HawkTalk
Beyond NY Research | Peru Summer 2014

¡Hola Summer Hawk-Talk Blogger!

So, it’s 1:15 in the morning, but you need to know at this very moment that I am in successfully posting this from Peru! But first—Valjeanwho am I? Hint: the answer is not 24601. Sorry, Valjean, you gotta come clean.

 

I’m Corrine! Long story short, I transferred to Wagner a little over a year ago after deciding that astrophysics was too introverted for me. So, there I was, taking my first-ever anthropology course; it was covering some requirements and it was called “North American Archaeology”—how awesome is that?! Next thing you know, I was signing myself up to be an anthropology minor! Ever since, I have taken two more courses with Prof. Gagnon, including the “Forsenic Anthropology and Human Osteology” course—I know, it just gets more awesome as we go. After taking that class and mastering (on my good days) the bones in the body and various techniques to peruidentify an individual’s sex, age-at-death, and trauma based on those bones, Prof. Gagnon welcomed me to join her on a research trip for five weeks...in PERU!!!

Follow me through this little blogosphere and I’ll take you right along my research journey through Trujillo, Peru! We will be working with a specific collection (or two) and collecting and analyzing data. We’ll also be touristing some of the local areas, like excavation sites and museums; I’ll be sure to take tons of photos! As of right now, Prof. Gagnon and I are in Lima, the capital city. We will be jumping on our hour-flight to Trujillo in the afternoon tomorrow! My legs feel like Jell-o after our near-nine-hour flight today. penguin-stumbling

“But wait, Corrine. I read your bio and it says you want to work in filmmaking. Why are you on a research trip?” I’m glad you asked! While I’m here, I’ll be collecting photos and footage of the research we are conducting in the labs. With that media, I am creating a documentary short about bioarchaeology research! It’s a beautiful blend of my two favourite things. I’ll have the specifics on the film once they come around and you’ll be on my list of people-to-tell. For now, I’m going to hit the rack. Up earlyish for breakfast and some Lima-hopping before our next flight! ¡Hasta luego!

PS: This is my first time leaving the country, so be warned: I get anxious and overexcited (kinda like a puppy).
PPS: I have a very little conversational Spanish knowledge. So I’ll be sure to let you know of some of the phrases I’ve picked up, in case you ever find yourself this way. You can thank me later.

Corrine’s Spanish Lingo of the Day:

  • Con permisso – literally it means, “with permission,” but it’s used with a similar purpose as “excuse me” in English.
  • ¡Hasta luego! – literally it means, “untill later,” but it’s used like, “see ya later!”