I have to say that I’ve never been much of a traveler but always aspired to be – so cheers to my first journey. I anticipate that there will be many sleepless nights as I do my best to adjust to a lot of exciting changes, but I also anticipate that I will be learning more about values and norms of the people, alongside significant information regarding ciguatera and the lagoons/reefs biota, ways of agriculture and societal organization than I ever thought I could.  I cannot emphasize how important I think it is to understand other peoples culture. Coming from a small town in Missoula, Montana you don’t see much culture. The more I’ve gotten to see the significance of  it living here in Southern California and the outstanding ability it has to explain the way people think and behave, the more I want to know.

The fact that there has been little previous research makes this opportunity even more special. The marine life is probably absolutely spectacular. I’m hoping that my love for culture and my interest in exploring the cause of ciguatera might be useful for our team. I can’t wait to get my feet in the dirt! Thank you so much for lending me this opportunity, Sean and Clare! How cool is this little guy?