Prionace Glauca By Migueldesigns It’s No Exaggeration To Say The Blue Shark Is One Of The Most Beautiful

Anyone else love squids as much as we do? (Qeue slow-motion tentacle-raise) 🙋🏻

Galiteuthis phyllura, also known as the cockatoo squid, lives in the North Pacific from 200 to over 1,000 meters (660 to 3,280 feet) deep. This species has a transparent body and photophores, or light organs, under their eyes. We often encounter them hanging horizontally in the water column with their arms raised above their heads.

Announcement!

With only a few days until Valentines day it is my scientific duty to inform you all that if you don't have a valentine yet, an algal cell will be your valentine. They will be assigned automatically and love you with all their chloroplasts. You may not opt out, but a platonic algae-mate will be assigned to those who are not romantically inclined.

Meet your new alBAE 💚💚.

Delta

Flight 1235- 12:05pm

Harrisburg to Atlanta

Right now, my first flight is almost over and we will soon land in Atlanta. I should be on my way to Atlanta. But I am not on that flight. I am sitting in Harrisburg International Airport (Canada counts).  

IFSA-Butler sent everyone multiple emails in the months leading up to departure about visas. Each email was clear and concise, and I reread everyone to make sure there was nothing else I had to do. So, it was surprising (and very stressful) when the boarding agent would not allow me on the plane because I didn't have a visa. I told him I didn’t need one and showed him the documents from IFSA-Butler. Nope. He needed something from the Costa Rican government. So I called IFSA-Butler and my advisor told me the same thing every email said. I didn’t need a visa because I would apply for a tourist visa after landing in San Jose and then apply for an extension of it.  

I told the agent this, but he needed official documentation. I relayed the message that he could call the Costa Rican Consulate and they would verify what I was saying. That wasn't his responsibility (I'd like to point out here that if I called and tried to tell him what they said, he would have had to speak with them to verify it, meaning it technically was his responsibility). As everyone was boarding, one kind stranger showed the agent the website of the Costa Rican Embassy saying that you did not need a visa to enter the visa and you would apply for a visa after landing. He said that the date of my departure was after the 90-day tourist visa expired. I repeated that I would get an extension in Costa Rica and it was impossible for me to have a tourist visa before arriving in Costa Rica (from what IFSA-Butler told me).

By the time my advisor got me documentation from Costa Rican immigration and emailed it to me, it was too late. Oh, and it was in Spanish and they would have had to find a way to translate it since I would not be able to. And my bag was on the plane.  

So here I am, sitting in Harrisburg International Airport after figuring out how I would get to Costa Rica. Everything is taken care of now after many phone calls and my flight is tomorrow at 3:34pm out of Washington, D.C. But my back won't be back until 5ish and I'm waiting for my parents to comeback.  

So I will conclude by quoting my travel agent at Advantage Travel (IFSA's travel agency), "Delta can go pound salt."

#4—Fun Facts for World Whale Day

Whales are the biggest creatures to ever live on the earth. The largest whale, the blue whale, can be over 90 feet long. The sperm whale, on the other hand, may not be the biggest whale, but it has the biggest brain to have ever existed on Earth.

Learn more about how whales grew to such massive sizes here.

Photo: Smithsonian Institution

Guess hoo-hoo it is 🦉

The owlfish, named for the size of its large eyes relative to its head, lives throughout the North Pacific. These species are in the family Bathylagidae and are relatively common in the deep sea, living at depths of over 6,000 meters (19,685 feet). In Monterey Bay, we observe these fish between a few hundred meters to over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet)

One Month

One month down

Cultural differences

Language barrier

On Friday, my first month in Costa Rica ended and marked the beginning of my second month here. Over the course of this month, I have noticed a lot of differences between Costa Rican culture and U.S. culture, although there are probably more that I have not noticed because I have not thought about them. Personal space and your personal bubble do not exist in the way they do in the U.S. It is common to hug and kiss people on the cheek as a sign of greeting and farewell, which as someone who likes their personal bubble, is taking a bit of time to get used to. It is very common for men to catcall, whistle, honk their horns, and stare at women walking, although every time that I have seen it, that's all it was. It makes me think that instead of men just lacking in all forms of self control, it is more of a cultural norm to do it and it would be out of place for men not to do it. Although, it still makes my female friends from the U.S. very uncomfortable for obvious reasons. Rules of the road really just seem like suggestions and it seems that drivers make up their own rules as they go, including motorcycles and scooters that always pass cars, buses, trucks, SUVs, etc... when they shouldn't. Most classes at the university are only once a week and there is a lot less busy work and a lot more group work. It is acceptable for people to show up late for classes and events (tico time), however, it does not apply to my science classes.

By far, my biggest struggle has been the language barrier. Looking back at a month ago, I can tell that there has been at least a subtle increase in my proficiency with Spanish. I try to listen and follow my professors, my parents, and other people that I encounter, but at times I can't understand what they are saying, although my listening skills are still a lot better than my speaking skills. I try to talk as much as possible but my problems are when I don't a word I need and cannot get around (although today I had a conversation about my opinion genetic modification with classmates for fun and it went really well) and if I don't have anything to say, I usually don't say anything. To mediate this, I've tried to force myself to talk more with mixed success. But I have learned that even if I understand 95% of what everyone says, the only way my speaking will improve is if I speak as much as I possibly can, knowing that I will make a lot of mistakes in the beginning.

This seems like something everyone should know if they’re in the sciences and/or interested in reading scientific papers.

major traffic incident