Gettin' comfy

I have been here almost two weeks and I am starting to get familiar with these new surroundings. I finally got a room with air conditioning. That was a huge help in the sleep department. I have noticed that I am getting used to the heat and humidity. I still sweat buckets but at least I don't feel like I am going to die. I found out that the first few days I was here were hotter than normal. Lucky me! It is actually bearable now when I work in the jungle and I don't dread it as much.

My work is going pretty good. I am learning a lot and I am looking forward to getting some good results if all goes well. Right now is the major reproductive season for Cycas micronesica, the tree I'm studying. Each tree is either male or female and they produce cones which make either pollen or ovules respectively. We are studying different ways pollen can be transfered from a male cone to a female (wind, insects, rain, etc.) and are setting up experiments to test each one. The work is pretty physically demanding but it will be good to keep me in shape. I am working with some excellent scientists who really know their stuff so I hope I can pick up some of their techniques and thought processes as I learn.

Other than working, I am pretty much stuck on campus because I have no car. I have made several friends so I'm not alone all the time but I get bored. Especially on the weekends. It seems like everyone disappears until about 7 or 8 at night. The public transportation system is just about non existant. A bus will show up when the driver feels like it and drop you off wherever he/she feels like it. Pretty un-reliable. I'm hoping to get a car in a week or two but until then I have to rely on my feet. Not very many people walk here and I have gotten lucky a few times and gotten rides to the store. Another example of how kind people are here.

There are some things here that I did not expect at all. The first thing I noticed was the amount of trash everywhere. It seems like people just don't care about the environment or how the landscape looks. Even deep in the jungle we find old rusted cans, bottles, and even car parts. There are several old cars just sitting on the side of the road and falling apart. It is really sad to see how some people so little respect for the earth. Another thing I was not expecting are huge monitor lizards. They are pretty historic looking. The biggest one I've seen so far was about 5 feet long from nose to tail. They are beautiful creatures but scary looking at the same time. They have dark green skin covered in neon yellow spots. They also have long tails and necks. I wanted to get a picture but they are very weary of people so I can't get close enough. I heard that when they get scared they climb trees and if you are close enough you look just like a tree to them. People have ended up with scared lizards on their head. I don't know if they are just messing with me or what but I hope that never happens to me.

I have had some pretty awesome local food here. The big thing everyone eats is called kellaguin. Its some sort of meat mixed with lemon juice, onions, hot pepper, and other spices. They sell chicken kellaguin in almost every corner mart (which are literally on every corner.) So far I have only had chicken but they make tuna, octopus, and others I want to try. If you are hard-core Chamorro, you dont cook your chicken first. You just leave that up to the lemon. Chicken ceviche anyone? Other than that there is musubi, charshu bao, some sort of chamorro cake with custard on top, and all kinds of great fruits.

So far its all been pretty fun and exciting. A new adventure in my life that I can look back on. It's all gonna get better from here.

Big shout out to all the dads in my life. Happy late fathers day. I love you all!!!