The following is a massive entry of what went on in the past month and is currently going on.If you want the whole story go for it and read from the beginning, you want current news…skip to the end and see what I'm up to now.Miss you all terribly but still having a crazy, hectic, fantastically beautiful time.

MONTEVERDE (middle of march-ish)

So much to update…….

So before we left for our second three week field trip and before we moved into our homestays and before we started doing research we had 3 weeks in Monteverde doing an incredible amount of work.Classes have been fascinating. Subjects covered include:

Sustainable forestry

organic/sustainable/fair trade crops

orchids!!!!

a plethora of powerpoints on the different ecosystems that exist here

the list goes on…..

Spent a day ziplining and it was absolutely everything one could expect it to be……AMAZING! Got to soar through the canopy and the industry revolves around not disturbing the forest so all the platforms are up in the middle of nowhere and covered in branches…just the way I like it.Also got a tour of the Monteverde Reserve and saw some cool birds….especially the Resplendent Quetzal (yes that's its name…google it)!Saw squirrel monkeys which are rarer and rare in this area (the quide said he only sees them about once or twice a year and this was his second….we were very lucky and they traveled right over our heads)Also got to see the effects of global warming in the form of quite a few plants drying up right before our eyes on the trees as they cant handle the longer periods of dryness they are experiencing….so very sad to see it first hand.

After testing went with a group of people up to the fig tree by the station and I have to say it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. This organism that spends its life sucking the life out of another tree until it dies and leaves this hollow like tube of roots that winds up about 50ft.By the way….I climbed up inside of it to the top got out and looked out over the mountains (with a small waterfall pouring below me)….so surreal.

Did a field experiment on leaf cutter ants and what type of food they might prefer (consisted of squatting and watching ants that had no desire to eat what we were offering) then had to give a presentation on it symposium style…could've gone better but we did alright).Also got to research and present on trees that live in the canopy…personally the most majestic part of the forest with the massive towering trees…as well as their morphology presented in a small group.

Been having Spanish classes which last for 3-4 hours each class (more intensive conversation they theorize is best to learn a language and I think I agree).Our group of four is absolutely hilarious and we talk about everything under the sun (all in spanish) including government, religion, the genetic code, soap(?), and a variety of other random topics all while reviewing vocab and grammar.

Spent a morning on a hike through a private trail known only to the program and the station that we had to machete through to get through.Saw incredible undisturbed forest and some natural light gaps (tree falls).Eventually the trail dumped us out in the backyard of La Selva Reserve where we spent our time walking the canopy bridges. At the Reserve we had an insect lecture and saw the insect exhibits with some very beautiful shiny beetles literally the color and luster of gold (as old as ancient Egypt and used by them as well).Also visited the Butterfly Garden and saw a massive amount of chrysalises and after chilled in the Hummingbird Garden and got yelled at by the poor things as they tried to eat.

Had midterms (eh) and a Spanish presentation on transgenic crops which spiraled off into a massive debate on whether or not is evolutionarily/ethically sound to begin to alter our own genetic codes with the advancement of technology….very heavy stuff for Spanish.Spend my free time thinking up project ideas for my independent research and where to stay with a host family.

FIELD TRIP 2

(Penas Blancas)

Left Monteverde by way of the Monteverde Reserve 15 min down the road.We donned our packs with what we'd need for two weeks and hiked a 10 mile hike (starting at 9 ending around 2:30).This trip was the Carribean/Atlantic side of Costa Rica and the hike was essentially us crossing the Continental Divide down the other side of the mountains.On the way we saw some beautiful ridges, forest, (horseflies), and stopped to swim in a river to cool off….finally arriving at Penas Blancas in the middle of nowhere in a little cabin…it was perfect.Spent about four days there doing species reports. Got to do mine and get this….it's common name (you'll like this steve) is palo de pene….look it up if you like.

Also got to see a fer-de-lance which if bitten could kill you and we were treated to the story of the man that owns the cabin and the time he was bitten and blood came out of his eyes and mouth and how he couldn't move for a month without rupturing his capillaries….sounds like fun!Also went on a few night hikes and found some cool tree snakes and tree frogs.Had some great chill sessions consisting of passing a guitar around and singing whatever we knew the words to.

Celebrated Easter in a very informal and poorman's way considering where we were. It was actually really beautiful.Then packed up and hiked another brutal but invigorating and really enjoyable 8 mile hike to our next destination.

(Poco Sol, La Selva)

Spent two nights at Poco Sol getting back to world of people.However, one girl inn the group swears she saw a jaguar and apparently she described it pretty accurately having never seen one before.Alan met us with Coke and beers (didn't hike with us but drove around) and we spent the day swimming in the pond down the road.

Had a bird diversity day and spent the whole day bird watching and identifying.Got to see by some crazy amazingly lucky chance a Crested Eagle (again google it, this thing was huge) which apparently one of our professors (72 yrs old mind you) has never seen one his entire life.He also has only seen 4 forest rabbits in his life and what did two guys in our group see later that night….3 forest rabbits!Our TA's say we're probably one of the luckiest groups with sightings in the programs duration!! How cool is that???

One night we had a stats lecture which I'll tell the story about when I get back (remind me) followed by an incredible Jam session lasting 3 hours or so with Alan (program director) leading on the guitar, bajo, and an amazing rendition of Hallelujah on the violin….incredible.

Packed up the trucks (converted cattle trucks =-D) and drove out to the internationally famous reserve La Selva….not very impressive to some extent.The paths in the forest are very sterile and paved and wide…not like the footpaths in Monteverde.However they do have an excellent setup for researching biologists but the place has become very touristy very different from how it was when it was founded (by Holdridge the life zone guy himself!!!).I guess a place for comfortable experimentation? I'd rather get dirty and discover a new species in the mountains than have the capacity to flush toilet paper…just a personal preference I guess.

