NOTE: Since I didn't really have much internet in Kiuic, I couldn't post much at all. But I did do some pretty fun stuff in Kiuic, like bird netting! So here's a post I wrote up in the hotel in Coba after leaving the biocultural reserve. So I hope you enjoy my back-tracking.

Yesterday (February 26th) I left Kiuic after 2 testing weeks. I know I haven’t been posting much, but I think I thoroughly covered the reasons why in previous posts so no need to reiterate that. But it wasn’t even the lack of internet and electricity that was most taxing, nor the cold showers or hammock sleeping, it was the struggle with weather and my own perceptions of this trip.

I’m not sure if I ever made this clear to anyone, but the main reason I applied for this program was not because it was a tropical location, with amazing historical and cultural structures or because of the native language, I chose to study abroad in the Yucatan for the Biology aspect. It sounded like an amazing biological experience with snorkeling (one of my favorite vacation pastimes), birding, and batting (the latter of the two I had never had to pleasure of experiencing). The last week of Kiuic was supposed to be the week of intense birding and batting – our legitimate start to the Biology semester, but the weather did not deliver. The week was overcast and even rained, keeping all the birds in their nests, which as I soon discovered, makes it very difficult to catch them using a stationary, floor bound net. I did get to hold bats at night, but I was never instructed on how to really identify them or anything, so that portion of the adventure was pretty much covered by the Dawley’s and my more experienced peers. Overall what I had been looking forward to most out of the trip was something of a flop. I admit, up to Thursday I was downtrodden. So that morning, in one final desperate attempt, we raised our net again and waited for birds while pretending to study for the midterm (what would be a 5 hour test later that day). We were rewarded for our efforts and I finally got a chance to hold a bird! But, I had never held a bird before and I guess my grip wasn’t tight enough, because that beautiful hooded warbler escaped after only a few seconds and our prize was lost. I was mortified and distraught. How is it, that the one thing I had been looking forward to most would be so disappointing? And how, HOW, when given one chance to do the very thing I had been waiting 6 weeks to do, did I fail so quickly? And in front of my friends and the Dawleys (oh the look on Robert’s face when that bird got away). It was the lowest point of my trip; I took the failure very hard.

But, this trip isn’t only about Biology for me; it’s also a chance to really grow. So rather just sit and mope for the rest of day, focusing on my horrible mistake and missing possibly my only shot at holding and identifying a tropical bird, I took a little walk into the forest to flush all the negativity out of my system and then returned to my post watching the net swearing to redeem myself should the chance arrive. I got my chance as again our net snagged another bird, a white-eyed vireo. Not only did I assist in freeing the bird from the net, but after bagging it, I took it up to the Dawleys, took it out of the bag, and held it in front of them without that little bugger escaping my grip. I then verbally I announced to them that yes, I could in fact hold a bird and that this white-eyed vireo represents my redemption. I then forced Robert to take a picture documenting my success and helped pass the bird around to other eager students (who had also never been given a chance to hold a bird due to the inclement weather). Our net went on to catch an olivacous woodcreeper which I again helped untangle and held. So after a bumpy start, I pulled myself out of a shame spiral, and then did what I came to Mexico to do – play with birds who had been tricked into flying into a net. I can’t explain how amazing it felt. It just reaffirms my plans to pursue a career as a biologist.