Over the Hump

Friday, July 27^th

Alejandro took Fay and I to the mangroves this morning to train us on what to do with his research. We learned the five different locations of the mangrove study plots as well as how to take the tree growth measurements. We also learned how to make the contraptions for measuring tree growth. Finally, he showed us where the sites are for bird watching. He is still working on a data sheet and local guide book for us to use, but I’m excited to go out and look at some birds every week.

In the afternoon, we finished digging around the tortugario! It finally seems done…that is until we have to repair and expand the small one haha. We also all cleaned the park and I talked with most of the volunteers individually to assess how everyone felt about the meeting and anything else in the park. All the responses I got were super positive, which was really encouraging. I had a long talk with the German volunteer who has been causing trouble and explained how I value his opinions, but only when they are conveyed in a respectful manner. He apologized for his behavior the night before and we were able to have a nice long discussion. He even came to me later for help solving a problem, which shows me that he is starting to respect my authority. 

In the beginning, I think he was having a hard time accepting direction from someone so much younger and inexperienced than himself. I think he sees how hard I’m working though and I think he appreciates it. We seemed to have gotten over the hump though, which is great!

Glenda left today for a week, so now I’m OFFICIALLY in charge. She comes back in a week, so hopefully nothing goes seriously wrong while she is gone! Alice is also gone for the weekend, so I agreed to watch her dog, Juno. Juno usually hangs around the parque anyways so it wouldn’t be too difficult. I just have to feed her and give her some antibiotics. However, Juno never showed up, so on the way back from the patrol I went into to town to look for her. As I was walking, I saw that the circus had come into town. I think it would be really interesting to see a Guatemalan circus. Alice said to wait until later in the week when the price drops, so maybe early next week I will go. Eventually, I was able to find Juno and bring her back. No luck with finding turtles though.

She looks innocent now, but she is a little troublemaker!