Arrival to Roatan and AKR!

Our uneventful flights brought us here in two groups from Houston and Miami. The welcome at Roatan’s airport was wonderful … shortish lines for immigration. Our afternoon at AKR included an orientation by Jen Keck, Education Director, followed by getting fitted for our snorkel gear and then testing it out in the pool. Tomorrow, after research in the morning, we test it out on the reef!

Here are our first impressions on our first night:

Brie – it’s amazing to be back again for a second time to learn more about the research process.

Mary – I’m also so excited to be back and excited to learn more about research especially now that I have such a good understanding of research from last year.

Nicole – I am also really excited to be back and I can’t wait to learn more about animal conservation.

Ana – I am excited to be on my first trip abroad and to learn about conservation and dolphin behavior and marine systems.

Anapatricia – I’m excited to be on my first field study trip. I’m excited to learn about the marine life on Roatan and to learn about conservation methods.

Savannah – I’m excited to expand my knowledge of animal behavior and explore the culture of the country.

Felice – I was nervous about leaving the country but I’m glad to be here to participate in this research. And, I’m really excited to work with the dolphins and analyze their behaviors.

Gabby – This is my first study abroad trip. I’m ready to learn new research methods and I finally learned how to swim (the crowd goes wild!).

Sabrina – I’m very excited to be here doing my first field study program. I’m super excited to work with the dolphins and analyze their behaviors.

Gabriel – This is my first time outside the country and my first field study. I am excited to step out of my comfort zone and swim with dolphins and use research methods to observe how dolphins respond to people in the water. (And another cheers – I also learned how to swim.)

Kalli – I am thrilled to be expanding my horizons both literally and figuratively on my first study abroad field study. I hope to expand my knowledge on cetaceans as I switch from studying belugas to dolphins (temporarily).

Megan – I’ve looked at RIMS and DCP forever and can’t believe I’m here. I’m excited to study and learn in the field from legends.

Jean – this is just such a wonderful reunion with Kathleen and her research and it’s just such an amazing environment in term of the marine and cultural life. It’s going to be fun to get better acquainted with it for the week.

Dr. K. – I am thankful that we were able to give everyone this study abroad experience.

Dr. H. – I’m excited to expand the students’ horizons and to watch dolphins on many days and to see many sunsets while spending time with my best friends.

We look forward to a wonderful week, especially after our yummy dinner and evening discussion!

Cheers

The StMU snorkeling serpents

 

P.S. if you’re counting, you might realize we are missing one student … Joel arrives Tuesday thanks to a passport snafu.