2019 Costa Rica International Research Experience

This morning we said goodbye to Las Cruces Biologival Station. We traveled along the pacific coast of Costa Rica and gazed at the vast expanse of blue, which we call the Pacific.  I haven't laid eyes upon that celestial body of blue for 20 years and it seeing it today reminded me of bittersweet memories of a past nearly forgotten. I am glad to have made this experience, one to last a lifetime. But I am eager to apply for the summer program and see if that I am fortunate to get that one. We made it back to San José around 16:00 hours. Its comforting to be back where we began with out journey. This is our last night in country for some of us. Tomorrow, we point our compasses north and begin our trek back home.

Today was our presentation day for our projects. We woke up early and watched the sunrise above the valley around 5:30. It was quite beautiful.   We continued practicing and wrapped up our minor details for presentations before showing them to the rest of the groups. At 13:15 hours, we started to give our presentations. Leslie and I were the second to last group to go, so we had time to fix minor errors. I felt that I did poorly but others said it was good. I also felt our presentation was shorter than the others, maybe it was. But I wasnt told. I did however inform the others about the desiometer and it is used to measure canopy cover. Overall, I am relieved that the presentations are through, a but sad that our journey here is coming to a close. We are leaving tomorrow. But I did get to watch the sunset over the valley once. So it was worth it. After dinner, Juan took a few of us hunting for frogs, toads, and scorpions and we were able to find all which we were looking for.  S

Today, Leslie, Rachel and I came up with our game plan for our presentation. We had time to come up for practice before we had our going away party with the Emberá and Ngöbe indigenous folks that helped us with our studies. After lunch we finished our poster and then Celestino, a leader of the Ngöbe tribe gave us a power point presentation. Lucilla then finished teaching us how to make thread out of the leaf fibers we harvested earlier last week. After which, we had our party with them. There they told us more of their culture such as a couple songs, a few personal stories. We then had a few of us give them some of our knowledge. I was unable to upload this post on the 17th due to a new group arriving that have been disconnecting us from the internet as well as keep us up until 1 am.

Where to begin...... Well, it's good that I decided to talk to the project coordinator about my health, as for the past 4 nights I've been coughing up a lung. I got up at 6 am and started the day like every other day and went to the dining hall. Couldnt enjoy most of the meal, except watermelon as did not cause much pain when consumed. Scott, the leader of this internship program brought me to the hospital roughly around 11 am. Was bit of a wild goose chase as we had to go to 10 different windows just to get a diagnosis. It was quite hilarious while we were there. Everyone who had to read off my name usually paused for a few moments trying to figure out what was my first name. Scott told them that I had 4 first names to just settle the confusion. After we waited for 3 hours in order for me to get a shot in the rear, went and had Crepes for lunch. After lunch, we continued our little escapade as I needed to get an Xray. While getting it taken, the radiologist asked Scott whi

Well today was our only free day to explore the town of San Vito. It was quaint and very vibrant with colour and culture. Many of the places we stopped at to rest had many empty glasses, remnants from the festival they locals had the night prior. We stopped at this Pizza joint and ordered something that was familiar to us. To those who are reading this and find it weird to have a pizza joint in Costa Rica, the town of San Vito was founded by Italians in 1952. Waltzing around the area for a few hours, taking in the scenery and being immersed with the culture. Our last stop was at a Crepe cafe. Deb, the mentor who was with us ordered this banana crepe which was divine, and I ordered a regular cup of joe. The coffee here is on a completely different level. It was at a reasonable price too, only $1.40.  Getting back to the Garden, I started to fall ill again, and drifted in and out of a few naps. Hopefully the medicine does the trick and I'm refreshed tomorrow.

Saturday, December 14th,  Where do I begin? Last night I was not feeling my best, and was up most of the night with a bad cough. I eventually got up at 6, and went to the dining hall to talk to Scott (Lead coordinator for the program). Evidently I did not have to look as everyone I walked past told him I looked deathly ill. Scott said he would go to San Vito, the closest town and buy medicine. I then crawled back into bed after a long journey back to Wilson House. I slept for 3 hours and woke up in a dead sweat. Feeling rejuvenated, I took a much needed shower and joined my group in the lower portion of the Botanical Station. I missed out on catching 3 of the new 6 species, but we have the perfect sample size now. We stayed in the butterfly garden again to find anything we cpuldve potentially missed, but the weather turned sour. We returned to the lab to brainstorm and collaborate, but had to leave early as Scott wanted to show one of the local indigenous groups, the Emberá how t

