Today was our first full day in Brazil! After a long day of sitting in the airport, gate changes, and middle seat flights, we all finally made it south of the equator to Manaus and into the tropics just in time to see the sun come up. In the morning, a few of us went to a cafe a few blocks away to have breakfast where the workers did not speak english so it was really an opportunity to put our Portuguese to the test. We had class in the hotel and then went to a nearby park to work our field sketching. We first split up into groups and collectively wrote a story based off of our surroundings and our imagination. When we came back together to share, the rain (tropical downpour) was pounding against the roof of the pavilion making it incredibly hard to hear. We then did an activity where we had to observe a plant for ten minutes, then write our observations for five minutes, and then had two minutes to draw the plant. Everyone so far has been very friendly here and welcoming and we can’t wait to take our flight tomorrow at 6am to head to Tefe, and then proceed by boat to the lodge.

By Amy and Joe