So this may sound silly, but...
I feel like, if I haven't written in a long time, I don't really have the right to comment on the posts of others.
Anyone else get that?
And since I've been meaning to update for a while, and also comment on various posts, I thought it was high time I dove back in! I'm not sure how to recap.... This past school year has gone well =) The dreaded writing of essays has almost gotten easier, and I still found myself loving 95% of the things I was learning about.
I can't remember why now, but once classes finished, in the midst of preparing to head to Montserrat (more on that in a moment!) I decided to make myself a little timeline of my life from the age of 16 onwards. I've always had a terrible memory, and not known really what to do about it, nor really cared much... but I was feeling particularly motivated one week, so I buckled down.
I have to say, this journal was a huge help, and it was one of the things that made me want to dive back in. I couldn't BELIEVE how many amazing things I had forgotten about... It made me feel a bit bad in a way too..... and this is going to sound weird I'm sure.... but it made me see how many people really loved me. made me remember how many great times I've had with people, many of whom I've never considered myself very close to sometimes (not really anyone who reads this btw).
It made me worry that I might have hurt peoples feelings along the way? I guess... my first few years in Canada I still hadn't come all the way out of my shell. I just wasn't USED to people liking me, or thinking I was a fun and wonderful person. I feel like, because I may have assumed that I was forgettable, I didn't make enough of an effort to keep in touch with some folks.
I mean, life is busy, and we all move on, and since most of these people are haus people I'm pretty sure we would get along if our paths ever cross again...but a little part of me does wonder. And if I haven't shown my appreciation for your friendship enough to you, my close friends, than I definitely apologise. And not in a "I'm afraid you might hate me/I feel like I've been a jerk to you" kind of way....y'know? Just in a small..."I don't think probably *anyone* expresses this often enough" kind of way...
But at the heart of it all it reminded me that I had been truly loved, and even if I might not have noticed or fully appreciated it at the time, all that love did its work, and I try my best to appreciate all those who enter my life these days.
And these days have been busy!!! Being a student again has meant the good ol' annual move, and the new house is wonderful, and came with a visiting backyard kittie!
And in the midst of packing and moving I was making plans to come to Montserrat for six weeks, to study the wild and wonderful Odonata! (Dragonflies and Damselflies!)
The long and short of it is: the organisation who gave me my scholarship were hoping I could do my final year project in one of the overseas territories. After many meetings with them it seemed that Montserrat would benefit the most from extra "capacity building". Then after even more meetings with my project supervisor we decided that the dragonflies would be an excellent group to study because they would be easier to find/observe than birds, and can act as important indicator species in the environment.
Slightly more than half of Montserrat was obliterated by a volcano in 1997, and so it was a little unknown exactly how well the insect populations had recovered. But it turns out that there hasn't been much activity (particularly not much ash billowing out of the crater) in the past two years, and the insects and dragonflies have been making a steady come-back.
I have seen so many amazing species, it's hard to put it into words (see the facebook) ! They really are so amazing, and so beautiful... I didn't know much about dragonflies before this project, and now it seems everything I learn about them and everything they do makes them more awesome! They are such funny little things.... They are very territorial, and watching the males chase each other about the ponds, each defending their own little (and I mean little, sometimes only a few feet) patch...aw it's too cute!
If it weren't for the unforgiving rays of the sun I would be having the time of my life! I mean, it is absolutely fantastic, and I AM most definitely enjoying it, but...my poor little pale self is having a hard time. Especially this past week, where I've been out in the field from 9am to 2pm, at locations with little or NO shade. aiieeeee.
But the worst is behind me, and the rest of the field locations should be at much shadier spots ^_^ THEN I will be having the time of my life! I'm still a little afraid of the write-up I'll have to do afterwards....but now that I'm here, gathering all this data on a group that no one has had a chance to study since before the volcano....and such a gregarious and entertaining group at that!!! .... I feel like life in the field is something I could do forever.
Every day, as I put lotion on my poor sunburnt self, and sit panting in front of my fan, the only thing I need to do to feel like it's all worth it is have a glance through my pics. Most times I'm even *excited* to getting around to writing this report...
I can't wait to share all I've learned with the rest of the world! It has been....wonderful
So, that's what I've been up to ^_^ Thank's for reading!
