Ornithologiestudie

Ich bin dieses Semester bei einem Ornithologieprojekt beteiligt. Wir studieren wie sich ein männlicher Vogel entscheidet, welches Lied er singen möchte, wenn er in der Präsenz eines anderen Männchens ein Weibchen beeindrucken will. Ich gehe zwei Mal in der Woche frühmorgens (4:30 aufstehen) mit zwei Masterstudenten in ein Naturreservat. Dort nehmen wir die Vögel, übrigens der Spezies Dendroica adelaidae, mit speziellen Mikrofonen auf, und wir fangen und beringen sie. Mit Abstand das Lustigste ist das Vogelfangen. Da haben wir spezielle feine Netze, die die Vögel nicht sehen können, die wir zwischen zwei Posten aufspannen. Dann stellen wir ein Lautsprecher unter das Netz, aus dem Gesang der gleichen Spezies ertönt, und verstecken uns im Gebüsch. Weil diese Vögel territorial sind, meinen sie es habe ein Eindringling in ihrem Revier und wollen in sofort verjagen... und schwups, schon zappelt ein Vogel im Netz! Das ganze ist sehr lustig, auch wenn es manchmal ein wenig Geduld braucht. Sobald ich mehr Fotos habe, stelle ich sie auf den Blog.

Fotos

Ich beim Insekten sammeln.

Living with Uncle Sam

Puerto Rico ist eine Kolonie der Vereinigten Staaten. Dieser Artikel aus dem Reiseführer Lonely Planet gibt eine gute Zusammenfassung der involvierten Geschichte und Gefühlen.

Puerto Rico’s political status inspires a curious mix of guarded ambivalence and grudging acceptance. For many, the idea of the living with Uncle Sam has become more a habit than a passion. Suspended constitutionally between full-blown US state and sovereign independent nation, the island’s population remains in a curious state of limbo. It seems as if the people can’t decided what they want their country to be. Last put to the vote in 1998, the advocates of statehood were pipped at the post by supporters of the existing status quo, i.e. a commonwealth or incorporated dependent territory of the United States. The various independence parties, meanwhile, continue to come in a distant third.
Triggered historically by the Grito de Lares in 1868 and reignited briefly in the 1950’s, the independence issue has long been a perennial damp squid. Compromise is invariably touted as a more desired modern option. Cemented in the 1952 Constitution Act, the current relationship between Puerto Rico and the US was largely the work of iconic national governor Luis Muñoz Marín. A prophetic democrat, Muñoz believed that to push for political independence from the Americans was a folly akin to economic suicide. In order to liberate the masses from the crippling poverty of the inter-war years, the island needed to maintain an arm’s-length relationship with the US while at the same time retaining its distinct Latin legacy. Steering a fine line between free-thinking commonwealth and obedient colonial lapdog during the 50’s and 60’s, Muñoz successfully lifted the island out of its economic coma. He also professed to have safeguarded Puerto Rico’s cultural identity and political “freedom” for future generations.
It’s a sentiment with which many would concur. While few Puerto Rican’s play the out-and-out nationalist card these days, most continue to uphold an unspoken cultural resistance toward their venerable American neighbors in the north. Ubiquitous shopping malls and Burger Kings aside, the proud Boricuas have consistently resisted swallowing the American Dream hook, line and sinker. Distinctive cultural manifestations pulsate everywhere. From the Spanish language, to the hip-gyrating music, to the way they over-enthusiastically drive their cars – patriotic islanders have always been Puerto Rican first and American a distant second. It’s a cultural paradigm that looks set to continue for some time yet.

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The Great Migration

Long attracted by the lure of the American Dream, the Puerto Ricans rank alongside the Irish in their long-standing tendency to the United States – in particular to New York City. Indeed, by the late 1990s, the Puerto Rican diaspora in the US was as large as the island’s total home-based population, with close to 3.8 million expats living stateside. Puerto Rican émigrés have even fermented their own US-based culture, creating such hybrid musical genres as salsa and reggaeton, and spawning a plethora of foreign-based – but proudly Puerto Rican – superstars such as Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony.
Although migration to the US has been common since the early 1800s, the largest exodus didn’t occur until the mid-20th century, when the granting of US citizenship to all Puerto Ricans, coupled with a lack of economic opportunities on the island, led to tens of thousands of people flocking north. The process snowballed in the late 1940s when a new air link to New York sent another wave of homecoming GIs and dispossessed agricultural workers to the Big Apple where they settled in East Harlem, a quarter that was promptly rechristened “Spanish Harlem” or – in Latin lingo – El Barrio. In the year 1953 alone an estimated 75,000 Puerto Ricans arrived in New York City and by 1960, over half a million called the Big Apple home.
In the early years, the migrant experience wasn’t always a harmonious one, with Puerto Ricans invariably gravitating towards New York’s poorest neighborhoods, where the faced economic hardship and discrimination. The situation wasn’t aided by a failed assassination attempt on President Truman in 1950 and an abortive shooting on Capitol Hill four years later, both acts by Puerto Rican nationalists. Subsequently islanders came to be seen as unpatriotic and were often viewed with distrust and suspicion. As a defensive mechanism many Puerto Ricans banded together in groups and began to re-assert their cultural identity. This led, in part, to the birth of the art-house Nuyorican movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. Centered at the Nuyorican Poet’s Café on New York’s Lower East Side, this progressive artistic movement helped to promote salsa music and showcase classic Puerto Rican-inspired movies such as Carlito’s Way.
With economic conditions improving since the 1980s, many Puerto Ricans have worked their way up the career ladder and moved towards more white-collar jobs. As a result, sizable Puerto Rican enclaves now exist in the affluent suburbs of cities such as Miami and Chicago, and a number of US-born Puerto Ricans have moved back to the old country where they have invested in second homes.

Aus: Lonely Planet Puerto Rico 2008

You know you're Puerto Rican if...

Your cousins have "original" names, like a blend of their
parent's names (ViMari = Victor + Maria)

You go to a wedding or Quinceanera party, gossip about how bad
the food is, but take a plate to go.

Telenovenas have the status of holy ceremonies.

You think platanos are a whole separate food group.

You walk around saying "Chacho", or "Chacha" or "Ay Bendito".

Others tell you to stop screaming when you're really talking.

You call all sneakers "tenis".

All breakfast cereals are called "Con Fley".

All tissue papers are called "Klinex".

All brands of diapers are called "Pampel".

A balanced meal consists of rice and beans and some kind of meat.

You've put a penny on your forehead to stop a nosebleed.

Your mother has put a balled up piece of thread on your baby
cousin's forehead to stop her hiccups.

You have at least 30 cousins. At least!

You know how to drive an "estandar" or "estic chift" car.

Fotos Uni