Research is not for me

After spending more time in the Amazon I have came to the conclusion that I would be a terrible researcher. Prior to this excursion I still maintained the belief that I could in fact research since my only future career goal was being outside. I now know that I better start looking into other career fields to get me outside because I could possibly be the sloppiest data collector in the world. I realize that the fact that I have absolutely no patience and have the attention span of a three year old is not new information, but I have never tested my patience to these levels. I have also discovered that my freshman year chem. lab mentality of “oh it’s close enough, just pour it in” has not disappeared.
First off, my piranha research idea did not pan out. I went fishing with the cooks a few times but we were not catching piranha at constant enough rates for me to get good data for a project. I was really disappointed but I am happy that I at least got an excuse to go fishing for a few days. Also, I realized that piranha look more like sunfish than sharks anyways (yes, I had seen pictures before but I still somehow imagined them to be much ferocious looking) so I didn’t feel as extreme as I thought I would. Bummer. I decided that I should focus on a project that I can for sure get data on so I chose insect habitats instead. This project consists on setting up an insane amount of “pitfall traps” which are basically cups in the ground in various habitat types to catch terrestrial vertebrates. My group then goes and collects the insects everyday, identifies them, and puts the numbers into statistical tests to prove that there is indeed a significance difference in between abundance and diversity of different habitat types. Almost as exciting as catching deadly predatory fish which could take off my finger at any moment.
Since I have had a lot of time to ponder life this trip I have been rapidly rethinking my career path and making sure it does not include any sort of data collection and analysis or just patience in general. Mr. Heise (my highschool calc. teacher) used to constantly yell at me “Patience is a virtue. Possess it!” I am working on it but the future does not look bright.
Highlights of Week II:
- Lots of wildlife watching. My favorite spottings were the pink river dolphin and various species of monkeys. I am really hoping for a anaconda!
-Real coffee! I average around 6 cups a day just because I can.
-The girls on the trip have been competing in a leg hair growing contest. I am not winning but I am at least in the top 1o right now. On that note I have not really been showering either. I am not completely stinky since I swim a lot, but I am thoroughly enjoying this break from hygiene.
- I have also not been showering because I really want a botfly. What is a botfly? A botfly is a fly which burrows in your skin and lays its eggs in your skin. The eggs then develop into a larvae and hatch out around a month later. I am not exactly certain how to get a botfly but I don’t think it involves showering. Usually about 1 in 4 people get them in Tiputini so I am liking my odds.
Why do I want a botfly? I am not entirely sure but I think it has something to do with the experience of hatching a fly. If I don’t have children this could be closest I ever get to giving birth and I have heard the experience is life-changing (childbirth not botfly hatching). I wouldn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to change my life.
I realize that this blog just completely digressed from highlights of the week but botflies are more interesting anyway.

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