Classes finally started at the IES Center! My first class is French 101 with Professor Lerouvillois. I have never taken French language before, but I find learning the language very interesting. I think the language rules are very similar to Spanish which I studied for five years, so I am learning pretty fast. After class concluded, all of us students went down the street to a local deli. We also put to use what we learned in class and ordered our food successfully in French! (Je voudrais un sandwich, s’il vous plaît = I would like a sandwich, please.)
The other class I am taking here in Paris is Global Marketing with Professor DeGendre. I absolutely love this class and it is super interesting. We learned about how companies change their advertising campaigns to match the culture of a country. McDonald’s was a unique example I found interesting, as the McDonald’s here in Paris has a very fancy interior, a different menu, and also serves macaroons! I hope to have a career in international marketing, so this class is great experience!
After class and lunch, our group decided to take the metro and tour the Latin Quarter of St. Germain des Prés. The Latin Quarter is the oldest area of Paris and contains all of Paris’ old universities. It is known as the Latin Quarter because the universities used to only teach classes in Latin. We also visited the famous cathedral of Notre Dame and the royal chapel of Saint Chapelle. Notre Dame is famous for its two large towers that I plan to climb to the top of sometime, while Saint Chapelle is famous for its extensive stained glass walls. My personal favorite is Saint Chapelle (bottom photo) because the intricate details on the stained glass are amazing. No two panels are alike and the glass is hand painted.
Since the Latin Quarter is famous for being the oldest area of Paris, I of course had to eat at the oldest restaurant in Paris. I ate at Café Procope, which was established in 1686 and is still open. I sat outside in the back alley as I was served duck and crème brûlée. This was definitely the best meal I have ever had (and probably one of the fanciest)!
Costa Rica takes their coffee very seriously. Since 1989, the government has forbidden the growing of the lesser coffee, Coffea canephora (robusta). It is only legal to cultivate Coffea arabica, which is considered the superior coffee because its lower caffeine content decreases bitterness and allows for more subtle flavors. If you buy specialty coffee, you’re buying arabica!
So let’s talk about coffee. Every day, we consume over 2.25 billion cups of coffee worldwide. Such a massive market has far-reaching consequences, and we ought to consider those impacts before making purchases in order to be responsible consumers. (I realize that this already sounds tedious and sanctimonious, so I promise that there will be a cute frog picture if you make it to the end.)
There’s a whole host of problems when it comes to the pricing and distribution of coffee. The short of it is that large coffee companies like Nestle, Kraft, Proctor&Gamble and Sara Lee end up with 90% of the profit, while 10% goes to their farmers. That small cut is not nearly enough to live on, which is why it’s important to purchase fair trade coffee that offers reasonable prices for the growers.
We’re all familiar with that cause. Buy fair trade. …But you’re not off the hook yet. What about the environmental impacts of coffee here in the tropics?
Coffee plants themselves are no great problem: these small, scrubby plants can grow in topographies that don’t suit other crops, and they’re often grown in high altitude areas where they help to reduce erosion, encourage the accumulation of leaf litter nutrients, and increase rainwater retention in the soil.
But these benefits are often overshadowed by the problems caused by large-scale farms, which prompt the next great debate: sun coffee vs. shade coffee.
Many farmers prefer sun-grown coffee for its fewer pest problems and high (short term) bean production, but this ultimately depletes soil nutrients and the large swathes of cropland fragment old-growth tropical forests.
Shade coffee, on the other hand, is grown in the forest understory, which allows some animal habitat to persist and assists natural pollinators in doing their job, both with the coffee plants and in the surrounding environment. The shade coffee plants produce fewer beans, but do so for much longer before they burn out and require labor-intensive replacement. The leaf drop from plants overhead also assists with faster nutrient turnover, creating healthier, richer soils. It unfortunately requires some extra work on the part of the farmer, and sometimes the additional application of agrochemicals as there is no harsh sun to keep the insects at bay, but it’s significantly better for our world’s vanishing tropical forests.
To drive this point home, we had the pleasure of visiting local sun- and shade- coffee farms while we’re here in Costa Rica! The sun plantation was about what you would expect; rows upon rows of bushy plants baking in the dry heat, rooted in cracked, bare soil. Let’s not dwell on it.
But the shade coffee plantation, run by our host Don Roberto, was truly fascinating. In addition to shading his crops with tree-like banana plants, he digs pits along the coffee rows to help catch dropped leaves and keep soil nutrients cycling, and grows everything in terraces to help avoid erosion and runoff. Click on the photos below to expand them and read their captions!
