New Adventures Along the Pacific Coast

Hello all!  Just when you thought you were rid of me, I have returned with more adventures to report AHA!  For those of you who do not know, I am currently in San Francisco, California, for the whole summer!!  For what, you might ask?  Well, I am working as a research intern at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies at San Francisco State University!  Twelve other students from around the country (mostly the west coast) and I are a part of an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program in ecology, evolution, and development at SFSU.  Upon request of many of my fans (a.k.a. my Mom), I have decided to keep y'all posted on some of the adventures I embark on while on the west coast!  I am sure this trip is going to be so different from my experiences in Bonaire but is one that will be just as pivotal to my personal and academic growth.

Yes, that's right, I am in CALIFORNIAAAAAA!!!!

I arrived in San Fran almost two weeks ago Monday and already have started to assimilate to life as a west-coaster and as a city-slicker. Let me tell you, it's been quite the culture shock, especially coming from Bonaire, where life was so relaxed and chill.  I'm living in an apartment in the southern part of the city, just south of SFSU's main campus.  I'm living with three other girls on the program and we've hit it off so well!  The area's pretty quiet and far from downtown but it's nice and there's even a courtyard behind our place.

The first week was an orientation where all of us students, several research mentors and TAs went on trips to several intertidal zones and saw a bunch of model organisms' embryos under the microscope.  This was to introduce us to the theme of the program which is all about understanding the impact of environmental factors on the evolution and development of organisms.  After many early mornings and long days spent looking at tunicates, frog embryos, and tiny sea stars (they were so small they looked like sprinkles!), it was finally the weekend!

Heather, one of my roommates, documented my first encounter with the Pacific Ocean!  It's COLD! (Photo credit: Heather Schneider).

Pillar Point, one of the sites we visited to get a sense of the intertidal zones of the coast.  There's also a little sign there that says something about a tsunami warning - talk about scary!!!

 What we found in the tide pools.  Here you see mussels and tons of different algae.

We walked out along this rocky, algae-y, intertidal area almost to those large rocks in the background.  This area differs so much from the salt marshes of New England because it has so many intertidal species; we saw at least three species of starfish (one had at least 20 arms), 10 species of algae, two species of sea anemones, and even a harbor seal!

My roomies and I decided to spend our weekend days exploring the city.  The weather was pretty warm (but nothing like Bonaire...sigh) and sunny, which apparently is a rarity for San Francisco considering the typical "June Gloom" of fog.  On Saturday, we hit the MUNI (public transit) and went downtown.  After some exploration and many hills (my legs died) we arrived at Pier 39.  This is your standard boardwalk lined with seafood restaurants, tourist shops and SEA LIONS.  That's right, California sea lions.  They were sunbathing on several docks by the pier.  I guess they are typically found there except for a stretch of time several years ago when they weren't.  But they returned!  We spent a good while just watching them, observing the alpha males surrounded by their harem of females, and just marveling at how cute they are!  After that, we continued up the road, got San Francisco's famous Mitchell's ice cream, and eventually arrived at Giradelli square where we got free chocolate samples!  Vicky, you would have been in chocolate heaven here!!  It's like Sweenor's but five million times more chocolately!  On Sunday we took the bus to the Haight Street Fair which was in an area typically inhabited by hippies and totally awesome!  There were so many street vendors, tasty foods, and funky-dressing characters.  We all got some delicious chicken enchiladas and moseyed with the locals, taking in all of the culture.

 Cable car!  Riding one of these bad boys is on my San Fran bucket list.

So. Many. Hills. 

I tried looking for Mrs. Doubtfire, Mia Thermopolis, Raven Baxter, and the Tanners, but to no avail. 

Did I mention how many hills there are?

Fisherman's Warf.

Da roomies at Pier 39.  From left to right there's India, Abby, and Heather. I am looking forward to many more adventures spent with these lovely ladies all around the city! (Photo credit: H. Schneider).

We just HAD to get a picture with the sea lion sculpture.  Photo credit: H. Schneider).

 SEA LIONS!!!!!!!!! (Photo credit: H. Schneider).

The Haight Streetfair. So many people!!! (Photo credit: H. Schneider).

 Just one of the incredibly colorful and awesome outfits of that day. (Photo credit: H. Schneider).

Well, that's San Fran for ya! (Photo credit: H. Schneider).

Ok, so enough of the fun and games of last weekend... This past week we began working in our respective labs.  Each student is working on a different project either at the SFSU main campus in the Biology Department or at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies which is across the Golden Gate Bridge in Tiburon.  I'm at RTC and it takes 45 minutes to an hour to commute out there.  It's a complex of old buildings (from like WWII) nestled within a hill overlooking the bay.  Every time I get there I stop and look at the water and the mountains (I call them mountains but apparently they're just hills) across the bay and am in awe that this is my summer.  It's hard to explain exactly what RTC looks like so my next blog entry will include pictures and descriptions, I promise!  I've begun working on a project looking at the genetic diversity of several invasive copepod species (copepods are a kind of zooplankton for all of you non-science peoples).  I've gotten to combine some old skills with several new ones.  Everyone in my lab (and at RTC, for that matter) is super nice and laid-back, yet so hardworking.  It's refreshing to be in an environment of such intelligent and passionate people who care about environmental issues and address them in practical and pioneering ways.  I just know I'm going to learn so much this summer and look forward to many adventures embarked on in the bay area.  