Had a lecture on extinction with an activity involving party hats….we did learn something, trust me.

(Tirimbina)

Left La Selva and traveled to Tirimbina, another reserve that was cabin like in appearance.Spent our nights there looking for more frogs, one of which was that frog with the bright blood red eyes, green body, blue feet, and yellow underside…ya we saw that one and I held it, it feels weird.We did a bat day where we took another hike to another reserve (Tirimbina Reserve) also very touristy but the hike was nice and we saw a massive….and I mean massive….kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) the one revered by Mayan cultures as holy for its huge buttresses.

Depressed the hell out of ourselves with a visit to a sustainable forest plot which offers some hope to the way we cut trees in the rainforest but the bottom line is forestry is not sustainable, there are only less worse ways of doing it (basically if you want wood make sure it has a FUNDECOR stamp on it or something similar).Came back that day and celebrated a birthday of one of the girls and had a pinata that was free with the party hats from La Selva…a crazy time which consisted of music and Alan (yes our program director) having a balloon flicking war with myself and four others…then we all beat the crap out of each other with inflated balloons….it was awesome.Packed up and headed out.

(Paris Mina)

Traveled through what seemed to be miles upon miles upon more miles of banana fields.What I think I would have looked at before hand as almost beautiful and cool to see now causes deep concern and fear.There is so much land being devoted to these luxury crops (coffee, bananas, and pineapple mainly here) that we are sacrificing good healthy old growth forest for…..hard to see first hand.Stayed in Paris Mina which was similar to Sierpe, a river community where we focused on river birds, crocs, beach plants (like the morning glory!!!), and turtles (also saw two pit vipers and huge rhinocerous beetles).We spent our days out on the boats doing species reports and such and I did my second one on the Green Kingfisher (apparently it's not tolerant of its mate during non-breeding season….interesting priorities?).Also had a private show of typical cultural dances by some local high schoolers in traditional Costa Rican dance wear…very cool.

Finally, the reason why we came to Paris Mina came….to find a Leatherback Sea Turtle which we were told were rare and sometimes you had to wait until 1 or 2 in the morning.We all had guides and no lights so as not to disturb the females as they lay their eggs.We walked in silence for what must have seemed like forever.We were all on edge because we had no idea how to spot this thing or if we were going to see anything at all.We walked and saw a large dark spot, shined a light, shut it off and it must have been the most incredible .05 seconds I've ever experienced.If your'e reading any of this entry I hope you read this because I will never, never, forget that hour we spent with it. It was absolutely humongous and so….beautiful.I can't describe it without being in person and have no pictures (google) but it was incredible and we sat in silence as it laid its eggs and were hit with sand as she buried them and watched her sink off into the ocean and we were more than walking on air after that…..incredbile.

Packed up and made the trip to the boarder more south and crossed into Panama for the first time ever.

(Panama-Bocas del Toro)

Rode the bus, traveled in boats to cabins on the beach where we settled in to absolute beauty in Bocas del Toro, Panama.Had a talent show that we'd been putting off and I got up to sing with 3 other girls and our TA Teagan and it was really cool, we did a round with 3 different songs and it came out really cool.Other skits were songs and reenactments of events during the program.After we danced into the night with a reggae band that Alan hired to play for us…it was again…awesome.We were all exhausted but so happy.

Spent the next few days doing lecture and bird watching (google the Brown Booby and tell me that bird doesn't look like it has a "durrrr what's going on face") off the coast and spending our days snorkeling until we burned =-)Also went to a legendary bat cave that was so beautiful with its formations and variety of bat species….despite having to wade crotch high in bat guano water it was worth the experience and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Left with heavy hearts as we traveled for a full day back up into Costa Rica, over the mountains, and into San Jose for a night (had Chinese food?).Then finally made our way back to Monteverde and I was glad to settle back in.

CURRENT-ish

Back in Monteverde, its been three weeks now.The first was spent drafting and writing our project proposals and where we wanted to reside for our homestays.I talked it over with Karen (a professor studying orchids and climate change) and I decided to work on Lepanthes helleri a miniature orchid that curls its leaf (the size of your thumbnail) around its developing flower but only in Monteverde.For those plant geeks (so maybe only Tod and Stacy?) I'll be looking at the microclimate that may or may not exist within the curl and changes in stomata number, frequency of open stomata, temperature, and relative humidity….a mouthful I know but it's so cool =-D !!!! (laymen terms: looking at if this curled leaf has conditions inside of the curl that are different from outside the curl….maybe to prevent water loss).The next week was spent in classes, getting to know our homestay family, studying for two more tests, writing another paper, and beginning our research.My family (Chavarria Araya) is great, very amable, very laidback.We have great conversations and make good humored fun of each other all the time ,last night was my turn =-), I live with 3 brothers around my age and their 8 yr old niece visits for a few hours almost every day after school and she's fantastic as well (we play hide and seek and she shows me how she knows this dance from a telenovela "Passiones".I live 5 minutes from the center of town but it's not city-like at all, more suburbia for Monteverde, and how appropriate for me but it's called Barrio Orquideas (Orchid Village) and we live uphill from the local cementary.

Things are currently going smoothly and this past Sunday was my first day off in a while thus the huge entry.Sorry for the infrequent updates, lack of emails and pictures, and the other things that I've forgotten to do.Research is entirely up to us to do and no one checks up on us so I've been trying to be diligent about making it into the field each day and up to the station to get work done.More updates to follow….miss you all.