What inspired you to go abroad?
Being the daughter of an American diplomat and a dual French/Swiss citizen I travelled a lot growing up. As cliché as it may sound traveling has proven itself to be more than just a hobby for me but rather a lifestyle. I really do have a hard time staying in one place for too long. Every couple years I feel the tingling desire to embark on a new adventure. I love discovering all the different facets of a country's culture: the food, the art, the traditions, the history, the current geopolitical situation and everything that goes along with it. I truly believe that exploring the world and coming to an understanding and respect of different cultures is one of the greatest forms of education an individual can be lucky enough to experience.
Cultural exchanges bring us closer together by enabling us to find better ways to cooperate with each other despite our distinctions. Above all we are united by our humanity, our will to survive and our desire to find happiness - our qualities and faults are not designed by national boundaries but rather a uniquely intrinsic part of our species.
Jumping into the river from the Reserve's deck.
Why did you choose IPBio?
Having just finished my studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada I was ready to embark on a new adventure. South America was the next milestone on my agenda: a continent I had always longed to extensively explore. I had read dozens of books over the years and learned much about each country individually as well as their common histories, their grandeur prior to Christopher Columbus, their struggles from the time of colonization onward and what remains today of those haunting ghosts. My dream kept getting bigger and bigger until I could no longer contain it.
My boyfriend and I discovered this incredible opportunity in the depths of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest working for IPBio. We both could not be more ecstatic to be able to use our skills to help the organization grow so that it could continue to conduct the commendable work it does. IPBio being a biodiversity research institute conducts important scientific research in unique ecosystems while helping local communities grow their economies in sustainable ways. The programs IPBio offers are diverse and require a multitude of individuals with very different skill-sets. Personally I do not have a scientific background and was delighted to know that one of the positions they were looking to fill was a Media and Video Production Manager.
What was your favorite part about Brazil?
Because we were working in a very isolated part of the Brazilian jungle, right by a little hilly village called Iporanga, located on the banks of a long sinuous river, the whole experience felt other worldly. There are very few places left on this planet where nature has not been completely overtaken by mankind. The 10 hour long bus ride that brings you to Iporanga is incredible; watching the scenery change from the tremendously saturated city of Sao Paulo toward the lavish green expanses of dense untouched forest around Iporanga was impressive beyond words. Even more breathtaking is the one road that links Iporanga to the outside world, a narrow dirt path that winds along the mountain tops above the wild woodlands.
Both my boyfriend and I were dumbfounded by the beauty and our excitement. As strange as it may sound, every color around us resonated in deeper hues than we had ever experienced. The jungle was literally breathing before our glittering eyes. Added to the miraculous artistry we observed in nature, the people of Iporanga are a perfect reflection of Brazilian kindness and their love of nature transpires in unexpected ways everyday. The environmental consciousness of the average rural Brazilian is extremely high. The country has an incredible amount of potential and its people are working hard to find innovative ways to use their abundant resources in sustainable ways. Thanks to organization's like IPBio these hopes are becoming realities. Iporanga's people were an inspiration, hard working, enthusiastic and exuding a contagious joie de vivre.
Survival of the fittest, insect eats insect.
What made your experience abroad unique?
One of the things I loved most about IPBio's approach to volunteers was the level of trust and independence we were accorded. We were always approached as truly useful players in the progress of the organization, our opinions were valued and our ability to make a real lasting impact was often very real and tangible. Every other day a volunteer would spot a never discovered glow in the dark mushroom, or an unknown species of some kind. A lot of the work the organization's researcher's are doing is groundbreaking and if it weren't for IPBio a lot of it wouldn't be recorded. It would be knowledge lost. While I was there we had one of the world's leading bat specialists come and conduct experiments. It truly felt like a privilege to get to help him as well as learn more about his work.
On a personal level the freedom IPBio offers made me feel like I was unencumbered by the weight of being made to fit into a company's motto. IPBio gives all its volunteers the opportunity to comfortably be themselves. I was trusted to complete my work in the time it took to do it well and everyone around me was always a resource for help if needed. The still relatively small size of the organization means that each individual is a part of the group in his or her own right. IPBio provides a genuinely open minded environment where all kinds of backgrounds and personalities can come together, have a good laugh and help make the world a better place.
How did local staff support you throughout your program?
Imran, the person in charge of IPBio's international volunteer program is an invaluable asset to the organization's team. He is the go to person for whatever you need and he is your guide to the incredible journey that will be exploring what IPBio and the surrounding region have to offer. Imran took care of us like a best friend would, he invited us to his home, barbecued with us, took us out and around the town to the different restaurants and bars and brought us on incredible adventures in the jungle, all of which were done on his free time. Imran is the mind and spirit behind IPBio's volunteer program. He is an incredibly kind, intelligent and genuine person. (If you're reading this Porch we miss you!)
