Reflections on Experiences of the Biostretch

Dartmouth Biological Sciences Foreign Study Program: Studies in Tropical Ecology

Costa Rica and Little Cayman

January through March, 2014

Aaron, Adam, Allegra, Amelia, Annie, Becca, Claire, Ellen, Emily, Lars, Lexie, Maya, Nathanael, Zach

Ryan, Matt, Celia, Jess, Vivek

Each evening, from December to December,

Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,

Think back on all the tales that you remember

Of Camelot.

Don't let it be forgot

That once there was a spot

For one brief shining moment that was known

As Camelot.

–Camelot

Let the moment go...

Don't forget it for a moment, though.

Just remembering you've had and "and",

When you're back to "or",

Makes the "or" mean more

Than it did before.

Now I understand-

And it's time to leave the woods.

–Into the Woods

The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore.

And you think of all of the things you've seen,

And you wish that you could live in between,

And you're back again,

Only different than before,

After the sky.

-Into the Woods

This is likely to be a pivotal experience in my life, I know it was for my Dad. A full term doing field ecology in some of the best tropical ecosystems, surrounded and encouraged by some of the best ecologists Dartmouth has to offer. I at least am currently only a junior, but for my senior friends this is the beginning to their last 6 months of Dartmouth. As such, each moment is bittersweet in its transitory nature. I must try to make the most of the time I have together with my friends here before we are scattered to the wide world, and to hang on to the memories that 30 years hence may bring me back to these sight and sounds.

Nathan, remember . . .