Tropical Ecology 2011

You know you've been to Costa Rica on a Tropical Ecology
course when...
Your toasts at dinner always consist of something along the
lines of "NO MORE FIELD PANTS!"
Your beloved Professor opts for going a tad fruity in order
to protect the virtue of his female students by proceeding
to blow kisses at the offending tikos.
Your flash light and headlamp have simultaneously attached
themselves to your body like bog flies.
You refer to the cheese that locals make as "squeaky
cheese."
You have lengthy arguments over made-up words while playing
Boggle.
You take communal showers with several different species of
moth every night, so much so that you start talking to them
while you're washing your hair.
Every time you see a brown and yellow bird you scream
"BANANNAQUIT!" Even when it isn't one.
You utilize Howler monkeys as an alarm in thew morning.
Eau de Bug Spray becomes your newest and most cherished
scent.
You exponentially acquire a new set of bruises and scratches
every day, and you've quickly stop questioning where they've
came from.
You're willing to walk for half a mile in the middle of the
night just to get to the nearest bar, sprinting all the
while and contemplating who will get eaten first. You make
sure to tell everyone not to look back. They do. You all
trip over each other trying to walk even faster.

You've met at least one Fernando, Felix, or Oscar.
You've thought about keeping the Imperial label that so
neatly came off in your hand for a scrap book.
You've overused the phrase "so good" at mealtimes.
You've completed at least one hike that, in the middle of,
you seriously wondered if you were going to die.
You rocked a pair of giant, clunky, black rubber boots and
kind of fell in love with them.
Some bird or insect has violated you by stealing a kiss in
the middle of the jungle.
You've learned skills comparable to that of a ballerina
while trying to be quiet and spot animals on a hike while
wearing hiking boots.
You've pontificated upon whether or not leaf cutter ants
could steal keys.
You kind of want to be bitten by a Bala. Just to see if you
can handle it.
You've peed in the jungle and felt a sense of accomplishment
as you buried your tissue and marked your small piece of
territory.
You love Susan and Dennis like family. And then you make up
alter egos for them at night.
You sit in the grass taking in breathtaking views while
talking about life and going off on random tangents that
range from demon children to Disney movies.

--Amanda Ramcharran