Sorry we've been so incredibly inconsiderate about keeping you updated, but our days have been busy, with little time for even sleep, and we often have very limited (or non-existent, such as when the power goes out) internet access. We'll update in various posts, which I think is better than reading one really long novel-like post.
The week we spent in Machala was fun, and we met most of the rest of our team members. Three Ecuadorian students from University of Santa Elena joined us in Guayaquil (Diana, Didi, and Cristian) and some other lab technitians/acuaculture specialists/fisherman friends met up with us in Machala. SO far everyone is getting along great, and we've become better friends that I ever would have expected! Some don't speak English, so it's really interesting to build relationships in other languages, or for some, to be so dependant on translation! However, we are discovering more and more that sometimes words are not necessary to communicate, as actions and gestures are more useful than one might think.
The first work day we had was a very long day, but I think it went well. The town we visited was called Bajo Alto (which literally translates to "Short Tall") and was right on the ocean. We split up into two boats: one for collecting shrimp and fish, and one for collecting mangrove and sediment samples. For some reason, I've been in the mangrove boat most of the time, even though my research project involves shrimp, but I've mostly been helping Ben with taking notes, pictures, and collecting leaf, sediment, and water samples. The other kids can tell you more about what their specific jobs have been.
The second work day, I stayed back at the hotel and processed some shrimp (which were pretty smelly) with Sofia and Shana, and watched a bit of the Netherlands-Uruguay World Cup game. The rest of the team visited an island village called Las Huacas, and had great things to share with us about that village, so the next day we returned there. I instantly saw why everyone loved this place: the people we incredibly welcoming, interested in our research, and grateful for our visit there. Ben and I got to interview the president and vice president (which I suppose is the equivalent of Mayor and Vice-mayor?) of the community about their relationship with the rest of the community, local shrimp and other industries, and the mangrove forests, and the words that came out of their mouths were simply inspiring. They were so generous, even though they had so little, and wanted to help as much as they could with the mission of the One Health Project (the whole reason we're down here): to conserve and protect the ecosystem, and in turn protect the health of the animals and public health. After that, we visited another island called Cosa Rica, which was also very nice but not as fun as Las Huacas, in my opinion.
The day after that, we had a conference at the Techincal University of Machala. The students there surprised me, yet again, with their interest in the material and in helping in any way they can, and overall it was a successful presentation.
The next day, Friday, was our last day in Machala, and Ben and I got some more footage for the documentary before having lunch and leaving for Guayaquil. While we were doing that, the rest of the team went to collect samples: either for sediment or for human blood samples.
That's it for now--Joe will update soon about our time since then in Guayaquil (province: Guayas)!
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