I sat in on my first class today. Maybe it was too early in the morning, but I could not remember my basic statistics. Standard deviation, for example. I knew it was the square root of something, but what that something was, I couldn't tell you. Then there was Chi-square. I knew what goes into the equation, but once a real world example was presented to me, I completely blanked. I have become too reliant on statistical packages. I definitely need a refresher.

My sister and I went to the first of many lunches together today. I think she thinks I'm a little loony. Well, she's right! I got to meet everyone at her job (she also works at the University but on a different campus), then we went to, of all places, Popeye's. Good times.

While in a meeting with a professor, I was distracted by a mid-sized bird hanging out in a field just outside of his office . While he was writing down my contact information, I whipped out my binoculars and jotted down notes about the striking feathered creature. It was a Southern Lapwing and boy was it beautiful!


Southern Lapwing


Stray dog rummaging through garbage, Part II

I've decided that I need to adjust my work schedule a little. Instead of getting in around 9:30, I'm going to try for 8, 8:30 to leave UWI by 4pm. The traffic going home is just short of a nightmare with the construction, crazy drivers and hot sun. We'll see how it goes.

Today was a pretty exciting day! I was invited to attend a workshop about stray dog control in T&T next Wednesday. Representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Welfare Group, and the Ministries of Health and/or Agriculture will be in attendance. I'm interested to hear how the higher-ups feel about the issue. I also got the ball rolling for visiting farms near the University. I may be able to go as early as tomorrow to a sheep, goat, or dairy farm.

I was pretty upset with Sparky today. I shouldn't be because he was just being a dog. I put him on the front porch while I was at work, the same porch where the ruddy ground dove has made it's nest. This evening, Dad honked his horn as signal to keep Sparky in the house as he opens the gate. I went to the porch to give him the okay when the dove attempted to fly through the window and hit the wall instead, eventually fluttering to the floor. She was met by Sparky who was more than ready to play with her. The 15 seconds it took for me to get him away seemed like an eternity. The poor dove just couldn't find her way through the window. I had to bring a floor lamp to the area for her to see her way out. I hope she comes back to take care of her eggs. Yes, there are now two!

Today's pics are all of birds or birds-to-be. I took Sparky for a short walk around the block (this mean 2 minutes of Sparky walking and 10 minutes of me holding him as I walked. I was worried about him being attacked by the many strays in the neighborhood)and saw a new bird, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. I believe it's a female yellow warbler. I also got a decent shot of a blue-grey tanager, likely a juvenile. And finally is a shot of the muddy ground dove's nest with its latest addition.


Yellow Warbler?

Muddy Ground Dove Eggs

Reality is setting in

I'd say that today was my first official day of "work" since I made forward progress in shaping my research. I designed two questionnaires, started on a third, did a thorough literature search, and toured the parasitology lab. I also initiated plans to visit some farms about 30km away from the school and made progress on my office but forgot the William Wegman calendar (meaning that my design is incomplete).

Funny thing happened on my way to my mailbox. The "drops," as they are here, called are in a separate room with a fairly large sign on the outside explicitly warning students not to enter. While I was in there, a woman came in and gave me a funny looking, one that questioned my right to be in the room. I explained to her that I was "Dr. Miguella Mark-Carew," pointing the title on my mailbox, and she lightened up quite a bit. She even introduced me to someone at the vet school who also commutes from Santa Cruz. I may have thrown her off with my pink, sparkly sequined top and jeans. Not the look of a doctoral candidate, I presume, far less a doctor of philosophy.

On my way home, I stopped by Grandpa's place. I don't know how long it will take for me to fully accept his passing, but today brought me a few steps closer. It was as though he never lived there. All of the "treasures" he had hanging from the ceiling or piled high in the yard and around his small living quarters are long gone. The place looks great other than the ugly corrugated tin that lines the fence. What's missing is the character and vitality that it had when Grandpa lived there. A place that I looked forward to visiting every August is now so foreign to me.


