Day 3- ¡Feliz Día del Padre!

John:

¡Buenas noches!

Today was an amazing day. We woke up at around 6:30 this morning to the sound of Purple Rain... (that was my phone alarm) and got ready for the day ahead. Today was the first day of Field Research. We had to eat a large breakfast of Watermelon Juice, Ham, Eggs, Black beans and Rice and of course coffee for the rigorous day ahead. As groups, we went out into the jungle to search for ant colonies with Dr. Adrian Pinto. He helped us identify the architecture of ant hills, and which ones bite (Emma has a whole story about that). After that we had lunch. Lunch was a salad, Heart of Palm Casserole, and beef.

After a long day of researching we took a break to go Zip-lining. We started out with a large hike up a mountain and through the Rainforest and zip lined all the way back down. It was a really great day. I'm going to hand it over to Emma now. Happy Fathers Day Dad! (Love you too mom and brothers) :)

Emma:

I'm sure everyone reading is wondering about my story. One of the soldier ants (they're huge compared to the ones we have back home) bit my finger. At first I didn't feel anything but then came the blood and the pain. The only way to get it to stop it's mandibles from obliterating my fingertip was to rip the head from the body. I did the deed and got it cleaned by Ms. Keiser (who wants everyone to know that everyone is safe and fine). After my "traumatic" experience in the morning, ziplining was the perfect way to distract myself. The course was absolutely breathtaking, but we did not take many pictures due to the fact the possibility of dropping our phones/cameras in the middle of the rainforest.

After we returned from our adventure, a group of East Ridge students ( Athena, Minerva, Jessica, Zac, John and I) ventured out into the local village, La Anita. There we bought Soda, candy, ice cream, and chips. John and I acted as mediators and translators for our group and merchants. (Shout out to Ms. Lescas for being an amazing teacher!!!). The people in the village are kind and welcoming to all. We went back to Finca La Anita for dinner and another presentation by Dr. Pinto. As we housed our colonies and performed or first experiment, we realized how prepared Biomed students are compared to others. Overall it was a great day and there will be many more to come. Happy Father's Day Dad! (I love you too Mom and Shannon)

Pura vida and happy father's day from the rainforest!

-John and Emma