The Introductory Post That Should Have Come First

T-0 days

“Why should I read this blog?”

There are a lot of blogs on the 'Net, many of them far superior to this humble contribution. You may ask yourself why you should spend time reading my writing when you could be playing sudoku or knitting or even doing homework.

Actually, nevermind about the last one. It's obvious why you would do anything rather than do homework.

The answer, I suppose, is that there is no good reason, except perhaps that you know me, as a friend, as family, or as a student, and you are willing to take a little time out of your day to read the words I write. I like to think they are rather well-composed words and won't be too hard on your eyes.

And just what am I writing about? As a Fisheries and Wildlife student at Oregon State University I have to complete two internships to graduate. As luck would have it, there's an international internship program—IE3 Internships—with opportunities that fit the bill perfectly. Since I've always wanted to study abroad, I jumped at the chance to do one of my internship in another country. That's why today I am leaving for Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, where I will work with a nonprofit organization called Equilibrio Azul.

Equilibrio Azul (that's “Blue Balance” in English) is a conservation group that works in Parque Nacional Machalilla (Machalilla National Park), Ecuador's only marine reserve. Machalilla includes some of Ecuador's rare tropical dry forest—threatened by deforestation—and Isla de la Plata—“Silver Island”, named for the cache of silver Sir Francis Drake supposedly left there. Isla de la Plata is often called the “Poor Man's Galapagos”, and is where I hope to spend a lot of time working with birds.

Over the next eleven weeks, I'll be chronicling my adventures in Ecuador and my work with Equilibrio Azul. I hope you'll have as much fun reading about them as I will having them.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.