I returned today from a two day trip literally over the river and through the woods (and down a few dirt roads) to the neighboring municipalities of Santa Cruz and Nicoya where I interviewed the mayors. I am now "home" in Palo Verde National Park. Sitting in the open-aired screened pavilion, I am showered, wearing clean clothes, and happily waiting for dinner with the staff. Two weeks (and some change) ago, I arrived wondering what I had gotten myself into. One night, my thoughts slipped to some graduate students here doing research on local plants, that this is "simply not how social science is done". But now I found myself with a renewed perspective. This is a way that social science can be done.
Here I am in Costa Rica studying environmental politics, and here I am in the middle - literally - of one of its most unique and prized national parks carrying out my research. And I am happy to report that I finally "got it". I have found an appreciation for this dry tropical rain forest that I loathed upon arrival. No, I don't love the mosquitos or the dust. But I do appreciate - deeply - the dynamics of the park, the bounty of its biodiversity, and its raw mystique. It is a treasure. And how lucky am I to realize this in the moment to fully appreciate it now and later.
