marine life and more

The past few days have been very busy. I took my midterm, which was pretty difficult for me because I have never taken a marine biology class before, gave a research presentation on Marine Iguanas (so cool!), and I am currently in the middle of a group research project which involved looking at species diversity in fish with respect to how populated by humans different beaches are. It was pretty interesting, but I am kind of sick of snorkeling. I also might be able to pass myself off as an Ecuadorian in a few weeks. I am so tan! I also have officially gotten my service placement with IPSL, and I will be going around on home visits to patients who cannot make it to the hospital with a doctor! I am really excited about it, and I hope I get a lot of hands on experience!

The festivities of Carnaval have finally ended, and I am glad. I have definitely become more conservation-aware since being here, and drunk people and sea lions do not mix. I become so angry when I watch intoxicated people throw rocks at sea lions. One person even rode by one that was sleeping on a bench and sprayed shaving cream in it's face. The festivities are fun, but I am glad that the animals will be able to go back to their natural state without having to deal with DJs and loud music on the beach until 6 am. They have become really agitated with humans lately. One of the other research groups in my class is actually doing a census on how many sea lions were present before and after Carnaval, and how they change their interactions socially with humans. I definitely see a change. Before Carnaval, the sea lions were pretty friendly. Some like to play with you in the water, but most just keep their distance if you keep yours. Now, it's totally different. When I walked out of the water today on the the beach that most people go to, I was chased down by a mama sea lion. The water is really rocky, and since it was low tide, you had to climb over all of these super slippery rocks in about 6 inches of water. It wasn't easy because it was so slippery. I was a solid 10 to 15 feet away from the sea lion, minding my own business, and all of the sudden she came charging at me! When I was in a safer area, I looked back and saw that she had 5 little cubs that were feeding by the shore. Mom's gotta do what mom's gotta do, right? Anyway, on a sillier note, my host dad took this picture of me after the pageant and put it on Facebook, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. Everyone wanted to smear the runner up with paint! (Miss. San Cristobal was too good to be touched). That night, I also held my own in an Ecuadorian card game called Quarenta. It's really fun because it involves a lot of strategy. My host uncle asked me if I was a card shark back home! I just like games that involve strategy.

Hot mess express