Don Roberto’s banana plants cut the intensity of tropical sunlight and create a pleasantly humid growing environment for his coffee.
A coffee plant! The ripe red fruits taste a little like very sweet green beans. The dark brown ones are drying out and ready to fall to earth.
Don Roberto’s banana plants provide more than just shade and nutrients for his coffee plants. They feed his family (and sometimes hungry students, as well) regardless of how good the coffee profits are in a given season.
So, in conclusion: buy fair trade and shade grown coffee, or you’re a horrible person.
I kid, I kid. But if you enjoy a hot cup of morning drugs, perhaps consider looking into where it’s coming from. Your dollars are shaping the lives of people across the world, which is both amazing and terrifying. And if you’re already happy with your coffee buying habits, maybe read up on your favorite brands anyway. It’s an interesting business to learn about!
You made it to the end! Here’s that cute frog picture, as promised. This fella was lurking in the forest around the Las Cruces Biological Station.
P.S. If you scrolled straight to the bottom for the frog photo, you are a cheater. Our deal was that you read.
God is watching.
What is a summer studying in Paris without a visit to the Arc de Triomphe? This was one of the monuments I was most excited to visit! Something I did not know is the only way to access the Arc de Triomphe is to cross the street through an underground tunnel because the street is so busy all the time. Once we got to the Arc, we decided to climb the tons of stairs to the top for an amazing view of Paris.
Our IES group also took a boat tour on the Seine to see all the famous locations of Paris. We learned the history of each monument, and saw all of Paris within a few hours. One of my favorite monuments is the Pont Alexandre III bridge, pictured below, which is the most ornate and extravagant bridge in Paris.
Later on, we went shopping on the famous Champs Élysées. This street houses all of the most expensive stores in Paris, ranging from Louis Vuitton, to Gucci, to Versace. We soon realized we were the most under-dressed customers, but still had a ton of fun window shopping. While on Champs Élysées, we stopped at Ladurée, the most famous macaroon store in France. I had a lavender macaroon and it was one of the best desserts I have ever had. I will definitely have to buy a box before I leave!
After attending another IES orientation for French culture in the morning, the entire IES business group decided to head to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic. A picnic on the famous lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower is pretty high on my bucket list, so I was super excited for this! We bought some French baguettes and headed for the lawn space in front of the Eiffel Tower. After eating a freshly made French baguette, I will never be pleased with American bread ever again! Freshly made French bread is like nothing I have ever tasted, and eating it in front of the tower made it even more special!
Since we live in the 15th arrondissement and the Eiffel Tower is in the 7th arrondissement, we had to take the metro for the first time. There are multiple lines and the stops can get confusing, so the metro was very difficult to navigate. After getting lost for a few moments, we eventually found the correct stop. We are slowly getting better at reading the maps, but I think getting lost is part of the fun of discovering new places. Something unique to Paris is that each metro entrance is decorated differently depending on the area. These are two of my favorite entrances below:
Since one can never get tired of looking at the Eiffel Tower, we decided to go back to the tower for sunset. We watched the sunset from the opposite side of the Seine River and the view was fantastic. We also stayed long enough to watch the tower light up and sparkle at night, which was definitely one of the coolest sights I have ever seen. I am in love with Paris!
The University of Aberdeen’s final exam schedule is spread out across three weeks. Because of this extended time frame, a few friends and I were able to fit a two-day trip to the Shetland Islands between studying for exams.
The Shetland Islands are a group of islands north of mainland Scotland. We took an overnight ferry to and from the islands, staying one night on the island. We arrived in Lerwick, the largest city in Shetland, located on its South Island. Not having very long, we stuck to exploring this south island. We started by going to a museum in Lerwick to learn about the history of the islands. While we were leaving, someone started yelling that there was a pod of killer whales out in the harbour, so we all ran to the pier to see. They were really close and it was really incredible to watch as the three or four large black fins turned to retreat back to sea!
A boat in the Lerwick harbor
We then bused from Lerwick to Scalloway to explore a castle. I have seen a handful of castles since being in Scotland, but this was probably my favorite one. A friend of mine on the trip, and fellow Scooby-Doo aficionado, agreed with me that it looked like it was straight out of an episode of Scooby-Doo.
