Yesterday was another slow day in the field(1 capture), but the location of Colony D (4) is very steep, so hiking back and forth to check traps and using another language (poorly) to communicate gets rather tiring after 9 hrs. This was also the day scheduled to make another change of field assistants. I was going to make dinner for everyone who was coming with groceries and people.
I was excited to have people coming because we could talk and laugh, and I could spend time not feeling so lonely and homesick. Even though I typically understand about 2/3rds of what people are saying, it is far better than when I started in June. It feels like a lifetime ago since I arrived in Chile. I certainly see the world much differently now.
Well, as it turned out, when everyone arrived it was a whirlwind of over-stimulation. More people than I could process walked through the door, Nasrim, Claudia, Gabriela, Joseph (Nasrim’s brother), maybe someone else… There were conversations, questions, packing, moving about; and before I had time to turn around ask everyone to stay for the dinner I was making, they were gone. Only Gaba and Claudia stayed. I was so worried about not making enough rice, but it ended up being too much for just 3 people. I was exhausted after dinner and trying to make sense out the news and the dinner conversation turned out to be just too much for me. I went to bed early.
Abrothrix olivaceous
Today we had much better success. We even trapped Abrothrix olivaceous. Not purposely, of course, but they often tend to use the active tunnels of the coruros. I am not sure how well they coexist, but it is interesting to speculate. I asked Claudia and Gaba, but they were just as curious as I. I spent time talking to them that morning and learning a little about their research experiences and learned techniques. Unfortunately, Claudia’s sister had possibly gotten lost in the mountains just north of us, so she left early. Thankfully, we heard later that everything was okay and that her sister and her companions had simply taken their time returning. Gaba and I returned to the cabin about 4:30pm that day. My knees were starting to act up again, so I simply changed into less soiled pants and flopped on the couch with some crackers, palta, salami and cookies and watched telenovelas for 2 hours. I hoped that Gaba did not think me lazy.
I love the telenovelas in Chile. They are so dramatic. Every 30 seconds a new development devastates one of the actors. And all the actors appear in the different dramas. Hijos del Monte and La de Familia a Lado have many of the same actors. How exhausting it must be for them each day. They portray so much emotion! I think it makes my work seem like cake.
I hope for more success tomorrow, though my impression is that Colony D (4) is much smaller than the others. We shall see.
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