Hello again! Well, I made it home with out any major incidents, yes, I even still have my luggage! I just thought I would write you a quick note expressing how much I enjoyed taking the Mammals of the Neotropics course at Ometepe with Neal Woodman as well as the Tropical Herpetology course at La Suerte with Thomas LaDuke. In my opinion, both are excellent professors who are enthusiastic about what they are teaching, which makes it a pleasure to study under them.
As for the field stations themselves, I thought they were both fantastic! I really enjoyed every minute of being a part of your field schools. However, it's difficult to say which one I liked better because they are both in such different environments. Though, you were right about your Mom's cooking being better at La Suerte! I have even tried to buy plantains up here in Victoria, but as of yet have not been able to locate any.
Thanks again for the amazing experience that will no doubt stay with me for a life time! If you need any one to act as a reference for either field station, for other students, I would be more than happy to do so! Also if you need someone to place more posters up at the University of Victoria or anything else, please just let me know. I will be graduating by April 1999 so if there is any openings for teaching assistants at either location, especially for the Mammals of the Neotropics, please keep me in mind. I would sincerely welcome any opportunity that would allow me to come back to your field stations.
Sincerely,
Paul Grant
Paul Grant
4901 Cherry Tree Bend
Victoria, B.C. Canada
V8Y 1S1
pbcgrant@hotmail.com
(250) 658-8709
Hi Linda!
How's life back in the U.S.? It has been almost exactly a month since the end of the course, and I suppose the reverse culture-shock has worn off by now for all of us. Still, I think about the trip every day and have great memories that will last forever.
I am also disappointed that I didn't get to formally say good-bye to you at the end of the course. I wanted to personally thank you for the honestly greatest adventure I've ever had. It's hard to believe I had so much fun, met so many people, and learned so much in only 26 days. Your course will definitely not be my last trip to the rainforest and I'm itching to travel again soon.
The best address to send me mail is: 5621 E. Cornell Ave. Denver, CO 80222.
I still haven't officially gotten University of Colorado credit for the La Suerte course. If you could send me some sort of note of authenticity saying that I completed the course along with my paper that would be great.
I have been e-mailing with Andy about how to make a web-site with pictures and addresses from our course. Hopefully we'll have it up and running soon and we'll send out a group e-mail with the web-site address. Do you know how we can get group e-mail lists of the Tom's Herpetology class and Nigel's Ecology class?
I hope all's well in Pennsylvania and thanks again,
Yaniv
Yaniv.Salzberg@Colorado.EDU
Hola Alvaro! I'm so glad you were able to stop the loggers, I was afraid that the primary forest would be lost to illegal greed. Congratulations on the acquisition, I'm sure that it will enrich your programs and open many students' eyes to the problems of logging and its politics. I plan to return to Costa Rica in the winter of 1998 or spring of 1999, I hope you will still have a thriving program.
Is the Ometepe station similar to the La Suerte program? I might imagine that Nicaragua is somewhat different than Costa Rica, even around Cariari.
Well, good luck on further expansions.
adios, Jeremy.
The Molina Familia:
Hello, my name is Lesli Calloway and I participated in your summer program this May 20 thru June 11. I was very impressed with the program as well as the country. So much so, that I will be taking some language courses in either San Jose or Heredia this Spring and would like to work in Costa Rica thereafter. I am a recent college graduate with a Bachelor's in International Business and Finance and I was wondering if you might be able to assist me in identifying some organizations within Costa Rica that may be looking specifically for English speaking hires. Or if you have any other suggestions concerning job opportunities for someone with my background, that would be greatly appreciated also. This will help me focus my search while I'm in the US as to which organizations I should be consulting with before I leave. I would greatly appreciate your help and hope you all have had a great summer. Gracias.
Sincerely,
Lesli Calloway
Hey Al,
Howz this summer treating you? I hope it's all good. I apologize fir not
writng sooner. Thank you for a wonderful Central American experience. I
really do not think I could have had a better time and learned so much.
It is an experience I will cherish for ever. I mean what is the likihood
that I will ever be hanging out with 33 cool studets my age from all our
the country...who are all interested in the same things as I...ever
again. Next to none.
The Molina's have allowed me to....well thanx again.
I will be in CR on the 5th of Sept until the 12th of Dec. I will be mainly stationed in San Jose I will definitely get in contact with your family during that time.
Thanx again
Omolara
Dear Al,
Hope all is well with you. With the summer teaching now over, I'm
relaxing and having a bit of a tour around Costa Rica with friends form
the UK. We decided to spend a couple of days birding at LA Suerte, and
this proved to be a good decision - you won't believe this but we saw a
JAGUAR from a range of 20 feet in the primary forest this morning.
Unbelievable! It just walked right past us. Also we saw the macaws
within 5 minutes, so my friends couldn't believe their luck.
Apart from the excitement of such an animal so close to the field
station, the other reason I wanted to let you know about this is because
the logging of this forest patch now seems iminent. Is there really
NOTHING that can be done to delay, or even stop it altogether? Are
there no last-gap measures that can be taken?
