A new leaf

So, as the title of this post implies, I am in the process of turning over a new leaf. I know, I know, the plant biologist makes a lame plant pun... bear with me.

At the end of the week, I will start my new job at Harvard Forest, where I'll be studying the effects of climate change on plant populations- particularly ragweed, which causes allergies in humans. I'm excited to start a new project, and I was fortunate enough to meet my new P.I., Kristina Stinson, at the Ecological Society of America's annual meetings last week, which were conveniently held in Portland. She's awesome! I think she's going to be a great mentor, and it will be exciting to get involved with a project that has a lot of momentum going already. Apparently, I will be the 27th person to contribute to this project... how crazy is that? I also met a few of my soon-to-be fellow researchers at the conference, and they seem like great people to be working alongside of for the next few months. The whole job-finding process was  challenging (as other recent grads likely know well) and filled with lots of courteous rejection letters and, even in seemingly promising options, lots of bureaucracy and delays. In the end, I got extremely lucky to be able to find a spot on Kristina's research team, since the status of her projects, her current funding availability, and my plans to return to Costa Rica in January left her seeking assistance for almost exactly the amount of time I am available in between my current job ending and heading back to the tropics to work on my own research next year.

As exciting as this is, my new job also marks the official end of my time at Reed. While for many college students graduation is "the end," I've spent my summer working on an additional experiment related to the research I did for my thesis; save for the dramatically decreased stress levels, conspicuously absent student body on campus, and regular doses of sunshine in Portland, my daily life has really not been terribly different than it was during my senior year at Reed. Now, when I leave work tomorrow, I am leaving the Reed biology department for good! It's pretty weird to acknowledge how final this is: I will no longer be contributing to my adviser's research, and, essentially, whatever I have for him by the end of the week is all I will ever be able to say about my current project. Since I got involved in the project that became my thesis so early on in my time at Reed, this will be a huge change for me. Granted, I haven't been working on it constantly for the past 2.5 years, but every time I left in the past I've had the promise of continuing to work whenever I returned. Leaving the lab for good will be weird. Also, obviously, starting to work at Harvard Forest will mean moving to Massachusetts, i.e., leaving Portland indefinitely. I have loved living here so much that I am slightly apprehensive about moving back to the East Coast, and while many of my friends have already left Portland for the summer and/or beyond, leaving this time feels like saying goodbye for real.

So, understandably, I am feeling kind of down about leaving. However, the past week of packing, finishing up lab work, cleaning out my office and house, and saying goodbyes has given me a lot of time to think about how lucky I was during my time at Reed. After all, the only reason it's hard to go is because I have had some amazing experiences here! Sure, I've had my stressful moments (read: years), but I feel like I've grown a lot from being pushed to my personal academic limits. And, despite demanding classes, jam-packed scheduling of school and several jobs, and seemingly impossible-to-please professors, one of the greatest privileges that I've gotten as a Reedie is freedom. Underneath all of the structure, at the end of the day, the faculty here give us so much freedom to pursue our  interests, work independently, and learn from our own mistakes. Having worked elsewhere, too, I can say that this flexibility is not something that every undergraduate student is privy to... nor is the trust and respect that are necessary in order for professors to feel comfortable giving us such freedom. Reedies routinely accomplish amazing things both in the classroom and beyond, and I truly believe that a big part of that starts here, either during thesis or prior independent projects where we are given the incredible license to do something important, something that we care about. And, because we are told that we can, we do. I am so grateful to have been able to spend four years with a faculty and staff that both encourages us to develop our passions and gives us the guidance, resources, and freedom necessary to pursue them... not to mention a student body of amazing people who rise to and exceed the expectations that come with these privileges. 

OK, so I guess that will suffice as my final love letter to Reed.  I'll be honest and say that there were days when I hated it and days when I wished I went to another school, but in the end I truly feel that Reed is an amazing school in an amazing city filled with amazing people. I am also practical enough to realize that the confidence and joy that I feel while here is a good sign that it's time to try something new and push myself outside of my comfort zone. But now, as I leave, I just feel the need to acknowledge how much the past four years have meant to me. I will carry so much of what I've learned here with me for the rest of my life... to Harvard Forest, to Costa Rica, and beyond!

Las Cruces, pt. 10: El Fin!