Scalloway CastleInside of Scalloway Castle
We stayed the night in Dunrossness, which happens to be really beautiful. It gave us the opportunity to watch some sea birds over the cliffs and look out at seals just off the beach. And, on my morning run, I actually stumbled upon a pod of seals lying on the beach that then hurried into the water. As I ran along the cliff edge, they swam beside me in the water looking up at me. If you have never interacted with seals before, this is not too uncommon for them. They are really curious animals, and the large number of them that I have gotten to see since being here is one of my favorite parts about Scotland. In Shetland, we also were able to walk past several Shetland ponies.
Shetland ponies in Dunrossness
The next day, we headed down to Sumburgh, and walked along a coastal path up to the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse. A friend of ours had said we might be able to see puffins here depending on the time of year we went, and we were really hoping to see these (I have a bit of an obsession with sea birds, especially puffins). There were TONS of them! Since they nest higher up in the cliffs too, you can actually get really close to them. It was everything I could have possibly hoped for! The lighthouse and views from the cliff were pretty incredible as well.
After months of preparing and the excitement leading up to studying abroad, I’m finally here in the famous Ville de Lumiéres (City of Lights)! After an eight hour flight, I managed to navigate the massive Charles de Gaulle airport and catch a taxi to my apartment in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. My apartment is above a fantastic boulangerie, or bakery, where I purchased my first baguette. French baguettes are like nothing I have ever tasted before. Something unique to Paris that I love is that it is completely normal to walk down the street eating a giant baguette with a bottle of wine.
Photos of my apartment and room on Rue de la Convention, 15th arrondissement (the old green doors are my favorite!)
After unpacking, I headed to my first Paris outdoor café with my roommates Karlie, Ann, and Nanxi. At first, we struggled to order food in French and were very unsure of how to politely get our waiter’s attention. We quickly learned it is a custom in Paris to spend hours eating a meal, where the waiters will only come to the table if you call them over. There is no tipping waiters in French culture, and the staff will get offended if you don’t finish your meal (lesson learned). Despite the stereotype that French people often face, Parisians are some of the most polite and friendly people I have met. Everyone so far has been completely willing to help us with our French and speak to us in English. In fact, a few Parisians told us they were excited to meet Americans because they wanted to practice their English skills.
Later on, we had orientation at the IES center. Meeting the rest of the students in the program was a blast and I can’t wait to get to know everyone! After a long travel day, I am very excited to be in a place I have never been before and experience everything Paris has to offer!
Au revoir!
-Alissa Smith
P.S. I never get tired of looking at the Eiffel Tower!
A big part of studying abroad for me is that it will allow me to get a major in German, because any class in which the language of instruction is German gets counted as a German class. That’s why I chose to come to Germany instead of anywhere else in the world, and that’s why all of my classes are taught in German!
IES Freiburg (and globally) offers programs for language students and people who only know English, and the staff is completely fluent in English. When they talk to us in the Language and Area Studies program, though, they only use German, and we’re encouraged to try to use German among ourselves as well, which is why the rest of this post will be entirely auf Deutsch. Just kidding!
Admittedly, it can be hard to remain “immersed” in the language- when I’m with the other American students, it’s so easy to just slip back into English, and when I’m texting or calling with people back home, I have to only use English. That’s one of the reasons why I appreciate having a German grammar class four hours per week, doing all of my homework in German, and hearing all of my lectures in German. My notes often end up being a mixture of Deutsch and English, which is known affectionately here as Denglisch. ‘Franken-sentences” of mismatched languages abound.
An example of my Denglisch “Frankensentences”. These are from when we learned about political parties in German. The text reads (translated): Voters [for the Alternative for Germany Party] come from people who were CDU/CSU members or previously non-voters. People who are concerned that things could turn bad in the future. 20% voted for AfD because of it’s platform, the other 80% had no idea what the platform was, but rather voted as a protest against all other parties. [The idea being that] maybe the other parties will get their act together if they lose voters.”Luckily, the professors all speak relatively good English and can help us out if we don’t understand something.
German classes in general are structured differently from American classes. There’s less homework, and instead our grades are based primarily on 1 presentation, 1 research paper, a midterm exam, and a final exam. The concept of “multiple choice” tests hasn’t made it across the pond, and Germans seem skeptical and bemused by the idea. All exams are short-essay style. Thankfully, we’re allowed to use translation dictionaries to help us during exams, and the professors don’t dock points if we have to use the occasional English word.
