Tag Archives: Excited

2022

The Pre-Departure Anticipation!!

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Hello there! My name is Sophia Figueroa and welcome to our Belize Blog!!

The day is finally here! Tomorrow we are officially leaving for Belize and I absolutely cannot wait. It’s so crazy to me that it’s already time for the trip as summer feels like it has moved so quickly. The build up to the actual trip is always the most nerve wracking, with lots of questions filling in my brain about all of the different possibilities of what I might come across. In all honesty, I think this is the worst part about trips but I know that as soon as I meet up with everyone on Wednesday, it’ll all go away.

I’ve been packing for the last week or so, and after putting the last few items in my bag, I realized that this is really happening! I’ve been working on my taxonomic lectures and topic lecture for the past month, reading lots of different journal articles and researching for hours on end about Red Algae, Tunicates, and biodiversity in cave systems. I expect this trip to be pretty intense with lots of lectures and presentations that everyone has been working hard on; but I’m also excited to see and learn about everyone else’s research. I expect to gain many different skills while on this trip, both from the lectures and also from the on-hands experience of being out in the field. I believe that there’s no better way to solidify what you learn in the classroom than going out and applying it in real life. I’m really excited to go to a new country and environment and be able to understand more about what being a field biologist looks like with people who share the same excitement of EEB as I do. While I’m obviously excited for the hands-on work we are going to be doing, I’m also really excited to get to know everyone and make new friends (cheesy I know, I’m sorry).

I think the main thing I’m nervous about is that I may not be able to identify many things from my taxonomic groups. I know that after a while, I’ll be able to recognize more species, and I recognize that it’s impossible to put all of the common species on my taxa cards; but it’s still a little nerve-racking to see if I put enough information on them and to see how many on my card actually appear in the field. I don’t have any experience in doing fieldwork really, I’ve only really worked in a lab setting so I’m very ready to go outside and apply what I know and gain even more knowledge. I’m also trying to mentally prepare myself for the humidity we might face, telling myself it can only be as bad as Houston humidity, but we’ll see… I’m definitely ready to start getting into the swing of things with work, assignments, and getting to know people so that these pre-trip nerves go away!

See you in Belize!

– Sophia

2022

Belize->Soon!

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Hey this is Elena (aka ers10). I can’t believe that the trip is happening so soon! Technically for me it’s starting tomorrow, since I have to fly to Houston from California. I just finished packing, which was a relief since I really wasn’t sure if everything would fit in one carry-on-sized bag and a backpack. I definitely think I forgot something, but I have faith it will work out.

I’m so excited to see everything I read about in real life. The reading of the textbook was super informative, as was the research I did for the presentations (for the reef I researched brown algae, and for the rainforest I researched orthoptera, the name of the order to which grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and katydids belong). I’ve been to the tropics once before, but I don’t really remember it, and it definitely was not an experience like the one we’re about to have, although I realized the professors left much of the trip as a surprise. What I do know is that we’re going to see so many cool plants and animals, and I absolutely cannot wait.  I’m also super excited to spend the days hiking and snorkeling while looking for the different organisms. I love spending time outside, although I’m a bit nervous about the heat and humidity because I’ve gotten used to the nice weather at home. I’m also a bit nervous about the bug situation, both with regards to being bitten and to not being able to find/identify any of my taxa! I’ve never done field work before, so I don’t really know what to expect.

Overall, I’m more excited than nervous. I’m looking forward to learning about the organisms and topics that I didn’t research, as well as hopefully seeing the taxa I chose. I also can’t wait to get to know everyone on the trip better!

Next time you all hear from me, I should be in Belize, so see you all then!

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It’s Almost Time!

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Hi! I’m Liliana, and I’m so excited for this trip and the chance to learn and explore someplace I never would have gotten to go otherwise!

I can’t believe that we’re going to be there so soon! At the beginning of the summer this trip felt like it was ages away but the time flew so quickly and now it’s only 2 days away! I am expecting this trip to be pretty intense, a whole course in such a short time sounds like a lot, but I think I’ll be so caught up in the excitement of everything we’re going to learn that it won’t even feel like work. I’ve done the pre-trip readings and presentations and everything I’ve learned about from that makes me even more excited to finally see what we’ve been reading and learning about in real life. I am especially excited for Glover’s Reef, I’ve always loved marine biology and the ocean but I’ve never been snorkeling before. I have some basic familiarity with ocean ecosystems and organisms from being an intern at the New England Aquarium, but my knowledge is pretty limited to New England, since I live in Boston. I can’t wait to experience a whole new part of the world and everything new that lives there! My taxon is crustacea for that part of the trip, so I will probably be digging through sand and looking under rocks to see if I can find anything cool, I especially love tidepools, looking into a tidepool is like staring into a portal to an entirely different world!