Friday, December 13th. Today was remarkable, yet not in my favor. First off is my sleep schedule from work has followed me here. This is the second day where I all have been up since 4:00 AM. The sunrises here are mesmerizing, but not as such when it comes to the fog rolling through the valley when breakfast arrives. After breakfast, Rachel and I went to the forest along with Deb Anderson, Alwin, and Jacob through the Rio Java Trail and a good portion through the Water Trail.  As our paths diverged, Rachel and I collected roughly 5 more specimen of which neither of us had laid eyes upon. Although neither of us have seen any of the species, Rachel being the expert that she is was a le to deduce the family on which they belonged too. I however still am barely a novice. We left the forest around 11:30 and had lunch at noon. It was great for sure, but I certainly do feel under the weather, so I was unable to consume the usual amount of which I have intake inhaling. After lunch, we we

Today, December 12th has been challenging for me. Not because of the time and work put into the research and identification. But, because of my own mental blocks. I hit a wall within my mind, where I am lacking a sense of happiness. I do not know what has caused this, but I know it is only temporary. Luke, the Videographer  for this trip, followed Rachel and I into the forest today, as he is following different groups each day. I do admire the man. He is funny, intelligent and all around genuine, caring person. We did not catch as many species we did yesterday (roughly half the amount yesterday). However, we did see close to 70 butterflies of species that we did catch,  so it was not an entire loss, as that proved valuable data to this research. Coming to the Rio Java river, Rachel was able to catch the that had evaded us not only for the previous 2 days, but also the entire morning, as it teased us with its presence. We came back around 1, as the weather was not in our favor f

Today, December 11th, 2019,             There are a few things that have occurred throughout the day.  The rudimentary routine of sleep cycle has been broken. The lack of it has not make it a hindrance on my ability to preform the tasks at hand. Rachel, was enthusiastic today just as always, and it honestly has made things relatively smoother  when it comes to adapting with what is thrown in my way. After breakfast this morning, we met in the Lab and was joined by Leslie as a new member of our group. I do feel bad that she is unable to do what she initially signed up for. I still feel bad for not walking back to hep her up, even though Alduin was there to assist her. Everyone is getting along great and right now, I do feel like I am back to where I usually am at home. Just sort of just on my own. I do not find it to be something that is challenging, there is solace being by yourself. After breakfast,  Rachel, Leslie and I returned to the Wilson Butterfly garden to gather mor

Today, I traversed through the rainforest with many friends. We have formed a tribe, formed from many cultures ranging from the great lakes, all the way to the western seaboard. After I traipsed through the trail, and returned to the Station, Rachel introduced me to the project of which I has peaked my interested. The study of which has caught my curiosity is Lepidopterology. I was a bit  deterred from the overwhelming amount of information but it was amazing. The thrill of the hunt through the butterfly garden was absolutely fun. Rachel showed me a few methods of catching many of the multiple families found here at the Station. After she caught thethe first, which happened to be a Sulfer, it was my turn. I immediately caught one moments later, and identified within a minute, it being a Giant Patch or Crimson Patch. We ended up catching 4 species during the time we had. One of them took us nearly 2 hours to identify. But thanks to Juan, we were able to identify from a rare print fo

Well, we made it to Lac Cruces Biological Station. After a few planned stops and one unexpected due to car sickness. Everyone is accounted for. The mountain Juan had taken us to had a tragic story behind it. But, the similarity it has with the Trail of Tears, made it even more heartbreaking.  It was nice to get back into the groove of things when it comes to speaking Spanish. Although, I still have quite a bit to remember. I helped one of my classmates with basic grammar, such as asking basic questions, and responses.  I'm really excited for tomorrow. Getting to work with Rachel on collecting insects does sound challenging; as I heard there is roughly 300,000 species of insects. Overall, I am in love with the country as well as its many customs. I wish I could show those who are no longer in my life how far I've come along.

Well, where to begin. The first full day in Costa Rica was pretty amazing. Met a few people, each coming from a different background and have their own quirks. Many of whom I now call friends are much more enthusiastic than myself when it's coming to this trip.  I know it was only the first day, but I'm not deterred in any way, shape, or form.  My mentor Rachel and I came up with our game plan for catching insects and playing by ear when it comes to certain parts of the study. Really looking forward on traveling through the mountainous terrain and finally reaching the Biological Station tomorrow evening. Fingers crossed that I find many species of insects as well as among other creatures. Jamison.