Until next time,

Catie (I haven't gone diving yet, so I feel a little distanced from my mermaid self.  Not to worry, I have found some passionate divers out here and we're planning a trip soon!)

About to get philosophical on y'all

Waddup loyal fans!  I am no more in Bonaire but have recently returned to the lovely Narragansett, Rhode Island, as I'm sure you all know now seeing as it has been almost one month now!  Sorry it's taken me so long for another post, I've been kinda busy seeing friends and adjusting to life in the US.  I have decided to have a final reflective post about my time spent on Bonaire. I find it a little challenging to think about the last four months because I've really jumped into the flow of things back home.  It feels almost like I was dreaming and that I just woke up, but maybe that's what it feels like when you live your dreams.  I could not have asked for a more amazing adventure, full of new experiences, new knowledge gained, and a lot of personal growth.

I think my study abroad experience came at the perfect time in my life.  Here I was in the middle of my college career, not really knowing what to do with my life, but having a passion for the environment, scientific research, and community outreach.  Before going to Bonaire one thing I knew I wanted to do at some point in my life was live in a tree-house away from the world for a while and to just be in nature.  Sounds like a lovely plan, right?  After my time spent on the small island of Bonaire, I realized that by living away from the world I would be avoiding all of the world's problems, in denial of anything wrong, and oblivious to those around me.  In a time where our society needs not people who live in denial of problems, but those who confront them and try to solve them, I realized that I could not just stand by and ignore the world like a coward.  Our Tropical Marine Conservation and Biodiversity course not only highlighted things I already knew about the environment, like pollution, overfishing, our dependence on oil, and deforestation, but it also taught me that there are ways to combat these terrible issues if only people were educated and aware of them.  We learned about Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that close fishing in certain areas, but that eventually result in larger and more numerous fish elsewhere, helping restore fish populations.  We learned that not many people on Bonaire except well-educated tourists even have a clue about climate change.  My time on Bonaire, both on land and underwater, has shown me that I cannot just sit back and watch the world's ecosystems suffer from further degradation, but that I can be one who does something about it.  I'm not talking about saving every ecosystem and coming up with a miraculous alternative energy and then curing cancer, but I can do something.  What that is, I don't know yet, but I think that's the beauty of the promise of the future. 

Something else being in Bonaire has taught me is the importance of doing what makes me happy.  As cliche as it sounds and as simple as it may be, I have learned how great it is to do something you love.  Oftentimes I would do things because I knew that they would enhance my resume or help me appear "well-rounded," but my current motivation is to do what I find interesting and to let the pieces fall where they may.  My experiences in Bonaire have shown me that I have an incredible passion for marine research and conservation.  I guess that might not be much of a shocker for those of you who already know that I've spent every summer since I can remember at the beach and spend my free time wading in the salt marsh with my friends.  I needed Bonaire to help reiterate what an impact the ocean has on my being.  You have no idea how much I wish I could just don my bathing suit, walk ~70 meters and jump into the ocean right now (which is what I would do every day in Bonaire).  With this passion I now have a little more focus to what I want to do with my life, but then again who really knows.

My time in Bonaire has also helped me to slow the heck down.  If anyone saw me at all last fall semester at Conn, I'm sure you were frightened by how frazzled and crazy I was.  I had planned every hour of every day with what I was going to do, and although I managed to do everything I set out, I had hardly any free time.  Looking back on it now, I took way too much on last semester and never want to do that to myself ever again.  In Bonaire, I would actually go with the flow.  This may be hard to imagine, but I think I used my planner maybe three or four weeks out of the 16 that I was there.  The laid-back vibe of Bonaire rubbed off on me immediately upon stepping out of the plane back in January.  I have never been more relaxed in my life than I was for the last couple of months.  Although things in America work at a much faster pace (I was overwhelmed by the highway when I got back - it's crazy!), I do hope to stop planning everything I do and to just go with the flow.  

Bonaire has also shown me just how wonderful of a support system I have.  Going to school just an hour away from home was a luxury that I did not realize I had until I was in another country for four months.  I was completely on my own and couldn't just call up mommy if I needed something or text my sister when I found something funny.  Although I made wonderful new friends during my time in Bonaire, it was encouraging to have so many loved ones back home to talk to and who I knew understood me.  As wonderful as it is to embark on independent adventures, this experience has shown me how great adventures can be if you embark on them and share them with people you love.  I look forward to the day when I can bring my mom and sister to Bonaire and really show them what it's like.  

I am so glad to have had the incredible opportunity to study in another country for a semester and to have met so many amazing people in such a short time.  Even though us students came from completely different backgrounds, as soon as we were together, it was like we already knew each other.  We were a bunch of science nerds and I loved learning, living, and laughing with them.  They made the experience one that I will remember forever.  They pushed me to be more adventurous, more relaxed, and even more academic (which is hard to imagine, I'm sure).

Thank you all for supporting me during this wonderful journey.  I loved recounting my adventures and sharing all of my stories with you!

Love,
Catalina