You're Not in Kansas Anymore

Lately I've been missing home and all of my favorite parts about it increasingly over the months. I would do just about anything to be able to go and spend a day out at Lake Michigan with my Mom and my brother, have an overnight Seinfeld party with Liza Petrenko and Stephanie Goorhouse, or play a game of spoons with my Dad and Step Mom Diane, but alas Mom is in Michigan, Lucas is in South Korea teaching enlgish to kindergarterners, Liza is in Arizona with her husband studying to become a dentist, Nate is in Cambodia spreading the word of God and her love, Dad and Diane are permanent resides of Florida, and I am in Maryland studying primate behavior. I have no complaints or regrets, I would not and should not be anywhere else (as neither should any of you) in the world; I just truly love and appreciate the memories and people who have helped shape the person that I am.  As of late I've been reminiscing on those memories and people much more, wishing we could have spent more time with eachother before life pulled us all in such different directions.


Okay, enough of that- the fourth of July in Washington D.C. was unbelievable, seeing the beautiful firework display behind the Washington Monument from my perfect spot on the Capitol buildings lawn with Andrew and my fellow research interns is a moment I will never forget. The week after Andrew and I went back downtown to spend a day at the Air and Space Museum and get a inside tour of the Capitol building. It was amazing seeing the Wright brothers first successful airplane and realizing the relevance and way their inventions shaped our daily life. Kinda creepy seeing the drones and computer operated planes that are more cost efficient and most likely going to replace modern airplanes any year now, Luke would you wanna be flown across the world by a computer? It was beautiful inside of the Capitol building and surreal standing in what used to be the House of Representatives, marked by John Quincy Adams desk.

Research is still going great, at the end of August my two fellow interns will have completed their 6 month commitment and one or two new interns will fill their shoes. This has inspired me to start getting a better foundation for the statistical analysis we have been running and I am hoping to become even more well versed in this area to better carry out the remainder of my research here. It's crazy and a little bit depressing how much you forget once you graduate, I took an entire year of Biological Statistics and remember virtually nothing and yet passed the class. You can learn everything under the sun but if you are never asked to apply it, where does that knowledge go? So far it has been out the window in my terms and I am slowly trying to change this theme but re-learning the basics and foundations of biology and anthropology. I also have begun to learn basic Korean words and I am getting increasingly excited to move there with Andrew in January. Until then we will keep slaving away with our food service jobs and me with my research ;) Love you all!!!!

Mandara was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo in April 1982, and came to the National Zoo in October 1985. Often referred to as “super-mom,” Mandara has had six offspring: Kejana (now at Disney), Kigali, Ktembe (now at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo), Kwame, Kojo, and a baby born on January 10, 2009. She is also the adoptive mother of silverback Baraka. Mandara is an extremely intelligent gorilla. She is a master of communicating her wants and needs to her caregivers. She has a strong personality, which aids her in her position as the group’s dominant female. She is named after a mountain range in Cameroon.

Distinguishing features:
Mandara is the smaller adult female group and can often be seen spending time near her kids, especially Kibibi. She has a notch in her left ear, and she has large breasts. When she is indoors, her favorite resting spot is one of the big hammocks.