Are there any questions?

There aare maany things to talk about; however, my current situation is preventing me from writing (using internet on a phone). I am taking this oppertunity to take any questions you might have regarding my life, the proboscis monkeys, or Indonesia. Please leave me a comment or send me an email.

Justin Beiber, Smoking, and Monkeys

What do Justin Beiber, smoking and monkeys all have in common?  Well these are the words that best summarize my first expedition to the field.  If you came up with something else, I would really like to know, because those are three things that I don't think generally go together.  So after many delays, setbacks, and false starts, I was finally able to go up to one of my sites, called Batubarat.  It is an interesting site because one side of the river is Gunung Palung National Park, while the other side is not protected.  Currently, the forest is rapidly being converted to palm oil plantations; however, more on that later. 

 

So back to Justin Beiber, smoking and monkeys.  Imagine sitting on the porch of a little wood bungalow overlooking palm trees, a tropical river, and mountains in the background.  As you sit amazed at the wonders of natural, you hear a familiar sound... is it a bird, maybe a gibbon calling to its mate, no... it is Justin Beiber's "Baby, Baby, Baby."  My assistants (all of which are grown Indonesian men) love this song; they play it when we get back from the forest, they play it when we are eating lunch, they play it while rowing down the river.  That song will forever be in my head when I think about Indonesia.  

When I first arrived in Indonesia, I was taking aback by how many people smoke.  In California, we haven't been able to smoke in bars and restaurants for years, let alone in offices.  A few weeks into my stay, I read an article in the Indonesian newspaper about how smoking is not bad for you and all the bad press about smoking is just Western  modern colonialism.  I hope they are right, because otherwise I have to stop worrying about the crocs eating me and start worrying about dying of lung cancer.  I think between my assistants, my homestay parents, and the random town people that stop and visit, I might be up to a 30 pack a day habit.  Maybe the large carbon emissions from Indonesia is not caused by deforestation but just from cigarette smoke.  

And finally, the good part... MONKEYS!!!! After waiting for more than 2 years to return to the field, my first day back, I was able to spot 2 groups of proboscis monkeys.  Granted this is a lot less than the last time I am here (my research will determine the reason for that), but still, I saw that face with the big nose looking at me, before it turned around and ran away.  I had 13 sightings of proboscis monkeys in 6.  Three of the days, we were in the forest setting up botanical plots so the goal was not to find monkeys those days.  I also was able to see long tailed macaques, leaf monkeys, and a tarsier.  I saw orangutan nests and heard gibbon calls, so they are there, just hiding.  I am taking a brief respite from Justin Beiber, smoking, and monkeys to deal with some permit issues... but will be heading to site number two this week.