Today Me Will Live In The Moment...

July 26, 2014
By Kelsey Du

I thought that today would be an impossible day to write about.  With an hour alone in the jungle and "poetry exercises" being the 2 items on our agenda, I was convinced that I would have nothing interesting to say in here.  To my surprise, today today turned out to be a pretty "top tang" day.

Our post-breakfast activities began with a meditation during which we discused the idea of impermanence (RIP DK's photos) and we followed that up with our hour of solitude in the forest. For me, the hour flew by.  I could have stayed in there all day.

Next, after Harry and Maddie took table naps in the library, we had a group discussion ending with a poetry exercise.  Even though I'm not a big poetry fan, it was a lot of fun.  We broke into 3 groups and wrote three poems one line at a time.    Each poem turned out beautifully and painted an accurate picture of our time here.

After lunch, I desperately needed a nap.  Last night, we discovered a giant cockroach on our porch so I didn't sleep very well.  So, after passing out on my top bunk for about 30 minutes, DK woke me up to help the workers move logs on Matapalo. The sun was out, our "guns" were out, and everyone was dripping with sweat.  The hard work is fulfilling - it's really cool to be a part of the upkeep of this amazing station.

Our last activity for the night was another poetry exercise - this time in teams of 2.  Everyone absolutely killed it.  I'm completely impressed by the talent in this group!

Also, while Jeff was reading his team's poem, Mackenzie hit her head on a pole and turned on the gazebo light -- it was really funny.

The moral of my story is that this place and these people are amazing.  I'm never bored, never disappointed, and I'm always looking forward to the next adventure we will share.

I think the cookie monster accurately sums up the vibe of this trip by saying,
Today me will live in the moment 
unless it's unpleasant in which case
me will eat a cookie.
(shout out to the Festivals, the limon cookies which have stolen my heart)

Exquisite Corpse in the Jungle

Poetry in the hot, sweaty, humid jungle? I would have to say that most students were skeptical.  Prior to our departure, we invited Christopher Matthews, a fellow advisor, writer and poet to stop by one of our GIEU meetings to share some tips for writing creatively.  He was wonderful!

Now, in our second week in the jungle, we were ready to give poetry and creative writing another try.  For the exquisite corpose exercise this time, we divided our group of 17 in to three and assigned them topics. Group 1 would focus on challenges they were facing, Group 2 would focus on how they were rising above the challenges, and the Group 3 would focus on how their relationships with nature were evolving.  

We adapted the writing technique created by the Surrealists in the early 1900s by having each group take a sheet of paper and fold it like a fan.  Each student would only be able to see the sentence created by the person before them, prior to adding his/her own line.   We felt it would be a low-stakes way to encourage some creativity.  Sitting in the classroom of the lab, we got to work.  We gave them permission to let go - of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.   The results were amazing!

Challenges

Boots sinking further into the mud as sweat collects on my forehead.

Hoping to become clean and dry, but everything is always wet, even the sheets on my bed.

Even though the pillows smell so bad, what's worse is the omniscient smell of possum.

Just don't smell your soggy, muddy, socks before you put them on your feet.

Or having to eat some random meet, both feet and heart growing weak,

Can't wait to go home where we can meet.

And I can have red-skinned potatoes, greenbeans (crispy and garlicky) and a nice juicy burger.

Yesterday, a cockroach attacked Mackenzie's empty juice box.

Always looking for cinnamon rolls in my socks.

Overcoming

The forest is dense and populated vertically and horizontally with species that are hard to deal with, but you eventually even see them as amazing and a part of more.

Trudging through, step by step, morphs into leaps over leaps.

Breaking the barrier, frustration turns to joy and humidity becomes nothing.

I catch myself enjoying the little things and running out of time to think of the negative ones.

Rain, sweat, humidity and smell - there are moments when it is all overwhelming and I wonder how much more I can take?  But then a cool breeze blows and I catch the flutter of a butterfly's wings and I am happy to still be here.

Oh the discomfort...and I wonder about how man and all his inventions helped him overcome them.  Coming this far, I realize that I didn't need those anymore, because I've grown stronger.  

Return to Nature

A palate of noise, a symphony of hues, and hub of smells.

A cascading overture of birds, ringing like bells.

And the silent church bells summon the ants to a common destination.

Stinking boots - do they appear fertile? - pull spiders in with no hesitation.

Time to set these boots on fire or slam them against the wall for further use in precipitation.

Rain, a source of life and sometimes death, constantly dripping from the leaves.

We walk, not pausing, we feel everything.  What remains?

The vibrance of the jungle, coursing through our veins.

Like the rain coursing down the vines.  

THE BIG SHABANGANANG!

July 25, 2014
By Sylvia E.

Remember the days when your only hopes were that the next storm would bring more and bigger puddles?  I've never been transported so fast and back in time with emotion than today (to be explained in more detail).

