Prime Earth: Latest News

This morning my alarm went off at 4:50am. Then it went off again at 5:00am. At 5:05am I got out of bed, drank an energy shake, got dressed and listened to my neighbour yell at me to hurry up while I put in my contacts because at 5:30am we were racing . Last night when I asked what time we will leave, she said: "5:30am." I said, "Are we leaving at 5:30 or before then?" and she repeated "5:30am". But it was now 5:20am, and she was banging down my door to hurry up because we should've left already. Today is a day of celebration here in Khao Yai. I'm not 100% sure why, but I think it's an annual celebration marking the birthday(?) of the first park chief of Khao Yai... or something like that. Anyways, it’s an annual thing for everyone who works in the park/lives in the park. There is a 3k race in the morning and everyone joins in, then there is a scheduled da-gaw tournament all day (think of a cross between soccer and volleyball with a small wick...

"Muki was born in 2004 and came to [the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project] in 2006, after being bought off a beach photographer by a well meaning tourist. Whilst the intention was good, unfortunately this act only reinforces the wild animal trade, for the photographer will probably have bought another baby gibbon, poached from the wild, with the money." My Aunt and Uncle adopted Muki at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project in Phuket, Thailand, for one year. This was their Christmas present to me this year. You can adopt a gibbon too, just go to this website for more details: http://www.gibbonproject.org/content/adoption.htm Thanks Aunt Annette and Uncle John! :)

More video of the new baby. And, excitingly, I bet there will soon be more to come, because Jep's tummy is HUGE! New baby #2 coming any day now, woo hoo!!

One year ago today I landed in Bangkok, tired from a really long flight, worried about how I was going to get out of the airport with all my baggage/field equipment, feeling very aware of the fact that I was completely alone on the other side of the world, and about to take on my biggest adventure to date. Thailand was not my first field experience – that was way back in 2002, attending a field school in Belize watching howler monkeys. And I participated in a 2nd field school, later that same year, in Panama (again watching howlers). But Thailand was my first time actually doing real fieldwork, as a researcher, collecting real, usable data, not just learning skills as a student. And arriving here one year ago today, it was the farthest from home I’d ever been on my own; no family, no friends, no teachers, no other students around to help me out. One year ago today, I left home knowing I was parting with the safety and comfort of friends, family and the classroom to put my knowledge, ...

This video is not the greatest, but you'll get the idea. It's a new baby, it's super tiny and it doesn't really do anything just yet. But it is the cutest thing ever! Born last week, my field assistant saw it with the umbilical cord still attached! Hopefully in the weeks ahead I can get some footage of it moving around a little more as it grows up. Oh, SO ADORABLE! I love primate babies!

Recently Khao Yai was the subject of a popular television show here in Thailand called the "Navigator".  Camera set up. I got to spend a few days tagging along on some of their escapades as they gathered footage for the show. Forest = Check. Looking for the crocodile. Animals = Check. Elephant Night Safari. Cameras = READY! Photographing the gaur. Lots of laughs and awesome adventure!! Nothing beats hanging out with people who love to do, what you love to do! Check back in the upcoming weeks for the Prime Earth "Navigator" special episode when the guys join me for a day of gibbon data collection and we discuss the dangers of tourists feeding monkeys in the park. Show airs December 10th, 2010 & December 31st, 2010 (two part series).

My neighbourhood. My house. My bike. My sweet ride. My work. My girls. The other day I was doing dishes in my outdoor kitchen when this overwhelming feeling of contentment came over me: this is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. It's been a mentally exhausting and emotionally draining trip since I left comfortable Canada 7 years ago, dealing with the extreme ridiculousness that is "life" in graduate school and my weird semi-existence in Carbondale. But if I had to go through all that in order to get me to one year in rural Thailand, then it was absolutely worth it to be where I am now. Taking it all in everyday. Loving every moment living the good life.