THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

In this time of school stress and research pressures, I am looking forward to the following:

Durango Bike race
Thanksgiving- Either at my parents, aunts, uncles, or with Caley and friends
Christmas- A visit with Caitlin, skiing in Colorado and Vermont, relaxing with the parents, Christmas with the huge Botte clan!
Spring- Lot's of nordic skiing
Summer- Perhaps a little bike tour in the Northwest?
Next year- Moving in together?? and GRADUATING!!
Three years from now- Our big bike tour of Europe...gotta start saving now!!!

Hopefully I can keep all these great things in mind while still focusing on the present and getting what I need to done....sigh.

Besos,
Megan

Some of the last Mexico Pictures

Reality Bites

School is overwhelming at the moment...as in, I'm drowning in work and feeling completely lost in statistics. Not to mention that I've been sick this week as well. I actually feel a lot better today due to Caleys administrations, chicken soup and about 5 gallons of orange juice. Anyway, I'm failing statistics, but trying to take the steps to get up to speed. Basically I'll be soooo soooo happy with a C in that class. Is one allowed to get C's in graduate school? I'm not sure, better check on that... I was even thinking about dropping the class, yes, it's that bad.
Anyway, I have to go study for my Parasitology exam tomorrow morning at 7:30am...BLEAH! It covers so much material, I wish we knew what she was going to focus on, the first exam is always the toughest. It's different this year because I know the professors and feel like I have some sort of expectation to do well. I'm also pretty positive I won't do that well on the exam because of my trip. Oh well, what can I do, try to stay on top of if for exam two material.
I'll keep you all updated on the struggles...sounds like Caitlin is having a rough week of it as well. Although, hers is due to severe exercise induced fatigue...man I wish I was a varsity athlete and that could be my focus in life!

Besos,
Meganita

HOME!!!!!

I am finally here in the good ole USA:) What a wonderful experience!!! Sorry I stopped posting the past couple of days, we were busy, but with nothing too exciting. We did get to visit the research site where they are building the big cages. And by big, I mean about house size. It's funny to see a little mesh house in the jungle made for mosquitoes. I am posting pictures, so you'll be able to see. So, after we finished collecting in the field, the rest of the week was spent picking pupae and sorting the adults, and feeding them and gathering their eggs to bring back home. We had to pick pupae twice a day...and I mostly did this all by myself, 17 pans twice a day!! Gah, talk about a crick in my neck, and headaches from straining my eyes looking for the little buggers.
On Saturday we had a party for Laura, her 33rd birthday!! It was soooo much fun. Tons of delicious food with chorizo and tortillas and salsa....everything for a true Mexican fiesta! I showed off my salsa dancing skills with some of the technicians, unfortunately none of them were that good, but it was fun none the less and Dr. Black says I've made quite an impression on Tapachula:) I'm so looking forward to Laura coming to visit Colorado. It will be a nice break for her, she's only been there for about 4 months and already is having a hard time coping with the climate and the mentality of most devout Mexicans...
Ok, pictures and reflections soon!
Love,
Megan

Day Eight

Day Eight 9/11/08

So, weird that it's been 7 years since 9/11.

I picked pupae for 3.5 hours today, had nausea, and it was probably about 150 degrees plus humidity....no need to say more I feel.

ciao,
Megan

Day Six

Day Six 9/9/08 I have lot's of pictures today!!! We went to the most beautiful town up the mountains. The breeze lifted the sweaty shirts off our backs, and was fresh and clean. The plants clung in tenacious clumps to the pines, and even to the wires strung throughout the rooftops of the barrios. Apparently (and this is very cool) all of the pines in North America and possibly all the Americas, originated in the highlands of this area. I believe Dr. Black called it the center of diversity or something like that. Anyway, very neat!! I was thinking today, if I ever had to flee the country for any reason, I would live in a place like this. High mountains, kind people, simply gorgeous views...coffee....perfecto! On the way back to Tapachula this afternoon we got caught up on a little revolution! We were the first car to get stopped in a roadblock by the townspeople of a tiny little village who had been without electricity for two years! They got fed up and stopped traffic as a sort of publicity stunt. It worked, we got through when someone from the electric company showed up. This was our last collecting day. The rest of the time here will be spent sorting out the mosquitoes to make sure we have the right kinds, and getting them to lay eggs that we can take home with us. I need these eggs to get my project started, which makes it easier to do the work since I have a vested interest. The past two nights Caley and I got to video chat!!! It's the coolest thing ever! Tonight I took him on a tour of the hotel and introduced him to some of the staff I've made friends with :) Ha, it was awesome! I wish some of my family members had mac computers....ahem, Caitlin!! (and Mom and Dad...) Tonight at Dinner we got to hang out with three of Tapachula's four Italians:) Two from the lab, and the other is the owner of the Italian restaurant we ate at. Muy rico!!! I love eating at a table where languages fly about and people are having interesting intelligent conversations. I guess I should say, I like eating with people who know more about my work than I do. It challenges me and gives me a lot to think about. Sometimes too much, I've been dreaming about larvae:) Ok, I'm posting pictures now, and I'll try to post more on facebook, because there are too many for this blog! Love and Miss you all! Ciao, Meganita

Pictures: Ask for details, there are too many to explain:)

Day Five

Day Five 9/8/08

I'm too tired:) I'll post more pictures and write more tomorrow.

ciao,
Meganita