmVtaYgXQ/s400/IMG_3656.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305113401040600146" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " />clouds blanketing the valley at sunrise</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For our final day in Cuerici, I went on one final early morning walk, this time with two guys looking to do some birding.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As we ascended the mountain, the man in front stopped suddenly, and excitedly whispered under his breath, “Quetzal.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I peered over his shoulder to find a male resplendent quetzal sitting in a tree some yards away.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was beautiful: an emerald green body with a bright red breast, and tail feathers that were as long as the bird’s torso that blew calmly in the wind.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I looked away for a second, and when I returned my gaze to the area, the bird had disappeared, swiftly and silently.</span><br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-76921109727272946012009-02-02T09:39:00.009-08:002009-03-07T08:13:50.554-08:00Cambio de Vida<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I write to you now from Las Cruces Biological Station in the south of Costa Rica, about 20km north of Panama.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The place we’re staying is much nicer than I expected … with running water, hot showers, wireless internet, and American outlets, I feel completely spoiled in the middle of the rainforest.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It has definitely been a transition period, as I am getting to know new people, new plants, new foods, and new bugs. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Things have settled into a nice routine, now that I’ve been here for about a week.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Breakfast is at 6:30 each day, then lectures or a jungle hike, lunch at 12pm, nap for an hour, another lecture, play futbol for an hour, dinner at 6pm, then one more lecture around 7pm.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We are learning a great deal of information each day, with the topics ranging from Costa Rican history to coffee to plant identification to insect taxonomy.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I am beginning to realize that there is a large diversity of plants and insects in this country.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Who knew?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCfQ3nkJy6vA0ADdBc9Ggp0C99wez9Q7RX7Vpxe8Xp1ayuT64JvQUm7hOgiUxql3qPYjgyT21lT4VAGVZg1kKexvWx5cNIBiF-oNiIFcutlOW9z7cAqvcdLoPy9fP3L4NczIsiYnWsyU/s1600-h/IMG_3086.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCfQ3nkJy6vA0ADdBc9Ggp0C99wez9Q7RX7Vpxe8Xp1ayuT64JvQUm7hOgiUxql3qPYjgyT21lT4VAGVZg1kKexvWx5cNIBiF-oNiIFcutlOW9z7cAqvcdLoPy9fP3L4NczIsiYnWsyU/s400/IMG_3086.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298262875852182786" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:13px;">Oh and they gave us a great intro talk: “All of the things that could possibly harm or kill you in the jungle” - in under 2 hours! The dangers ranged from mosquitoes to diseases to bot flies (look em up) to fungus to killer bees to everybody's favorite (i.e., the most poisonous): snakes. Hearing it all in one sitting made even me want to curl up in a ball on my bed and not go outside anymore. But after a good night's sleep I got over that and went on a lovely trek into the rainforest :D</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And the déjà vu I had experienced in my first 24 hours did not let up for another couple days … on our journey to San Vito (the town outside of Las Cruces), we traveled on the Cerro de la Muerte, a highway that winds through the high mountains of central Costa Rica.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I had gone down this same highway two years earlier for the Tree Climbing class, which is not all that strange, given it is a main highway.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But what was weird was that we stopped at the same restaurant along the way, a quaint place called La Georgina where you can get quite a good “chocolate caliente.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There are also hummingbird feeders set up outside the windows, allowing visitors to watch three or four species speed around in the drizzly cloud forest.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was weird to be in the same place, but once our bus set off down the road again, there were no more familiar encounters – everything seen and experienced became new.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The atmosphere is much calmer than I expected – all of the students still seem a bit wary of being in a new place. It’s probably part of the adjustment period, and it is just beginning to hit me that I will be with these people for the next four months (and only them), in a country that is not my own, and without all of the comforts I usually take for granted.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yet I am optimistic that once I shake myself out of the daze of being immersed in an entirely new life, everything will start to get quite exciting.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For now, I’ll just keep my eyes open for terciopelas.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">--> I changed around a few things on the schedule that is listed in a previous post ... some of the places and dates have changed. Enjoy!</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-77919347179497286002009-01-27T13:28:00.015-08:002009-01-27T13:56:51.112-08:00Separation of Past and Present<!