Head in the Clouds

Monday, February 7, 2011
Today we were introduced to our pandillas. These are our chore groups and chores. We have been spilt up into six groups of 4-5 people. The chores consist of kitchen setup, kitchen cleanup, dishwashing, bathroom cleaning, common room cleaning, and farm/land care. Each group rotates chores weekly. The rest of the day consisted of very long NRM, LANG, and TE classes. We got a homework assignment to NRM. It is a group project to find more information about how to increase productivity for the mango and orange trees. My group is researching the effects of the scale insect on oranges. The farm on the center mainly consists of mango and orange trees. They also have some chickens and a garden, which unfortunately is not in season due to the dry season.

I now have several reading to do and very little time to do them. But on a better note, today was the first day since I’ve arrived, were I actually enjoyed every meal! I see that as a reward in its self.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The entire day today consisted of classes and a few chores. I am not kidding when I say this. After RAP we had three and a half hours of ECON and then lunch. After lunch we had our chores, DR, and more ECON. I was able to call my parents before dinner. This was the first time I had called home since being here and it was much needed to hear their voices. At dinner there was a pasta dish with a white sauce that was pretty delicious. After dinner I attempted to do homework but, I fell asleep soon after I started my readings in bed. I now understand that I should not lie down to do work, even if my intentions are honorable.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Today we had no classes! In the morning we did our first outreach program. The night before we all chose out of four different programs. There was one to go out into the forest with the ecology professor to learn the names of different trees. This group will late teach local boy scouts the same knowledge. The second group was going into town to help with recycling efforts. The third was going to paint two signs for the local orphanage. The last one was going to a farm with goats to help out. I have to say a lot of people wanted to go to the farm. I chose to stay at the center and paint the signs for the orphanage. One of the signs was small and just has their name and an arrow on it. This they wanted to put on the road leading to theirs. The second sign was much larger and we put their name and logo on it. Their logo was a little complex but, it turned out easy to draw onto the sign. I still have some paint on me because; we used oil based paints on the large metal sign. At lunch today we had rice pudding, or the closest thing to it, and it was so good! I am liking the food more and more, it seams. I am unsure if this is because the food is getting better or just because I’m finally getting use to it. After lunch were meetings and chores and the briefing for our next field trip to Monteverde. We leave at 6am tomorrow after a 5am breakfast. I’m hoping to sleep most of the four hour drive and not get motion sick again.

Thursday, February 10, 2011
Today we went to Monteverde and I slept most of the way there. We stopped in Tilaran for lunch and to see a privately own wind farm. As soon as I stepped off the bus, I could feel the strong winds. They didn’t stop or slow the entire time we were there. We were shown around and we got to walk right up to windmills. They weren’t as big as the ones I’ve seen in the US, but it was still a little nerve racking to stand right under them and look up. The clouds made it appear as if the entire tower was swaying from the wind. They had a total of nine windmills but, several more, owned by other people, could be seen on the surrounding hills.

After lunch we took a very bumpy road to Monteverde where we settled into our rooms. We then had an ECON and TE class with dinner in between. The food at this station was really good! I went to bed soon after TE because; I was exhausted from getting up at 4:30am!

Friday, February 11, 2011
Today we got to hike in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve and see the continental divide. The hike was about 3 ½ hours and at one point on the trail I could see all the way to the Pacific cost and the Pacific peninsula. When we got back to the station we discussed our ideas for our first TE field exercise (FEX). We then had NRM, dinner, and another ECON class.

Saturday, February 12, 2011
After breakfast we went back to the preserve to conduct our research. My partner and I decided we wanted to see how tree growth affected bromeliad location. We spent three hours looking for sub-canopy trees with bromeliads on them. In the end we collected 20 tree samples. We are going to have class Monday to analyze our data and our report is due by midnight on Friday.

After we collected our data we headed back to the station to eat lunch and pack up our things. We then made our way back to the center.

Sunday, February 13, 2011
Today I was planning on making banana bread for everyone but, we didn’t have any bananas! I was shocked that this was the only ingredient the kitchen didn’t have. We are supposedly getting a delivery tomorrow, we will see. I spent the entire morning and afternoon doing readings for class. By dinner time my craving to bake took over and I searched for a recipe for a no-yeast white bread. It was a really easy recipe and turned out pretty tasty. I can’t wait to have more at breakfast tomorrow! I will take fresh bread with pineapple jelly over rice and beans any day!