In 14 hours, I’ll be on a Southwest Airlines flight, hopefully in an aisle seat. Unfortunately, that dream has never been a reality. But tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow is the day I fight anyone and anything for that beloved aisle seat covered in rich velvet and provided with technologies such as extra leg room and a free arm rest. Oh, tomorrow will be the day I come, see, and conquer. After that, I’m going to Belize.

I’m not really too sure what to expect out of this two week journey. I’ve never been to the tropics or a reef before, and there are so many variables that’ll be thrown at me all at once in such a short time period- the sights and sounds of a new country, the vast unknown of the tropical rainforest, and the shimmery blue depths of the reef. I’m pretty pumped for the sensory overload and figure it’ll be an awesome experience. Reading the book and researching my lecture topic/taxon assignments prepared and provided me with somewhat of an idea of what Belize has to offer, but experiencing everything firsthand will definitely be eye opening.

Honestly, I hope I can identify piscivorous fish and arachnids when I get to that jungle of a place. The piscivorous fish finding should not be too bad because they’ll be in plain sight underwater, but arachnids might be a bit tough. There are so many of them that’ll scurry past before you can identify them and a lot of them are hidden under rocks/debris. But where there is a will, there is a way.

I’m the most nervous about snorkeling. I don’t have too much experience with it and mainly need to work on depressurizing my ears. That being said, I’m really excited to venture out into the tropical rainforest and walk under a canopy of leaves while surrounded by massive, towering tree trunks. I really hope I can see an ocelot- if not in real time, at least from a camera trap. Also, I’m weirdly stoked about getting down and dirty on the forest floor to identify some arachnids. I’ve never been to the tropics before, but I also never rode a bike until I rode a bike.

Watch out Belize- Deepu Karri is coming to town. On a Southwest Airlines aisle seat.