Well the kids in my host family warmed up to me fairly quickly. They were shy at first and then Mariana, the 4 year old, saw me working on my computer and asked me if I had any “juegos” (games). After that it was like I was babysitting. We played in their playroom where they have tons of toys, and lots of dinosaur figurines. All the boys love “dinosaurios”. I really like having kids around because sometimes they are easier to talk to in Spanish than the adults! Also the water is out here for most of the day L Mayra, my host mom, said that almost a million people have been affected by the construction they are doing on the pipes. Yikes. But it should be all fixed by Monday. Woke up today with all ... read more

Buenos! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, the last few days have been soooo busy. We were finishing our independent projects. It feels really good to be done! We collected a total of 133 strawberry poison dart frogs for the research. Then we had to prepare a 12 minute presentation and write a 12 page paper - Aye carumba. We did the presentation yesterday and I turned in my paper last night. I feel like I should be more relieved than I am, but maybe thats because we have midterm exams coming up :( So not really much exciting news to report. But after that we go to our homestay! I am definitely excited to get a break from biology. During the homestay all we will be studying is Spanish - and we always have ... read more

Yesterday we visited the Dole banana plantation. Our guide was Carlos. His job title is Public Relations manager or something in that area, but I would consider him an entertainer. He kind of reminded me of the guy at Disneyland who pulled Hailey out of the crowd to come on stage (haha). His main objective was to put on a show for us gringos, however he was surprisingly knowledgeable as well. Apparently he got a master’s degree at Texas Tech for agricultural economics. He also does marketing research for the company. Our tour was informative to some extent. Carlos had obviously done it many times before, and it was clearly rehearsed. He catered to our group specifically, knowing we were studying biology and concerned about the environment. He also was very articulate in the way he ... read more

Buenos dias! I just got back from a run along the 5km bike path through La Selva. Probably the coolest run I have ever been on. Where else can you see a pair of collared peccaries? If you saw me when I got back, you may have guessed that I just got out of the Rio Puerto Viejo. I was that soaked with sweat. However, that would be quite unlikely as cocodrilos frequent the waters. That’s right people. Crocodiles. I have yet to see one but apparently they like to come out when the sun is strong to soak it up. Speaking of local fauna, we went on an orientation hike through the jungle today and saw quite a few critters. Giant spiders are the norm here. Orb weavers are quite common and I frequently have ... read more

Okay, this is going to be a long one – four days without internet and a lot happens! If someone took me straight to Cuerici and dropped me on the mountain, I would not guess that I was in Costa Rica. The cabins where we stayed are on a mountain directly across from Cerro Chirripo, the highest point in Costa Rica. Don Carlos owns this property, as well as many surrounding hectares. He has lived in the mountains here his entire life, and has very valuable knowledge of the area as well as his personal ideas of how to conserve and preserve it. On his land he grows mora (blackberries), raises cattle, has a tree plantation, and also a trucha (trout) farm. When he was younger, he hunted a lot in this area, like everyone used ... read more