Day 6: Swim and Science - Kendall and Elise

Today was a really great but tiring day, as always in Costa Rica. We started off the day bright and early at 7:30 with a ride from Anita from our dorms to the cafeteria. Everyone but Eli and Jason made it in the car because they were too slow. After breakfast, we rode on a tractor to a small town and hiked our way to a waterfall. The waterfall was so beautiful, surrounded by vines and huge rocks. We swam under the waterfall and did a canon-ball contest, which Winston won. After we left the waterfall, we met with a family who offered us juice as well as fresh bananas. On the way back, we saw so many beautiful view of the countryside as well as the rainforest. After lunch, we went back to our dorms and read our books and listened to music to relax. After our break, we spent the rest of the day in the lab continuing our projects. My group's project is going well, and hopefully it can make a solution for local farmers to deter ants from eating their crops. Now, here I am writing this blog and I'm about to get ready for bed. I'm excited for a full day of science tomorrow!

- Kendall Straub

I really enjoyed today! I rose early so I could prepare my bag for the hike through the forest and swim and the waterfall pool. I've been waking up early to read, and continued to do so today. The hike to the waterfall was gorgeous and I felt enveloped in the forest sounds and sights. The trees and leaves on the ground reminded me of hiking in the woods at home, other than the different plants. The waterfall was gorgeous and I marveled at the biodiversity that was visible. There were so many plants, moss, and more! The Atta mating flight was last night and I saw a male Atta at the swimming hole. On the way back from the hole, we had a delicious juice and banana from a woman named Miriam. I was so excited and loved the juice and thought the bananas tasted sweeter than I have ever had!

After returning, having a lovely lunch, and having a restful reading break, we continued our science projects. My group's project measured leaves, filled out our lab notebook, began our final project PowerPoint, and did our first round of field testing. It was so much fun to watch ants and compare their activity. Tomorrow, I'm so excited to have the full day to finish our field and lab testing and start making charts, drawing conclusions, and hopefully finish making our final project!

- Elise Crump