The beginning of 2016 has been quick and fun filled! The first weekend our friend on the island had a Fijian BBQ (called a Lovo) at his house. This entails digging a 
large hole in the ground (maybe 2 feet deep and 4 feet square) and putting hot coals on the bottom, gathering large coconut palms and placing a variety of meat in them. Then he braided the palms around the meat which are placed in the hole, buried, and left to cook for a few hours. There was also trays full of veggies and coconut milk placed in the hole to cook as well. Once everything was cooked, the food was dug up (very carefully as to not get dirt on it), unbraided or unwrapped, and placed out to eat. Everything was so delicious, and it was really cool to experience a traditional Fijian Lovo!
A few weeks ago, the team was invited to Saipan South (one of the high schools on island) to give a presentation about the project. This was a great opportunity to connect with some of the local youth of Saipan and introduce them to what EBL is doing to protect the wildlife in the Marianas. The kids were great! They asked questions that showed 
their curiosity and concern for the project and the island they live on. During lunch that day we had a chance to meet the Environmental club at the school. We spoke with them more about what the project does and ended up inviting them to the field house to 
give them a better idea of the work. Last Saturday they came over for their tour. They loved seeing the birds and their diets, tracking a model bird with the radio trackers in the yard, and even getting to do a bit of furgivery (watching a tree and seeing what birds come to eat the fruit from it). It was really awesome to see the kids get excited about nature, and we hope some of them were inspired to perhaps go into science as they start their college career!
On the field teams last Sunday on Saipan, we had a ravioli making night. A few of the girls here are really great cooks, and one of them taught us how to make raviolis from scratch. She mixed and rolled out the dough into rectangles, then we stuffed and sealed the raviolis before we put them in the pot to cook. The raviolis were filled with ricotta, eggplant, and onions. It was such a fun time cooking with everyone and most of all enjoying a fantastic meal at the end! It was a great close to their last weekend on Saipan, and a Sunday dinner we will remember forever.
On Tuesday afternoon I finally had the chance to go snorkeling! We went to Lau Lau beach where the waters are pretty calm (and you don’t have to swim over the reef to get to the good snorkeling). There you can jump into the water from a ledge and start snorkeling. There was beautiful fish of yellow, purple, black, and white, and really neat coral. It was a great afternoon enjoying the water and the true beauty of the island we are on.
Thursday evening we got some ice cream and went to Pau Pau beach to watch one last sunset with Britney (the last team member here) before she left. We walked down to the end of the beach, found some good rocks to sit on, and watched the sun set below the ocean.
Now the rest of the team is gone, and it is just John and I for the next month or so (until the new field crew comes for the next season). One of the best things about coming out here was getting to meet and work with such incredible, smart, interesting people from all over the world. They truly made this experience more memorable and will be great friends for years to come!
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