Hunter by Nature

Selamat datang!

They say the hardest part of field work is the preparation. I’d say that’s pretty accurate. Here’s an extremely condensed version of how to prepare for scientific research.

It starts months, or years, in advance with reading scientific literature. It’s often dense, and you have to know how to read and accurately interpret scientific papers in order to form your own ideas. The skill-building required to understand scientific literature mostly occurs during undergrad, but it is very field-specific. While reading, you start to think of hypotheses, species, and methods that interest you. Once you generate your ideas, you share them with your advisors, mentors, or experts in the field. After deciding on your research area, you begin writing a formal proposal and applying to grants. Grant applications can take months and often involve multiple rounds, interviews, and lots of rejections.

Next up: permits. The permitting process is essential to ensure that your work is protecting the people and animals involved in your research. You work with local researchers and governments to ensure that you are following the rules and regulations of the area you will be working in. You also must decide on publication rights, dissemination of results, and how to combat bias in the research.

Once you finally arrive in your destination, it is naive to think it will be smooth sailing. You have to obtain more permits and permissions, work with locals, decide on schedules, and buy supplies.

This is the stage I have been at for the last week and a half in Palu, Indonesia. I’d be lying if I said I’ve had a wonderful time and everything has gone well. The thing I like to tell myself before every field season is, “Everything goes wrong in the field and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Sulawesi is stunning. We arrived here at 8am Monday, June 9th, and the airport views took my breath away. It’s is still unbelievably hot and humid here, but the ocean breeze makes Palu a little less stifling than Jakarta.

Diana and I slept most of the 9th since our flight between islands was at 2am. After our recovery nap, we ventured around our hotel. We met an extremely kind Indonesian college student while walking to the Indomart to get water. She spoke English and is working towards becoming an English teacher in Sulawesi. Later, we made it to the beach and sat and enjoyed the rest of afternoon.

Our first Palu hotel was home to an excellent restaurant that we ate at several times. It was also home to a family of adorable feral cats. Diana may or may not be planning on stealing one….

The next day, we attempted to see the floating mosque, a mosque off the coast of Palu built into the ocean. Our taxi driver dropped us off at a mall instead of the beach and we began wandering to try to find our way over the seawall. Our attempts were unsuccessful, and we still haven’t seen this mysterious mosque. Because of our failures, we decided to explore Palu City Park, which was home to several trails and more gorgeous views.

Dr. Grow, a professor at Washington State University, and an alumna of Texas A&M, arrived in Palu on the 11th. She is one of the researchers who found the first living population of pygmy tarsiers! She has been a major help to my research and is a member of my Ph.D committee. She is here working on her own research and showing me the ropes.

In the past several days we have been in meetings with Dr. Grow and the field assistants who will be joining us during data collection. We have met with government officials, decided on schedules, negotiated salaries, and purchased camping supplies. Much of our meetings are in Indonesian, which means I am basically useless. Not really, as I contribute in English and can understand bits and pieces, but I FEEL useless.

Everything here operates on what I am beginning to call “Indonesian time.” If you have a meeting at 10am you can show up at 11am without worry. You also are expected to visit with people before discussing any business. This has been extremely difficult for me as an ex-ballerina and ex-college athlete; in the back of my mind I can hear a whistle blow and being told to run laps for my lateness. Much of this week feels like being a little kid on vacation with your parents. You have no idea what’s really going on, and you are just being led around on a schedule that you are unsure of. I am trying to let go and go with the flow (I just want to know what time the flow is supposed to start!)

We have had to adjust our plans due to some unexpected bumps in the road, but we are making (slow) progress. I am ready for the rest of our adventure!

Selamat Jalan!