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?
It honestly just went by so quickly. I was so sad to leave and am still sad to have left.
Describe a typical day in the life of your program.
In the morning I would accompany a few of the other volunteers on a 5km hike up into the dense mountain jungle around the Reserve. On these hikes we'd set up camera traps so that we could later retrieve them and monitor the presence and behavior of different animals in the region. We also went to check on "pitfalls" in which frogs would jump into so that we could make inventory accounts before releasing them back in the wild. There was always something new to be seen on these expeditions: unique birds, crazy spiders, iridescent beetles, jumping monkeys and sometimes maybe even an ocelot! My job on these hikes was to film what everyone else was doing since I was producing promotional videos for the organization. Part of why I loved this role is that I got to do a bit of every different job at IPBio because I was always shadowing one person or another.
The village of Iporanga at dusk.
After the hike we'd all return to the Reserve, prepare food and sit down to have lunch together. Once lunch was finished I would set my work station up outside on the large tables under the cover of the patio. From here I could observe the hundreds if not thousands of hummingbirds that populate the reserve come to their watering hole. Seriously I'm not kidding IPBio has more hummingbirds than Venice has pigeons! Sometimes I would sit in one of the patio's hammocks swinging back and forth while I edited videos, pieced audio strips together, worked on blog posts or various social media outreach platforms. In the intense heat and humidity you could always expect a rainstorm mid afternoon. Impressive buckets of water poured unto the greenery. Once these storms passed we often reunited to go to the river for a swim. IPBio has a lovely deck from which you can jump into the narrow river and swim to the other side. After our afternoon swim my boyfriend and I would return to our work stations.
At the end of the day we often enjoyed an hour and a half walk from the Reserve to the village. By the time we got home we had walked 11km in our day and it felt great!
What did you enjoy doing in your free time?
Lots and lots of hiking! Every weekend we would go on a big expedition somewhere in the surrounding forest, generally in the protected national park called PETAR. Sometimes mid waist through water, we often explored extensive cave networks, we saw incredible waterfalls, bathed in hidden lagoons, swung from vines down mountains in torrential rainstorms. All the while we were accompanied by incredible guides from Iporanga's main hostel owned by a man called Julio. We discovered all kinds of incredible wildlife. I'd find myself staring at moss for minutes on end marveling in every detail nature had so well conceived. So much of the Atlantic Forest's flora and fauna has created a beautiful kind of co-dependence by evolving and giving way to opportunities for growth amongst different species. Although defense strategies like the spikes that have grown on trees and the stealthy flower like appearances spiders often take on, make nature's wealth and power so clearly evident, it is also easy to see how fragile ecosystems are. Only the slightest change suffices to derail a whole ecosystem.
If we weren't hiking we were generally all going "boya" crossing, meaning we were tubing along down rivers and waterfalls. As you can imagine this was also not a bad way to spend the day. After our daily activities we would often have dinner together in Iporanga. The best restaurant, Casarao, which is owned by the founder of IPBio's wife, serves incredible traditional dishes with a twist. I highly recommend the "Dona Sinhana". Oh man was I hooked. After dinner we would generally head back to Imran's house in the village, for an extended nightcap, drinking caipirinhas and playing cards.
Frog found in a pitfall and later released.
What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?
IPBio's accommodations well exceeded expectations across the board. Volunteers get to stay on the Reserve in a cute little yellow house with a fully equipped kitchen, multiple rooms (couples can be accommodated to have their own private room) and most of all: air conditioning! I couldn't believe it.
What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?
Mosquitoes! Personally I was very happy to have brought a mosquito net when I discovered the extent to which I was allergic... but to my great surprise Iporanga has a very well functioning little hospital with qualified doctors who immediately fixed the problem.
Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?
My experience has certainly given me incredible memories which I yearn to relive - but also it confirmed for me what I sensed I wanted to do with my life at a time where I felt very unsure of my professional place in the world. I know more about myself than I did before and more about the things I value in life. Working at IPBio, discovering Brazil and the rest of the South American continent I feel have brought me closer to being the person I want to be.
Would you recommend IPBio to others? Why?
Absolutely! IPBio offers a unique experience unlike any other in the heart of the Atlantic Forest, a place so rich with life and the beauties of nature you'll find yourself gawking at leaf cutter ants, scintillating Lambari fish and wandering spiders you would have ran away from back home. Your curiosity will be sparked at every turn and while at home you may not be able to give those questions the time of day here they serve as the portal to your next adventure.
