since I have blogged I have finished going out into the field, i have done a bunch of data cleaning, the PHD student helped me with my analysis for my project (I could have never done it on my own), and i am now packing to leave!
Today I leave Santa Rosa! I am going to stay at a hotel for my last night because my plane leaves at 7am tomorrow. I can't believe that 5 months has passed by already. Tomorrow I will get to see my family and my house and my dog Neko! I need to finish the paper for my final research project, look for work (anybody have a job they want to give me?) and prepare for my sweetheart to visit me (the best part)!
I still need to put up some photos for you to see, but i think that my blogging will be coming to an end really soon - well, at least until the next time I travel. I can't imagine that my blogs from calgary would be very exciting or original to read anyway hehe. "omg it snowed today. i hate this city! blah blah"
So this experience has overall been a great one. I am so glad I did this. I learned so much while I was here and I made some cool friends. The PHD student even said that if I don't get into vet school (fingers crossed) he would be happy to have me come back for his next monkey season. who knows what will happen!
So to finish off this little post, here is a list for you.
Things I will miss about Santa Rosa:
- being able to watch the monkeys and keep up with what is going on in their sweet little lives. Its cool to know about all the latest monkey drama, and I love watching the little babies learn and grow.
- I like being surrounded by amazingly smart people. Everybody here is way smarter than me and i can learn so much from them! Its really different from my old life - most people at my old job are barely even literate (yeah, i said it!)
- I love being in the middle of nature. The forest is always changing - each month I see new plants, new animals, and things just look different. There is always something amazing to discover
- The people who live and work here in the park. I have gotten to know some really cool peeps over the last few months. Costa Ricans are good people
Things I can't wait to leave in Santa Rosa:
- the bug bites. After 5 months, i am still covered
- being wet all the time. either I am sweaty because of the heat and humidity, or I am drenched because of the rain. I am looking forward to a nice calgary summer
- cockroaches! since the rains came, there has been a roach explosion! They crawl all over everything. Last night in my bedroom, I killed TWELVE of them. I know roaches are just another insect, but they make everything seem even dirtier. I hate it.
- the long days. i don't know if i ever mentioned my work schedule so here it is: 2 days of work, followed by 1 day off. Work days consist of waking up at 4am, walking for 30-45 minutes, following monkeys from sunrise to sunset, walking for 30-45 minutes, shower, eat, sleep, repeat. After 5 months of this, a standard 8 hour work day is gonna be a snap!
I think that's it for now. I will blog more from my hotel if I can.
Thanks for reading, friends! It has really been a pleasure sharing this blog with all of you.
xoxox
Dayna