--StartFragment--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16pt; text-align: justify; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For all those currently wondering out there: yes, I made it to Costa Rica and I am still alive!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As I stepped off the plane and entered the San Jose airport, a feeling of déjà vu overwhelmed me.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Standing in line for customs, I immediately looked to my right I to find a memorable giant green mural of rainforest trees looking back at me.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then once I got my bags, I checked across the street to locate the grassy area under the overpass.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Carrying the same EMS Summit 4500 bag with red tape still wrapped around the straps, I walked to a familiar type of bus and took up a window seat.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">By this point, I was more than expecting to drive along the Cerro de la Muerte and arrive in Tres Piedras to go see El Duke!</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nearly everything I did and saw in the first hour of arriving in Costa Rica this time around reminded me of my first trip to the country two years ago.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I was a nervous freshman, signed up for the Costa Rica tree climbing course, embarking on a journey that – I would later come to realize – had shaped my college life.<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But even with all of the similarities to my previous journey, I quickly realized that it was going to be quite different this time around.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Instead of looking for Keyser Arbolski’s friendly face, I was searching for a sign that read “Duke/OTS Semester Abroad.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And once I had found that, I was not greeted with a bear hug by friends and ushered over to a slackline, but I awaited further instructions from an unknown professor, clinging tightly to the bags that were to be my only possessions for the next four months.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And stepping onto the bus, I did not find the faces of Cornell kids with whom I had practiced tying knots in the COE basement, but I saw eager, unknown faces amazingly not from Cornell at all.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As the bus drove us to a hotel in San Jose, I struggled to stay in control of the flood of feelings and memories that were washing over me, pulling me back in time to a sunny afternoon spent kicking a hacky sack and walking a slackline as planes screamed overhead.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I was certainly not expecting this nostalgia aspect of the trip – what other surprises will be in store for me?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-85069595203593784182009-01-19T08:23:00.016-08:002012-10-26T23:51:03.406-07:00Habari GaniContinuing with the Swahili titles, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">habari gani</span> means "what's new." This post is all about my latest news from Kenya. Here is part two of two in my chronicles of the time I spent in East Africa! (uploaded late due to lack of internet access)<br />
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Kenya has exceeded my expectations and has been more than I could hope for, in terms of its beauty and the insight it has given me. It is strange that this experience is over, because only two weeks ago I viewed it as something always looming in the future, as a journey that would never come to fruition. It shocked everyone last year how quickly the social conditions deteriorated in Kenya, and it was even more surprising to me how the country has turned around in only a year’s time. Even with their relations towards Americans, Kenya has become far more welcoming over the course of this past year, especially with the coming inauguration of a U.S. president with Kenyan roots.<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The rich culture of the country is something I will never forget; all the people we met seemed quite easygoing and friendly, if shy.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Our three guides joked and swapped stories with us throughout the trip, and when we went to visit the children, we were able to meet many of their mothers who were selling jewelry they had made.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">We were able to support their craft, while at the same time interacting with the kids who were nervous at first but soon warmed up to the large group of strangers.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">On the final night, after we had said our goodbyes and finished our last smores around the campfire, a troupe of traditional dancers came to camp to give a performance.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It was hypnotizing to watch them, but we soon snapped out of it when they came over, grabbed our hands, and had us join them in the dance circle.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Everyone was mixed together: dancing, jumping, and singing – you could not make out the dancers from the students because it was quite dark and the moon had not risen yet.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It was a remarkable and unique experience that left everyone’s calves sore the next morning.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">One of our guides left us with a story of how the hyena came to be as it is today:</span><br />
