Dorothy, Were Not in Mexico Anymore

So as it seems, I am sure we are all home now and looking through our photos and already reminiscing of all the fun we had.  I cannot believe a week passed by so fast!  I meant to make this post yesterday but sometimes you simply have to immerse yourself in the once in a lifetime experience!  Yesterday was crazy, and that may be an understatement for many of us.

We started the morning with the Least Tern Census count, and I absolutely loved it!  We were able to split into small groups and interact directly with researchers who do the census counts daily.  It was exciting seeing the eggs, scary knowing that the male birds could dive bomb you any second if you got to close, and sad to hear the stories of tagging them with flags and the coyotes eating them.  At the end of the day, it is nature, and it happens.  I could not believe the Wilson's Plover does a dance to distract others from the nest while leading them in the opposite direction of his prized babies.  It just is remarkable how animals develop quirks to protect themselves and their young.

After the census, it was time to get down to the first word of our trip, the s-t-u-d-y in study abroad.  We spent time studying for our finals and working on our group presentations.  Everything went amazingly, and I cannot believe the class and trip are both over!  Presentations seemed daunting but it was a great opportunity to learn about the individual phyla since we just learned general info.  We relaxed after the real work by hanging out by the beach and jumping waves.

The day finally came to a close after authentic Mexican food, a birthday celebration, smokes and a bonfire, pre-cleaning, and finally falling asleep under the stars.  The last part was coincidentally as someone pointed out, the same way we started the first night except less noise.  We had developed so many friendships we fell asleep under the stars chatting for awhile before finally giving into sleep from the hectic schedule.  I cannot believe we are all most likely home, and the trip is over.  It was an amazing opportunity and I thank you all for the memories! 

-Angelica Deliz