I just thought I would ask, especially as Renee-Lucia seemed to have some idea concerning some inappropriate logging practices that apparently were being used.
OK, got to go.
Will Email you concerning other La Suerte matters when back in the UK, in late September. I'm away on a tour around the country tomorrow, and will spend one more night at La Suerte on the 14th September.
Regards,
Nigel
Dear Dr. Winkler,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the incredible opportunity you helped to provide to me through La Suerte. My experience there was easily the most amazing of my life. I cannot fully express how wonderful it was for me. I had the best time and learned so much and I miss being out in the forest each day stomping around in the mud.:) It also got me really excited about my major and desired field of animal rehabilitation. I cannot wait to get out there. Thanks again!
I am obtaining three hours credit from my school for the course. The head of the department has asked my to get a letter from you "identifying my satisfactory performance in the course". As far as I know, there is no real rush to get this in, whenever you get a chance would be fine.
Thank you for this further assistance. I hope that the rest of your DNA research goes well.
Sincerely,
Jessica Clarke
(jlclarke@siu.edu)
Hello,
I just finished the Primate Behavior and Biology Course with Dr. Winkler at the La Suerte Field Station. While I was there I noticed that there were several students at the station who were doing personal research. I was wondering what your policy was on students returning to continue research that they started in your program. I am currently in the process of applying for a Silo Grant so that I might extend the research I started on the mantled howler monkeys and their diet. If I were to come back, I would not be attending any of the actual courses, just using the forest for my research, but I would need room and board. The grant application is due September 17th. If it is possible for me to return then I would need the following information as soon as possible.
1. The cost for room and board throughout all three summer sessions.
2. A letter of permission to use the land for the research.
I would also like to know if it would be possible to do the same at the Ometepe station. If it is, then could you apply the above to both stations? I would greatly appreciate all of the help. I really enjoyed the time I spent at the La Suerte station. I thought the program and the Molina family were excellent and that is part of the reason why I would like to return to La Suerte or go to Ometepe. Again, this information is very important to the Silo grant application, so if you could, please let me know as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Jada Quandt
(jquandt@comp.uark.edu)
Dear Al,
Hello! I hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and stressfree! I want to thank you and your family for making my summer the most wonderful experience of my life thus far. Not one day goes by without my thinking of La Suerte and Ometepe - the people, the forests, the monkeys. You have a lot to be proud of, especially with the number of students who learn from your forests growing every year.
I went back to Miami University and praised both field sites to Bill McGrew, but particularly Ometepe. The lowland and volcano slope forests both have a high monkey density. And the presence of both of these habitat types within such a short distance of the station and each other makes for many potential projects. I see much that can be done there. Bill himself has just committed to doing fieldwork in the People's Democratic Republic of Congo, on bonobos with some German colleagues. However, I think he'll seriously recommend La Suerte courses to his students who want to gain field experience and your two sites for his future grad students. So hopefully you'll be getting more Miami U. primatology students in the future!
My first year as a Ph.D. student at Washington University is going smoothly so far, and I think I'll really enjoy being Bob Sussman's student. He's a pretty amazing researcher.
I have a question for you: when do you begin hiring TAs? I would very much like to apply. Bob also thought it would be a great way for me to spend my summer.
I have another question: who will be teaching the primate courses? Will Francois return?
Thank you again. You, Don Molina, Dona Lillian, Federicko, and Edgar were wonderful hosts. I am very grateful for your hospitality, and I would love to see you all again this summer. Take care.
Cheers,
Jen Weghorst
Phone: (314) 361-7173
5578 Waterman Blvd., 3W
St. Louis
MO 63112-1897
(jaweghor@artsci.wustl.edu)
P.S. - What has happened with the logging of the primary forest?
Dear Alvaro,
Hola!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful
opportunity you provided to me at La Suerte and Ometepe this summer.
I am thinking about applying to graduate school this year, but it might be better to take one year off and return to the field to complete my research on anis at La Suerte and on howlers at Ometepe before applying. I have not decided as to when I apply, but I am interested in doing my research again next year.
I made a new discovery of the courtship gift on anis at La Suerte in the Ecology course given by Nigel, and if is proved to be a truly new discovery, I would like to complete my research and try publishing on it. I collected more than 30 hours of data on howlers at Ometepe in the Primate course given by Dr. Winkler, and I believe that my research was very successful. Dr. Winkler suggested me to go back to Ometepe to complete my research, and publish it.
If I can go back to La Suerte and Ometepe as a TA, that would be great. But even if that is not the case, I would like to work on my research and try publishing. In that case, I would have to pay for my stay at the field station, but I think it is worth paying. Is there any way I can go back to the field stations for research? If so, what is the cost? (Room and board?) If you could let me go back to the station, I would be very very glad. I would like more field experience before applying to graduate school, and if I can publish my research, that would be wonderful.