My classes here are my language & culture class, German economics, German 21st century politics, and the history of the German state. It’s very interesting to get the European and German perspective on things that I’ve only ever heard from the American perspective. One would think that something like economics would be universal, but one would be wrong- the German have developed what they call “Ordo-Liberalism”, whereas Americans focus mostly on classical & neo-liberalism and Keynesian economics. I’ve also come to understand the roots of the first and second World Wars better than I ever have before, because Germans are much more concerned with questions like “why was Germany assigned all of the blame for WWI? Why did the Wiemar Republic fail so quickly?” The German perspective is helping me to see and understand the world more clearly, which is one of the biggest advantages of studying abroad.
This is the main building of the Freiburg University, which was founded in 1457!
While all of my classes are through IES, I could have chosen to participate in a course at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Uni-Freiburg for short) or at the Pädagogische Hochschule (PH). Many of the other students are doing one class at the university and the rest through IES. The university classes end a month later than the IES classes, which means that people taking university classes get to stay in Germany a month longer. Since I’m doing an internship, though, I get to stay late regardless, so I didn’t feel the need to take a university class (and it was a bit intimidating!)
This modern building is the University Library. You can see how many bikes are locked out front- a testament to Freiburg’s bike culture.
The library is also a different experience. Before going in to where the books are, you have to lock all of your bags and coats in lockers. Anything that you want to bring in has to be carried in a shopping bag, and you can only bring water in clear containers. It’s much stricter than Van Wylen! On the ground floor is also a cafe in case you get hungry while studying, and you can reserve your study space using a little placard that displays what time you left. If you’ve been gone for more than an hour, though, people are free to take over your spot.
Students in Germany also tend to be older than American students. Many of the German students whom I’ve met are in their late 20s or early 30s. There’s not so much the “traditional” student who goes to college for a neat and tidy four years right after high school. It seems to be fairly common to wait a few years before entering the university, and also the idea of a very rigid 4-year plan isn’t as common here.
Mahpiohanzia – (n.) the disappointment of being unable to fly, unable to stretch out your arms and vault into the air, having finally shrugged off the ballast of your own weight and ignited the fuel tank of unfulfilled desires you’ve been storing up since before you were born.
This may be a fabricated word; however, I find it quite relatable. Besides . . . don’t we only have words because someone arbitrarily decided on them? The restless part of my soul that has always longed to have the ability to fly would finally be complacent, at least for 40 seconds. I would soon be free falling from a height of roughly 14,000 feet. I’d been eager to skydive for a while now so of course I was ecstatic beyond belief. This does not indicate, however, that I was calm and unwavering in my decision.
The insanity of jumping from a helicopter in a few short hours slowly materialized as my parents and I drove our rental car directly from the airport to Skydive Interlaken. My heart would lurch within my chest every time my mind would attempt to visualize myself jumping from such an immense height. The concept of free falling for more than the few seconds experienced while riding a roller coaster sent my stomach into a continuous somersault. My nerves remained uneased as the instructor’s explanation of the procedure lasted merely a couple of minutes. It seemed far too simple; I felt unprepared. I was slightly reassured by the fact that I would be physically fastened to a professional who’d jumped hundreds of times before.
Once we were all set in the helicopter, we swiftly ascended past the trees moving far above the mountains. I kept thinking we had to be high enough yet our constant speed upwards persisted. We finally reached the desired jump point above two of the most iconic lakes in Switzerland (Thun and Brienz). Half-believing my own words, I told the instructor now holding my life in his hands that I was ready. He opened the door allowing gusts of wind to toss traces of freezing rain onto our faces. The very moment I stepped onto the skid of the helicopter, my fear evaporated. I stood there awestruck until our feet abandoned the safety of the helicopter. The free fall completely embodied the way I envision being free.
My eyes darted around at the elegantly snowcapped mountains and strikingly turquoise lakes. Once the chute was pulled, we floated down slow enough to admire more of the landscape. It was unreal enough to pass for a green screen. I clung to the unique view knowing that I’d never again have the splendor of seeing the exact same perspective . . . a sight that only birds have the luxury of observing. After landing, I immediately wanted to go again. I began struggling to maintain a grasp on the experience as I felt it fading rapidly from my awareness. The euphoria lingered while I mentally checked off a major component of my bucket list.
*Shout-out to my dad for being crazy enough to join me, and to my mom for letting us chase our dreams.