Today was the day...THE BIG SHABANGANANG!  We woke up at the usual hour and ate eggs and bread for breakfast.  At 7am, we took a group picture at the Giant Kapok Tree in front of the lab and split into Maquisapo Groups.

Of course, I lead Team 1:  Fast & Furious...Harry, Kevin, Jeff, Emily, Leonard, Kelsey, and me. 

We did Maquisapa - Harpia - Chorongo - in 4 hours and 10 minutes with 5 leeches on Emily's pantlegs (which Jeff and Kevin set on fire with a lighter).  We have boots filled with swamp water, 3 bee stings on Leonard, 1 bee sting on Harry. Both Harry and Leonard hallucinated (they heard the voices of non-existent people).  Oh, and we saw lots of spiders, butterflies, insects, etc.  Kelsey also saw a snake slice across her path on the walk.

LET ME TELL YOU...Maquisapa is like no other path!  Because of the distance from base camp and the length, it is not very well kept (at least relative to the other paths), but I absolutely LOVED it!  About 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through Maqui there was no trail...just a swamp (1 foot of water deep) - just high enough  where you can definitely sink in that last 1-2 inches and fill your boots with souvenir water - you could also do this by angling your foot  wrong with the intent of moving forward by pressing on your forward foot!  Anyway, it looked like it came straight out of a movie or Discovery Channel or a National Geographic special. Just forest and murky water.

That swamp was my life's rain puddle and I could not be any more happy experiencing it today with a good pair of Michigan Duct-taped-Banana Spider Rainboots and some good company.

[Giant side note:  there was also a tree in the way that we pulled out of the way and an even bigger tree that was way beyond our immediate help but blocked our trail...because of how unkempt the trail was, how in-frequented it was -- we had to keep sending scouts and re-find the trail several times and determine if it was a continuous trail...which kept things exciting.]

We also kept wondering where the other group was since we never saw them (they were supposed to meet us in the middle from the opposite direction).  Apparently they went off-trailing with Jose the tour-guide and took 6 hours to complete.  The rest of the day was filled with relaxation, swimming, napping, reading, working out, showers.

(Fast & Furious Maquisapa Group returns in 4 hours and 10 minutes!)

This is the first time in a long time that I am VERY MUCH ENJOYING LIFE & APPRECIATING IT!  AND I ACTUALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WAKING UP EVERY MORNING AND SPENDING THE DAY WITH FAN***TASTIC PEOPLE IN THE MOST AMAZING PLACE.

Also -- STARGAZING IN SILENCE...WORTH IT!

Love.  Deet.  Rice.

Sylvia E.

Humidity in the Jungle

July 24, 2014
by Denise K.

In addition to learning how to live in an environment that is wet, muddy, and sweaty, we are also learning how to take care of our eletronic equipment in 100% constant humidity.  The station has a few hours of electricity a day and when the electricity is on, we have lights in our cabins, air condition in the library to preserve the books, and the light boxes are on to dry out our equipment.  Most of us have systems by now.  For me, my camera goes into the light box around dinner and dries out from 6-9pm.  In the morning, it's removed and subjected to the humid environment.  After our morning hike, the camera goes back into the light box to dry out during lunch and is then taken out again in the afternoon.  In addition to the light box, I am also using a double layered, sealable bag with sacs of dessicant inside.  I place the camera inside anytime I'm not using it.  Even with the lightbox, dessicant, and careful use, electronic equipment does not like humidity.  Unfortunately,  I found this out on our afternoon hike with Jose today.

Before I describe what happened, let me say that I love documenting moments, stories, and people's lives with photography.  We were halfway through our jungle experience today and I had already taken 3000 photos - photos of the students that captured beauty and also documented the challenges they were overcoming in our wet and muddy environment, the friendships they were making, and the many things they were learning.

A "lens error", an electronic system that was struggling in the humidity, and a new camera that I wasn't familiar with...in a moment, I managed to delete all 3000 photos.  Denise G stood behind me and watched me navigate the programmed questions, "Delete all photos on  the camera?" "No" (of course not!).  But the camera did not seem to want to listen and proceeded to delete every photo that I had taken so far in a matter of 15 seconds.

Since I was leading the mindfulness component of the trip, it was a bittersweet moment for me to practice what I was teaching the students, "everything is changing,"  "nothing is permanent," "rather than pushing away what is difficult and clinging to what is easy, try to just be with what is," "try to observe how quickly our experiences are changing in the jungle and then see how this relates to our larger life experiences."  Much easier said than done.  I felt sick to my stomach for days.

It took me several days to process all that had been lost.  The beautiful photo of Elana holding the walking stick bug, Marzai stepping out of her comfort zone to climb on the canopy walkway tower, our very first hike in the jungle with Jose, the bat sleeping under the leaf, the crazy soccer match that caused too many injuries, the squirrel monkeys that walked right by our cabin, and, probably my favorite, the close-up shots of the conga ant that I took with the macro lens.  It posed so patiently, with jaws open wide ready to bite...

