Doubts

When I was at Kalamazoo I craved going camping, but now after three months I'm getting kinda antsy. I think being on the quarter system at Kzoo got me stuck on a three month chunk schedule. After three months I am ready for something new. I feel like I have learned all the key components of Andreas and Carola's study. Days are routine now, it is just a matter of if I am doing habituation, trail work, grid painting, or walking the transect. Of course there are still things I haven't seen yet (elephants, binturong, wild dogs), so I should stick around. But, I've been thinking of grad. school lately and I'm leaning away from the type of work that Carola and Andreas are conducting. Yes, I enjoy the fieldwork and the process of data collection, analysis, write-up. I'm even looking forward to Andreas showing me how to make maps of trends in weather data. But, and a big BUT here, does it really matter to determine the inter-birth interval of langurs in Phu Khieo? Whether or not these groups in this particular area form all male bands? Whether or not they eat termites? Yes, part of science is gathering data to support answers to specific questions like these, but, here is the but again, will this help us keep viable populations in Thailand for the next 50, 100 years? Where's the conservation aspect? When do you APPLY what you have learned about the species? Many people publish data and base line data, but who takes it to the next step? I guess I'm just feeling lost right now because I don't think this work with Carola and Andreas will end with me at Stony Brook. That would be a nice, smooth, easy transition, but I'm thinking it's not the route I want to take. And, that takes away some of the driving force behind getting out in the forest every day.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

This morning I went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok. I’m getting used to walking in the city now and negotiating the sky-train (an above ground subway). The market is a huge area of 6,000 open-air stalls to peruse. (For those of you from Mukwonago, think Maxwell street days times 1,000). There was a diverse selection of silk, designer lamps, silver, dishes, plants, clothes, home accessories, and artwork. I was only there for two hours among the hot and sweaty mob and had enough, but I was also out of money by that time. It was actually nice to go alone because I could browse at whim and stick mostly to the craft area. I’m not too bad at bartering and even attempted to ask prices in Thai. I played the part of a student with little money and they usually took pity on me. My best buy was a beautiful matted, framed, watercolor/coffee painting done by a local artist for 380 baht (about $10). (The first time I came by the seller said the price was 900 baht). And, I had originally paid her 430 baht, but she gave me 50 back because she saw that I had zero money left and no way of getting home! Also bought a bedspread made of silk fabrics that is put together quilt-like and another swatch of silk.