Is this how hard I was supposed to be working this whole time?

WHOA, folks. Apparently it took me a year and a half to reach the physically exhausting, all-consuming, busy busy BUSY part of my education. The past weeks have gone by in a blur. They have been full of visiting farms, talking to beekeepers, attending presentations, spending boatloads of money on equipment, and not having time to/forgetting to do 60% of the things I need to do every day. I haven't partied in WEEKS. I only went on two runs last week. My clothes are all dirty.

Im not complaining. I love it!

Using a bow and arrow to send rope into the canopy and set traps. It's hard not to pose a little bit when you are holding a weapon like that. 

Riding in the back of a truck with my beekeeping sensay (sp?) Cundo. Also, there is at least a month between this pic and the above pic. And almost no variety in my outfits. 

I'm on fulltime smoke duty when helping Alfredo and Cundo with the bees. These two men are helping me so much with my project, and I couldn't be more grateful!

Visiting a maximum-security melon farm. Gee, I wonder what they are hiding...

Selecting sites from the beautiful orange, coffee, forest, and pasture farms the owners so generously take me to see.

I have to be incredibly thankful, because every door I open seems to hold a new opportunity. I have met people who have handed me valuable data, telling me that they care about my project and want to see me do big things. I feel a ton of pressure to do something important with my work- which is both scary and already very rewarding. I feel so happy and blessed to be doing something that might make a difference to these good people. They are teaching me so much just by showing me how they live a happy life here in Hojancha.

I think this generosity and happiness is part of what makes Guanacaste a Blue Zone, an area with very high scores on the happiness index and some of the longest lifespans in the world (more on that in another post). The healthy traditional diet of heritage corn, fruits, vegetables, and beans probably doesn't hurt either. I'm taking notes.

 But I can't resist mentioning that one the things making ME happy is this guy:

Oh, doing a little light reading there, buddy?

He's going to be here in three weeks, how lucky am I? Plus, a bonus of getting free field help.