Lots of news

1. Coconut crab
2. New diggs
3. My new bedroom
4. Biggest crab we got
5. Bruce, Me, Mike, Pete, Floyd-Crab hunting party with our catch
Haven't posted any news lately on the blog. So this week I have a LOT to say. First off, last Saturday there was an earthquake. It was about a 5.3, if that means anything to anyone. It wasn't enough to scare me, just enough to confuse me. I didn't even know it was an earthquake till it stopped. I was laying on my bed and I heard a sound like strong wind outside. Then my bed started shaking and it got more and more intense. It only lasted a few seconds and I had to sit up and think about what just happened. I thought I was crazy. Then I realized it was an earthquake and thankfully no, im not crazy despite what some of you might think. I have only been in a couple of earthquakes in my life but this was the largest. It was kinda fun but I hope they dont get too much bigger than that. I guess this area has earthquakes all the time so I need to get used to it.

I finally was able to go coconut crab hunting! We set out about 1 am into the jungle to check the traps that were set out. We saw several smaller crabs but they were too small to keep. We did however end up with two nice sized ones. they are a crazy animal. Their shell is an awesome purple and blue. Very odd color to be found in nature. The jungle where we went was like something out of science fiction. It had death written all over it. There were cliffs, holes, razor sharp rocks, and all kinds of creepy crawlers. The only light source we had were flashlights and it was pitch black. We spent about 3 hours in the jungle but it felt like 10. It was hard work but it was also a great experience and I would definitely go again. The guys who took me are some great friends and I am really thankful I met them. We did have one minor incident. One of the guys, Floyd, fell about 20 feet down a cliff and landed in a hole. He grabbed a tree to pull himself up and it broke off in his hand. He rolled backwards, head over heals over the razor sharp rocks. I was the first one to get to him and I thought he was hurt bad. It turns out he only had a couple scratches and bruises. I was amazed he didnt get hurt worse. Hes a very lucky guy. We are keeping the crabs in trash cans and feeding them coconut to clean them out. They eat all the dead crap on the jungle floor so they taste like jungle floor. One of them escaped...lucky guy, but we will be cooking the other one in a couple days. I cant wait to try it.

Last Monday my boss Irene went back to Utah and left me in charge. Its a big responsibility but I know I can handle it. Its a little akward because now I'm the boss and I have some employees in their late 40s and 50s. I feel weird being in charge and telling them what they need to do but I'll get used to it. I'm very humbled to be given this position and I hope I can make her and everyone else proud. The work is becoming more and more interesting as I learn more but It is very time consuming. Right now we are conducting several pollenation studies to see what methods produce the most viable seeds. It will take about 18 months before the seeds can germinate so I need to learn to be patient and fill that time with other things. I'm thinking I will use parts of this project for my Master's thesis and hopefully come up with some interesting results. Nobody, past or present, has studied the things we are studying so I feel like we have and opportunity to make some ground breaking discoveries. Its a really great opportunity for me to start a career so I hope everything goes well. Just pray that no typhoons come otherwise all of our experiments we have running will be ruined and all our hard work will go to waste!

I also moved out of the dorms this week. I am now staying in a house that was converted to a lab but still has a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen (kind of). The bed is a crappy futon but its better than nothing. The kitchen has its own colony of cockroaches which I am still having a hard time with. This moring there was one in the sink that was well over and inch long. I really hate killing anything but I had to smash it. It was soooo gross. In one of my classes in Utah, I had to dissect several cockroaches and keep them alive while I did it. I had flash backs to those days. I dont know why but I just hate them. There is also a basil plant that I was looking at and feeling before I realized it was infested with red ants. Those little guys are so small but they pack a pretty big punch for their size. Especially when they swarm. I hate bugs. Other than that, the place isnt bad. Its dirty and there are chemicals and equipment everywhere but at least I have a private place now. No more sharing bathroom and kitchen with a bunch of other people. It can get pretty quiet over there but its about a 5 minute walk to the dorms so I still go over there quite a bit. I hope to find an apartment fairly soon but for right now I am comfortable in this place. The best part is that the rent is free! gotta love living cheap.

Now that I have my own cooking space I've been trying to perfect a coconut chicken curry recipe. Still a work in progress but I'm getting there. If any of you out there have suggestions, I would love to hear them. Or if you have any other recipes you would like to share, I would love to try them out. My goal is to be better at cooking by October so that I can impress Joey. She always takes care of me so I want to repay her by making some great food! One thing i'm pretty proud of is that I can make rice without a rice cooker. I know its pretty sad that I couldn't make rice without pressing the 'cook' button but now I got it down. I'm becoming so domesticated. Hahaha

This wednesday is liberation day. Everybody is talking about it. You cant listen to the radio or drive down the street without seeing or hearing some sort of celebration announcement. I'm pretty excited to see the parade and experience the festivities. I'm gonna be set with my camera in hand so be ready for some celebration pics!