Day 6: Marine Biology+Research

​Julia Tao
While the rest of the group went out to do the marine biology mission, Natalie and I went to Golden Stream (Tambrand Village) to collect stool samples for the parasite research. In the car ride, we taped collection jars and sandwich bags with painter's tape so that we could write the names of the family members once we arrived. We also brought two foam ice chests and gallon bags of ice (made the night before) so that the villagers could store their samples there overnight.
When we arrived at the village, not many people had arrived at the meeting area yet, so we walked to the various pumps and pools of stagnant water throughout the village that were used for drinking and bathing (the pumps often went dry, forcing them to get drinking water from the ponds). At one of the ponds, there were two women washing laundry at the edges of the water, and many kids playing and jumping into the center of the pond. One of the men who took us to visit these water sources told us that whenever he bathed in the pond, he would get itchy. Later on, we discovered that it was due to there being parasites in the water which were able to burrow under skin. 
When we got back to the meeting area, we labeled and passed out the jars to each family and then explained how to collect the stool.

Nathan Lee
After our second day of clinic at Independence, many of us participated in the bioluminescent tour with Mr. Lincoln, a local fisherman. We were lucky enough to take part of this once in a lifetime opportunity which was on the night of the full moon. We were surprised to find that when we made contact with the water, sparks of light appeared.
​From this day forward, we officially proceeded onto the marine biology aspect of the mission trip. We listened to a detailed presentation by Ms. Ruth Gutierrez, and it was interesting to learn about Belize’s beautiful, natural environment despite being considered somewhat underdeveloped. The presentation was simply an informative session for the activities we would take part of the next day. 
On Thursday morning, our whole group boarded onto 4 different speedboats to get to Coral Caye. Although there was a bit of a miscommunication and we ended up at Laughing Bird Caye, we eventually made our way to the correct island and listened to Ms. Mariko Wallen speak a bit about the different activities available to the students that day: fishing and snorkeling. My friends and I initially went on a fishing boat where one of the parents, Mrs. Tae caught about 10 fish using only a fishing line! My friend Duke Pham-Chang used a fishing rod, and also caught about 5 fish. The rest of us were pretty unsuccessful, so we proceeded back to the island to eat lunch. 
After a delicious lunch of chicken and potatoes and a bit of relaxation and recovery, my friends and I decided to try our hands at fishing one last time. On the speedboat we went - the waves were a lot larger now - and just like the last time, we weren’t able to catch too many fish. Mr. Hank caught a pretty big fish, but we weren’t as successful in numbers as before. A couple of my friends and I got pretty seasick because of the harsher waves, so we headed back to the island. 
Before we ended our first day of excursions, the students recorded a thank you video for Turtle Inn for their generosity in sponsoring our marine biology trip. We headed back to the mainland to get some rest and regain energy for the next day.