The Land of Nalgene Bottles

Front Royal, Virginia. And here I was worried about being too casual wearing my fleece in place of a stylish spring jacket for the plane ride. David, the guy who picked me up at the airport, picked me out of the crowd BECAUSE of my fleece and hiking boots and no makeup/nails done. The only reason I didn’t have my Nalgene bottle to complete the ensemble was because I left it at home on the kitchen counter by mistake. As David commented, “we all look the same around here.” Seems to be a great group of outdoors/science people. It is scary how alike everyone is. I’m living with a roommate and eight others. The house is an old farmhouse and shows it, but the rooms are spacious. Three refrigerators, dishwasher, washer and dryer, cable T.V., and hot showers this time. 

I spent my first week of work self-consciously, nervously working through the beginners guide to GIS and ArcView. I got nervous because Melissa asked me to answer the questions in the manual for use in an upcoming course. Now, I get the general gist of the training, but wasn’t positive about many of my answers. I struggle silently on my own because I feel like I should try to cover every avenue possible and do everything I can to come up with an answer before I interrupt someone else’s concentration. Some hours I really question whether or not I can handle sitting in front of a computer 8hrs. a day. Come home after work with a headache. I have to get used to working in a big room among others – constant talking, movement while people work on their own projects.

Don’t think I will have a lack of things to do after work or on weekends. The Conservation and Research Center (CRC) holds a weekly lecture series open to the community. On Wednesday we went to a lecture: Banded Mongooses: Enlightened Despots and Caring Uncles, that focused on the complex social system of the communal banded mongoose. FYI: naked mole rats have a community similar to termites that includes sterile workers/helpers. Cool, huh? On Thursday, 14 interns came along for a tour of the Smithsonian Museum Support Center. It is basically where they store all of the items not on display and where they prepare biological specimens. The day also included getting an ID badge from the Smithsonian Institution and a quick run through of the new mammal exhibit in the Natural History Museum. AND, to top it off, our house hosted a party the same night. A frantic week.