I was expecting to start my first day of research in a lab, but I was presently surprised to learn that I would soon be trekking through the forest in search of frogs and tadpoles. I, along with a few other students, loaded into a truck and set off on an hour and a half drive up a seemingly endless mountain. Along the way we passed villages and food stands and slowed down several times to allow the stray dogs enough time to get up from their resting spots in the middle of the street. Arriving at a cabin-like home that backed up to the rainforest, it was already dark and we gathered in a room as a downpour of rain made its way past us. After about twenty minutes the rain cleared, and two local men led us into the forest with their hands resting on a knife measuring close to a foot long. Not long after entering, the first frog was spotted and I was called up to the front of the group to catch it. Luckily, I was able to hold on to it, and we had our first frog of the night. Our project leader, Cham, was an expert at spotting the frogs that were sometimes not much bigger than my thumbnail. He would shine a light on the frog trying to point it out to me, and after about three attempts from him to get me to see it, I would finally spot a tiny frog camouflaging against the forest background. After three hours of hiking through the forest with nothing but our headlamps, we made it back to the truck exhausted, but excited to do it all over again the next day. Who knew research could be so much fun?
-Kyley Olson