Hi friends!

Well, I finally am able to sit down and write this blog post. The past few days have been a hectic mess of finishing up the assignments for this class (should’ve heed Scott’s advice on starting the assignments early in the semester…), moving off campus, and packing for Belize. Only now can I say that I am done and ready to go!

I am so looking forward to going to Belize, and the taxon assignments have definitely enhanced this excitement. Having been researching on the mammals, annelids and molluscs of Belize and seeing pictures and videos of them, I’m eager to finally see them live in their natural habitat. Having been fortunate enough to live in the same suite with an alumnus of this course (Randy with the man bun), I’ve had the opportunity to discuss my taxon research with him and apparently we will get to see a lot of the annelids and molluscs while snorkeling. Very pumped for that!!

My research into tropical diseases, on the other hand… let’s just say it has made me more paranoid about my chances of survival in the two weeks.

Having talked to Randy a lot about the course, I gathered that my time at Belize will be physically intensive but at the same time a very memorable learning journey. I hope to learn as much as I can about the rainforest and the coral reef, as this will probably be the best opportunity I will ever have to do so. When will I ever get to stay a week in a research station and another week in one of the world’s most well-preserved reef and learn from experts in the field again?

That said, I’m slightly worried that my lack of knowledge in biology might hinder my experience there. Being a mechanical engineering major, I took this class because this is my last summer in college and I wanted to use this last chance to explore outside of my field of expertise. I hope that I am able to keep up with the rest of the class in terms of understanding biology-related concepts. We’ll see how that goes.

Lastly, having lived in Singapore all my life, I would say that I’m used to the tropics. But I’ve lived in a concrete jungle and not the actual tropical rainforest so maybe not. Living in the tropics have certainly helped me during my tropical disease research though, because I have already been aware of most of the diseases that I was supposed to do research on.

Now, I shall get a good night’s sleep, and immerse myself in a whole new world starting tomorrow!

Good night y’all,

Damien

P.S. Had Whataburger for my last dinner before Belize cuz it’s awesome.