Hi, everyone! I’m Michiel, and this blog will record my experience in Belize as I study mammals and herbivorous fish with the rest of my class!
In only a couple of hours, I’ll be on my way to ABL, fighting sleep, to meet with the rest of my class before we start our journey to Belize. I’m excited to get to explore the country, swim through the reef, and I expect that the physical exertion required of this class will be gratifying, but I most look forward to getting exposed to field research. It’s something I know very little about, and I had not imagined I would ever do anything outside of a lab before this class. I hope that this pushes me to continue to push my boundaries and explore topics in science that aren’t necessarily related to my field of study. I also expect that, through the exploration of different ecosystems and study of different taxa within the country, this class will create a deeper love and gratitude for biology within me.
I’ve been preparing for this class for months – buying equipment and getting my passport – but I began to start preparing mentally about a week ago. I got really nervous about going to a new country and staying out in the wild instead of the city, and I still am a bit nervous, but I’m confident that the leadership from my professors and companionship of my peers will help put me at ease. Other than that, I just flew into Houston from El Paso in order to meet with the rest of my class, and I have been packing all day, racking my brain about the smallest things I may forget. I’ve been thinking a lot about the unbearable heat and humidity we’re going to endure. Coming from a desert, the Houston humidity is often too much to handle, and the closest I’ve ever been to the tropics is Cancún, Mexico, which was filled with many more opportunities for relaxation than I expect we will encounter in Belize. However, I’m hopeful that I will quickly get used to it so that I may put my focus to the work we will conduct.
Though I have bits of anxiety about the trip here and there, I am very excited for our trip and hope to return a changed person.