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There was a time of great famine in Kenya many years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyena had not eaten for days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He met a hare that also was very hungry, and together they went in search of food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day they came upon a beehive, high up in a tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyena told the hare to go up into the tree and throw down the honeycombs and he would catch them on the ground; when the hare was done, the hyena promised they would split the honey between the two of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the hare climbed up the tree, branch after branch, and finally reached the beehive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called down to the hyena and dropped the first honeycomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the hyena, being so hungry, devoured the honey as it fell into his mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did this for each piece the hare dropped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a while, the honey stopped falling, and the hyena had eaten all of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hare saw this, got upset, and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyena smiled at his good fortune of having so much food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he was afraid it was the only food he would get for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw a raven flying in the air and called to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyena asked the raven to sew up his back end so that he could keep the food inside him, and not have to be hungry again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyena found some string and used an Acacia thorn to sew up the hyena and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few days later, the hyena began feeling very uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a terrible stomach ache that was so bad that he could not move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, the hyena spotted the raven again and called to him once more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The raven flew down, and the hyena requested that the raven remove the stitches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the bird began to do so, the pressure that had built up within the hyena was finally released – spraying the contents of the hyena’s stomach all over the raven, turning him black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Angered, the raven flew off instantly to try to clean his feathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could not get them clean and they are black to this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the recovered hyena had become hungry once more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He joined with a pack of his fellow hyena in search of a meal and they looked for days and days without finding sustenance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night, the raven caught up to the hyena and his pack, and told them that he had good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The raven told the hyenas that up in the sky, the moon was a giant piece of meat, waiting to be eaten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hyenas started licking their chops and looking to the sky anxiously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The raven offered to take them to it and they agreed; one hyena held onto the raven’s tail feather using his teeth, and the next hyena grabbed the bushy tail of the hyena in front of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way, the hyenas made a chain, and when they were all set, the raven began flying to the moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went up and up, so high that the trees looked like small green specks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the raven began saying to his tail feather, “Come loose, come loose.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, the tail feather that the hyenas were holding was plucked from the raven, and all of the dogs fell, plummeting towards the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all landed hitting their back legs first and breaking those bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they tried to get up, all they could do was limp off, crying in high-pitched yelps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of its greediness, today the hyena has short hind limbs and can only yelp.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRLMUYSnz7OCe2neq8cRDb0olMJj8et_xwmPcHDzSPQ_8a9GU0WDG2CpBfbN1xhlU5ZdYKBjzSle-EE-4hvu80qeXARgnoyJlUo73HjCcOho6xPYDeOY9FI_wnQAxnKN53wgNfl3jGZ0/s1600-h/IMG_2133.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293278818923227074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRLMUYSnz7OCe2neq8cRDb0olMJj8et_xwmPcHDzSPQ_8a9GU0WDG2CpBfbN1xhlU5ZdYKBjzSle-EE-4hvu80qeXARgnoyJlUo73HjCcOho6xPYDeOY9FI_wnQAxnKN53wgNfl3jGZ0/s200/IMG_2133.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 134px; width: 200px;" /> Spotted Hyena</a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I came to Kenya thinking that, with the country’s almost desert-like conditions, we would rarely see any wildlife.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">But I was quite mistaken and it’s been very inspiring to see such an array of life thriving in this semi-arid bushland savanna.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> Especially during the night-drives. On four separate occasions, two of the vans would head out at night to look for animals with a spotlight. We located animals by their glowing eyes that stood out in the darkness. It was always amazing to come upon a herd of sleeping impala, because 30 pairs of eyes would appear out of nowhere. Yet even more exciting was discovering a pair of eyes that didn't belong to an herbivore. n my last night drive, I was controlling the spotlight when I strafed across a pair of eyes far in the distance. We redirected the path of our van to follow the animal and try to identify what species it was. After much searching and chasing, we learned that it was a striped hyena - it was the first one we'd seen all trip! I felt like I saw at least one new species of mammal or bird every day. