Sorry that it’s been a while since I last posted; life here
in Pueblo Nuevo has settled into a normal daily routine and I haven’t felt like
there was much exciting news to share.
But I know that “normal” here is nothing like life in the States, so
it’s still probably worthwhile to keep the updates coming.
I have now been at my field site for a little over two
weeks, and I can’t believe how fast the time has flown. It’s actually kind of scary, because my
project has been difficult to get off the ground and I already feel like my
time is running out! All of the ACM
students are returning to San José this weekend to give midterm reports on our
progress and begin preliminary data analysis, and I’m worried I won’t have much
of anything to share by then.
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| Something I have done: take pictures of the soil profiles at each of my study sites. You can see the darker topsoil layer in this picture pretty well. |
My project consists of several parts: collecting soil
samples to send to a laboratory for chemical and microbiological analysis;
on-farm tests for bulk density, earthworm abundance, infiltration, and leaf
litter accumulation; and soil chromatography (an interesting method for qualitative
analysis of the overall health of the soil).
The on-farm tests have proven difficult, because I’m realizing that
without access to a laboratory, it’s extremely difficult to find the materials
that I need to carry out the tests. For
example, I need a scale to weigh the soil for bulk density tests and
earthworms, but there is no scale on the farm that measures as precise as I
need. I’m worried that my results will
end up not being precise enough to be scientifically valid. I haven’t been able to collect the samples
for the laboratory analysis yet either, because I have been waiting to hear how
many samples I will have the funding to collect. I’m hoping to start on that tomorrow when my
advisor comes to help. I’ll be staying
in San José for an extra day after the mid-term report to learn how to perform
soil chromatography, so I haven’t been able to start on that yet either.
However, I really can’t complain because I’ve been able to
spend my days walking around in the beautiful cacao farm, seeing birds,
butterflies and lizards and admiring the huge paths that the leaf-cutter ants
keep meticulously clean (they’re big enough for a human to walk on!) And I do have to admit that digging through
the dirt and counting worms is kind of fun and oddly therapeutic, except when
it’s rainy.
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| Giant spider - I wish I had something in the picture for a size comparison, because this thing was HUGE! |
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Even with the rain, one thing I have been able to enjoy is spending time with my host family. I have
really come to appreciate the value of just sitting and talking. In the US, when I’m with my family and
friends, I always feel like we need to be doing something, whether that be eating out at a restaurant, watching a
movie, baking cookies, or going for a bike ride. Here, life is simpler, and most people pass
the afternoon sitting on the patio with family or friends and chatting. I especially love talking with my host
grandparents, who live next door, and hearing stories about their past. I also feel like I know more about the local
and family gossip than I ever knew in the US!
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| Hanging out with Anyell, 6, and Yeimy, 10, eating coconuts on the porch |
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| My host grandfather, Manuel. |
Stay tuned for a summary of our rainy visit to Tortuguero
National Park!
Very very rainy blog. Rain is life.
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