a few new thoughts from Ariana, that great Woman of the World, during her adventures in Ecuadar with the Peace Corps:

"Hello friends and family,

"I just got some awesome news today that two of my life history notes about Blanchard's cricket frogs in Michigan have been accepted for publication in Herpetological Review! The notes aren't very long, only one or two paragraphs, but I am super excited because these are my first peer-reviewed publications! Woohoo!

"I think it has been awhile also since I sent a mass email about my adventures here in Ecuador. I am currently entertaining my first visitors, my friend Cindy, my sister, and my mother. Cindy arrived first, and she brought me a new digital camera from my dad, so now I can update my blog with pictures! Cindy and I went to the Amazon to visit my friend Joseph in Tena. We went to wildlife rehab facility and saw lots of cool animals, like ocelots, capybara, jaguarandi, and monkeys that will apparently jump on you and hump your ear if you look at them funny (ie. seductively). No ear humping occurred, thank goodness. Then we swam in the river, and I scared Cindy with stories of the candirú catfish, that will swim up your urethra and lodge itself there with sharp barbs. Cindy was brave, and swam all across the river, laughing in the face of danger =)

"Then we hung out in Quito for a couple days, waiting for my mom and my sister to arrive. We left for my site, Valle Hermoso, on Tuesday. Cindy, Sasha and my mom enjoyed their first episode of Rebelde, my favorite telenovela. We went on a long hike in the nearby protected forest, La Perla, where I will be helping out with botanical and herpetological research for the Missouri Botanical Garden and Arizona State University. Our guide, Placido, put on a dugrag, army fatigues, and strapped a large knife to his leg for our big two hour hike. I like Placido a lot, and he doesn't mind if we make fun of him for dressing like Rambo. We saw lots of cool trees, and two different species of frogs! We heard stories about scary snakes, but didn't see any.

"The most exciting part of the day was putting my mom, sis, and Cindy on motorcycles to see my work site in La Asuncion. I don't think Cindy was happy about it, especially because motorcyles are not built for 3 people. Though I did see 5 people on a motorcycle once. Like a sedan, only a lot less comfortable. I rode with my mom, and she enjoyed the experience. Who else gets to put their 59-year-old mother on a motorcycle? They met my counterpart and learned more about my projects. Plus my sister became good friends with a parrot, who enjoyed being scratched behind the neck. My mom and I went to church that night in Valle Hermoso, and saw a well behaved dog sitting in the aisle, enjoying the sermon, plus a toad (Bufo marinus, also called a cane toad or marine toad) hopped into the church as we were leaving. It was a multi-species sermon =)

"This weekend we are going to the Isla de la Plata (the poor man's Galapagos) to see humpback whales! That should be lots of fun. And very soon, I will get the pictures off my camera and post them on my blog, so look for some new entries in the near future.

"Okay, off to dinner, and maybe we will watch my new favorite show, Made on MTV."

Love,
Ariana