Adios CEDO

How can one week feel so long, yet not be enough? I could have lived at CEDO with you guys all summer. Thank you so much to Paloma, Eleazar, Mariel, Angeles, and all of the other staff for making our stay an absolute dream. I had never been out of the country before this trip, and now I want to visit absolutely everywhere. We wrapped up our week at CEDO by doing a service project where we pruned bushes, cleaned signs, sorted trash, cleaned the fish tank and fish pond, and shoveled the sand off of the walkway. Liza and I were assigned to the sand shoveling, and we were quickly reminded of how heavy sand is. We had a leaf blower that was our saving grace, but the battery died very quickly. 😔 Everyone else came to help us after they were done with their own tasks, so it became much more manageable. The walkway was unrecognizable when we were done. (I didn't even realize there was concrete under there before because of how much sand there was) After we were done with the service project, we had a chunk of time to work on assignments, relax, eat lunch, etc before it was time for our presentations! I can safely say this was the only time I have felt excited to present a project. We were split up into groups of three, and each group was assigned a different Phylum. The three phyla options were Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Echinodermata. Liza, Elizabeth, and I had the Phylum Arthropoda. We talked about the size and success of the Phylum, characteristics of arthropods, the 4 main subphyla, marine chelicerates, and Antarctic krill. My favorite slide of mine was about the marine chelicerates, which are horseshoe crabs and sea spiders. Terrestrial chelicerates include all true spiders and true scorpions, as well as camel spiders, whip scorpions, harvestmen, pseudoscorpions, etc. (Also mites and ticks, but those are less fun.) In other words, all of the things that make me happy/my family makes me take outside when we find them in the house. Even though horseshoe crabs look more like crustaceans at first glance, when you look closer you can see all of the appendages that make them more closely related to spiders. They have chelicerae, pedipalps, and 4 pairs of walking legs, just like all other chelicerates. When you flip them upside down, their legs look just like those of an upside down tarantula. Absolutely adorable. Sea spiders also have all of those characteristics, but it's easier to believe that they are chelicerates because of their general arachnid shape. (And because spider is in the name, I guess.) Nothing makes me happier than deeper understandings of the things I love most, so I'm so happy we did these presentations. Now my only dilemma is choosing between entomology and marine biology... This is gonna be hard. Our last night at CEDO was filled with good food, good music, great people, big laughs, and warm hearts. Oh and Whitney taking a My Little Pony character quiz only to get Twilight Sparkle, even though Valentina and I decided that she's 2/3 Rainbow Dash and 1/3 Fluttershy. We also made sure that Whitney and Dr. C knew the difference between chopped and cooked to avoid any more instances of them calling students chopped on accident. (You can call a broken down car chopped, but if you say it to a person it means you're calling them busted. We also had to teach them what busted means. Sigh.) I don't even want to end this blog, because it means I'm really home and I can't just walk down to the beach and play with brittle stars. Thank you so much to Whitney and Dr. C for planning every day of the trip, teaching us always, making us laugh and keeping us safe. You guys are the best <3. As for all of the girls, I will miss you all dearly! I wish you all the best, and I will leave you with some cute photos. 

Look at me wearing my Class Arachnida shirt while doing our Phylum Arthropoda presentation. I guess I know what I like.

The left side of CEDO's property. The quote on the steps is "I live my life in growing orbits which move out over the things of the world. Perhaps I can never achieve the last, but that will be my attempt. I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, and I have been circling for a thousand years, and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm, or a great song." 

Bonus: What I came home to. My mom got me an octopus (Phylum Mollusca) stuffed animal and 

the kittens (Phylum Chordata) were soon playing with it. Also, they still need homes. Lmk if you want a kitten. Bye for now :)