“The Wall” — local people like to address it this way. To locals, the mere length or the grandeur of it does not ring any bells.

I wanted to yell and say: “YES I ACCEPT!” But I tried to be cool.

I was petrified of volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, high winds, lightning, and even--when I was very young--the sound of the ocean.

My field site was adorned with loads and loads of herps and nobody can tell me otherwise.

...a bigger part of me wanted to defend measuring out exactly six cups of water to really go the extra mile on my Kraft macaroni and cheese.

I sometimes imagine how my path would be different if I had pursued music instead of science.

No way, this is a mistake. This email is probably directed to another Nicole. I’ll get a second email soon saying it was a mistake.

No sooner had I landed in Cairo after four long years of absence than I discovered my watch broke.

...feelings of failure are physical. I threw up my dinner that night, I could not stop crying, and my body would not stop trembling.