Lessons learned... Mosquitos rule these parts, and dirt is not something to fear.

 So, it's been almost a week since I have "officially" started my internship. As I have mentioned, I have gotten a crash course in bird-banding, and got to see through the eyes of a field technician. I have to tell you, I think you may have to be slightly crazy to do this for a living!! As most of you know, this is my first job outside of a kitchen, which was a big part of my life for the last ten years. As excited as I am to finally turn the page to a new chapter in life, it is definitely going to take some getting used to!
Life as a field tech is hard (not that I even have a clue at this point...nor will I ever, since it is unlikely it is a career I will pursue!!). Our daily routine requires us to wake up at 5 am (rain or shine!) and begin setting up nets. During this time of the day, the mosquitoes are relentless, and much to my surprise... no amount of deet will protect me from them. We have been setting up 16 nets in about an hour. I have learned how to do this on my own, which requires coordination, patience, and a tolerance for being bitten when your hands are full (especially on/in all those places that are especially annoying to be bit, like your knuckles or your earlobes). This, at times, is very annoying, especially if the humidity and heat happens to have kept you up all hours of the night!
 
Last November, when I visited a YIIP panel discussion, one student who came to Costa Rica to work with a turtle banding crew (Carla), said that being here did not give her culture shock, rather, she experienced "nature shock". I do have to agree with that sentiment to a certain extent. There are so many creatures I have come across that seem otherworldly. There is also really no escape from ants, geckos (and their poop) and various other bugs that like to join you for breakfast/lunch/dinner. The extent of my own culture shock does not necessarily reflect my experiences with Costa Ricans rather, with the experiences I have had working with a field technician in the bush. I have come to accept (mmm, or trying to accept) that I will always be dirty, wet/sweaty, and maybe a little smelly. There will always be sand in my bed, hair, mouth, books, food, soap etc. I am also starting to accept that no matter what, while I am here, my body is going to be a lumpy mass of red welts and that the mosquitoes are never going to lose the battle!

This is a picture of my senior bander/field tech Chris Smith (who I mentioned last blog). I believe he is, with all honesty,  slightly crazy! He not only enjoys testing his skills at capturing anything, he also never stops working (I mean never stops!). Here, Chris is with a large adult green iguana that he caught in a patch of secondary forest outside our digs. I shrieked when he woke me up from a nap to show me his new "friend". As you can see, this iguana is almost 5 feet in length. Apparently,  in Costa Rica and Nicaragua "free range" iguana meat is commercially harvested from forested areas. This is encouraged to prevent clearing land to rear cattle or other domesticated animals. In one of Chris's books, it says that over 300 lbs of iguana meat is harvested per acre/year in Central Amercica, while only 33 lbs of beef can be harvested in the same amount of space and time. Mmmm, green iguana anyone?