the view out my window, though slightly modified so you don't see the aquarium I overlook that is often filled with Korean and Japanese tour groups. 

behind PICRC

Good news, I made it to Palau.  I know everyone was worried I might show up and find a shack and a half sunken raft (or at least I was a little worried), but Palau International Coral Reef Center does actually exist!  Not only does it exist, but they even had a foggie notion of who I was and why I was knocking on their gate at 4am.  I am settling in nicely and so far everyone has been really friendly and kind.  The first Palauan I met was the woman sitting next to me on my flight.  She was from Palau but lives in Salem Oregon and instantly insisted on giving me a ride to PICRC.  By the time she dropped me off, her and her sister and best friend had given me a tour of town, told me a list of at least 3 cousins who worked at PICRC and whom I should say hello to, invited me to church, assured me I would love it here, and left me with their phone number. That was probably the nicest welcome I have ever received in a new country.

Behind PICRC

I haven't found housing yet but no one seems to worried about it so I'm not either.  Hopefully I will have something by the end of the week.  Someones niece has a room for me but I just have to track her down.  Until then I am staying at PICRC.  It's at the end of a chunk of land that sticks out into the ocean, which I can see from my window, and just a 10 minute walk from town.  Town really isn't too exciting though (or nice) so I have mostly been avoiding it.  It's got restaurants, convenient stores, 3 grocery stores, a few hotels, schools, a church and a couple of bars.  I went in to get groceries the other day at "rush hour" and the one road was packed.  There are no traffic lights and I was wondering how that was going to work until I saw a official directing traffic.  I had no idea that still existed!  I think they should invest in some roundabouts because for all his whistling and arm waving I think he was mostly adding to the confusion.

Rich and Omachi doing scientific things among the pneumatophores. 

 I have spent the last few days tagging along on random projects.  About half of the staff left yesterday on a big 3 week trip to do field work in Micronesia, so they were all really busy getting ready to go and didn't really have time to get me working on much.  Instead they passed me off to Rich, a visiting aquatic ecologist from Hawaii who is here with the forest service to study mangroves.  My help wasn't actually needed but they let me tag along and hangout while they work in the groves.  He is looking at sediment levels in the mangroves so the work has to be done at low tide.  Unfortunately most of the sites are only accessible by boat at higher tides, which means you either get dropped off close to the mangroves and then wait an hour for the water to drop, or you get dropped off far and have to walk through waste deep water and knee deep mud.  We tried both options.  Either way you come home soaking wet and covered in mud.  The groves trap sediment from runoff and rivers which gives the trees something to grow in and gives us a lot of mud to tromp through.  They look really crazy, like a Doctor Seuss book or a scene from a planet in star wars.  My favorite are the trees who send up roots (I think they are called pneumatophores) so there are just these weird wooden spikes everywhere.  I did a lot of poking in the mud looking for crabs and these fish that use their fins like arms and jump around.  Coming back out Friday we had a quarter mile trudge out to the boat in really deep mud so we were post holing to our knees every few steps.  It started to pour so I was soaking and all I could think was how one, this is what it must feel like to be a ship wreck survivor trying to make it out to the rescue boat and two, this is so much better then school!!!!!!!!!

Remora fish - look at those bat ears!

 I managed to get an invite out with a visiting researcher from Australia to dive to Yesterday.  I was really excited and also nervous that I would make an ass of myself since I've only dove 12 times ever.  Once again my help was not really needed, but they were kind enough to find me a task.  They were diving to photograph plates they put down on damaged reefs to record coral recruitment.  Some plates were in the open, some where partially enclosed in a cage to prevent herbivorie and others were totally enclosed.  My job was to find bits of broken coral and stuff it into the gaps around the bottom of the enclosures to help keep out the fish.  Mostly I was just trying to remember to breath and not do anything too stupid.  It worked out great because I got to dive a bunch and work out all the kinks before anyone actually asks me to do something under water.  The first few reefs we went to were pretty badly damaged from a big storm last year and didn't have a ton going on.  The last ones we visited though here still in tact and amazing.  I spent a lot of time staring at things and wondering what they were.  Highlights included a giant spiked sea cucumber, 2 Remora fish that usually attach to sharks and turtles and look like weird bat fish to me, and this cute little orange and blue fish that was hiding in a giant anemone-looking thing.  I got to go with them again today because one of the staff needed to finish a report in the office.  This time I actually was needed though!  I swam around with a meter square of plastic pvc piping and dropped it randomly and then took a picture.  It was a bit like doing acrobatic in the water because you had to align yourself just right to get the picture without being in it yourself, and the surges kept pushing me places I didn't want to go.  The Australian has decided to hijack me for his project since no one seems to care what I do and don't really have a project for me so I should get to go out a bunch more.  

Taking a break from diving to guard the boat and take some photos, a nap, and a swim!

The view from the PICRC boat, which I learned how to drive.

Okay well I guess I'll leave it at that.  I can't believe I have only been here A week.  I have already gotten to see and do so much.  I will try to post occasionally, but you can also email me.  I am going to try to put lots of picture so if you all get board with my rambling you can just look at the pictures.  Hope everyone is well!
Love Katharine