Yesterday was an overwhelming day spent at school from 8:50am to 5:30pm. I don't even spend that much time at my OWN school doing school work. SHEESH! Once again the majority of time was spent by me sitting around waiting for others, but all the paperwork is done and ready for submission of the permit... it just needs the signatures now. Yesterday morning I was supposed to meet with one of those people to give their signature, but it turned out his father became ill and was hospitalized, so he couldn't meet, and that will have to wait to next week.
Oh here's a fun tidbit that nobody mentioned until yesterday to me. Next week is a three day holiday for everyone in Thailand... oh ya, that's right Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - EVERYONE HAS THE TIME OFF. So basically for the next five days I am going to be sitting around waiting for the week to end. Mai dee.
We are heading to Khao Yai this afternoon and I'm not sure how frequent my communication with the other side of the world will continue since I'll be staying in the park, and I'm not sure how long I will be there... probably at least 5 days since there will be no one available to meet until the holdiay is over :)
Right now I am eating some rambutan with breakfast, soooo good. Yesterday I was walking back to my place from the University and saw quite an interesting sight. I wanted to take a picture but I was walking in the middle of a pack of kids and couldn't really stop. But try to envision this:
So I'm walking down the sidewalk of a major street and I cross a sideroad, and casually glance down the sideroad to ensure no cars are speeding at me, when what to my wondering eyes do appear... but a man standing at the top of a free standing bamboo ladder, clinging to the ladder with his legs, and holding on to the powerlines above the road wrapping them in what looked like electrical tape - because I guess he was doing some electrical maintenance - and no the ladder wasn't just balancing in mid air for him, although I thought it was a first, but then I noticed there was another guy standing at the bottom of the ladder in the middle of the road steading the ladder for the electrical worker guy.
I guess that's Thailand for you.
[that should be my new send off line for the rest of my trip here, I think]
I guess that's Thailand for you... more to come from Khao Yai.
All too often students begin fieldwork full of anticipation and high hopes for big adventure, only to end up burned out and on their way home within a month. This has inspired me to write a post about what it takes to survive primate behavioural research for people who may be considering taking this "road less traveled by" in the future. I won't water it down for you; primate research is not for everyone. Fieldwork is an uphill road, overloaded with obstacles that will test your personal strength every step of the way. (Perhaps there's a reason we opted to leave the forest and culture up our lives, oh so many years ago :). But if you've got what it takes to push yourself beyond the comforts of the average everyday world, and you're interested in finding out just how strong an individual you really are, then studying primates is one of the most inspirational and rewarding jobs available! Think you've got what it takes? Here are my tips for what it...
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