Luray Cavern, Luray, Virginia |
About meHello! My name is Becky Watson. I am a Senior Environmental Science major concentrating in Soil Science and Hydrology at Stockton University. In January 2018 I took a 2 week trip to Ecuador with 12 other students to study various topics related to international sustainability. Pre-trip readings and daily reflections can be found under each city. Additional photos can be found under the Home page tab. Please join me along my journey by starting below!
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Day 0
Today is December 31st and I woke up extra excited because tomorrow I would be in Ecuador! Lori and Abby came to my house so that we could all carpool up to the hotel. Surprisingly, we didn't hit any traffic and after checking in and saying goodbye to my family, we went up to our room to settle in a bit. Once all the girls arrived, we bonded by just talking and sharing experiences and emotions of the trip to come. Tait messaged us via WhatsApp and had said that he was going to be delayed so instead of meeting at 8 we were going to meet at 9 which meant that we were going to be eating dinner super late. After going on a mission to find some snacks, Tait updated us again saying that we would meet at 8:30 and that pizza would be ordered before we got there (sadly that was a lie). Tait set everything up and the first presentation of the trip began. Haley and Greg's topic was Seismic Activity and they covered the basics of geology and how it relates back to earthquakes and volcanoes and then talked about the types of volcanoes in Ecuador as well as the major ones. The largest earthquake recorded in Ecuador was in Riobamba in 1797 as it was a 9 on the Mercalli scale and an 8.3 on the Modified Mercalli scale. Two of the major volcanoes in Ecuador are Cotopaxi and Sierra Negra (both of which we were going to visit!)
After Haley and Greg finished, the pizza still hadn't been delivered so we took a short break to grab a snack, drink, or use the bathroom before Lester started his presentation on The Birds of Ecuador. In the Galapagos there are 28 endemic birds such as the Blue Footed Boobies, Vampire Finches, Greater Flamingos, and Galapagos Mockingbirds. Cajas - one of the national parks in Ecuador - has over 130 species of hummingbirds all with different sized beaks for different sized flowers. Lester then talked about the bird tour he took in Ecuador and that every stop had unique birds and insects and that the plants and birds have a close relationship. In the middle of Lester's presentation, our pizza finally arrived so we took a short break to eat - it was 10:30 at this point and we were all grumpy and super hungry. As we ate, Lester finished his presentation and after he was done, Tait gave us a summary of what he expected from us (behavior and note-taking) and with 10 minutes to spare, we were all able to go back to our rooms and watch the ball drop. I wished all the girls in my room a happy New Year, called my family and boyfriend, and went to bed before 1 since we had to be up and at the airport by 3:30 a.m
After Haley and Greg finished, the pizza still hadn't been delivered so we took a short break to grab a snack, drink, or use the bathroom before Lester started his presentation on The Birds of Ecuador. In the Galapagos there are 28 endemic birds such as the Blue Footed Boobies, Vampire Finches, Greater Flamingos, and Galapagos Mockingbirds. Cajas - one of the national parks in Ecuador - has over 130 species of hummingbirds all with different sized beaks for different sized flowers. Lester then talked about the bird tour he took in Ecuador and that every stop had unique birds and insects and that the plants and birds have a close relationship. In the middle of Lester's presentation, our pizza finally arrived so we took a short break to eat - it was 10:30 at this point and we were all grumpy and super hungry. As we ate, Lester finished his presentation and after he was done, Tait gave us a summary of what he expected from us (behavior and note-taking) and with 10 minutes to spare, we were all able to go back to our rooms and watch the ball drop. I wished all the girls in my room a happy New Year, called my family and boyfriend, and went to bed before 1 since we had to be up and at the airport by 3:30 a.m