Life In The Jungle

The first thing I should say about life in the jungle is that there is not much internet! I enjoy cutting myself off from society, but sometimes business needs to get taken care of. The internet here is very limited, so my posts may not be so frequent.

I am not quite sure what to talk about next, because so much has happened! The two week program (Tropical Woods and Fungi Who Love Them) has already kicked my ass, grabbed some lunch, and then came back to kick my ass again. It was a very difficult class, mainly because it's a graduate level class, but I have survived! I would not have been able to do it if it wasn't for the other people struggling right next to me. Everyone was always so willing to help each other out whether they were working on something else or not. Thanks Amy, Sonya, Leon, Amanda, and Conner!

 I also have to thank my amazing professor and empathetic TA, Seri, I couldn't have asked for any better professor to take me on this adventure. You are an incredible teacher, and I think me and all of my classmates can agree that we have never learned so much in such a short time before. Sarath, I know deep down inside you love my hugs, despite your cringe. You taught me well,, I know how ID a crap ton of Peruvian hardwoods and I know to always cautiously approach you, so you don't shove me into a tangarana tree.

Anyway, let's get back to life in the jungle! I would have definitely already been dead if it wasn't for my amazing guide, Yasmani. He knows these forests better than anyone could imagine. He has a sharp eye that is perfect for spotting fungi 10 yards away, beautiful birds in the canopy, and any other living organism in a 100 ft. radius.

Some things we do in the jungle include:
-Fishing for piranhas (and Seri catches a huge electric eel)
-Swimming in the same water we just fished in
-Macheteing through rotten wood as far as the eye can see
-Waking up at 5AM to go watch birds on the canopy bridges
-Visiting native communities and supporting their art crafts
-Taking a boat to get to any other place besides the field station
-Taking night walks to see glow worms, fireflies, and other magical creatures
-Much more...

My battery is starting to die, so I'm afraid I must wrap this up.

I am now here on my own, and everyone from Oregon is now gone. I am very comfortable with all of the staff here and feel at home!

Another blog post will be sooner than this last one!

Salutations from the jungle!

Goodbye Lima.. 'Til We Meet Again

Hola! I am sorry I have not been posting that frequently or giving very many updates, but I have been very busy here! A lot has happened since my last post, so let me back up. 

We are now with everyone else for the class which is Sonya, Conner, Leon, Sarath, and Seri. We have been spending our days at the National Agrarian University in the Molina district of Lima, Peru. Their campus was beautiful with a lot of live stock like cows, alpacas, guinea pigs, and more. The university sells a lot of produce, dairy, plants, and other things that are created there. Unfortunately, their well has been out of water for two months, so none of the toilets could flush. I know that it's important to stay hydrated, but I really didn't want to go into the bathrooms. It was such a struggle every time we had to go, because then we had to go find someone with a key! It really wasn't that bad though. 

Everyone at the university was so kind and very welcoming. We did get labeled as the stinky Americans, though. Sarath told us there were some odor complaints about our group, so we had to make sure we were clean! Being smelly is very rude in the Peruvian culture. 

Another big thing in the Peruvian culture is food! They have won the best food out of all countries two years in a row, so I knew this was the place for me! They eat a lot of meat and potatoes, but it has never tasted better. I ate the hind legs of one of the guinea pigs we ordered, but I'm not sure if it compared to their special roasted chicken. I typically don't like cheese sauces, but they have created a magical spicy cheese sauce that goes perfectly on everything. It has been two out of three nights now that wherever we end  up going to dinner we are the only ones in the whike entire restaurant. It could be our smell..

Peruvians are very laid back and flexible with schedules, so I was never really sure what exactly I was going to do once I reached the field station. I will primarily be focusing on searching, mapping., and others for new fungi. So far in the classroom we have learned how to take slides on three different planes of wood and identify them by their microscopic characteristics. Keep in mind that this is a graduate level class, so it can be pretty difficult. Today was spent IDing wood using a hand lens, and about tropical hardwoods. The tropical hardwoods are much different than our temperate coniferous forests. For example, most species have adapted to having more parenchyma inside to be used for defense. I am very grateful that the university and all of the students we met with there we so friendly and helpful. 

I should probably get to bed considering it is almost 2 AM and we have to leave our hotel before 6 AM to fly to Puerto Maldonado. After we arrive in Puerto, then we have an hour long boat ride (the size of a canoe) to the field station. We will have to walk 1k to get there, but it seems difficult when carrying all of our luggage through the forest with us! That is when our rainforest adventure begins! I should have waited till tomorrow to write this, but I can't. There internet access at the NGO Inkaterra Research field station will have very limited internet access, if none at all. This will likely be my last blog post for quite some time now. 

Don't worry, I am keeping a personal journal for my short term memory and family! There are already many hilarious stories to tell later, I mustn't forget! 

I wish you all a warm and happy summer. You will hear from me again, so be on the lookout! Please excuse any bad grammar, spelling, and structure because I am literally falling asleep as I type this. I will be back to Lima after we finish up this trip, so that is exciting! "til my next post, good night.

