Due to generally overwhelming circumstances as of late, I've been remiss in updating this lovely blog. And as I'm sure you are all waiting with baited breath, checking your computers constantly and kept awake at night wondering if I've updated... well, I decided to indulge you. Is that how you spell baited? Is it bated? Where did that expression even originate?
Anyway, on a much more interesting and exciting note, tomorrow my school plays host to none other than JANE GOODALL!!! This is hugely exciting, because as many of you know, I worked in a comparative cognition lab for three years in college. I worked with brown capuchins (Cebus apella), who are actually a species of New World monkey that live naturally here in Costa Rica. So far, the only monkeys I've seen in the flesh (fur?) here are the howler monkeys who howl every morning around dawn. As far as a natural alarm clock goes, it sure beats a rooster. As for Jane, she has spent almost fifty years working with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), which are NOT monkeys. They are apes. Monkeys and apes are two entirely different types of primates. Here is Jane with one of her chimpanzee friends...
Many of the kids have asked me if Jane will bring a chimpanzee with her to speak, but they don't really seem to grasp that she is 73 years old, and also that Jane's whole platform revolves around preservation of both the species and their natural habitat. Overall, I am delighted to meet her-- one science teacher prepared a brief biography of her with the categorization as the scientist who "redefined man." She certainly made great strides not only in primatology, but in the way we view and study other species.
Lastly, we went to a BEAUTIFUL beach this weekend--Bahía de los Piratas, which means "Bay of Pirates" or "Pirates' Bay"... it was gorgeous. I'll blog more about that later when I'm a tad less exhausted.
Today the weather was sporadic rain; I think we're getting (or going to get) the fallout from Hurricane Felix over on the Atlantic side of Central America. That being said, the weather here has been strange the past few days, culminating in the sunset here this evening where everything was bathed in a bizarre tan glow. Towards the east though, a beautiful, HUGE rainbow rose from the hills that surround Brasilito. Absolutely breathtaking. And last night, when I was sitting outside chatting with two friends, I was blown away by the blanket of stars above-- it was like sitting in a planetarium. Except that it's real. It's truly amazing to be in a locale where there really are almost no lights at night except for the stars. There's nothing better than having nature remind you just how amazing the world truly is. :)
4 comentarios:
Because I'm a dork about these things: "Bated" is a shortened version of "abated", which means "to slow down". So for "bated breath" this means to slow down your breathing or hold your breath...
also, good luck with Felix...and I am slightly jealous of you getting to spend some time down there....:P It sounds beautiful.
were there...PIRATES...in the bay of pirates? Perhaps mermaids, with long tails...?
I'll have you know that MY breath was bated.
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