Marine Biology

I started my Marine Biology class on Monday. We have 3 hours in the morning at USFQ, and then 2 more hours in the afternoon. It is a crash course in Marine Biology so we are ready when we get to the Galapagos. I have already filled up half a notebook, and my writer's bump is as big as ever.
Thursday morning, bright and early, we have a 6:30am flight to Manta. There, we will camp on another beach and study the intertidal zones on the coast. On Sunday, we have a 5:00am flight from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands, where we will load onto a boat. There are 2 boats, and I was put on the Eden with half my group, and a few scientists. I am lucky to be the girl that got her own room because I apparently was yelling in my sleep at the other places, so they put me in my own room. On the boat, we will have snorkeling stops for 7 days straight.
On April 3rd, we arrive on the Island of San Cristobal where we will continue with our Marine Bio course and then conduct some sort of research that is allowed to be done on the Island. The rules are very very strict, so we must simply observe.
I will be turning 21 on April 10th, and we will be on the middle of our studies. I had to buy a mask, fins, and snorkel today. I got everything but the snorkel. Apparently, you can't find contact solution or many other toiletrees on the Islands, and if you do, they are extremely expensive because they were imported a few times. I never realized how expensive toiletrees are in Quito until I had to buy a small bottle of contact solution for 20$ today. Oy.
Anyways, I am super pumped for the Galapagos, and my birthday. I can't believe time is going so fast!

(PS- I started watching Off the Map a few days ago, a new TV show from the producers of Grey's Anatomy or something, but anyways, it is very similar to how I have been living here and what it is like-minus the horrible emergencies-or at least with my group. If you want to get a taste of the unique things here, watch the show. I have seen most of the things mentioned or shown on the first few episodes!)