I am, like, the worst blogger

SO yeah, I guess I shouldn't have started this thing if I'm only going to be updating every two months, especially since I'm only here for five (although did anyone notice the suspiciously flexible URL, hinting that possibly, maybe I'm leaving open the option of writing about something other than Costa Rica? I'm so crafty).

But I guess there's nothing sadder than a blog with two entries (a blog with one, you say? shut up you smartarses), and I have actually heard that people are confused as to why I'm not posting, so I guess I'll update you.

But first, here is the greatest road sign of all time

   So the main reason I haven't been able to update is that I've been really busy. Two out of every three days are spent in the field here. Field days consist of getting up at 3:45 on average, depending on how far the monkeys went to sleep the night before. We follow them around all day collecting data and generally get back a bit before 7PM.  We shower, eat dinner, and basically pass out. I found out the hard way it's frowned upon to blog at the table, let alone in the field.

The monkeys disapprove.

On our off days we take it in turns to do a variety of chores, including cook for everyone. In addition to this you have to go over the data you've collected, edit it, upload it, fill in the numerous spreadsheets that document things like whose poop you collected for hormone processing, and do any of the tests you have to sit as a trainee. By the time all this is done, you're basically done for the day.

It's a rock-and-roll lifestyle

But it isn't all fun and games. Working here took a while to get used to. Mosquitos and chiggers are constants in my life, and itchy is just something that I am now, a part of my identity rather than a passing irritating condition. 

Other bitey/stingy things are more painful, if thankfully less common. Scorpions and poisonous caterpillars hang around the digs, but are relatively easy to avoid, certainly compared to the wasps that you can sometimes run into in the jungle that attack you from nowhere and make you rethink your life choices for a few minutes. But the worst in my opinion, the creme de la horrible, the crowning jewel of the cruelty of nature, are the acacia ants.

(David Attenborough voice here) These little things are miracles of evolution, having adapted into a symbiotic relationship with the plants whose name they share. The trees provide them with food and shelter, and the ants vigorously defend the tree against any potential threats. I wish that they would all die.

Basically they spend their time scuttling around these trees, which are EVERYWHERE. If you so much as brush up against one of these trees, which you do, several times a day, some will shake off onto you. At which point it is no longer a question of whether, but when, how many times, and where on your body you will be bitten. And the bites hurt. If you get a bunch on the same spot you will swell up unpleasantly for several days. I once got bitten 5 times on the same nipple and developed a painful breast that stuck around for a week. Seriously, I could write a book about how much I hate acacia ants.

I'll call it Memoirs of Acacia

 Of course, there are all sorts of wonderful things here as well. A number of you have asked about the people I work with. Since this is technically the internet I don't want to go into too much detail about these people and risk divulging something they wouldn't want me to, so suffice it to say that we all get on really well. There are around 10 of us, of which 3 working on the project with me. Everyone here is either Canadian or American, so they can get confused by my accent sometimes, poor dears.
Also there's a lot of wonderful stuff to see here apart from the capuchins. I want to only post photos I've taken here, so I'll keep the wildlife post for another time when I have better photos, but the only word to describe it all is faun-tastic.

Anybody? Anybody?

ok thats enough. I'll tell you more about the data collection we do next time. Here are some cute photos of a little girl who's a teensy bit uncomfortable with how intense this grooming session is getting.