hey kids,

so this week has been a bit stressful but of course we do the unwinding right. This week we had to turn in our preliminary proposals and be interviewed about them. My initial idea was a straight behavioral study but the professors think that may be too difficult, so they want me to study more bites and distinguishing scars and look at site fidelity and possibly behaviors. I'm so excited. I actually feel like a biologist. No one else has done anything on pink whiptails, Himantura fai, and it's definitely something I could follow up with later, may be an easy transition for a phd study subject. It's strange the whole, I am graduating and I am actually beginning to feel worthy of the biologist title. I am just so happy I have the opportunity to do this. I am very lucky.

The end of the week was my good friend Sarah's birthday. We partied like it was 1999 (we are both prince fanatics and we are fo sho going to the prince versus mj dj battle in sf when we return cause i will be 22221111111). It was an awesome night. I wound up getting a minor concussion, true to form of course. In my defence I was quietly sitting, watching people eat my baked good when half a curtain rod came undone and swung down and slammed into my head...it was solid wood and 100% not my fault thank you much.

Last night we were so lucky and got to have a tahitian feast. All local food and it was amazing. We then tried tahitian dancing, which was amazing...I have never seen hips move so fast!!! We get lessons tuesdays and thursdays so when I get back WATCH OUT I will be a tahitian dancing machine. It was a lot of fun, despite the diziness and throbbing head ache. I am a bit tired today because I have been being woken up every hour by my lovely friends who volunteered to make sure I don't pass out. But again, that is what I have to complain about? IM IN MOOREA DOING WHAT BIOLOGISTS DREAM OF.

did I meantion I am in heaven?

update

So, we have been rather busy this first week. This week has been about exploring the island and getting project ideas. The first day we did a tour and explored the entire island. We went snorkeling and I spotted two sea horses. We also went out to a motu and on the way stopped and swam with some pink whiptail rays and some black tip reef sharks....AMAZING. On the Motu we were walking around flipping rocks over (and putting them back in place of course) I found an awesome sea slug!! We also stopped at this one lookout with these bungalows that are literally above the water. A couple of us are definitely planning on becoming pirates and taking over one of those and just never leaving. We all now know how to open coconuts and get the fresh meat from them and a couple of the guys have gone spear fishing, so I think we'd be set.

The group is awesome, good blend of people and a lot of fun. There is lots of hanging out by the beach and talking to one another. My roommates are awesome girls, definitely happy to be with them. A couple of us swam to the middle of the bay and made friends with some people on a boat. The next night their zodiac got stuck to our dock so we helped them out of that. Good people, just live the sea faring life. The professors are really cool and approachable. We did a stream transect and I definitely had a freshwater eel nibble at my toe, which made me scream like a little girl. We also did a coral reef transect which was soooooooooo cool, but a bit frightening as there is lots of fire coral and diadema, which are urchins with HUGE spines.

It has been amazing so far though!!I am thinking I want to try to do a project on rays, but I need to tease out the details and see how realistic that is for a ten week project.

I'm a bit under the weather right now as is my roommate KD (Caitie) so we are being grubby and doing our work with sniffling and slight fevers, but hey even being sick is better when you're in paradise!!


love you all,
bri.

Awesome Octopus right off the dock!

first pictures

Sooooo here are a couple pictures, but I'm not supposed to be uploading so they will be few and far between, but enjoy!

I'm Here!!!!

So I made it to French Polynesia! The flight was amazing and relaxing, nicest flight I have had in a long time. We made it to Papeete and found a hotel right by the ferry building. There were five flights of very steep stairs to get to our room...we all felt the burn in the morning. We walked around for a long time, found some AMAZING food. freshest fish I have ever had. Found a bar and had our first Hinanos of the trip. Good beer, good company.

The next morning, Sept 13, we went to the market in Papeete...it was incredible. Tons of fruit, fish, and goods. We had amazing food again in the morning. The pineapple here is superb!! We then got on a Ferry and headed to Mo'orea. Ferry ride over was gorgeous and Jere met us. Saw the Gump station, it's amazing. Beutiful place, like 15 ft from the water. My room overlooks the shore. I am in heaven. There are two station dogs as well name Guinness and Chicken...dont ask me why, but I want to take Guiness home with me!!!

Pictures are difficult to upload here, so I will let you all know when I update my photobucket!

bodega field work trip

What they call school work....

Two bridges, one shot

messing with the settings, white out.



marin headlands




pillow basalts



we found it in the girls bathroom, amusing and adorable



Hermit Crab!!!!



rocky intertidal baby!


pretty girl



harbor seal awesomeness


coast.


stopping erosion with native east coast flora, what now.

I took many more pictures, all on photobucket: http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm236/pinnipedlove/

I will post all the moorea pictures there and then a select few here, so if you want photos keep checkin' that site. The field trip made me more excited than ever; it's a great group and the professors are genuinely excited for us to just be biologists.

heaven.

bri.