Hasta luego, La Selva

Well, it's almost that time... the days have flown by and "wow we have two whole months left" has quickly turned into "holy crap, we're leaving tomorrow!" For me, that means I'm leaving the station, but then I'll be joining my dad in San Jose, from where we will take off on our two-week vacation around Costa Rica!

As excited as I am for a vacation (and as exhausted I am after two months of working...), it is really sad to say goodbye to La Selva. For a while I wasn't really having a great time here, and as per usual it took me a long time to get into the swing of things. I really began to appreciate what a beautiful place this is, I got to know so many cool people here, I reaffirmed that I could be a field biologist, and I realized what an amazing opportunity this was to come down here.

Right in step with doing things late... I went on my first night hike/swamp adventure a few nights ago (about time!). It was awesome, we caught baby caimans, turtles, frogs, and almost got poop thrown on us by capuchin monkeys.

Tiny frog, caiman, caiman

Tree frog

Yesterday we finished up all of our big work, including our last day at Señor Macho's. It was a big haul to get all of that done... we spent essentially the last 2-3 weeks only going to the pastures to finish playback trials, and it was kind of miserable for a while because we kept getting rained out/on day after day! So it was a huge relief to be done!

Today we just mist-netted for one last bird, and did not catch her, but did catch a lot of other cool birds in the process, and we saw a flock of Swallow-tailed Kites migrate by. Now I really just need to pack and say goodbye!

Things I will miss from La Selva:

• The people! I am thrilled at how many cool, crazy people I got to meet here, from undergraduate assistants like myself, to PhD students, up to long-term researchers who have been coming to La Selva for many, many years. For someone who still has no idea what she's doing with her life... it was kind of inspiring to be surrounded by all of these researchers working on really cool projects, and to be able to talk to them and learn about what they're doing and how they got to where they are today. 

  

  Porch night: a guaranteed good night filled with music and conversation

  

  We had a lot of crazy events, such as a jousting/sword fight tournament and a toad race
  
  

• The pastures: the beautiful scenery, and the hills especially... I loved hiking to the tops of the really big hills and looking out at the gorgeous views

Turns out selfie jumping pics are super hard to take (attempt 5/5)

If the weather was right, we could see the top of the mountain!

• All of the amazing wildlife here:

  
  

  Snakes (Terciopelo)

  

  Bugs 

Birds! (King Vulture)

What a beaut! (Birds pt 2: Red-legged Honeycreeper)

Mammals (fresh puma tracks!)

Mammals pt 2: SLOTH ON A POLE

There are tons of other little things that I am forgetting to mention that I will surely miss. All in all, it's been an amazing experience that I'm so glad happened to fall right into my lap. After living here for what seems like a lot longer than two months, and being part of this tight little community, it will certainly be difficult to return to the "real world" (although I won't be upset when I am dry/cool for, say, an entire day, and ants aren't crawling all over me all the time and occasionally biting my butt, and I won't have to worry about all of my stuff molding, and I can eat real cheese, etc...).

Thankfully, I have a nice transition back into the real world, via vacation time with my dad. Safe travels, D-con! Can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Here's to you, Primm

Last week I heard the devastating news that one of my close friends from high school died in a bike/car accident. His name was John Brendan Primm, but I don't think I ever called him John. In high school I remember he introduced himself as Brendan. But for some reason we always called him Primm, and he'll always be Primm to me.

Primm and I met in orchestra, and bonded even more doing theater together. He was a brilliant actor, and an energetic, charismatic soul. We were pretty good friends in high school, but I would argue that we became even better friends after high school. I went away to Minnesota for college, and Primm stayed in Madison at Edgewood College. Every time I came home to visit, Primm was reliably one of the first people I called to hang out with. We would bake something delicious (he was an amazing chef), watch a nerdy movie, eat food, play video games, go to the farmer's market (where we ate more food), or do anything else that likely involved food.

Learning that "someone from high school" died in a car accident, and then finding out that person was one of my best friends was an absolute shock. The day I found out was probably one of the worst days of my life, made even worse by the fact that I am so far away from home right now. I didn't know what to do, how to confirm it, I couldn't call anyone. I just went through the day in a daze, trying to process it and not think about it at the same time. The people here who knew were supportive in their own ways, to which I am very grateful.

I've never lost someone I was this close to, and it's still so hard to believe. I think I'm so far removed here, and I'm so busy that it's easier to not think about it. I'm afraid of the day it really hits me, when I get home and I realize I won't be able to call him. I'll never bake anything with him again, never see him act again, never go on another camping trip together, never watch Doctor Who with him. But I'm so thankful that after I came home in June, we were able to share one last adventure before I left for Costa Rica. We drove out to the Sassy Cow Creamery, got lost in the country, eventually found it, ate ice cream, and pet some cute baby goats. A classic adventure with Primm.

I wish I had more to say. I feel like he deserves more. But I've tried to write this a million times and I've scrapped it and started over a million times. So here's to you, Primm. You were taken from us far too soon. I will never forget what a talented young man you were, and what great friend you were to me and to so many others. Goodbye.

Edit: Primm's family also set up this wonderful theater and arts memorial fund in his honor, and it is amazing to see the outpouring of love and generosity it has inspired from his friends and family.