This country was far too beautiful for me to refrain from sharing more pictures:
Antes de llegar a España, como todos aquellos que estudian en el extranjero, investigué sobre cosas que se pueden hacer en estas nuevas fronteras. Así encontré muchísimos eventos y fiestas que me llamaron la atención. Pero luego vi una fiesta que caía a mediados de marzo en la ciudad costera de Vàlencia. Una fiesta sobre la cual habíamos hablado en mi clase de español en la prepa. Recuerdo cuando mi profesora en aquel entonces, la señorita Browne, nos contó sobre una fiesta donde el pueblo se reunía para hacer grandísimas estructuras de madera en todas partes de la ciudad para luego quemarlas al final de la fiesta. Cuando nos explicó el concepto yo supuse que las estructuras iban a ser algo hecho muy de prisa y sin mucha atención, como a final de cuentas se iban a quemar. Pero luego nos mostró unas fotos y quedé verdaderamente asombrado de las maravillosas estructuras que podían hacer los valencianos. Eran verdaderas obras de arte que estaban destinadas a ser quemadas. Esto era algo que tenía que ver con mis propios ojos.
La falla ganadora.
Las Fallas: Lo primero que vi al llegar a Vàlencia fueron las Fallas, estructuras de cartón y madera hechas por vecindarios enteros de valencianos. Algunos se tardan alrededor de todo un año para hacer semejante estructura.
Mascletà: Es la exposición de “petardos,” como le dicen aquí, que hacen en la plaza histórica de Vàlencia. Petardos, para todos mis mexicanos, son cohetes, pero cohetes de ruido como las palomas mexicanas. La mascletà ocurre durante cada día de la fallas a las dos de la tarde.
L’Ofrena de flors: Significa la ofrenda de flores en valenciano. Esta sucede del 17 al 18 de marzo, cuando cada casal faller le lleva flores para decorar una reproducción de la Virgen María. Por cierto una casal faller es el grupo de falleros que hacen una falla. Por lo regular cada casal faller esta compuesta de vecinos y gente que vive en la misma vecindad.
La Cremà: Significa la finalización de la fiesta. Ocurre en la madrugada del 19 de marzo. A las diez de la noche del 18 de marzo se empiezan a quemar las fallas infantiles que se ubican a escasos metros de las principales. Después, empezando alrededor de la media noche se empiezan a quemar a diferentes horas las fallas principales. Culminando con la quema de la falla municipal en la plaza histórica. Por cierto el nombre falla proviene de la palabra castellana de antorcha, por eso el nombre de las estructuras.
La Nit del Foc: Si la cremà es la finalización de la fiesta, la nit del foc es la celebración de ella. Es una serie de cohetes que se truenan y explotan en el cielo que se traduce al castellano en la noche de fuego. Es el último acto de la fiesta y marca el comienzo de otro año entero antes de la próxima fiesta.
Me encantó poder ir a una fiesta tan extraordinaria aquí en España. Cuando aprendí sobre las Fallas en mi segundo año de prepa yo jamás pensé que iba a poder ver con mis propios ojos esas grandísimas estructuras. Gracias a Dios y a mis padres he podido ver las estructuras erguidas y como se quemaron hasta el piso. Ese par de días en Vàlencia jamás se me olvidaran.
English:
Before arriving in Spain like all those who study abroad I did a little research on the things that I could do within these new borders. While doing my research I found many events and parties that caught my attention. I then saw a party that fell on mid-March in the coastal city of Válencia. A party that we had discussed in my Spanish class in high school. I remember when my teacher at that time, Mrs.Browne told us about a party where the town got together to make huge wooden structures all over the city, only to burn them at the end of the party. When she explained the concept, I assumed that the structures were going to be something done very hastily and very rough, as in the end they would be burned. Then she showed us some pictures and I was truly amazed with the wonderful structures that the Valencians could make. They were true works of art that were designed to be burned. That was something I had to see with my own eyes.
The winning falla.
Las Fallas: The first thing I saw upon arriving at Vàlencia were the Fallas, cardboard and wooden structures made by entire Valencian neighborhoods. Some groups take around a whole year to make such a structure.
Mascletà: It is the exhibition of firecrackers as they say here, which they do in the historical square of Vàlencia. The mascletà occurs during each day of the fallas at two o’clock in the afternoon.
L’Ofrena de flors: It means the offering of flowers in Valencian. This takes place from March 17 to 18, when each house faller brings flowers to decorate a reproduction of the Virgin Mary. By the way, a faller house is the group of falleros that make a falla. Usually, each house makes a falla, composed of neighbors and people who live in the same neighborhood.
