virus outbreak

Today at lunch Jess asked me if I'd heard about the last-minute 1:00 meeting about the virus outbreak. My stomach jumped. It took me a full minute to establish that it was a COMPUTER virus. (There were a lot of people at the table, everyone was distracted). It seems somebody introduced a virus to the course computers at Cabo Blanco, and it jumps from computer to computer on USB drives. Everyone on the course has at least one, which we stick in each other's computers liberally. Out of about 25 drives, all but 4 were infected. We're not sure yet what the virus does. Either it attacks your operating system, or steals your gaming passwords. Which is worse? Luckily I have a Mac, which is immune, so all my gaming passwords will be safe. :) And Raffica's Mac-Hero boyfriend Ben has given me pro advice, so soon I'll be squeaky-clean.

Today we had another set of orientation walks. One was plant-intensive, with Orlando Vargas; the other was more herp-intensive. We saw a couple of species of poison-dart frogs, a brown leaf litter snake, and a few other frogs. I had the afternoon off, and used it to take a nap and start brainstorming independent project ideas. One of the afternoon orientation groups ran across the first fer-de-lance (a big pit viper; venomous, relatively aggressive, and common). There are lots of other viper species here too, but I haven't seen any yet.

I'll be getting my last IP paper back tomorrow, and have to finish the first of two rewrites in the next few days. I'll also be working on and writing up a new FLP, and conceiving and carrying out a new IP. I think La Selva is the most stressful site. It only makes it harder that there are loads of amazing things to see, so I want to spend all my free time outside investigating! Tonight we saw a porcupine with a prehensile tail. Ellen Reid saw it walking along the wires on the suspension bridge, and from there it crawled into a tree where we could all see it very nicely. The face was recognizable as porcupine, but the hair and spines were short, maybe an inch, and it was otherwise more the size and shape of a north american opossum. It was a treat.

We had a german table at dinner, 3 US-Americans and an Austrian. It was fun to speak a foreign language that I'm comfortable in for a change! I've been picking up a lot of Spanish here, but I still only ever use present-tense and craft my sentences in my mind before letting them out. I've been playing with the idea of coming back in the next year to follow up on project ideas, though -- if I do that, I will definitely get more serious with the language. I love it.

I compiled my bird list for the last 3 days, and it's long! I've started birding in the mornings with Katja Poveda, one of the instructors who is closer to my level. The other two birders are way ahead of me, so birding with them makes it harder for me to learn how to identify them myself. It's slower but more satisfying this way. But just by being interested in birds I've gotten enough of a reputation in the course that people come to me once or twice a day to ask about a bird. It's a microcosm of expertise development. Being conspicuous definitely helps.

Okay, here's the list. On the ferry across the gulf, laughing gulls. In San Jose, rock pigeons (I know, I'm sure i saw them before!). In La Selva: gray-headed chachalaca, great blue heron, green ibis, double-toothed kite, mealy parrot, rufous-tailed hummingbird, slaty-tailed trogon, chestnut-mandibled toucan, collared aracari, black-cheeked woodpecker, ruddy woodcreeper, long-tailed tyrant, wood thrush, gray catbird, ovenbird, buff-rumped warbler, red-throated ant-tanager, passerini's tanager. Several people have seen manakins in leks doing their little dances. It would be great if I could see that!