XOXO Auna

We are here! We are here! We are here!

Well, I'm sure my mom is happy I have made it to Lima safely! The plane rides took forever, and every single one was delayed. I didn't get more than two hours of sleep the whole journey, and when I did it was in some ridiculously uncomfortable position!

It just feels great to be on solid ground and HERE! It's still unbelievable, but now we have already spent our first night in Lima! We arrived late last night, thanks to our very nice Taxi driver (Luis). We are staying at Pariwana Hostel and it is so great! The people here are so nice, and there's a cool rooftop area where everyone was dancing, drinking, and partying.

I met some cool guy from New Zealand that backpacked El Camino de Santiago last year, the first backpacking and international trip I had taken. We went to bed after getting some late night food, because we were exhausted. On our way to get food we had to cross a park that was full of stray cats! We call it Parque de Gato now. haha

Amy and I woke up at 7:30 to get some free bread and butter and to go explore the city! We ran across a cute street market, some cool parks, and then found the ocean!

We have walked back now for Amanda to join us for lunch. She is the other person from OSU that traveled with us. There hasn't been much in the way of culture shock, probably because it is such a big city. Of course, we are near McDonalds', Burger King, and the other crap foods. I really wanted a tamal today from the market, but I only had big bills to pay with. It's been exciting to practice my Spanish, but also stressful!

I'm getting pretty hungry, and frankly I would rather not be on a computer right now. I thought I should just give an update! Hopefully these will get more exciting. Send me messages via Facebook if you'd like to chat or add me on Viber. When I have internet connection (which should be frequent the first week) I will reply! Adios!

Auna

Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos!

Hello everyone!

This will be my blog that I will be using to share stories, experiences, and pictures from my 10 week adventure in Peru. First I will give a little bit of information about myself, Auna Godinez.

I am finishing my second year at Oregon State University majoring in Renewable Materials: Art & Design. I have two minors, Business & Entrepreneurship and Recreation & Resource Management. I was born on the Oregon coast, but grew up in Springfield Oregon. I have two sisters that are my world, Emily and Jamie that are 11 years old and 4 years old. They are a lot of my motivation to keep going, as well as my parents. I love to be outdoors hiking, fishing, and  camping. Cooking is another favorite thing of mine!

This will not be my first experience abroad. During the summer of 2011 I traveled to Europe to visit London, Paris, and Spain. I backpacked El Camino de Santiago from S. France all across N. Spain till I reached the coast (560 miles.) That experience shaped me and taught me so many things I will hold onto forever. I am sad it has taken me this long to arrange my next international adventure!

Even though I am leaving Thursday night to catch my red eye flight to Chicago, I am still figuring out my itinerary. I am going to plan very loosly and do most of my traveling schedules a week or so in advance, but I do have a general idea of what this is all going to look like. I will arrive in Lima  a day or so early to travel. We will be staying there for about a week at the University studying and participating in a class. I will be getting 6 OSU credits for this! Then we will travel to the ITA Inka Terra Association facility in Puerto Maldonado to do field work and research. All together, it is a two week program. I will continue to stay at the research facility for 6 more weeks for an internships. This work will be a lot of searching for new fungi, bird banding, measuring orchids, and community outreach. The next two weeks I will spend traveling around Peru! The for sure thing is my flight itinerary that I will copying to end of this blog.

This blog is mainly for worried family and curious friends, but I hope whoever reaches it will enjoy it. I will probably have a scheduled day for when I post blogs. It will likely be once a week or more often if a lot is happening each day!

Here we go,

Auna Godinez

UA1587		12:24 a.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 Portland, OR (PDX)	6:22 a.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 Chicago, IL (ORD - O'Hare)	Boeing 737-800 Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: 1 No Special Meal Offered.	Flight Time: 3 hr 58 mn
	UA1601		7:32 a.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 Chicago, IL (ORD - O'Hare)	10:42 a.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)	Boeing 737-900 Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: 1 No Special Meal Offered.	Flight Time: 2 hr 10 mn
	UA1095		2:10 p.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 New York/Newark, NJ (EWR - Liberty)	9:05 p.m. Fri., Jun. 12, 2015 Lima, Peru (LIM)	Boeing 757-200 Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: None	Flight Time: 7 hr 55 mn
	UA855		12:35 a.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Lima, Peru (LIM)	7:10 a.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Houston, TX (IAH - Intercontinental)	Boeing 767-300 Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: 1	Flight Time: 6 hr 35 mn
	UA1126		9:00 a.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Houston, TX (IAH - Intercontinental)	10:31 a.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Denver, CO (DEN)	Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: None	Flight Time: 2 hr 31 mn
	UA1962		3:15 p.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Denver, CO (DEN)	4:58 p.m. Mon., Aug. 31, 2015 Portland, OR (PDX)	Boeing 737-900 Fare Class: United Economy (S) Meals: None	Flight Time: 2 hr 43 mn