Sparky's Island Shirt


Grandpa's Jungle Shack

First Day

Wow. I have my own office space. Wow. I have my own mailbox. And triple WOW! I have my own desktop computer! I don't even have my own computer at Cornell! I had a very productive meeting with the professors at UWI today. I'm blown away by their initial support of the project. Rather than trying to cut corners because of funding issues, they want to conduct the research in a proper and ethical fashion. This means appropriate sample size calculations, ethical approval, and ordering whatever reagents necessary to make this a solid project. In addition, they are in complete support of my desire to volunteer at the TTSPCA so long as it doesn't take too much time from the research. I may never leave! Joking.

I am sharing an office with a former Fulbrighter, Dr. Karla Phillips, who is currently a lecturer at UWI. She studies aquaculture and marine mammals. I think she and I are going to get along great. She has a microwave and mini fridge that she has generously offered to share with me. I'll supply a hot pot and some tea. I can't wait to personalize my space tomorrow. You know what that means? TONS o' pics and a William Wegman Puppies calendar! I was going to ask if I could bring Sparky to work, but I think that would be pushing it.

I braved the evening traffic to meet with Jacob at a bar called Gateways near the UWI St. Augustine campus. My Carib went a long way on my empty stomach, so I stopped at one drink.


Turkey Vultures

Bared-eyed Thrush

New office space

Week One

It has been exactly 7 days since I landed in Trinidad. I'd say, it has been overall uneventful other than seeing family, a trip to the beach, and some minor league bird-watching. Vacation time is over! Tomorrow is my first unofficial day at the University of the West Indies. I'm meeting with professors at the veterinary school to discuss my research plan for the next ten months. I hope that things go smoothly. Afterward, I've made plans to meet up with Jacob, one of the other Fulbrighters, for an afternoon beer. He's been here for a few weeks and seems to have settled in just fine.

What did I do today? Let's see. I gave Sparky an early-morning bath since I forgot to bathe him after our trip to Maracas. I played Super Mario Bros on Wii for an hour and waited for Dad to finish cook lunch. Dad finally finished at around 5pm! Today marks the last day that I wait on Mr. Carew. We drove to Belmont and St. James to visit family. My cousin Marlon was not home, but Auntie Carol and Melanie were. It's always great to see them. In St. James, I saw my Aunt Vilma and cousins Kaila and Kester. Auntie Vilma made macaroni pie for me and promised to bake me some delicious treat tomorrow. I'm so spoiled.

It's 10pm and my eyes are closing. I haven't adjusted to the light hours yet. It gets dark here around 5:30pm and by 9pm, I'm convinced it's midnight. Today's pictures are animal-themed. A ruddy ground dove has made a nest out of a wall-hanging on the front porch! Pictured is her lone egg. Kaila has two beautiful dogs: Sabrina and Randy. Check them out!


Kaila and Sabrina

Kaila and Randy

Early to bed, early to rise

I woke up this morning at 6:30 after going to bed around 10:30. Sweet, huh? Except that at 7 am, I started playing Wii with my nephew and we didn't finally turn it off until 11! Playing Wii with a seven year-old with a one year-old in tow is quite a difficult task. Not to mention that Yahaira is at that very curious stage where she has to touch/pick up everything. Like Avia said, I have months and years of being "Auntie Miguella" to make up for. I have to build up my stamina for sure!

Today was a lazy Saturday for me. I didn't bird-watch today, though I did recognize birds from previous days from sight and call. Sparky and I took a long afternoon nap. Dad, on the other hand, cut the grass for about an hour or so during peak sun hours. It looks much better than the mini-jungle that was growing. Time to exercise my green thumb starting with the yellow watermelon seeds I got from Ashley.

Not having my own internet has been frustrating. Hopefully, I'll be well-connected soon.




Yis and Ben 10 Ultimatrix

Yahaira looking Cuteilicious

Daddy's Famous Curry Goat and Dahl

Happy Republic Day

Trinidad and Tobago first became a republic on August 1st, 1976, yet the holiday is celebrated on September 24th because this was the date that the first Parliament met under the Republic Constitution. Whatever the reason, it's a day off! Around 8:30 this morning, Dad, Sparky, and I headed to Maracas Beach, the most popular beach in Trinidad. Sparky was almost attacked by a golden retriever about 10x his size! I saw three new birds: the brown pelican, the cattle egret, and the semi-palmated sandpiper (pictured below). I also saw some repeat birds: black vulture, white-bearded manakin (I'm sure about it now), and the great kiskadee. Birdwatching has made me so much more aware of my surroundings, and what beautiful surroundings they are!


