The Third Installment!

This month as consisted of preparing for my research project, this include marking trees with ribbon every 10m for 2400M so plenty of work. Then we need to conduct a couple of pilot studies. My report consists of doing  reconnaissance  transects using a standard sampling protocol, this includes collecting data on what birds and mammals we see each 50m alongside additional data on Reptiles, amphibians (as we have seen plenty including some pretty snakes). In conjunction with collecting fruit from the forest floor in order to monitor seasonal changes in fruiting trees. In January we are also collecting data on Butterflies something I am looking forward to. Even though it’s a lot of hard work and lots of hiking I enjoy it as the trail is beautiful especially when it’s not been raining. After a couple of pilot studies which will be taken this week. We will be ready to begin our actual study and contributions to the biodiversity monitoring project come December. So far we have seen plenty of wildlife including Moths, Butterflies, Snakes identified as Neuwied's False Fer-de-lance , (Xenodon neuwiedii) which we almost stood on, Large Monitor lizards, Large frogs, and Coati babies!

For a week we had another English person come to the park, however he was not a researcher but a language student wanting to do some extra volunteer work. It was interesting as he lived in the favelas in Rio and was a lot more involved with the culture than us. This was a pretty good learning curve and he explained a lot of the different cultural difference. This is one thing I've been struggling with whilst here. People in Brazil are very social and expect me and Joe to be equally as social, this wouldn't be a bad thing if the language barrier wasn’t so difficult. Although given the opportunity I want to try as hard as possible to get involved with the unique culture here. To help I’m doing a spot of traveling, on my last blog I mentioned I want to travel whilst I’m here. So far so good as for Christmas we are booked to go the beautiful island just of Rio called Ilha Grande which is apparently full of beautiful beaches and marine wildlife. And in February for a week we are booked to go to the well-known festival which is Carnival for a week in Rio.  Super excited! I plan to book more trips in the near futureJ. Yesterday (23/11/14)  I went to one of the most famous beaches worldwide, Copacabana beach and to be honest even though it had nice soft sand, to me it was a little overrated. They didn't have the cheesy beach shops like in England, the sea was to calm to do anything but paddle and the sand was too soft to make sand castles (Big Kid I know). To be honest it just lacked the charm English beaches have with the rock pool to explore and the good surf. Though I think Ihle Grande will be better especially for the snorkeling aspect.

One thing you don’t expect when traveling abroad is how hard Visas are to sort out. Getting the visa was difficult in itself, with the Brazilian consulate in London being the most disorganized governmental organisation ever. Everyone I have spoken to who has acquired a Visa from there has had a nightmare with it. It was even worse when we got here. The consulate said I have 30 days to register by “just going to a federal office”. Well 9 trips later to Rio and an all day trip to Niteroi (a city over the bridge from Rio) alongside trying to understand Portuguese websites and paper work, being fined for being late despite being told no information about how to organize this and I have finally registered my Visa. My advice is if traveling abroad is getting as much information as possible on how you’re Visa on both sides.  On the other-hand this has helped me come along way, to think a few weeks ago, I was scared to take a 20 minute bus into a small town to get food shopping, and now I can have a 3-5 hour bus ride into a major city, get a taxi and stuff. Bully for me.

Today 18/11/14 has been a good day overall, but it’s also made me come to the realization that my entire life has changed this past month and not just for the 10 months I’m living in Brazil. When I come home at the end of July I will be coming home to a new house as my house is up for sale. All my friends at university will be graduated and I will have to settle in with new people and friends when returning to university. Finally my boyfriend Joe will also be finishing his master’s degree and will be looking for work or further education which doesn't necessary mean somewhere close to home, which understandably I fully support like he has supported me during my career choosing. So in short my entire life has changed in the space of a month, this isn't necessary a bad thing but it’s definitely going to take some adjusting too.

You know you have reached another level of maturity when you realize your best friends are actually your family. For me my best friends would be my mum , dad,  my sister Sarah , her partner Jake  and my partner Joe who to me are also part of my family.  Alongside other members of my family which have also been supportive. People told me that living abroad would divide my real friends from the other people in my life. I can happily say that so far I have not experienced this, as every single person in my life at home have all been there for me during my time here. Admitting this is a big step for me.  It’s no secret that I didn’t really have many friends during my school years and a good group of friends was something I craved for years. I feel that now I have really hit the jackpot and have the best friends and family in the entire world. It just had to take something as big as moving away to make me realize this.  A friend I would like to particularly mention in my blog is one of my best-friend’s Hannah Woolhead, who has gone above and beyond that of a friend, and has done everything in her power to be there for me like my family has and I hope that in the future I can return the kindness that she has shown me.

As you can probably tell from the blog entries so far, being in Brazil has made me soft (with also help from half a bottle of wine whilst writing this). In all honesty being here has really made me realize is life is too short to be too embarrassed and hard-faced about expressing your feelings. With that in mind I am glad that this experience has helped me open up to my family and friends so much more and how much every person means to me. I realize now that I have got everything I wanted in life so far, and I am so glad I can share it with the people I love the most.  Internet however is still being very temperamental, and Sometimes it feels like the worlds against you For example this morning I managed to get internet access all morning, but it always seems to happen when people are working or busy, and then as soon as you no everyone’s free to talk it no longer works.