“Just in the nick of time they realized that it was their own habitat they were wrecking -- that they weren't merely visitors.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Galápagos
When I first found out that National Geographic was sending me to the Galapagos Islands, I was speechless. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by pristine mountain landscapes and am constantly worried about the impact that climate change (among other problems!) will have on my beautiful region. When I applied for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, I thought naturally, they would send me to the Arctic or Antarctica. I would learn more about climate change and come back, ready to teach and empower my students to save the world.
The Galapagos wasn't what I had in mind at all, although obviously I was thrilled to be going anywhere with National Geographic. There are so many animals there and I am not exactly an animal person (today I received a box of chameleons that my class will be studying and actually screamed and left the room when one escaped the container). If you look at my college transcript, you will see that Biology was my worst subject and if you asked me why, I would tell you it was because Biology bored me to tears and I could never stay awake long enough to actually read the entire chapter on natural selection or adaptation. I thrived in literature courses and history courses and math and chemistry, but biology was never for me. Of course, once I started reading about the Galapagos, I became more and more curious about the natural history of the islands and the amazing endemic species found there and started dreaming of sunbathing next to sea lions and snorkeling with sharks. What really tipped me over the edge and made me feel with increasing certainty that the Galapagos Islands were exactly where I was meant to go, was when I stumbled on the Kurt Vonnegut novel, Galapagos. His dark humor, insightful observations and poignant commentary on the human race and our impact on the planet piqued my interest and started me down the path of devouring countless natural history books and wildlife guides . His description of the Marine Iguana had me laughing so hard that I cried, something no Biology text has ever achieved for me. It turns out, the Galapagos Islands are one of the most amazing places on the planet. From pictures I've seen, the plants look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book and the collection of animals that one finds are a collection of unique and bizarre species, not unlike what you would expect to find on the Island of Misfit Toys. I have always thought that normal was boring, and there is nothing normal or mundane about the Galapagos. I have been obsessively studying anything I can get my hands on lately, reading about boobies and tortoises and finches and sharks! I can't wait to head out of town and embark on what I assume for me, will be (as the characters in Vonnegut's novel all embarked upon!) the Nature Cruise of the Century! I couldn't be more grateful or more excited. |