March

March

March started with an unexpected pleasant surprise as I got invited to help out on the Butterfly monitoring project. This was something I have been looking forward to since during my time at University I have developed a keen interest for insects including Lepidoptera.  This so far has been a great experience; firstly I learnt how to set up the 16 traps using an attractant made up of ripe bananas and Sugar cane, over the same 1400m transect line used for my own personal project. I really enjoyed learning how to set the nets up as it’s a skill that will benefit me in future and would like to try this out at home and see that British species I find. From this we had 3 days in which we would check the traps, mark and release the butterflies whilst collecting vital data.  I loved this as obviously Lepidoptera in Brazil are big beautiful and impressive. I also learnt how to handle alive ones without damaging there delicate wings. Luckily being interested Entomology I have experience in spreading the wings and pinning dead specimens, so I had a greater understanding how much pressure I can apply without harming them.

My bad luck with everything breaking is continuing and the next thing to break was both the washing machine and drier, as a result I truly am now living in the rainforest, as I now have to use a bucket to hand wash all my clothes and my homemade line when its not raining :’( ! getting domesticated #Firstworldproblems. More bad luck includes getting slight food poisoning or a bug this month from treating myself to Mexican, not great when you share a room with someone else, have no Netflix and no lounge pants :’(.  

When I wrote my first blog entry here, I said I would be completely honest and tell the both the good and bad aspects to living in another country. This month has been the most emotionally challenging month so far.   Its no secret that I am prone to being homesick but now is hitting me more than ever. For those who don’t know, my 6.5 year relationship at home has hit a wall, and that’s all I will share about it so far. But coping is difficult as  I don’t speak to many people here; when I say that I mean I have my housemate and occasionally my language teacher.  The need for human contact is suppressing me like a ton of bricks. The routine this month is also the getting tedious, and the field doesn’t quite satisfy my thirst for adventure anymore.  And even now I am struggling to put this into words.  I must be starting become a complete bore. But being amazing friend’s they continue to be supportive even if it means sitting with me on skype almost every day this week, listening to me whine and get upset.  My housemate parents are also visiting today so that put it even further into light how much I miss my own and everyone at home.  So ill end this month’s entry by thanking and apologising to the people who has had to deal with my continued negativity.  Thank You and Sorry too: both Joe’s , James, Hannah, Laura, Sarah, Damien, Ben D, Ben W and  Skye. Whom have had to deal with me consistent moaning.  I Love you all.

I’ve had enough of March. I expect April will have its moments, but now since I am half way down a bottle of Bacardi gold it’s time to pull myself up again. 

The Truth about Carnival

My Week In Lapa for Carnival

Many people know about Carnival in Rio and it is considered one of the biggest parties in the world and is on most people’s lifetime bucket list. I personally spent my time in Carnival in Lapa which is considered the biggest party region in Rio for any tourist. When I arrived in Lapa I noticed it was a beautiful place with fantastic arches, views of the bay ,parks and where my nice hostel was based, on some very famous colorful tiled stairs named Selarón's Staircase . I got to appreciate this beauty for the crowds of people rushed in. Within a day the 1000s of people flooded the streets and the party vibe was out. Throughout the entire time everyone was dressed up in all sorts of costumes, but the main one was men here loved to dress in drag.

The first night in Carnival and what do I do, I visit an Irish Bar for a taste of home.  The Irish bar was lovely; they played English music, served nice beer and Bloody Marys ;) and Best yet NACHOS! After the Irish bar we then took to the streets. Honestly the street parties are not all what it’s cracked up to be, actually the opposite. There was never any consistent performance’s and the samba music was just one guy usually with a bad speaker or tapping on a drum. This quickly became the dominating problem with Carnival; it was crowds of people with not a lot really ever going on.  

The second night we decided to visit a nightclub named 00, this was a beautiful venue, but once the party started, it felt like someone dropped me into a 90s club in which they were mainly serving what looked like 16 year olds. Most people in nightclubs here are on the pull and it seems women will put out for any person who will dance with you. Quite frankly I find it quite disgusting.

By midweek in Carnival, I’d had enough, the streets were no longer beautiful to look at inside they smelt so strongly of Urine that it was unbearable to walk through. Men were consistently just urinating everywhere. Worried that every puddle surrounding you was 90% piss, which has been in 38 degrees heat for days. With this in mind we visited the Ipanima beach. I don’t know why people love Copacabana beach when this beach is much nicer and the sea is more much cleaner and nicer to cool off in.  

On one night we decided to book tickets to a paint party with a DJ named ShowTek at a local music festival. The Venue was incredible big clear dome and well definitely better than the streets. It was not bad considering I really dislike electronic music. But well being sprayed from head to toe in paint was very fun. During our week in Lapa we visited a few restaurants with the main one being one in a posh hotel venue. The foods was nice but was quite expensive, and never order Palm heart as it just looks like chips and your friend may eat your meal thinking it’s a side order of chips. Very British of us!

Finally my last night was my best night. I hadn’t been impressed by Carnival so far, but luckily one good night can make it up. With this in mind I will try and remember what I did. We went to a bar which has live samba on! Finally some actually decent samba not the crap playing on the streets. I bet some nice local girls who were teaching me how to Samba all night. Samba doesn’t look like much but it’s actually really difficult. The last night is what I actually expected what Carnival would be like.  I can tell I had a great night when my poor friend had to get the bill, carry me home and sit with me by a toilet for 2 hours.

So much has occurred in the past couple of days and I have attempted to sum up as much as possible and keep it short. Carnival was an experience, but not entirely a good one either. My advice is, if you’re already in Brazil, and then why not check it out. But otherwise if I came all the way from England for this event I would have been highly disappointed. Carnival seems like an event local Brazilians have hyped up, partly because it’s one of the only holidays they celebrate. It brings in tourist for the economy and finally because it’s such a fast developing country, people here are trying to keep a grasp onto their naturally history and identity. Honestly it all felt a bit fake.

