Submitted by Sara Westhafer on the 2016 winter session program in Brazil sponsored by the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences…
The first week that I’ve spent in Brazil was absolutely amazing! The study abroad group that I’m in is for Landscape Horticulture and Design, yet not everyone is a plant science or landscape horticulture major. Though our group spans a wide range of majors, we still all get along really well.
We first landed in Manaus and for six days we were up close and personal with the Amazon rain forest. For three of those days, we were on a boat that traveled along the Rio Negro. From this boat, we took smaller canoes and were able to get closer to the banks and see the various wildlife that lived there (snakes, sloths, iguanas, monkeys, etc..). I really admired the tour guide, Hugo, that led us and taught us about the Amazon. Hugo knew so much about how the rain forest works and about the important factors, or parts, that work together to keep the forest functional. We visited an indigenous tribe that lives in the Amazon and were able to see how they make a living. Growing cassava, making cassava flour, having a wood-shop and selling handicrafts is a completely different way of making money, compared to the majority of the world. For our last night in the Amazon, we had the opportunity to stay at the INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia). The INPA is a group, similar to the Smithsonian, that does research on the ecology of the forest and how different levels of human disturbance affects the species found. To be at an important research station, and to sleep outside in hammocks, was a great opportunity and the people were even nicer (and played fútbol with us).
There was then a long day of travel as we made our way to Rio de Janiero. Just by walking in the airport, you can tell that there is a lot of excitement for the upcoming summer Olympics by the amount of vendors selling apparel and other items. The fact that the Olympics is in Rio this summer makes Brazil stand out. Even more so because this will be the first time a South American country has the right to host the Summer Olympics.