La Cremà: Signifies the end of the party. It happens in the early hours of March 19th. At ten o’clock on the night of March 18th, the children’s fallas that are located a few meters from the main ones begin to burn. Starting around midnight, the main fallas begin to burn at different times. Culminating with the burning of the municipal falla in the historic plaza. By the way the name falla comes from the Castilian word torch, giving the structures their names.
La Nit del Foc: If the cremà is the end of the party, the Nit del Foc is the celebration of it. It is a series of fireworks that thunder and explode in the sky, this translates into the night of fire in Castilian. It is the last act of the party and marks the beginning of another whole year before the next party.
I loved being able to go to such an extraordinary party here in Spain. When I learned about the Fallas in my second year of high school, I never thought I would be able to see these huge structures with my own eyes. Thanks to God and my parents I have been able to see the structures erected and later burned to the ground. Those were a couple of days in Vàlencia I will never forget.
I have long excelled at doing nothing. One of my favorite childhood pastimes was sitting on a riverside rock for hours upon end, whiling away the summer just watching the fish, frogs, and water voles cavort in the current.
Then adulthood came and I was expected to actually do things with my time, so that childhood habit fell by the wayside.
…Or at least, it did for a few years. Now it’s assigned for class.
As part of our homework for the Fundamentals of Tropical Biology class, we students need to wade into the underbrush, have a seat for an hour, and catalogue everything we see, smell, and hear in that area. The exercise trains us to quickly notice the most important aspects of a local habitat and often prompts questions about the ecological interactions we perceive. That latter part reveals the other purpose of this exercise; it provides a sort of brainstorming process for the independent ecological research projects that will be our magnum opera of this semester.
A page of my trusty Rite in the Rain notebook! Please don’t judge my handwriting too harshly.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed completing these exercises in every major biome we visit, but our current location has provided the most interesting wilderness for exploration. We’re now staying at La Selva (“The Jungle”) Biological Station in northeast Costa Rica. There are nearly 4,000 acres of tropical rainforest held by this station, and there’s no lack of activity as the rainy season is just beginning to start in earnest. Life is everywhere you look!
For starters, these little guys—about the size of my last pinky joint—are perpetually underfoot! This is the aptly-named strawberry dart frog.
If you’ll allow me to really get nerdy for a second: their scientific name is Oophaga pumilio, which is Latin for “dwarf egg eater” (pūmilio, oon, phagos). They won this moniker because the female carts the tadpoles up into the trees soon after hatching so that they can develop in the isolated, safe puddles of rainwater trapped by bromeliads and other tree-dwelling plants.1 The devoted strawberry dart frog mother then cares for her growing children by periodically stopping by these puddles and laying unfertilized eggs for them to eat. If she leaves them alone for too long, they’ll start splashing at the puddles’ surface to communicate their desire to feed on the proteins of their unfathered siblings.
Neat, huh?
I realize that the saga of Oophaga might not be appealing to everyone, so let’s move right along and check out this glasswing butterfly. Butterflies and moths have tiny scales on their wings which give them pattern and color, which you might have already found out if you ever tried touching one and a fine colorful dust rubbed off on your fingers. But the glasswing butterflies are special; their wing scales are modified into translucent hairs, so you can see straight through the wing frame! Their Spanish name is espejitos, or “little mirrors,” which is just plain adorable.
There are all sorts of amphibious critters to be found in the forest. This tree frog is cozied up with some thick epiphyll cover—that mossy growth on the leaf surface. He’s a nocturnal species, and is more than a little grumpy at being woken. I feel a special kinship.
This is the biggest damselfly I’ve ever seen, with an abdomen about four inches long. I think it’s Megaloprepus caerulatus, which boasts the largest wingspan of all damselflies (and even dragonflies) worldwide! They, like the dart frogs, raise their young in arboreal puddles called phytotelmata. Unlike the dart frogs, they lay all their eggs in one puddle and let the carnivorous young naiads murder and cannibalize each other until a few satisfied winners emerge and develop to adulthood. It’s lonely at the top.
The roots of the trees here seem as old and broad as the earth, and sport so much moss that they appear to be growing small forests of their own. The biodiversity here at every level is stunning, and I’m excited to spend the last weeks of this program surrounded by so much pure life.
A uniquely popular phrase here in Costa Rica is “pura vida!” or “pure life!” It can be used as a greeting, a farewell, or a philosophy. I think I’m finally beginning to understand.
For starters, these little guys—about the size of my last pinky joint—are perpetually underfoot! This is the aptly-named strawberry dart frog.
You must be logged in to post a comment.