Back Again

---

Hello All -

I'm back again. On the blog and in Puerto Rico.

Things have been pretty good. The weather is mediocre, but not to hot, which makes for good monkey experiment times. Monkeys I recognize from last year are a year bigger. Its amazing how much they grow! I've finished one project and moved onto the second. Which is good because I have four things on the docket for this one month that I am here. I'm also writing a grant, and I feel that is going really well too. I "finished" it on the first, and so I have until the 14th to continue to work on it. Yeah!

Things go fast though. The undergraduates I started with here are already leaving next week. Ack! And I still have to remember to plan some things for my Costa Rica trip. As in, what the hell am I doing there? Hehe... it will all get worked out.

Besides that, we've been staying close to home. I get pinchos, tostones, and arepas on the weekends. We've been to the nice beach at the Sheraton. I've been having issues with spray on sunscreen. I use a lot, and then I still miss spots and end up with weird splotchy sunburns.

On the fourth, we hosted all the other researchers, and had snacks, played games, and lit sparklers on the beach. It was so beautiful! I also learned to play the game Set... and I am thinking about become an addict... I'll have to buy a deck when I get back (I highly recommend this game to all nerds).

We went to a water park today, but it was just so-so. But we did get to play mini-golf, and it was the first time Rahil had ever done so. Rahil is my assistant. He is an undergraduate, but is from Pakistan. So he doesn't know what certain things are, like, bald eagles, yoda, and I don't even know what else. Actually, we made him watch the empire strikes back and he said .... wow, that one guy really looks like harrison ford. And so it goes.

The one other thing I'm really excited about (but don't you get to excited because it is stupid), is a bought one of those little things that hold sponges and sit on your kitchen sink and look like frogs. I LOVE them, and have always wanted one. And now I have one that says Puerto Rico on it. It'll be my favorite nicknack. And its pretty appropriate to get one here because the PRians are so into their Coquis... little frogs that make ver large noises that sound just like that... Co - qui!

---

Photos

Tropical beach Naguabo
The hamlet we live in.

Random Day Trip
Into the mountains on the southeast side.