First Day in Field- And First Impressions

The past two days have really been defined by attempting to settle into the idea of field life. For example, I have learned the following in the past two days:

A) Flocks of parrots in combination with the local rooster are great if you want to wake up before your alarm that is already ridiculously early.

B) Wear shoes on the connecting bridge to the bathroom, because you are likely to step on an unsuspecting bug with your bare feet. Crunching may ensue.

C) Roleplaying risk management situations are awkward, yet hilarious, for everyone involved.

D) Botflies and snakes are terrifying.

E) Being out in the field is kinda awesome.

Today we finally went into the field, and our first outing in rubber boots. Hiking in rubber boots isn't super fun, but the fact that we were finally in a rainforest in Costa Rica definitely put that out of my mind. Despite the fact that most of the hiking was just concentrating on where my feet were going (not the smoothest trail and given my propensity for hurting myself, it was probably a wise choice), I was still able to enjoy a lot of what the forest had to offer. For example, on that hike alone, I got to see both a leaf cutter ant highway as well as a tayra, which is essentially a weasel that is the size of a Laborador. Woof.

On the same hike, we were asked by our professors to simply sit in a spot in the forest and draw for 30 minutes. It was actually a slightly overwhelming task- there was just so much to draw: vines, lianas, trees, shrubs, flowers, and everything! But it was nice to finally take an opportunity to just sit in the forest and appreciate the fact that I was actually sitting in a rainforest in Costa Rica. It was pretty awesome.

From there, we hiked back and then met with our professors. We discussed the different flora and fauna that we saw and how they added to the different layers of the forest. After discussion, we had lunch. Following lunch, a few of my friends and I went and visited the trail that lead to the canopy tower located on the property. The trail was shorter than expected, but we did become the first people in our group to find a snake (I guess I’m excited about that?). We finally ascended the tower, and the view was absolutely beautiful. The view was definitely worth the climb up to the top in the mid-day heat.

We returned in time for our next class: plant taxonomy. I was a little apprehensive about this class, because plants are normally not my strong suit. However, with the guidance of Alex, our professor, we were able to quickly identify key features that will later help us identify plant families. We also had a visitor in our classroom who we later put outside, but he definitely made things a bit more interesting.

After dinner, we finished our lecture from yesterday on the History of Costa Rica- particularly focusing on the role of the Structural Adjustment Programs and DR-CAFTA agreement had on shaping the Costa Rica of today as well as the rest of Central America.

Tomorrow we start insect identifications, which I am super pumped for!

Orientation and Would You Rather?

Yesterday began with our orientation at the OTS offices. The OTS offices are a beautiful building located on the campus of the Universidad de Costa Rica. During the orientation, we were finally introduced to all of the staff as well as the President and CEO of OTS. Additionally, we learned about what is expected of us course-wise and some general safety tips both for in the field and the city (safety first, kiddos). We also managed to finally get our hands on some of the equipment that we’ll be using throughout the semester. We ended up having to go through the boxes that we’ll be taking with us to ensure that everything was there. Each box was assigned to two people to keep track of. My box ended up being the most full, so it took a bit of time, but it really wasn’t that bad. It was also just fun to see the different types of equipment that we’ll be dealing with throughout the semester. Also awkward when I couldn't identify a compass that folds up (whoops), so I definitely have a long way to go on that front. 

Following the orientation, we returned to our hotel and decided to do a bit of shopping. It was my first experience in a Costa Rican grocery store, but everything was pretty much the same. The store itself was a little small, but it had all your basic amenities. Also, there was an entire section just devoted to Tang. 

You thought I was kidding.

Also, everything is a LOT cheaper down here than in the states. The dollar is pretty strong here, and the conversion rate is around 500 colones to the dollar.

Following that, we ended up walking to a local park (maybe almost getting run over, because pedestrians don't have right of way, whoops). The park itself was really beautiful and well kept. Hopefully we'll be able to return and walk around more during the home stays in San Pedro (just 20 min or so from San Jose). 

Today we spent most of the day in the van, travelling to Las Cruces. Unfortunately, there was also some strife in this part of the journey as well. In addition to it being a 7-8 hour car ride (Las Cruces is practically almost on the border of Panama), we ran into a few vehicle troubles in which one of the tires on the van busted out. It didn’t completely blow out, but it was bad enough that we had to pull over in the next town and change it at a tire store. Then, we had to make an additional stop to replace the spare tire just in case. After that, the car ride was pretty uneventful. Towards the more rural areas, we resorted to asking a lot of "Would you rather...?" questions to pass the time, as cows and pastures can really only be so interesting. 