Sparky and Dad

Dad birding

Palmated Sandpiper

Yahaira in her new PJs!

Sparky at the beach.

Too hot to do...zzzz....

I've never taken so many naps in one week! I woke up early today only to find myself "resting" by 11:30. Sparky wore me out after trying to teach him how to "sit" and "stay." Animal Planet TV shows make it seem so easy!

After lunch, I was inspired to leave the house and took a drive around Santa Cruz. Sparky sat in the back. He was a very good passenger. My first stop was to see my Great Aunt Rita. She has a heart attack a few days before I came. She seemed to be doing okay; her mouth as saucy as usual. She mentioned that she stopped by Grandpa's burial site a few weeks ago. That was my second destination. I visited Grandpa and chatted with him for a bit. It still doesn't feel like he's gone. Oh, how I wish I was able to spend this time with him. I know that he is here in spirit. His soul resides in his mandolins I have in the guestroom waiting to be fixed and played by his only grandchild.
I left the cemetery and drove past my old school, Santa Cruz R.C. School, a few blocks away. It looks the same from what I can remember. Then I came home, soaked with sweat and sun-beaten. That meant nap time again!

New birds? Just one. A white-bearded manakin (male) hanging out by the fire department in Santa Cruz, though after checking out the pictures from my Google search, I can't be sure if I've correctly identified the bird I saw. My photo is blurry and not worth posting. Oh well. The bird looked a lot like this one .

Oh, and the mosquitoes finally found me...


Santa Cruz R.C. School, my old elementary


White-lined Tanager

Rain, rain, here to stay

I thought about taking the car for a spin today, that is until it started pouring. Instead, I did some more cleaning around the house while Sparky watched me and napped. In the morning, I went for a walk around the block and saw a blue-tailed emerald hummingbird. Unfortunately, my camera was lacking it's memory card and Hummy flew away. Shucks! The pics for today show my living space and the view from the porch of neighborhood. Not shown are the two bedrooms for potential visitors. Who'll be the first to take a trip to T&T?

Bird watch: Blue-tailed emerald, orange-winged amazon, and black vulture.


Sparky, the Watchdog


Living and dining room, and Sparky

Out of the house and into the city

The US Embassy was my destination for today. I forgot to take a picture of it; pretty depressing on the outside. $900TT later, I walked around Port of Spain, Trinidad's capital, and saw lots of familiar sights. I was quickly reminded of my major reason for being in Trinidad. And also, so that I didn't bring my binoculars for nothing, I did some light bird watching from the yard again but also from the maxi taxi back to Santa Cruz. Check it out!

Birds of the day: bare-eyed thrush, feral pigeon (we all know this one), snowy egret, tropical mockingbird, and possibly a yellow oriole.


Snowy Egret

Schoolgirls

Backyard and porch birding

I took it easy today after a long day of traveling. I set up my room and engaged in some bird watching around the house. If my first day of birding is a reflection of what it's going to be like for the 10 months of birding I have in store, I'm going to need a new and better camera. Shown are the Tropical Kingbird, the Barred Antshrike, and the Carib Grackle.

All birds seen for the day:
white-lined tanager, tropical kingbird, barred antshrike, carib grackle, blue-grey tanager, shiny cowbird, ruddy ground dove, great kiskadee, and the Palm tanager.


Barred Antshrike

Carib Grackle

I made it!

Layovers suck. I'm at my family's house in Santa Cruz, stealing internet from unsuspecting neighbors. It's 1:39 in the morning and I'm exhausted from a great weekend with friends and family... not to mention the two plane rides it took to get here. Mom and Daniel waited with me at JFK. Then, I scrambled to catch my first flight. The security lines were a mile long!

Time for bed!