In less than two weeks, I'll be in Ecuador. That's a really frightening prospect. I know I'm going to have a blast and learn so much and make new friends and I won't regret this trip in the slightest, but at the moment I'm freaking out a little (okay, a lot). I always do this when I'm preparing for something new and different. (Well, LeakyCon was kind of the exception.) But there's just so much to do and so many people to try to see before I leave, and I can't begin to comprehend how it's all going to happen.
Lit is still a really enjoyable class, even though Friday was frustrating. We talked the whole time about the movie from Wednesday, which I did not enjoy, instead of the reading that had been assigned for that class, which I really liked and which I'm considering writing about for the paper that's due later this week. Oh well. We recently finished reading The House of the Spirits, by the brilliant Isabel Allende, which was excellent and I highly recommend it. It's the story of four generations of a prominent Chilean family, and it's full of intricate characters, strong women, romance, magic, politics, irony, history, and social commentary.
In Tropical Ecology, we've been talking about tourism in the Galapagos, which is expanding exponentially and is becoming a serious issue. The Ecuadorian government has put some restrictions in place about who can rent boats and build hotels and things, but they haven't been carried out very effectively. More and more travel companies are using the archipelago for things that can be done at just about any beachy location, like sport fishing, beach camping, and parasailing. The number of hotels and boats hasn't increased dramatically, but the number of available beds has. As the tourist industry expands, more people are inclined to move to the Galapagos and open restaurants and other attractions. All of these things have a strong and usually negative impact on the delicate ecosystems on the islands. We discussed in class the impact that our trip will have on the Galapagos and who should be allowed to visit the islands. The general consensus was that we are students who are interested in learning about and promoting conservation of the islands, so our visit will ultimately do more good than harm. However, we're all very aware of the precautions we'll need to take to avoid creating a negative impact any more than is absolutely necessary.
I still can't believe this is my last weekend on campus this semester. I have to go home next weekend to buy a few last-minute items and start packing. Yesterday was a thoroughly awesome day, though. I went miniature golfing with Jamie, Pat, R.J., and Jamie's parents, and then I finally got to eat at the Melt, which specializes in unique and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. We had to wait close to two hours, but it was totally worth it. I had the "Purple Parma," with tomato and eggplant on it. It was about four inches tall!! We went to the Phoenix, a coffee shop that's not quite as cool as the Mean Bean but has incredible smoothies, and then we went and played on a playground, because we're awesome college kids. I went down a two-story slide. Then we went back to the Arts House, hung out for a while, and decided a late-night Giant Eagle run was in order. Jamie and I subjected the boys to Taylor Swift in the car, and they survived. To top it all off, we had R.J.'s epic "Chocolate Overload" milkshakes.
Yay for good times with good friends. :)
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