Studying Urban Development and Human and Ecological Health in the Amazon Rainforest

• Appropriate Interaction: While studying abroad I was poised with navigated interactions appropriately with the Peruvians we met. We frequently visited communities who live in remote locations and learned how to properly interact and present ourselves in a way that is respectful. For example, it was important to have a local Peruvian enter the community first to talk to the community leader, then have our professor from Lima talk with the community, then finally us students. It was also important while visiting communities to take time to purchase snacks from the small stores they had to show appreciation for allowing us to learn from their communities. 

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• Social Responsibility: From my experiences in Iquitos, I learned that in order to foster healthy and supportive communities we need to understand that health has no boarders your health does not exist in a vacuum. Your health is also dependent on the health of someone 2000 miles away. This is especially true when it comes to negative health consequences of climate change. The people living in areas like Iquitos are suffering extreme consequences of actions by large corporations run by countries like the US. We should feel a social responsibility to act in ways which benefit communities far away in order to promote holistic care.

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• Advocating for a Point of View: The other students studying abroad were nearly all graduate landscape architecture students. As the only student in a health related subject, I was responsible for relaying health information related to our work. At first, it was difficult navigating group discussions and I feel like my voice was not being heard. I learned that being younger and coming with a different background of academic knowledge, I had to strongly advocate for my thoughts and my point of view in order to make important contributions.

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• Positive attitude: While overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Peru, there were definitely tough times. For example, I spent an entire week camping in the rainforest without a sleeping bag or sleeping mat, just on the floor of a tent. Three days into the excursion, there was a terrible rainstorm. I came back from a hike, and to my displeasure my tent had completely flooded. The rainfall continued in the night, but me and my fellow students used the opportunity to take a shower in the rain and spend time playing cards and joking around. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. I spent the next few days in wet clothes and sleeping at night cold and damp, but I now look fondly back on those memories.

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• Responding to Ambiguity: Throughout the trip, our plans were never completely stable and depended on the input of other people as well as the weather . I never knew quite what to expect from a new day. I learned how to thrive in unknown circumstance and appreciate being able to quickly shift gears. For example, one day while in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, our guides predicted it would likely rain and our plans to boat out to communities far away could not happen. We all felt disappointed at the prospect of an entire day being ruined by rain. Instead, we spent the day near our camp site chopping down small trees with machetes and learning how locals build platforms, shelters, and cooking structures from vines and wood. It was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience which was never planned and I never knew was coming.