Days 4-6

What does one do when living in the middle of the rain forest? ------ Hike
Day six and we've done plenty of hiking. On the streets, on trails, in the woods, soon on an island.
For familiarization purposes, I'll explain my exact loation -- Gamboa, Panama.
Placed in the Historic Panama Canal Zone, the front of our school/gueshouse faces the canal, with the Chagres River toward the back. Walking through the streets, however, isn't exactly what one comes to do in Gamboa. American control of the canal had serious effects in the town, and I speculate that it afffected the population after the 1999 turn over. For a better historical reference, the canal was finished in 1914 and in 1977 the treaty to have control of the canal until 1999 was signed.
So with a humble 300 citizens, Gamboa, to my knowledge holds a post office, a tienda/convenience store, several fondas (foodcart restaurants), a resort, and plenty of forest. Enough forest to see frogs, armadillos, tucans, sloths, and a variety of trees and plants to captivate even the most agoraphobic individual. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is responsible for a majority of the action in the town, bringing scientists and students from all of the world to research and study nature's secrets. Aside from STRI, a large resort lies atop a hill, where tourists can spend their time bobbing in the pool, at the spa, or being carted from attraction to attraction.
One of the insteresting aspects of this week was learning about the amount of research done at STRI and the passion that these scientists pour into their work to build resources of knowledge. Like other research, that here can be on broad or specific topics. Although my academic concentration doesn't lie within the natural sciences, learning to see the world through a new perspective has been a part of this program for which I'm grateful.
That and the following list of interesting facts:
* "Biology says life is sex and death"
* Koalas spend most of their lives eating eucalyptus, a plant that breaks down and ferments in the animals' stomachs. As many know, fermentation produces alcohol, thus it is suspected that koalas spend a great deal of their lives in a drunken stupor... silly koalas
* Queen bees, when mating with drones pull out their genitals
* Ant eaters have ridiculously long tongues that go all the way down to their sternum
* Pseudocopulation (a.k.a. - fake sex) Plants make themselves look like females so animals will pollinate them.
Like Dr. Salsbury says...now go off and wow your friends at parties :)
Until next time!!