Viva Las Vegas...

Ah so...Carlos and I were en route to Seattle on Sunday 21 December and everything had gone pretty well: we made it from San Jose, Costa Rica to Phoenix, Arizona then to Las Vegas, Nevada. Once we hit Vegas however, we got stuck -- US Airways canceled our flight (along with about a billion others) -- it was a mess. Soo after a lot of waiting, Carlos and I were able to be booked (supposedly a confirmed ticket too) on a flight out of Las Vegas and into Seattle on the night of the 24th.

I am really, REALLY lucky that we were stuck in Vegas since my sister lives here and she is letting us stay with her! I also haven't seen my sister for 2 years so it is really nice to see her again. I am sad that I am not in Seattle yet, but I am happy to be able to see Shannon!

I hope the weather in Washington improves prior to Thursday so that I can get to Seattle to visit my mom, dad, and friends. I'm not there yet, but at least I am stuck in the best place possible!

PS. Today Carlos, Shannon, and I are going to go wandering around the strip!

Lemon ginger tea

I had a really delicious tea a week or so ago. My friend Arietta was cleaning out her office and discovered a veritable treasure trove of tea. She gave me a whole bunch of Stash brand lemon ginger tea packs and they are great! The flavor is very strong spicy ginger with just a hint of lemon. I usually drink flavored black teas with milk and sugar so this herbal tea was a change of pace for me. I will definitely have to find this tea again once I return to Washington!

One week countdown!

Wow, I just realized that a week from today I will be back in Washington with my family! I am really excited to be returning to the states and especially to be visiting Washington (it's been 2 years since I've been home). I will be in Washington for almost 2 weeks before me, Carlos, my mom, and dad all drive to Las Vegas to visit my sister and to celebrate a late Christmas all together.

In Washington, there are lots of things I am planning to get done -- visit the dentist, get a haircut, shop for new, non-field clothes (I barely have any!), and plan out the drive back to Miami. I am also excited to do a bunch of fun things with my family and friends. Here are a few places I plan to visit during my Washington stay:

- Woodland Park Zoo
- Seattle Art Museum
- Half Price Books
- Todai
- Uwajimaya
- Trader Joe's
- Capitol Hill/Broadway

I still need to do a little Christmas present shopping, so I will also be able to visit a couple malls during my stay -- it is going to be a big culture-shock to return to Washington after living and working in Costa Rica for 2.5 years!

DS pocket case

Last night I made a little pocket-like case to hold my Nintendo DS Lite. I have needed one for a while and decided to make my own out of some felt that I had. I am pretty pleased with the end result: one side of the pocket is turquoise blue with a stitched sea monster -- the Kraken -- on it (the Kraken is a monster from one of my favorite video games). The other side of the case is made of grey felt (I didn't have enough turquoise for 2 sides).

The top of the pocket doesn't have a closure, but I may work on it when I return to the states. I am really pleased with how this project turned out and it fits my little pink DS perfectly!

Choco Keks

Today after lunch I bought a little snack (for about 50 cents!) from the gift shop -- Choko Keks! Choco Keks is a little milk chocolate bar that contains a cookie layer and a cream milk layer. It is really good and nice for a sweet snack -- it kind of tastes like a s'mores. I have absolutely no idea what "keks" are though...maybe someone thought it sounded cool?

Tropical biology course logo

My friend Jeff (from my 2005 OTS course) conducts research here in Costa Rica and also leads educational tours around the country while on research hiatus. Recently, he asked me if I could design a logo for one of his college-level tour groups (a group from OWU). He wanted a logo that incorporated their mascot (the grumpy-looking "battling bishop"), a toucan, a palm tree, and some cool shades for the bishop. Here's what I came up with:


I recently finished up the logo and I am pretty pleased with the results (Jeff really liked it too). It is pretty fun to be able to do little projects like this on the side of my research (to also make a little extra dough!).

MORE flooding!?

Wow, this is one of the rainiest times I have ever seen here at La Selva -- the forest is flooded (and closed) yet again. This is getting to become almost routine! The waters started rising last night and when Carlos and I walked home (~7:30pm) we had to wade through a shallow stream forming across the road. While we were wading, we saw a little crocodile off to the side. We watched him until he slowly backed into the grasses and plants nearby -- really cute! I hope that the rains will stop soon so that I can get out into the forest and check on a few of my seeds...

Thanksgiving dinner

Last night was a nice fairly low-key Thanksgiving dinner with tons of food! There were a lot of people there (from all over the world) and the dining hall was decorated for Christmas. It was a pretty fancy event -- so I was sure to not wear my muddy rubber boots!


After the station director related the history of Thanksgiving (in English and Spanish) we all traveled through the buffet line to get our treats.


I had turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy, a sweet potato, cornbread, cheese, an egg, and ayote (like pumpkin) pie. There was a LOT more food offered, but I couldn't eat any more.


After dinner and chatting with friends for a bit, Carlos and I walked home and who was there to greet us but Chola and Shakira! We didn't have any turkey for them, but we gave them each half a hamburger bun and they were pretty happy. Who knows where I will be for Thanksgiving next year?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving and my last one at La Selva. Even though I am in Costa Rica, there is a big celebration here at the station (since most of the researchers here are from the states). This will be my 3rd Thanksgiving at La Selva and it is always really fun -- tons of good food, wine, and even fireworks! Ticos love to set of fireworks -- the louder the better (I prefer the quiet, pretty fountain ones myself). I will bring my camera to dinner tonight to take pictures and I will try to post everything tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends back in the states!

The flood is over!

Yay, yesterday, the flood waters started to go down and today things are back to normal after about 4 days of forest closure here at La Selva. This was a pretty big flood and I am really happy to be able to return to the forest now to check on my seeds. I am also lucky that all of my seed depots are located on high ground that doesn't flood so now I don't have to contend with any wayward water-mediated seed dispersal!