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">If it is like this during the dry season, I would love to come back and visit in the rainy season.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">My time abroad has better prepared me for my coming semester in Costa Rica; I realize it is definitely something I must do.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The more time I spend in the field, the more I love the outdoors.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">This planet has a great deal to offer and I hope to do my best to appreciate and respect it.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Even the vegetation here is stunning – everything has thorns!</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">One of the species of Acacia trees is locally known as the “Wait-A-Bit” tree, due to the frequency of getting caught in its thorns while walking by.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">We did one of our projects on the Acacia trees in the area around camp, looking to see how much elephant damage there was to different species, and in proximity to the river.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">This involved a day of walking around studying individual bushes for over two hours with very little shade. Another day we spent high noon in an Acacia forest looking for the ants that live mutualistically in the trees. After a couple hours without water, the heat was starting to get to me, and definitely gave me a feel for the Kenyan climate.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The weather was in the 80s and 90s during the day and dropped to the 50s at night.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It was constantly sunny, making it a complete opposite of the weather I’ve been experiencing in Ithaca for the last three years.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It did not rain a single time during our stay, until the last two days; on Thursday we had a brief shower late in the afternoon, but on Friday, there was a downpour that lasted through the early hours of dawn.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">This turned out to be a somewhat inopportune time for a rain shower, since we had to drive 6 hours to Nairobi that morning.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I was in the first van to pull out of camp and onto the dirt roads, and the roads did not seem to be in good shape.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Within 100 feet of leaving camp, our van had begun fishtailing in the mud as we drove. Dustin, our driver, did a great job of keeping control the entire time. We reached a dip in the road where a river crossed during the rainy season. As we started to go through it, Dustin tried to punch the gas in order to get our luggage-laden van up the opposite side of the hill. The first and second attempt failed, so we all got out to push. As Dustin began giving the van gas, it slowly started creeping sideways down towards the streambed and the giant boulders it contained. The car managed to stop with its front bumper gently resting on a massive boulder. We heard a tractor coming and people went to flag it down. Another person ran back to camp to enlist some help. The two men in the tractor were a great help and aided us in getting the van back on the road. We all began pushing again, but one of the tires was stuck behind a large rock in the road that had been exposed by the rain. We laid down some smaller stones for the van to roll over, and put dried elephant dung under the rest of the tires to absorb the water. We all got behind the van once more, pushing even though our feet were sliding in the mud and the tires were spraying dirt all over us, and managed to get it up the hill. With a cheer, we scrambled up to the van to continue the long journey back towards America. It was going to be an interesting trip since most of us were wearing our only clean clothes and shoes before we started pushing! To our amazement, along the way we spotted a pack of wild dogs off the side of the road. We sat and watched them for some times, getting to see them play while watching hyenas and tawny eagles in the background. It was a perfect way to end the wildlife portion of our trip! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkhcCdoy4Ly0a0pMD5ML2cRLfXdyxJQK41QZ5zw4kbsSKTE44hnOUORPS4vCbPhkxT6-LNC8D6qqJdzGHLiRIWOzHTzaenwOHI5KGhro5ZGgIifEhGsXNKHl6HpljL_hhz8xAipyu9NI/s1600-h/IMG_2721.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293279840035670994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkhcCdoy4Ly0a0pMD5ML2cRLfXdyxJQK41QZ5zw4kbsSKTE44hnOUORPS4vCbPhkxT6-LNC8D6qqJdzGHLiRIWOzHTzaenwOHI5KGhro5ZGgIifEhGsXNKHl6HpljL_hhz8xAipyu9NI/s200/IMG_2721.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 133px; width: 200px;" /> Wild dogs, playing</a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Soon after, we reached the tarmac roads and let go of our fears of having to get out and push the van again.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Three airports, two plane rides, and 34 hours later, I showed up in New York, exhausted but happy to be finished traveling … for the week.</span><br />
