Costa Rica is not an island...

But Puerto Rico is.  Yes my fellow friends, this is a clarification I have had to make to people in the past.  "Oh Costco Rico, that's a beautiful island..."

And they weren't being metaphorical, as if to suggest a political science analysis to the effect that, yes, indeed, Costa Rica could be a considered an island of stability in the midst of the rough Central American Sea.  Nope, these people were less analytical, less interested...

But any how, Puerto Rico is an Island in which I find myself these days.  Which is to say that I am in Puerto Rico.  What brings me here, you, the interested reader have no doubt asked yourself, in a whisk of consternation.  Well, I am working on field school focusing on social science research methods as they apply to public health problems.  I am working with faculty from the University of Puerto Rico, at Cayey (the city we are staying in), from the University of South Florida, from the U of Arizona, and from the U of San Fransisco.

 Our schedules are real busy, but our tasks are interesting and fun.  From what I've seen of the Island, it's a beautiful place.  Plus, I finally ate mofongo, a delicious dish made from green plantains.  It's sort of like smashed-green plantains with a lot of garlic.  Dense and delicious.

I'll be here until July 14th, when I fly to Raleigh to meet up with Kate, Em, Jay and the Noodle Pack.


Finally, to close with a linguistic observation, I've noticed that Puerto Rican's pronounce a "R" that is immediately followed by a consonant as an "L" sound.

Veldad?

This is what a fern leaf may look like on any given Sunday, at El Yunque forest in Puerto Rico.