Ups and Downs of Conservation Work Abroad

I am still in Thailand. I am staying until July! Yes really. My plane ticket was originally to return on the 6 of December, but I just changed it. Now I just have to hope I can change my VISA as well…

Things are well, interesting. I’d say they were fun in an instant, although I can’t exactly tell you why. We work everyday. On the 26th of October we got back from a five day, four night, backpacking trip to setup seven camera traps. During our first excursion into the forest, Somneuk, one of the rangers, was the team leader, took control, everything was organized for us, prepared by him, recorded by him, we were observers trudging along with our packs. This time I was in control—map in hand. I tracked our progress and chose camera locations. A very tough and successful trip. I returned literally covered in hundreds of tick bites (it still looks like I have chicken pox). The first thing Pom did when he saw me was whip out the herbal ointment and carefully smear each bite with this horrible menthol smelling gel. Ah, the joys of fieldwork. But, we found tiger tracks. Oh, and just last night there was a tiger spotted in a group of houses within walking distance of my house. Very promising.

Sometimes I think to myself I need to appreciate everyday because I’ve found the right line of work, I am where I want to be, working on a conservation project, monitoring populations. Other days I feel as if I am working on a high school (or maybe rather elementary school) science day fair project. I don’t mind that I’m asked to manage data, people, and publicity. I never expected to be asked to design an exhibit to showcase our project, but I was recently, and I just took it as part of the job. The unfortunate part was that we were asked to do this a day before all of the CITES international delegates arrived. If we had known earlier we could have printed out a nice map poster in Bangkok. Instead, we printed scanned photos from the computer, cut them out with scissors, laminated them with sheets you iron together, and tacked them onto a plastic poster board with double sided tape! Things are often this ghetto around here. Probably 85% of my time is spent on tasks other than what one would consider science. I find myself practicing other skills: PATIENCE, communication, organization, budget planning, exhibition design, and public relations—everything that goes along with running a field project in a tourist oriented park.

I don’t really know what to report. My days are relaxed from an external view. But internally, I spend a lot of time (too much time sometimes) thinking. I have a lot of down time (during conversations that I can’t understand). Plus, there is just a lot of waiting overall for things to happen. Something (like trying to buy batteries) that you think could be done in a half-hour takes an entire day that may span into a week. I’ve learned to expect a slow pace. If I try to push things I mess them up. The Thais seem to have a hierarchical system through which events happen and I just have to let things take their course until they get done.

Kanda (she’s the other co-project field manager who is Thai) and I have gotten finished with most of the general project organizing that needed to be done. I just finished a 55 page annual project report. So, I’m hoping things will slow down a bit. No forest trip this month because our rangers are busy with other obligations. Kanda and I are at an odd place right now. I tend to work at the house and she tends to work at the office. She has her set of friends that she can speak rapid Thai with and I feel comfortable struggling with the laughing hand gestures and broken Eng. phrases of my housemates. Part of the time I can’t tell if we have language communication problems, regular communication problems, or just “we each have our own way of doing things” problems. 

I really need someone to girl talk with! Kanda doesn’t quite fill that role for me. She can go off with her friend and speed talk in Thai. I don’t have that. It is lonely. I can’t share frustrations and funny events. I can’t gossip. I can’t ask advice. I mean, I like me time, but I can only take so much of thinking and thoughts in my head. I know that indicates that I should study Thai harder, but the steps seem too big, too difficult. 

Pom is my Thai study buddy. We usually spend time in the evenings attempting to practice Thai and English, although I still feel like I am getting nowhere with the language. Learning individual words just doesn’t seem to get me anywhere, and I can’t remember (and force myself to use) full phrases. We get by using the few words of Thai that I can pronounce correctly strung together with the few words of English that Pom knows. You would think that being mostly immersed in the language would get me somewhere, but most times the immersion is overwhelming. I can barely stay attentive and definitely tune out everyone around me as they discuss, argue, talk if I am not 100% alert.

Sitting here everyday, enjoying my cup of coffee in the morning breeze as I await a leisurely nine o’clock breakfast, the whole attitude of “sabaii sabaii” (take it easy) is far removed from the stress of America. When I work at my own pace it makes it very difficult to think about being in graduate classes next fall. 

I am still interested in investigating the predator-prey relationships for dhole (wild dogs) and ungulate communities in the park. I have recently been working with Peter to develop some basic ideas for a project proposal; however, I have been busy managing our carnivore project and have neglected any serious dhole work. I have spotted one pack in the park but have not started any consistent observations.