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Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-43431119033132000852009-01-18T18:17:00.014-08:002009-01-18T19:28:31.940-08:00Mzuri Sana<div>In Swahili, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">mzuri sana</span> means "very beautiful" and aptly describes my adventures in Kenya. Here is part one of two in my chronicles of the time I spent in East Africa! (uploaded late due to lack of internet access)<br /></div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"></p><blockquote></blockquote><span></span><p></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span>Jambo! I’ve been in Kenya for two weeks now, but it feels like far longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Each day begins at dawn, with a breakfast of eggs, toast, and pineapple served under an open tent overlooking the Ewaso Ng’iro (Brown River).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After breakfast at camp, we usually embark to do one of three things:<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span style=""><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span>go to the field to collect data for our projects (i.e., walk around the African savanna)</span><br /></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ">work on drafts of our research papers at the Mpala Research Center, where the computers are</span><br /></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ">set out on game drives during which we usually find herds of impala, zebra, and gazelles, and the occasional giraffe, elephant, or warthog along the way</span><br /></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span>We spend the morning and the afternoon out, stopping back at camp for lunch (and a nap if I’m lucky).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We return to camp for the night usually around 6pm, giving people time to shower, wash their clothes, or play some soccer with the camp employees before dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The dinners are always amazing – there is always some variety of delicious meat (once they told us it was camel) with a side dish of potatoes, pasta, or rice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once in a while we are given chipates, which are delicious fried dough pancakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you add meat, it’s a taco; if you add chocolate sauce, it’s a crepe. Yum.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span>After dinner, we hang out around the campfire watching the amazing array stars in a sky that is clear enough to make out the Milky Way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I usually go to bed around 9pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We sleep in deluxe “tents” located under thatched roofs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They house two students each (my tentmate is Jennine! She’s awesome!) and most are not far from the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After dark, we can hear hyenas, hippos, baboons, and sometimes elephants on the opposite riverbank or just outside the tents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we don’t hear them, we often find evidence of animals in the form of fresh dung piles or browsed bushes around camp in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Just before daybreak, a loud chorus of birds breaks into song, helping wake me up whether I want to or not. I’ve included pictures to show what the tents look like.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzIdFkmVrf8EUPg-necsTTKExNSVrZtkYNczFsDwZNUTbVIgaX5N6g-uHWEuXaCOHUHCetcxTacgkL7Z-vFbCn-dflqlebMIsN7FwtVxLY0pD7nybC-xlb1Vm1nTMyzCXzv8IEj93xbo/s1600-h/IMG_2374.JPG"></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzIdFkmVrf8EUPg-necsTTKExNSVrZtkYNczFsDwZNUTbVIgaX5N6g-uHWEuXaCOHUHCetcxTacgkL7Z-vFbCn-dflqlebMIsN7FwtVxLY0pD7nybC-xlb1Vm1nTMyzCXzv8IEj93xbo/s1600-h/IMG_2374.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzIdFkmVrf8EUPg-necsTTKExNSVrZtkYNczFsDwZNUTbVIgaX5N6g-uHWEuXaCOHUHCetcxTacgkL7Z-vFbCn-dflqlebMIsN7FwtVxLY0pD7nybC-xlb1Vm1nTMyzCXzv8IEj93xbo/s200/IMG_2374.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292824178036346962" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /> </span></span></a><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOvJ_Vzc8fVuuE8Ax2wgEALHdMWJXe2Lcg2i0iCnOJcjINsXSG-PXbRPruIp99-9t8wanDJVPIXIAFTBPhnQoKvZz3HIg6VaqOl1or-s3lPD4sSVAFZEY83_BZR0K5iWyJ6wxd0gObJ0/s200/IMG_1886.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292824190025439778" style="text-decoration: underline;cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span>The diversity of life is amazing – I’ll step out of my tent to brush my teeth in the morning and I’ll be watching a bushbuck grazing across the river, or see a Vervet monkey just waking up in the Yellow Fever acacia trees (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acacia xanthophlorea</i>) outside my tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For the final project, I was watching the foraging behaviors of a bird called the Forked-Tail Drongo (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Dicrurus adsimilis</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I spent four hours watching a short section of the river, and in the first two hours I saw: a toad, a lilac-breasted roller, 2 goshawks, a pygmy owl, 3 parrots, an egret, 2 hadada ibis, 2 vervet monkeys, a guineafowl, and some drongos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’ve never been somewhere with such richness and abundance of species!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It fills me with a desire to see more, do more, and know more.</span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSN6kkqW6m1Uoruvfqrn8olUuek783HmSWCvj4rJazQ8T5VyVIhMLW42vqnJOBMCADdsUsgk2NaZKNvQWQ7baZkkq1g_CwtL1oCrKGOXPe_trQG4LwJolBnG1CTsDKEEi65qcUpXWzZg/s1600-h/IMG_2373.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSN6kkqW6m1Uoruvfqrn8olUuek783HmSWCvj4rJazQ8T5VyVIhMLW42vqnJOBMCADdsUsgk2NaZKNvQWQ7baZkkq1g_CwtL1oCrKGOXPe_trQG4LwJolBnG1CTsDKEEi65qcUpXWzZg/s200/IMG_2373.