It has been almost five months since arriving home from Brazil. My trip was an adventure and even challenging at times but the opportunities and rewards of traveling abroad with such an incredible group of students is still what triumphs. I am glad I chose Brazil as my destination even to this day because of how prominent the country is in international discussion and because of its uniqueness in culture and landscape.
It’s only been a couple days since I’ve gotten home but it feels like a long time detached from the constant stimulation I had in Brazil. As details fade there are a few concepts that stand out to me and will stay with me as I move on to the next chapters of my life.
There’s only one day left in Brazil and I’m sad to see this journey come to a close. The last week was spent traveling to Santarem, where we boarded the Don Giuseppe for our five-day boat trip. We traveled down the Tapajos River, an estuary of the Amazon River, and visited three indigenous communities. These communities proved to be an essential component of the Amazon forest being protected. They have been allotted to stay on the land and work with the land instead of just taking from the land and their culture resides much in area which makes them a primary representative of the Amazon forest. Isolated from much of civilization they earn their livelihoods from fishing, growing crops, harvesting honey, making crafts, etc. Without a living and healthy environment these people would become completely detached from all they’ve grown to know.
In response to the need to maintain the forest, we also went to visit a sustainable timber extraction site. In contrast of illegal logging, which makes up 90% of all timber exports in Brazil, Floresta Nacional do Tapajos extracts timber according to Brazilian law. The community business runs based on the needs of the forest instead of the demand for timber. Their land is divided into 32 areas based on the knowledge that it takes 32 years for the forest to rebuild itself and they only take select trees from each area so that from a human’s perspective the forest looks virtually untouched. Their method of extraction doesn’t promote deforestation or diffraction which allows for no biodiversity to be lost and also provides income for the local community for their well sought after resources.
We are departing from Curitiba after only three short days and I wish we could stay in this city for longer! We lucked out with the weather being 75 and sunny for the whole duration of stay and the city although with 2 million inhabitants felt fairly relaxed. The landscape is unlike most cities: there are patches of green space and parks on nearly every city block. Our hotel was situated close to a pedestrian-only street where people were bustling to their day’s agenda but were also able to enjoy nature’s beauty as the street went right through a patch of tall trees. The city lay out was really impressive as there was little traffic compared to Sao Paulo’s streets and the high use of public transportation. We were actually able to visit URBS to learn about the famous BRT system before riding it for ourselves. There, we learnt about the techniques they use to make their transportation system quicker, cheaper, and more convenient than most public transportations systems in the world.
We also made a visit to Secretaria Municipal do Meio Ambiente (Secretary of the natural environment). We got a tour around the premises and offices built from all recycled building materials which were beautifully integrated into nature with large windows that allowed for the workers to have a good view of the outdoors. They explained to us that preserved forest space is typically owned privately but the owner has a legal responsibility to maintain it. The only way land can be sold and build on is if there is another piece of forested land that is of equal size can be preserved so that there is never diminishing forest space. They even have laws that property owners cannot cut down certain types of trees even if it’s on their property. The regulation they practice was interesting because it far exceeds the power of local government in the United States but by the looks of the city of Curitiba- something is going right.
The first chapter of my trip has just wrapped up. I spent a week in Sao Paulo and now the other students and I are headed to Curitiba! I am just as excited for the next part as I was for the initial start of my adventure. In just one week I have done so much and learnt so much about the culture of this entirely new country. It has not always been easy adapting to my new surroundings and quickly becoming close to people who were strangers just one week ago.
I have always dreamed of studying abroad during college but I never thought I would actually do it, until a recruiter came to one of my sustainability classes and explained an opportunity to travel to one of five countries to focus on a specific sustainability topic. I immediately knew that if I was ever going to study abroad, this is the way I would want to do it.
At this point I have two weeks and a day before my departure from Newark airport to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have never traveled out of the country alone or further than a five-hour plane ride at that so this will be a new experience for me. Part of me is nervous and part of me is excited for all the unknown adventures I will undergo while traveling to and being in Brazil.