In my journal, I wondered if I would be able to capture equally nice photos again. I was suddenly grateful that we were only halfway into the jungle stay.   Denise G was very supportive after I deleted the photos.  She and Elana picked up the first thing they could find in the jungle and enouraged me to begin taking photos again. The photo below is my first shot and I still have no idea what it is.  It is not a peach.  Everytime I see this photo it reminds me of letting go and beginning again.  Will I be able to capture equally beautiful moments?  Only time will tell.

Halfway!

July 24th, 2014

By Kelsey Da.

Today was exactly 1/2 into our stay in the rainforest.  The day started out great with my favorite breakfast...fruit & granola.  From there, we were able to steal one of the guides to go on a guided hike. Our hike lasted until lunch and we saw lots of different types of monkeys, a few birds, and a lot of other things we have seen previously.

After lunch, we did one of our service projects.  

We all walked out on the Matapalo trail a little and helped carry and place wooden steps that the workers processed from a fallen tree. They were heavy, but with all of us working together, we finished in less than 30 minutes. 

As we returned, Jose offered us another hike at 3pm.  Only about  of us went on the hike, but we saw titi monkeys and scratch marks on a tree from a Jaguar.  

Before dinner, a lot of people played soccer and hung out on the boats. 

One of the birds in that area even pooped on me :-(, but at least it wasn't a spider :-).  Some people went out for a night hike after dinner tonight.  Others will go tomorrow and Saturday.  Apparently, the group the went out tonight saw the eye shine and the body of the Jaguar!

Overall, this trip has been a big challenge for me, but is still an amazing experience.  I am meeting some great people and learning a lot.

Tour of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station

We're halfway through our stay at the Tiputini Biodiversity station.  Join us for a tour of the place in the jungle that we are calling home.

Tour from the kitchen to the lab:

Tour of the water filtration system and the wood shop area:

I Need to Eat More Soup at Home!

July 23, 2014
By Marjai K

Weather:  sunny, blue skies, slight breeze, es perfecto, then some rain for like 10 minutes, then normal
AM activity:  planning our schedule and working on copper
PM activity:  Day 1 of work with sand to cover the volleyball court

Breakfast:  french toast, tang (jupi)
A little awkward for me and Youngin because we sat with the Columbian students and they didn't talk to us much, but I got to hear Spanish, so there are benefits

AM:  We had to wait around to find out our station service job because Diego (new station manager) didn't feel well.  After a couple of hours, we got an agenda for the rest of the week.  Now we are following it and are working on our copper.  There are, unfortunately, more people than tools, so I have to wait.  Leonard is playing the music, 90's pop hits (which I love, it's my saving grace).  I eventually take a nap.

Lunch:  (less awkward) that amazing potato thing (llapingacho), beets :-(, eggs, pork :-), and soup as always (which I love).  [I need to eat more soup at home!]

(Lunch at the station begins with a delicious bowl of traditional Ecuadorian soup.  This soup was one of our favorites!  A potato based soup that you top with popcorn!)

PM:  After some free time and my meeting with Kevin, we take a boat to get sand to put on the volleyball/futbol court.  There were probably too many people to bag the sand, but a good number to move the bags.  Then we laid out the dirt (well, more everyone else, I just looked around awkwardly) and fixed the holes.  Afterwards, of course, we had to try it out, so people did and it was really fun to watch people play some good "futbol."

Later, 12 of us went to the tower to watch the sun set.  It was nice to just be there and talk, even if  we didn't see it set so much.

Birds in the Jungle

Today Was Pretty Top Tang

July 22, 2014
By John D

There are two kinds of Tang in this world:  Top Tang and Bottom Tang.  Top Tang is on point, refreshing, and everything you could want in a beverage.  Bottom Tang is just too much of the powdery stuff and makes your teeth feel weird.  And if you ask Kelsey D., she'd tell you that dental hygiene is one way to keep your sanity in this jungle.

6:20am - woke up - bottom tang
6:30am - ate eggs - top tang
6:45am - went back to bed - fresh, untouched, top tang
9:30am - rewoke up - bottom tang
10-11am - went over journal stuff, Kevin did a very good job leading Meijer's hiking group in discussion.  Precious was looking pretty top tang, but what else is new.
11am-12pm - Tanned by the boats, pretty top tang.  You know tanning is just one of the things you do for the ladies back in A2.  Tanning by the boats is probably my favorite part of this abroad experience.  Sitting in the sun, fishing, hearing Olvideo laugh, shooting the *sh** with our group - nothing tops that.
Unfortunately, the sun wasn't out and Olvideo wasn't there - bottom tang.
But we saw some squirrel monkeys by the boats - top tang.

