Mauna Kea - Day 1 on the Big Island

Mauricio, Alesandre, Isabel and Anita at Mauna Kea

Above the clouds.

Hawaiian Rainforest-Enroute to Mauna Kea

Hawaiian silversword just as we ascend the mountain

Road going upto Mauna Kea-The biker didn't make it all the way up.

Don't ask me read all about it..

Keystone Foundation at 14000ft! Cinder cone backdrop

Stands at 14000ft above sea level. Cold desert, no plants, no animals and very few human beings. Unless they were all inside the Observatories. The Hawaiian silversword, felt like it was made of silver foils read all about them at this link http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/asm.htm
All the small hills are cinder cones made from the deposit of lava spurting out of the volcano.
More on this journey later..

The highlight of this past month..

I guess its every ecologist's dream to visit the Volcanoes National Park and I feel thrilled that I made it! Isabel and Alesandre were planning a trip out to the Big island since Alesandre's brother Mauricio was visiting. They asked me if I would like to go, I didnot even think about it and just said yes. For the records, I asked my advisor before I said yes!!
Will post a more photogenic message about the trip soon. So watch out! Coming soon 3 days on Big Island...

Hikes

Went on a hike with Ganesan, Tamara, Lisa, Isabel, Alesandre and Mashuri to Hawai Kai. An amazingly steep hike, thankful for ropes and eroded steps that helped a lot. Walked through slopes of invasive strawberry guava and after a while they left us alone. To forests with native plants. The view from the top was worth all the effort. I know should have some pictures to upload. Will look for some..

Maybe this will be a monthly...

I look at my blog and think Sept 6th was the last!!!  September went by in a haze and I find October is doing the same.... I have no hold on time in Hawaii. What made it so fast, classes, a mid term exam, assignments, unkept paper deadlines to folks in India. I wish it was because I was surfing or learning Tahitian dance.. No it wasn't any of those just me running to keep in place..
Interim committee - 3 professors from my department sat with me and went over my past educational experiences. They gave me a clean chit, which means I have no more classes to take and then I decided to take the comprehensive exams in January, which is like a qualifying exam. People do that after a year of being in the department under normal circumstances.
Went for a percussion concert, performed by an extraordinary group from Malaysia visit www.hands.com.my
Got a room change to Hale Kuahine, I found it quieter and more green. Lugged all my stuff because of the fridge (small) became a task to carry 4 floors up. Chinh my floor mate at Hale Manoa volunteered to help and so I made it.

Not all studies...

Of course all these classes are 3 days a week and for 50 mins each and it helps to keep my week moving fast. The weekends come quickly and go away quickly too.

Weekends are usual parties, potlucks, outings...

The Prof who takes Plant Evolution also teaches a class on native Hawaiian plants. I didn't sign up for the class but asked his permission to go on the field trips. He agreed very graciously and as a result went for a good hike on Saturday. Went to Aiea ridge and walked for a good 4 hours one way. It was like walking through the sholas. A wet forest, invaded with all the invasives one could possible imagine, even a few Lantanas smiling at me. Exotics all of them, the Eucalyptus's were waving like they do over at Wilson's plantation off Gudalur. But as we moved higher Sandalwood, Ebony (Diopsyros), Elaeocarpus, Psychotrias, Syzygiums all natives of the island. Needless to say I felt totally at home. It is something to be able to recognise the plants many thousands of miles away. I kind of understand why the British wanted to plant some of the plants they remembered from home... No cycads and canarium.....
The only signs of animal life when we were on the hike, 2 butterflies!! The bird calls one or two were from the plantations below. It was a strange feeling to walk through forests that belong only to plants.

Today drove out to North Shore, where the international surfing championships are held. The ocean was too choppy for me to go deep into the water. I stayed close to the shore all the time. It was beautiful. The first wildlife I saw - Sea turtles, swimming in the water with the tourists and snorkellers.

More about classes

Tamara does a very interesting lab. She gives us each a book which we then have to read, present and choose two chapters to circulate amongst the group. I have Sacred Ecology by Firket Berkes. When I am done will post a few words on the book.
The Plant  Evolution class that i  take makes me a bit drowsy, i think its the powerpoint which is killing the spirit of the class.  Again  the Prof is a genius kind and is very enthusiastic about the topic. Brings in lot of good stuff and readings. Needed caffeine to keep me awake. The class is 10 mins apart from my Biometry class and I guess its not my fault, one can't stay awake between stats and genes..

Body piercing and Biometry

The Biometry class is taught by a very calm and solid kind of a teacher.Thankfully he doesn't use power points and has interesting discussion classes. The last discussion class was with data that the Prof had gleaned over the years from his students. Age, height, department and number of body piercings they had. I just noticed that the class came so alive in the discussions and wandered off many times into the art of body piercing to wanting to know the name of the female student who had nine piercings, but also applied all the lessons in the previous class to the data. It made box plots and histograms and probability curves more desirable. I too qualify as a student with two body piercings and most Indian women atleast 3 - earrings and nose ring..