Lessons Learned on Day One

Hi, this is Matt writing to you about our first day in the coffee field conducting our assigned research. For background, we are selecting coffee trees within predefined areas and counting the cherries, leaves, and taking various measurements as Christian is doing in the photo.

Our first day of work gave us some important lessons. First was sunscreen. Despite multiple warnings, there were quite a few pink arms and necks in the group. Second, fill that water bottle all the way to the TOP! We drank a lot of water, more than we expected. It was very hot and didn't rain as much as we expected. Third, eat all of your breakfast! Even when it's grilled cheese, runny eggs, and greasy french fries because you will need the energy. We stood for 6-8 hours and pushed our way through the dense trees which made for some very tired people by lunch time.

Over all, it was a great first day. We accomplished everything we were assigned and ate a tasty lunch and dinner. We are all looking forward to the things we'll see next and hopefully learn from our lessons today.