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292833551796264706" style="text-decoration: underline;cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></a><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OJcaspA0D-yEpsVbCNNRSp-nM_xJnI62ad4UzbqpWMSyFnVazVWfgaQVdA7soOaYwmTYO8oav0Hv6XC_ehDnc_z6C-EezpFrmtH1Ax0D-9GOPyTTLoPqInw0N9N1ageRjh3Dc6T-OUA/s200/IMG_1827.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292833542514195858" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></blockquote><blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSN6kkqW6m1Uoruvfqrn8olUuek783HmSWCvj4rJazQ8T5VyVIhMLW42vqnJOBMCADdsUsgk2NaZKNvQWQ7baZkkq1g_CwtL1oCrKGOXPe_trQG4LwJolBnG1CTsDKEEi65qcUpXWzZg/s1600-h/IMG_2373.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;">Bushbuck<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Vervet Monkey</a></blockquote><blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUobpP8TkP7H1RjPP89hOopjXH11JG9KfUjahD4gmkuMlSNBBK60b9nwIypfXoViMvHzpIm4zdndTvTRQNLrJHJt1ogP6007Ox5pE3SVktILqEIm26UHxExAiRW_Wg1Sr9fivnd0pm1U/s1600-h/IMG_2421.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUobpP8TkP7H1RjPP89hOopjXH11JG9KfUjahD4gmkuMlSNBBK60b9nwIypfXoViMvHzpIm4zdndTvTRQNLrJHJt1ogP6007Ox5pE3SVktILqEIm26UHxExAiRW_Wg1Sr9fivnd0pm1U/s200/IMG_2421.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292838337962782482" style="text-decoration: underline;cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QDOPMPOOoTt7ygGTaS1LOgFv79ZO7XhzzDglSFXwumz7fdCByVSXomXjOdrdGl_pvpHXIITTNxuIFGfiMD7ApJFKCP36vUdZdYfjA_FuaEe1B8b0x99EMKJOwh-jYcOzUsTaLDP3nZ0/s1600-h/IMG_2383.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QDOPMPOOoTt7ygGTaS1LOgFv79ZO7XhzzDglSFXwumz7fdCByVSXomXjOdrdGl_pvpHXIITTNxuIFGfiMD7ApJFKCP36vUdZdYfjA_FuaEe1B8b0x99EMKJOwh-jYcOzUsTaLDP3nZ0/s200/IMG_2383.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292838331498002978" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSN6kkqW6m1Uoruvfqrn8olUuek783HmSWCvj4rJazQ8T5VyVIhMLW42vqnJOBMCADdsUsgk2NaZKNvQWQ7baZkkq1g_CwtL1oCrKGOXPe_trQG4LwJolBnG1CTsDKEEi65qcUpXWzZg/s1600-h/IMG_2373.JPG" style="text-decoration: none; "></a></blockquote><blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSN6kkqW6m1Uoruvfqrn8olUuek783HmSWCvj4rJazQ8T5VyVIhMLW42vqnJOBMCADdsUsgk2NaZKNvQWQ7baZkkq1g_CwtL1oCrKGOXPe_trQG4LwJolBnG1CTsDKEEi65qcUpXWzZg/s1600-h/IMG_2373.JPG" style="text-decoration: none; ">Lilac-breasted Roller<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span> Toad</a></blockquote><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-57193107486244674822008-12-25T20:00:00.027-08:002009-01-29T17:58:25.753-08:00Merry Christmas!<div>My present to you is the gift of communication! </div><div><br /></div><div>For those of you interested in keeping in touch, below is a tentative schedule of when I will be in email contact, in addition to where I'll be. It is not exact, but it is the best I have. My cell phone will not work while I am abroad, but I'll have a phone card as well as Skype (jess_stitt) when the internet connection is good enough.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DpSenzwEYs24sNcAnMg1wpgzkfqo7K9g8mSB64jC2LO7MgeVgQtC3UEsIEInIxvMLqEZL0L_g0ImPoVIHAlxNksZ-KTewJqYhEF-RXsVDGp71HxQeCt1m4qHkJHruWuuCc9bdOiXZwI/s1600-h/Spring09updated.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DpSenzwEYs24sNcAnMg1wpgzkfqo7K9g8mSB64jC2LO7MgeVgQtC3UEsIEInIxvMLqEZL0L_g0ImPoVIHAlxNksZ-KTewJqYhEF-RXsVDGp71HxQeCt1m4qHkJHruWuuCc9bdOiXZwI/s400/Spring09updated.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296900187939995858" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 392px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you are feeling ambitious and wish to send me mail while I am in Costa Rica (please don't send packages), then I give to you my address; good for Jan 26 - May 12 2009!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jessica Stitt</div><div style="text-align: center;">Organizacion para Estudios Tropicales</div><div style="text-align: center;">Undergraduate Program</div><div style="text-align: center;">Apartado 676-2050</div><div style="text-align: center;">San Pedro 2050, Costa Rica</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As is the case with all snail mail, this service will probably be quite slow...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Learn Spanish!</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Snail mail: correo de caracol (lento)</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">E-mail: correo electronico (rapido)</span></span></li></ul><div>(Maybe I'll continue to include fun Spanish things I learn throughout the semester! Me gusta!) </div><div><br /></div><div>As an additional gift, here are the links to the sites where you can find more information about where I'll be!</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Kenya</span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/department/courses/265/HOME.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/department/courses/265/HOME.html</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Costa Rica</span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.ots.ac.cr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=300&Itemid=469"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">http://www.ots.ac.cr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=300&Itemid=469</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I am thinking my next post will be from Kenya, so have a Happy New Year!</div></div>Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909828891688002405.post-62489993337703803552008-12-14T10:10:00.001-08:002008-12-14T10:23:41.415-08:00Time to Start PackingHello. I am creating a blog to track my adventures for the coming months. Once I am done with finals, I will be home for a brief time, then off to Kenya for 18 days, followed by a semester in Costa Rica. Jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712943512774142933noreply@blogger.com0