On thursday we started off the morning by going to our second watercolor lesson where we reviewed our previous work and learned how to mix colors. Then we had a free afternoon and most of us hit the beach and worked on our tans. On the beach there were a lot of vendors walking up… Continue reading
This was a day filled with exploration and learning. We started the day by walking to the General Osario Metro Station to use our Metro cards for the first time. Sue gave an overview of the Metro system and used the map to show us the location of our final destination. We boarded, and by… Continue reading
Today was a memorable day to say the least. We started our morning off with a trip to the Roberto Burle Marx architect’s office. Isabella, the daughter of Haruyoshi Ono who worked with Burle Marx, showed us her current and past projects while emphasizing the importance of scale when planning out a new space. This… Continue reading
Today we had our first watercolor class at Casa Caminhoa, which is a landscape architecture studio in Rio. We worked with the owner and a talented artist/teacher during the class. We started with sampling each of our colors and making gradients using the techniques she showed us. We then applied the techniques we learned to… Continue reading
On friday we woke up for breakfast and were reluctant to leave the local guides we had bonded with. Although we had not been able to speak to them due to our lack of portugese, we still felt like we had connected with them and become friends by the end of the week. After a… Continue reading
Today we boated to one of the local communities where we received a tour from the leader of the community. He explained a lot about their way of life and how it changes over time due location of the river. As we walked past the lodges he would pick off different fruits to try and… Continue reading
Today after breakfast we were split into two groups. One group went canoeing, and saw frogs and a treehouse. The other group went piranha fishing, and were very successful! It was interesting to see how locals actually fish with simple rods, and that local communities rely on this technique for food source and their lively… Continue reading
Half of the students started the day with a hike, and the other half (including Joy and Sydney) went on a canoe ride. On the canoe ride we saw squirrel monkeys, spiders, fish, frogs, birds, and lots of mosquitos. It was a beautiful calm ride. When the ride was over, we had a bit of a break before lunch and class. For lunch we ate beans, rice, fish, and flan for dessert! After lunch we went to our lecture and learned more about agriculture and texture. Following that, we split up into groups to hike in different areas. What was different about this hike was we were having a small competition! Every student had to use natural materials they found in the rainforest to create some sort of art. This was inspired by an artist we learned about it class. One of the guides in our hiking group decided to participate and he picked up materials very quickly on the way. It’s fascinating how well the guides know the land as there was no hesitation in picking up specific types of leaves and vines, and knowing where to find them. Doing this project throughout the hike allowed us to connect with nature in a way we haven’t before. We were actively looking at all of our surroundings and seeing multiple perspectives. Later we had amazing food for dinner (rice, beans, chicken, fish, fried rice cakes) and voted on the winner of the art competition- Hannah! All the students decided to end the night by playing games before bed. It was an adventurous and eventful day.
At 6:30 we had breakfast and half of us went canoeing and half went hiking. We saw caimans, many varieties of birds, jaguar tracks in the mud, and the red fur remains of a monkey that had met its demise. Many birds are very loud, giving us our daily dose of tropical sounds. We came… Continue reading
Hello all from the Uakari Lodge! Today we departed Manaus at 8am for Tefe where we then took a bus and a boat to arrive at the lodge, our home for the next week. Tefe was a very busy and vibrant city with many of their locals getting around by motorcycles. The staff was extremely… Continue reading