I will admit I’m a little bit nervous to travel internationally. I haven’t been anywhere but Boston and Houston since COVID started, and before that I hardly ever went outside the U.S., and if we did it was probably driving through parts of Canada. I’m not too worried though because even if I’m nervous I think there will be plenty going on to distract and interest me. I can’t wait to meet everyone else on this trip and get to know them better, and to learn from our professors and guest speakers and from everyone’s presentations! Also shout-out to my high school teachers who really pushed my love of the ocean and ecology! I hope you’ll follow along with us on this adventure!

2022, Uncategorized

PRE-DEPARTURE PREPARATION & EXCITEMENT

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Hi my name is Maegan Aljure and I feel so excited and thankful to be part of Rice University’s first tropical field biology trip to Belize since the pandemic.

After reading about Belize’s fauna and flora, I expect to be amazed at biodiversity of creatures we encounter as well as admire the beauty of the rainforests at Las Cuevas Research Station and coral reefs at Glover’s Reef. I have lived on an atoll in the Marshall Islands for most of my childhood. This has enabled me to see many marine organisms while snorkeling, and has inspired me to continue to learn about these ecosystems and a desire to protect them. I am not familiar with many of the Caribbean species of fish, but I am excited to expand my current knowledge. I’m also thrilled about the opportunity to hike through the rainforest!

I researched beetles and hydroids for this trip. I have learned a lot about these creatures including the important roles they play in their ecosystems which as given me a new respect and love for these animals. Hydroids have stung me before in the ocean, but now I know that their goal is not to sting people- but to catch food.  I am very excited, but I am also nervous about lacking in field biology experience and I am worried about being overheated in the climate. I hope that the data I record in Belize will help me decide on my career path and contribute to current conservation efforts.  I am already packing all of my required supplies in anticipation for this amazing trip! I can’t wait to share all our experiences! I’ll see you all in Belize!

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Let’s Go to Belize!

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As I sit in my childhood backyard in Atlanta, GA, I think about all the bugs that seem to be nipping and milling about. I can only help but wonder what the bugs and critters will be like in Belize… I imagine that the mosquitoes will be much worse!

I’ve traveled to Belize before, but that was on a live-aboard sailboat! So, I’ve never been to the rainforest, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the rich fauna–even if they are hard to find. I’ve been researching amphibians, and though there are lots of them, every site says they are nearly impossible to spot unless you have a watchful eye. I am a little concerned I won’t be able to spot them as well as others because I am so short, but maybe they’ll be more on the ground!

I am most looking forward to spending time on the reef. I love being in the ocean, swimming about, seeing the fish, corals, and everything in between… I’ve always had an interest in marine biology, and I had an internship 3 summers ago at the Georgia Aquarium with the animal husbandry specialists. I’m excited to see how my research on sponges (which I also looked at back in sophomore year of high school) compares to real reef life.

All in all, as soon as I can pack, I am ready to hop on that plane and get there! I am ecstatic I get to share this experience with other equally invested and dedicated Rice students plus Surf+Turf. 🙂

EBIO 319 2018 woot woot!

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I Can’t Believe I’m Almost in Belize!

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There’s only a few days left before I leave or Belize and it really has not hit me yet.  I am still in Chicago where it was 40 degrees last week and in a few days, I will be in the tropics?! However, I am extremely excited to have this opportunity.

I expect this trip to give me a good look into what field research would be like.  My goal for the summer is to figure out what I want to major in because I am currently stuck between biochemistry (bioc) or ecology and evolutionary biology (ebio).  I hope this trip gives me a good idea of what research in ecology and evolutionary biology would be like.

So far I have been preparing by reading up on Belize and my assigned organisms.  I now know more about crustaceans and birds than I ever thought I would especially since I grew up in downtown Chicago where all I would ever see was maybe a pigeon.

My mother is very nervous about the snakes or random risks associated with the trip, but I am not.  I feel like all the animal planet and discovery channel television shows I watched when I was younger about venomous snakes or deadly trips people took in forests should make me think twice about my safety; however, I am more excited than nervous.  My only concern is about my dietary restrictions.  I am gluten and dairy free and a little nervous about not getting enough food or accidentally eating something contaminated and getting sick.

I am most excited for snorkeling and the caves.  I absolutely love being in the ocean and watching all the marine species.  Sharks are my favorite animal and I am really hoping to see one.  I also think caves are so interesting because they are a hidden form of beauty and shelter.  I went in a crystal cave in Bermuda when I was a lot younger, but I have not been since.

My don’t have much experience in the tropics.  I have been to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos which are tropical, but I think they feel different knowing you are on an island.  In the Bahamas, I stayed at a resort and did not really explore much of the ecosystems.  I went scuba diving in Turks and Caicos and that was amazing.  I saw two sharks!! I have never been in a tropical forest which will be super interesting.  Overall, I am super excited to go to Belize and learn all about the ecosystems and field research.