1-2:40pm - helped Tomas with the baby turtles - total top tang.Did the turtles smell? Yes.  Did my hands get dirty? Yes.  Did that troop of squirrel monkeys swing by to check out the turtles? Yes.  Did I demand that someone take a photoshoot of me and a turtle?  Oh you know it.  Did Precious look top tang?  Yes.






Did Tomas disappear mid-job and leave us with 512 tortugas looking clueless?  Yes.

All that being said,  by far one of the coolest experiences of the trip

2:40-5pm - Went on Harpia hike with Lenny, Emily, Mackenzie, and Elana - the kind of tang you have to swish around in your mouth to determine which kind of tang it is.  Tough, sweaty work, but we saw some wooly monkeys up close, which was pretty legit.  We lost the trail twice, but survived.  And we were really rushing at the end to make that 5pm meeting.
6:50pm - early served dinner of tacos with those tortillas that you want to cover yourself with and fall asleep in (potentially cleaner than our bedsheets, too?) - top tang.

Living in Nature's Biggest City

July 21, 2014
Elana H

The pace of nature here at Tiputini is reversed.  At home in our fast paced society, we are the ones moving quickly.  The grass on the diag and the trees by the union change slowly to our eye as we rush by them to get to a class or a meeting.  Here we are the slow movers and it feels as though I'm living in nature's biggest city.  The leaves change as if their color has gone out of style.  The river flows constantly like the hoards of people on the streets of New York City.  The animals and insects move as if they're window shopping in a vast and diverse mall.

Today, we got a chance to slow ourselves down even further and sit alone for 30 minutes in our own spot in the rainforest.  Jeff later commented, "there was nowhere else to be in that moment but there."  We are not used to being the slow movers.  Sitting idly by in nature's city gives way to an initial feeling of discomfort as we try to rack our brains for things we should be doing with that time.  However, once we realize what Jeff was describing, a sole obligation to be present then and there, that's when the magic of this trip is felt.  Today I felt it as I watched a spider spin it's web, cheering it on instead of tearing it down.  I felt it as the ants came searching around my seat, following where they decided to move instead of flicking them out of my space.  And I felt the magic when I observed a branch of leaf come tumbling down from the canopy, sitting in awe of gravity instead of flinching in fear.

At times we think we are bored here as our slow moving lives would lead us to believe in our settings at home.  As we enter into our second week, it's easy to believe that we have surpassed the excitement and fallen into a familiar routine in a now familiar setting.  But this is what I love about the group of people I was so randomly thrown together with for 4 weeks of my life:  we can make anything interesting.

Tonight, combining our pieces of Spanish skills, we probed Tomas, a kitchen worker, about his life growing up with a Waorani tribe, first-hand information we can't get anywhere else but here.

People suggest activities, like going to see the 512 tortugas (thanks, Mackenzie) or lifting the 140 pound weight (thanks, Harry) or hosting a talent show (thanks Precious).  We may be slow moving, but we refused to be bored.  This is a time to think to our deepest, observe to the widest, and laugh to our fullest.  It's healing, it's fulfilling, and there is no better group to be experiencing this adventure with.

Treasured Memories

July 20, 2014

By Mackenzie S.

To actually be living in a rainforest is an opportunity that is not only rare, but bizarre.  The humidity, the rain, the mud - it makes Michigan weather look like sunny Miami.  Nonetheless, it's not what has been different in the environment, but what I have experienced socially that has created treasured memories.  

Although living in Tiputini has been difficult, spending time with the workers and the staff -- I have had experiences that I will never forget.  

The epic soccer match that created more than its fair share of injuries was an event that I genuinely always remember.  We were covered in mud, oscillating between Spanglish, and screaming, and laughing so so much.  Afterwards, diving straight into the river, was a moment in which one actually feels lucky, and not just a moment in which you say it.  The presence we all have with our interactions is amazing, and you can tell when almost every night at dinner, tears are rolling down our cheeks.  

Although I am very thankful for the opportunity to experience conservation in the Amazon, I am more grateful for the people I have met and the experiences I have shared with them.  When you have these experiences on a personal level, and when you are incredibly present, it leads to moments of incredible happiness.  For me, this has been the greatest gift.  

There has certainly been our share of thorns, but they, conversely, have often been hilarious -- John's backward somesault into the stream, for instance, will be a moment secured into my mind.  But our roses, have far outweighed our thorns and I am reminded of this when Romero gave me a type of liquid from the forest that cures cuts, or when two scarlet macaws flew by the tower, or by the casually strolling giant armadillo, Meijer's bracelets, the sexy lip bite, "hey what's up?" the sting ray Tomas caught, fishing with Olvideo, or by a nice, mischevious game of "what are the odds?"

(sketch of a scarlet macaw)