However, we did take the highway that was more by the coast, so in addition to seeing more parts of the rainforest, we also saw the Pacific Ocean in all of its glory. It was also really interesting to see the drastic contrast between a lot of the country economic wise- most of the citizens appear rather poor, but there are a few houses that are clearly catered to American investors. After seeing more of the country today, it was more obvious that Costa Rica clearly is very reliant on its tourism industry. Therefore, it’s understandable that currently the country has the highest unemployment rate that it has ever had, especially because it too took a hit when the American economy downturned.

We eventually got to Las Cruces, which already appears to be a beautiful site that is owned by OTS. In addition to the protected forests that surround the area, the site also hosts a Botanical Garden. We didn’t get a chance to explore the forests much, but the garden was already pretty impressive. Currently, the garden hosts plants from over 180 places, around 3000 species of plants, and is the host to the 2^nd largest collection of palms in the world. Luckily, we did get to explore the garden a bit, and were able to see a fantastic sunset from a lookout point. 

Unfortunately, we got to the site rather late, so I’m hoping to have a bit more time to explore tomorrow. But, hopefully we'll see some more wildlife when we go out on our hike into the forested section of the park. We already saw a cute creature wandering around the gardens called an Agouti, which are basically a cross between a guinea pig and a squirrel with spindly legs:

Here's to seeing even more cute animals!

Finally Arrived! (with some snafus)

Let me preface this blog post with the following: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VhMgxIQ1Yg

The above was an eerily similar experience that I had today with none other than Delta Airlines. As I was going through check-in and security, I found everything going rather swimmingly. This is actually saying a lot about the situation, because normally when my family takes a vacation that I am a part of, something terrible happens. Not necessarily because of my presence (looking at you, Dad), but it's just a thing that happens. 

Well. The terrible thing did happen. As I was sitting waiting for my flight, Delta suddenly decided that I couldn't get on the plane because I needed to have a visa, because I was going to be staying longer than 90 days (which is the allotted tourist amount). Despite my explanations that my program was going to process visa extensions, they swore that I could not get on the plane without a visa (which is not true in the least, because I ended up talking to three kids who ended up on the same flight as me to Costa Rica, who didn't have any trouble at all). Long story short, I ended up with a ticket I'm never actually going to use and $200 less in my bank account. 

BUT. The good news is that I did eventually get to Costa Rica. HOORAY. 

Deltaaaaaaa! *shakes fist*

After the debacle about the visa, I ended up explaining to the immigration officer that I was staying past the 90-day mark because I was studying abroad. And his response was pretty much like “Yeah, okay.” Granted, I had to show him proof of my acceptance into the OTS program, but whatever. Easier to deal with than Delta was.

Anyways, customs went swimmingly. After that, I found the right person to meet, and then we eventually headed back to a hotel in San Jose. All of the people in my program that I’ve met so far are super nice. And additionally, everyone is clearly also just as nerdy as I am about the kinds of things that we’ll be doing in this program. We all agreed on walking around San Jose for a bit once we were settled in.

I know how awkward it must have looked for a bunch of college-aged gringos walking past the same block four times, but in the end, we made it down to the more tourist-y section of San Jose. Saw the Post Office Building, the National Theatre, and a bunch of shopping markets.  There also may be an appearance of us in a music video (? -I think that’s what it was…). All I know is that there was a band playing and then they artistically walked away down the street with a guy filming them with a camera, and I’m pretty sure all of us were in that shot. So look out for that five minutes of fame.

We also had the experience of exchanging some money at a local bank as well. I got way too excited about the colones bearing pictures of a shark and a sloth, respectively. There are some historical figures on the back of both bills as well, but clearly sloths and sharks are more exciting.

After wandering around San Jose, we returned to our hotel for some pizza and ended up meeting another professor of ours. She also seems really nice and very experienced about the world of tropical biology.  Finally, we  proceeded to crash in our hotels. It’s been a long day- but at least I’m finally here! I will post more pictures when the internet isn’t so spotty.

Welcome to the Jungle

Hello to all and welcome to my humble blog!

In late January, I will be leaving for my semester abroad in Costa Rica. This blog serves as a means to update my family and friends on my adventures as well as to assure them that I am still alive based on my blog posts (wifi providing). But if you would like to hear more regular contact from me, be sure to check in on Facebook or my e-mail: lcr24@georgetown.edu.

In Costa Rica, I will be participating in a program that is run by Duke University as well as the Organization for Tropical Studies. The program will take us all over the country, where we will be doing field research at different biosites in addition to learning about tropical biology, environmental policy, and the language and culture of Costa Rica. 

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this program, and I am so excited for what it has in store. I hope you enjoy reading my forthcoming posts!

Adventure awaits, my friends.