Thursday, February 10 was our last day in Las Cruces! It was hard to believe that our time there was already over, especially since two weeks is just long enough to really start feeling settled in. In the morning we had our plant practical, which was basically a test of our ability to identify the 20 plant families we had learned about while we were there. It took about 45 minutes, and then we had free time for most of the day. Our bug identifications were also due that afternoon, but I had finished them a few days before so I had lots of time to do whatever I wanted. I spent the day sitting out on the porches near the dining hall and catching up on some of the assigned readings that I was behind on. I also did some of the next readings in advance so I wouldn't have to worry about homework at Cuerici. It was a really peaceful day and I enjoyed spending some quiet time by myself and appreciating how gorgeous Las Cruces is before we had to leave. Some of my sights from the last day: 

Lots of birds on the deck!

My reader and some tea under the porch during a little rainstorm

We had one final lecture that night, given by a former undergraduate OTS student who's now working on his PhD in Las Cruces. He studies bats and gave us a really interesting lecture about their role in forest regeneration in Costa Rica. Afterward, a few other students and I walked out with him to look for some bats in an abandoned research shack where they nest. We saw a few, but since we were a larger group I think we scared most of them away before we even arrived.The coolest part of the whole thing was hanging out with someone who started out in the same program that we're in now, and seeing the interesting research he's doing now and how much fun he's having.

The rest of the night was spent packing up and getting ready to leave. It was a little sad because Las Cruces was so lovely, but I was definitely excited to explore somewhere new!

Happy New Year!

Ahh, winter break is flying by. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and that 2011 is off to a good start. I can hardly believe it's a new year already! I think it's going to be a very good year, though. Definitely better than 2010. I'll quikly recap my winter break so far.

I made it back from Portland with a surprise trip to Texas thrown in due to extremely improbable circumstances at PDX. Luckily I was back in time for the Christmas party! I then spent a solid week doing Christmas shopping for my family since my parents had to work. Now that the holidays are over, I get to do the returns! Haha. I have spent an unbelievable percent of my time in NJ in malls. Christmas was fun though, and I got lots of stuff for my upcoming trip, including a new backpack from Adam, a handmade journal from Emily, a waterproof digital camera from my parents, and lots of supplies (guidebooks, Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks, a new pocket knife, etc.) from my parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

My new backpack!

I also bought myself a new pair of hiking boots (I wore a hole through the sole of my last pair!) and a sleeping bag that is small enough to fit in the bottom compartment of my new pack. Because Adam and I are going to travel in Ecuador after my semester is over, I have to be able to carry and easily travel with everything I take with me. That means that everything I'm going to need for the whole semester has to fit in this backpack! We did a practice pack a few days ago and I actually had room to spare, which is exciting. I am only bringing a very limited selection of things, especially considering how my indecisiveness usually makes me overpack for most trips. Packing light is liberating, but I hope I won't feel limited by bringing so few things. I have also been getting ready for the trip medically: I got Hepatitis A and typhoid vaccinations, a tetanus booster, and a prescription for some anti-malaria pills and antibiotics in case I need them while abroad. The only thing left to do is get a yellow fever vaccine, which I didn't need at first but will need to re-enter Costa Rica from Ecuador before I come back to the U.S.

Taking care of all this preparatory stuff makes it feel like I'm actually going to leave soon! Adding to the anticipation is the fact that most of my friends from home have already departed to exciting faraway places... Sharyu is in India for a few weeks, Cody is in New Zealand, Rena is gone to Kenya for the semester, Kelly is digging in Egypt and then headed straight to Rome for the spring, Alice and Nikkitha are both in London, and Corey is leaving soon for Israel. All of their adventures are making me even more excited for my own semester abroad. Luckily, while most of my friends from home are already gone for the rest of break, I will get to see a bunch of Reedies in the next few weeks! Liz, Alina, and Michael are all coming to New York, and making trips into the city to see them will definitely keep me busy.

...Not that I will need too much help to stay busy. I still have a LOT of important things to do before I leave on January 24:

• Finish acquiring everything I need for Costa Rica and pack it all up!
• Decide what summer jobs I want to apply for, and then do all the applications
• Write recommendations to my dormies who are applying to be House Advisers
• Thoroughly clean my room and donate all my extra clothes... possibly re-paint, get new bedding and maybe some bookshelves
• Do some preliminary reading about Costa Rica, and brush up on my professors' primary literature
• Get my hair cut
• Visit Emily in Philadelphia
• Officially decide what Adam and I want to do in Ecuador, and book our flights

Hopefully I can finish it all in the next 20 days! Time for me to stop blogging and start doing.