Anyone else get that?
And since I've been meaning to update for a while, and also comment on various posts, I thought it was high time I dove back in! I'm not sure how to recap.... This past school year has gone well =) The dreaded writing of essays has almost gotten easier, and I still found myself loving 95% of the things I was learning about.
I can't remember why now, but once classes finished, in the midst of preparing to head to Montserrat (more on that in a moment!) I decided to make myself a little timeline of my life from the age of 16 onwards. I've always had a terrible memory, and not known really what to do about it, nor really cared much... but I was feeling particularly motivated one week, so I buckled down.
I have to say, this journal was a huge help, and it was one of the things that made me want to dive back in. I couldn't BELIEVE how many amazing things I had forgotten about... It made me feel a bit bad in a way too..... and this is going to sound weird I'm sure.... but it made me see how many people really loved me. made me remember how many great times I've had with people, many of whom I've never considered myself very close to sometimes (not really anyone who reads this btw).
It made me worry that I might have hurt peoples feelings along the way? I guess... my first few years in Canada I still hadn't come all the way out of my shell. I just wasn't USED to people liking me, or thinking I was a fun and wonderful person. I feel like, because I may have assumed that I was forgettable, I didn't make enough of an effort to keep in touch with some folks.
I mean, life is busy, and we all move on, and since most of these people are haus people I'm pretty sure we would get along if our paths ever cross again...but a little part of me does wonder. And if I haven't shown my appreciation for your friendship enough to you, my close friends, than I definitely apologise. And not in a "I'm afraid you might hate me/I feel like I've been a jerk to you" kind of way....y'know? Just in a small..."I don't think probably *anyone* expresses this often enough" kind of way...
But at the heart of it all it reminded me that I had been truly loved, and even if I might not have noticed or fully appreciated it at the time, all that love did its work, and I try my best to appreciate all those who enter my life these days.
And these days have been busy!!! Being a student again has meant the good ol' annual move, and the new house is wonderful, and came with a visiting backyard kittie!
And in the midst of packing and moving I was making plans to come to Montserrat for six weeks, to study the wild and wonderful Odonata! (Dragonflies and Damselflies!)
The long and short of it is: the organisation who gave me my scholarship were hoping I could do my final year project in one of the overseas territories. After many meetings with them it seemed that Montserrat would benefit the most from extra "capacity building". Then after even more meetings with my project supervisor we decided that the dragonflies would be an excellent group to study because they would be easier to find/observe than birds, and can act as important indicator species in the environment.
Slightly more than half of Montserrat was obliterated by a volcano in 1997, and so it was a little unknown exactly how well the insect populations had recovered. But it turns out that there hasn't been much activity (particularly not much ash billowing out of the crater) in the past two years, and the insects and dragonflies have been making a steady come-back.
I have seen so many amazing species, it's hard to put it into words (see the facebook) ! They really are so amazing, and so beautiful... I didn't know much about dragonflies before this project, and now it seems everything I learn about them and everything they do makes them more awesome! They are such funny little things.... They are very territorial, and watching the males chase each other about the ponds, each defending their own little (and I mean little, sometimes only a few feet) patch...aw it's too cute!
If it weren't for the unforgiving rays of the sun I would be having the time of my life! I mean, it is absolutely fantastic, and I AM most definitely enjoying it, but...my poor little pale self is having a hard time. Especially this past week, where I've been out in the field from 9am to 2pm, at locations with little or NO shade. aiieeeee.
But the worst is behind me, and the rest of the field locations should be at much shadier spots ^_^ THEN I will be having the time of my life! I'm still a little afraid of the write-up I'll have to do afterwards....but now that I'm here, gathering all this data on a group that no one has had a chance to study since before the volcano....and such a gregarious and entertaining group at that!!! .... I feel like life in the field is something I could do forever.
Every day, as I put lotion on my poor sunburnt self, and sit panting in front of my fan, the only thing I need to do to feel like it's all worth it is have a glance through my pics. Most times I'm even *excited* to getting around to writing this report...
I can't wait to share all I've learned with the rest of the world! It has been....wonderful
So, that's what I've been up to ^_^ Thank's for reading!