Everything I have enjoyed and appreciated in my time in Nicaragua has been a gift from the rain. The towering canopy, the lush green under story, the plethora of birds, and the diversity of insects are all a result of the life-giving, omnipresent rain. On one hand I understand and appreciate the process, but on the other hand, I have found myself begging the rain gods to take a break these last few days. Allow me to explain. When we first arrived in Nicaragua, the weather was superb. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and humidity was at a nice low. As the days rolled into weeks, the weather continued to be beautiful with a few bouts of rain that seemed entirely necessary and refreshing. In terms of our projects, everyone seemed to frame their behavioral and conservation projects around organisms that were active and plentiful in the relatively dry sunshine. Then things took a turn for the wet. As we wrap up our time here at Bartola, the time constraint and the change in weather has caused a large portion of our projects to stall or shift gears. In our case, bee trials have been thwarted by cool and rainy weather that has kept our study subjects at bay. Some mornings it rains and we can’t start a trial. Some mornings we’re all set up and then the rain really starts to pour. Some mornings we’ll be dry and waiting for bee behavior, but they decide not to show up.

At times it’s been frustrating to adjust with the weather, but it’s also been exciting. Our schedules are not definite and our timelines might not unfold the way we want them to. That’s fieldwork and field science. It’s been thrilling to study organisms and communities in their natural habitats and it’s only fitting that I would experience the climate with them. There have been a few times in this trip when I’ve taken my feet out of waterlogged boots, slipped in the plentiful mud, and been drenched in a sudden downpour. In those times, I dream about the dry heat of Los Angeles. At the same time, I remember that I’m in the middle of a tropical rainforest, having real experiences outside of a textbook or a lecture hall. The rain has been a humbling reminder of the amazing opportunity I have here and now.

Love, hugs, beans, and rice,

Michelle