Avian Dreams/Realities

I have had a few bird dreams lately, possibly as a result of eating chickens I have known.  The most recent was this morning, as I dreamt that my Mama Tica (Yolanda) was in the shed, killing a panicking duck for us to eat for that night's dinner.  Strangely, upon waking I discovered that she had essentially done the opposite by saving and caring for a runt chick that wasn't being cared for by its mother hen.  Every morning is a wrestling match between murky dreams and sun-spangled reality.

Today we have a rare reprieve from the daily whirlwind grind.  We have the whole afternoon and evening off, ostensibly to finish our internship proposals, but I finished mine yesterday so I'm enjoying the prospect of a free afternoon.  I will probably walk over to Santa Elena in order to pick up a few supplies for our upcoming two-week trip, which begins on Sunday.  We will be spending time in many towns along the length of the Pacific Coast, including San Isidro del General near the southwestern Osa (Bear) Peninsula, a few towns along the Gulf of Nicoya (NW), and even a field station on Isla Chira (3 days).  I am excited to see more of the country, especially since we will have the opportunity to visit many places that wouldn't be available to tourists.  The trip is focused on thematic content related to water and energy production/consumption, and we will be visiting a geothermal plant, a biofuel station, and a few hydroelectric plants.  We will also be studying turtles, doing some birding in Palo Verde National Park, and visiting some mangroves.

Tomorrow we will collecting, identifying, and drawing conclusions from bioindicative macroinvertebrates, which basically means mucking around in some nearby streams and collecting bugs (hooray!)  Sure beats the hell out of pounding three cups of coffee through four hours of lectures.  And then on Saturday we go to a reserve for another day hike to learn about plant dispersal/pollination mechanisms and play in a waterfall.  Experiential learning is the best education.  I often find myself discouraged with the daily word/talk grind and the routines of university life.  As one of my favorite poets/authors, Jim Harrison, once wrote, "Why cast Robert Redford in your life story if all he's going to do is sit there and piss and moan at the typewriter for two hours in expensive Eastman color?"  This semester is already proving to be a healthy and refreshing break from the mental infrastructure and verbal gymnastics of ivory tower academia.

Clamming in a mangrove > pontificating on the Freudian implications of 19th century British literature

This will likely be my last post for two weeks or so, as I will have little to no computer access on our trip, but I'll likely have plenty to relate via interweb upon our return.  Here's to the quick onset of spring for all of you in the temperate stretches of los Estados Unidos.  Pura vida!

Update: I just got back from Supercompro, where I purchased a few trip items.  One of said items was a slim bottle of organic rosemary shampoo!  How awesome is that?  Just goes to show that there are many untapped market niches just waiting to be exploited for marginal gain.  Take heart, entrepreneurs one and all!  Expect it to hit shelves in the U.S. by 2012, because let's be honest, how could a product with such universal appeal NOT leap to international market domination?  All kidding aside, I am looking forward to using this shampoo.  I love the smell of rosemary, and we often put sprigs on our stoves during the bitter homestead winter to spruce up the cabins.  Now I get a chance to lather my hair with it!