Alright guys, its our last day here in the keys and the distant sounds of Margaritaville bid us to voyage to Key West. However, first there was business that needed tended to. Over the past 8 days the 11 of us in the Tropical Zoology class had split into 3 groups to study a vertebrate of our choice, living in the keys. The fish group with their super-adaptibility, acclimated themselves like fish of the genus Gambusia, to change their fish of choice when presented with an insurmountable obstacle; No Rivulus marmoratus. The lizard groups were also diligent in their efforts. Regardless of the fact that they secretly wanted to be part of the fish group. Honestly, who wouldnt though? So I can't blame them.
So this morning everyone slept in and we met up in the lab at 9. It was time to present our research to the rest of the class. The fish group stepped up and set the standard for grade-A performance. Just kidding about that, I thought that everyone did a great job and should be proud of what we accomplished this week. We learned a very important part of science by conducting our research, sometimes after all of your work, you are left with more questions than answers. But its those questions that drive the field and are just as important as the answer you originally sought. That's enough of my rambling.
Now we are cleaning out our dorms. Packing, sweeping, trying to consume all the food that we bought, and preparing for the night out ahead of us. Then in the morning we begin our trip home for a late afternoon arrival home on friday just in time for a delicous home-made meal that tastes of sweet victory. Thanks for checking out our blog this week. We all had a great time and will carry these memories for the rest of our lives.
Joe- This trip was awesome! I learned a ton about mosquito fish (the useless fish) and also lab techniques. I made awesome friends, and I know we'll all be keeping in touch.
Kelly- Surprisingly, Joe didn't cheese it up as much as in his blog. Seriously though, these past 8 days have been incredible. Snorkling, kayaking (paddling out and sitting), bridge jumping, boating, spearfishing, assaying, blood drawing. mangroving.. I couldn't have imagined a more awesome research trip. Time to start saving for Tahiti.
Lauren - Wow! This trip has been amazing! I mean, what could be better than taking a 4-credit class in the florida keys, and learning more in two weeks than you would have in 15?? I learned how to snorkel, catch lizards with a noose pole, say I love you in Chinese, that Italian women don't take their husband's last name when they get married, how to write a real scientific paper, how to present a real research project, how to play "over the rainbow" on a ukulele, how to drive a boat, and I got to meet some pretty incredible people. It was a blast and I remember thinking at least once everyday, "Wow, I never knew that....I better remember it." It was a great experience and I will miss everyone!
Chiara - Awesome trip! I met very good and nice American students and profs, I had a great time snorkeling, seeing sharks and barracuda, catching fish, fish printing (that's normal for a fish guy!), tasting excellent international dinners, working with a good fish group team and learning a lot of techniques and many american slangs! Pretty cool to be my first 10 days in US!!! Thanks to everybody!
Julie - It was awesome having this class be the last one for my undergrad. I learned a lot of new things like if I put my hand near a goliath grouper it will try to eat it, how to catch anoles with a noose, and that an iguana can crawl all the way across the room in a cotton bag. I also learned many new scientific techniques that will help me out in the future. I had a great time and was happy to meet everyone. Go lizard group!
Amber- Well, we had tons of fun on this trip. It was a little intimidating going into this class not knowing anyone, but it didn't take long for us to all get acquainted. I love the diversity that we had here, I spent a lot of time attempting to learn bits and pieces of Arabic, Chinese, and Italian. It was awesome, although I'm pretty sure I butchered the pronunciation of all of them :) We all got our own nicknames and I can proudly say that I am the Official Lizard Wrangler! :) This has been a great experience and I hope to stay in touch with my new-found friends! :) On a side note, I also kinda fell in love with lizards :P
Halle- I wish we had more time here to actually explore and not just be stuck in the lab. However, I am very glad I was in the fish group because I made some good friends and we actually got time to do things after lunch, like bridge jumping, spear fishing, kayaking, etc, unlike the lizard groups. Im really happy I came.
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