Hey y’all, my name is Ian Chen and I’m a rising sophomore at McMurtry! I plan on double majoring in Biosciences, with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAAM). I’m currently writing this entry sitting at my gate, about to depart for Houston. T-15 hours!!
I’m super excited for this trip, and literally every part about it too. I will say, I am most excited for our second week, staying out by Glover’s Reef. Beyond all the wildlife we’ll see there and all the snorkeling opportunities, I’m really curious about how being so isolated is going to feel, both being so far from civilization and being completely surrounded by vast ocean. I’m also really excited to explore the cave system! I’ve visited a couple caves in Patagonia when I went backpacking there a couple years ago, and they ended up being one of my favorite parts of that trip. From what Dr. Solomon’s said, these caves sound even cooler, especially the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave!
To prepare for this trip, I studied my assigned taxa (Orthoptera and Groupers), prepared presentations on them and angelfish, and caught up on assigned reading and their quizzes.
Additionally, I’ve gone on a couple hikes in the state parks near me, Umstead and Jordan Lake.
I used to go backpacking quite often, but haven’t gone on a trip in a year, so I found myself a bit more worn out than I had hoped. I’m excited to embrace the challenge nonetheless!
I hope to learn a lot about this trip. I’ve always been fascinated by birds and ornithology, and have gone on numerous birding trips within North Carolina. My bird knowledge is a bit limited to NC and the continental US, so I’m hoping to learn a lot about the birds of Central America!
However, there are a couple things I’m nervous about. Like I mentioned earlier, I feel a bit out of shape and I’m a little bit worried about the physical aspects of this trip, both hiking in the jungle and swimming on the reefs. Additionally, I’ve never been snorkeling before so I’m a bit nervous about that, but I’m also really excited about all the new opportunities it unlocks.
This trip will also be my first time in the tropics and first time doing any real fieldwork (beyond BIOS 213)—both reasons to be a bit more nervous and a lot more excited about this trip. I’m hoping to gain tons of valuable field experiences, along with memories that will last a lifetime!
Ian C