I am interested not only in science but also in education in developing countries. I would never forget the beautiful smile of the Nicaraguan children, and I strongly wish that I could do something for them. It would take me a while to discover what I can do for them, but I would like to keep it in mind whenever I go back to the forest. If I can go back to the forest to do my research, I will bring some toys and stationaries (notebooks, pencils, etc.) for children.
Please let me know if there is a chance for me to return to the field and complete my research. I would be glad if you could also tell me when it is possible.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Sayaka Tsutsumi (Sai)
Dear Al,
Thanks so much for the stylish cap and your good letter.
All my students including my son Julian and the two Taiwanese girls thoroughly enjoyed the La Suerte experience; it was not only a tremendous learning experience but in some cases life changing as well. And your man Nigel is a real star. I'm afraid that I cannot teach in Nicaragua in '99 because of prior committments; and while my colleagues at Chabot College are not interested, I passed the material on to Dr. Steve Herman, Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, an old friend of mine who expressed considerable interest.
I have put up your posters and hope that your classes fill.
Let us stay in touch.
With best regards,
Hans Peeters
Hi Renee!
Boy, does your life change once you've been to Costa Rica! I really had a great time. Thanks to you and your family for all the hospitality and the wonderful time! I really miss all you guys and think of you often. I gave my presentation with my slides in my class and got an A. The pictures were awsome! I had a whole lot of positive response about the program and tons of people asked how they could get involved. I hope to send some more Saddleback students this summer! I am also interested in coming back this summer myself. I've deceided to work extra hard on my Spanish so I can look into teaching English (or something). Maybe, my sloth project is still a possibility. I'll be in touch. Say hi to your brothers for me and give Uma a big hug.
Love Sommer
Sommer Bishop
summer 99
Hello Everyone at La Suerte,
Last year at this time I was lucky enough to be a part of the Primate Biology and Behavior course at La Suerte. I just wanted to let you know I was really glad to have taken part in such a wonderful program. Not only did I love the rain forest and all of its wonders but I made some really amazing friends who I still keep in touch with today.
I have to admit that being at La Suerte has sparked an interest in me to learn as much as I can about the rainforest area in Costa Rica. I am always excited to see a picture of a Howler monkey or a red eye tree frog.
I just wanted to let you know that La Suerte is doing an excellent job. I truely enjoyed my time there and my trip to Costa Rica will always be a incredible memory.
Sincerely,
Taina Lopez
Alvaro,
You will probably not remember me, seeing that so many students pass through your field school year round. But, I just wanted to let you know that not a day goes by that I don't think about my wonderful experience in Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. I treasure the time I spent there. I didn't want to leave when I did, and I have always wanted to return. I don't know if, because I have since graduated from college, I can still partake in classes. But, please let me know. I would love to return. Even if I can't, let me know of other trips or programs that you would recommend. I know it sounds silly, but I honestly feel like I left a part of my part in Costa Rica. I love the country, the scenery, the nature, the animals, the people...your mother's (and her staff's) food. Those three weeks were definitely the best of my life. Thanks again, and, as I mentioned above, let me know what I should pursue in terms of trips, regardless if it is to study, to volunteer, to report/write, etc. Take care!
Love,
Krissie Labanauskas
312-421-1551(W)
630-571-7766(H)
630-291-0050(car/voicemail)
krissie@activeusa.com
Dr. Winkler:
Hi! I was in your primate behavior and biology course at La Suerte last summer. I was given the dubious but well earned award of having the ugliest legs :). I am just writing to express to you what a wonderful experience my time in Costa Rica was. I think that I will always look back upon it as a changing point in my life. I am now in a master's degree program at Central Washington University working with a group of five captive chimpanzees who have been taught American Sign Language. The program is going well and being able to interact with primates on a daily basis is an incredible experience. There is nothing comparable to seeing primates in the wild, in their natural habitat, not reliant on humans for their survival, however. I am grateful that I was able to experience and understand this profound difference between wild and captive behavior at La Suerte. Most people only have experience with primates in zoos and do not consider what an unnatural setting this is. Anyway, I hope you are doing well and have many eager students who are going to this summer's field courses and will hopefully benefit as much as I did.
Thank you!
Diana Goodrich
dgoodrich@hotmail.com
Alvaro,
You will probably not remember me, seeing that so many students pass through your field school year round. But, I just wanted to let you know that not a day goes by that I don't think about my wonderful experience in Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. I treasure the time I spent there. I didn't want to leave when I did, and I have always wanted to return. I don't know if, because I have since graduated from college, I can still partake in classes. But, please let me know. I would love to return. Even if I can't, let me know of other trips or programs that you would recommend. I know it sounds silly, but I honestly feel like I left a part of my part in Costa Rica. I love the country, the scenery, the nature, the animals, the people...your mother's (and her staff's) food. Those three weeks were definitely the best of my life. Thanks again, and, as I mentioned above, let me know what I should pursue in terms of trips, regardless if it is to study, to volunteer, to report/write, etc. Take care!
Love,
Krissie Labanauskas
312-421-1551(W)
630-571-7766(H)
630-291-0050(car/voicemail)
krissie@activeusa.com