Struggled to keep this blog entry short as so much went on, and well I could bore you to death with every detail.  So ive tried to keep it short and sweet. Plus anyone looking at visiting Rio during Carnival. Beware of pick pockets and fake tickets. ​

January

January

When people are feeling down people channel their emotions differently, some people drink and smoke, others shut themselves away watching TV; I channel mine into my work and for this some people may even call be workaholic. On my free days so far I have worked solidly on reading papers and writing my introduction and methodology on my project. However now I’ve reached the point in which other than minor corrections the first draft is done. I’ve finished this quicker than I expected and this should be a good thing. It’s not. With a reduced workload, my days off from the field are completely free to do what I please. Anyone who knows me well enough unless I am kept busy with either work, socialising with friends or just hanging out with Joe and my family, I am completely lost. When I am not kept busy my mind wanders to thinking about home and the familiar. Safe to say the lack of structure to my days is bothering me a little. This being said, things should start getting abit more exciting here. Starting next month I have something planned almost every month. February I have Carnival in Rio for a week, end of March Joes parents here are visiting which shouldn’t affect me too much, April I have booked Iguassu Falls for a few days!! This is something I’m seriously excited about I am even seeing the Argentina side. May I have Pantanal for a week!!! Something I am equally excited about, largest wetland in the world alongside some amazing wildlife spectacles. June I will be solidly working on my report writing. And July My Joe from home is hoping to come visit and we plan to go to the Amazon Rainforest together !! I hope this keeps me busy until I go home J.

My family and friends continue to be supportive and my friends sent me a brilliant Christmas present. A moonpig card with some crazy unusual writing in it and pictures I am thankful for your consistent support J

Christ The Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain

On the 20/1/2015 I decided to do some of the tourist stuff in Rio, I could have done this during my week in Rio during Carnival but I figured it will be too busy. Nether the less the Christ was still super busy and R$61 which is quite expensive to enter; I expected nothing less being a tourist attraction. To get to the Christ we took a train up through Tajuca forest, when we reached the top the statue was larger than I thought and the view was spectacular.  It was very crowded with people though and everyone with cameras taking pictures of the view and the Christ. Being crowded the nice but over-priced café the top was worth it as in 33 degree heat was beginning to take its tole. Sugar Loaf Mountain was cheaper entrance and personally I think was better than the Christ. We went up by cable kart and the views of were spectacular; you could honestly appreciate the beauty of Rio from the angle. There were shops and restaurants at the top so nothing beat having a nice cold beer and some lunch with this view, and it was no way near as crowded.  It was also cheaper entrance than the Christ as well and from sugar loaf you could see the Christ overlooking the city. Overall both attractions were good and the view of Rio from above should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Apart from this January has been a pretty quiet month compared and its given me time for reflection. Reflection to me usually means listening heavily to my Ipod, so heres a song for youJ

To Joseph Christopher Scholes – “and all that I am you let me be, I will remember you. For all that you’ve done and given to me. Oh love will remain this I concede now and forever more. Because of you now I believe” – Alterbridge (A wonderful life)

To Joe and everyone I love:-  some search, never finding a way,  before long , they waste away , I found you, something told me to stay, I gave in to selfish ways And how I miss someone to hold when hope begins to fade… a lonely road, crossed another cold state line, Miles away from those I love, purpose hard to find- Avenged Sevenfold (Dear God)

To my best friends:- How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets In midnights, in cups of coffee In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife, In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes How do you measure, a year in the life? It's time now, to sing out, Though the story never ends, Let's celebrate. Remember a year in the life of friends-  Seasons of Love (Rent the Musical).

To my mum and dad, whom have always supported my dreams no matter what and taught influenced my taste in Music. :- “I wont stop running I’m only getting closer, To getting off the ground this time The sky is calling, the wind is at my shoulders, Won’t let this chance pass me by. Mama, I’m bent to fly” – Slash

To Evie,  Isobelle, Delilah  and Amelia’s Bump- (Forever young) 

Happy New Year! Bringing in the New Year in Brazil!

2015 in Brazil

2015 has arrived! And how did I spend New Years Eve in Brazil, dancing around drinking beer/vodka to classic rock in a thunderstorm wearing a headlamp because as usual the power was out!  2014 for me has been the year for maturity, personal growth, hard work and going outside my comfort zone. Safe to say it’s been one hell of an emotional year which will continue into 2015. I have so much to look forward to as well in 2015, Including Carnival in February and hopefully booking Iguazu Falls and Pantanal soon and also a lot more field work followed by a 10,000 word report. Best yet even my Joe might be coming here for July! In 2015 I will also be returning home and catching up with everyone. In September starting final year at university with a whole new group of classmates! Scary and exciting stuff! To sum up my new year revolutions this year, be more charitable, try and learn more Portuguese! And tell everyone how grateful I am for the ongoing support through 2014-2015 J.

I have talked a lot about my emotional journey in previous blogs, but my physical journey is almost as difficult. Doing tones of 6 hour hikes when my body isn’t used to much exercise at all is taking its tole. First is the obvious aching muscles, I swear I ache in places that I didn’t even knew existed. Secondly my foot! In august I badly sprained my foot and it’s never fully recovered which mean it often hurts in the field and I am at more risk of re-spraining it. Another occurring problem is my knees; apparently this is a common problem among people who are abusing their bodies going too many down-hill hikes. The only solution is apparently aspirin, rest and some knee braces I have invested in. Not great as my research doesn’t take rest into account and I am therefore feeling older than my years.  Another consideration when hiking is equipment as you needs to take everything with you! Including my first aid kit (which has come quite in handy as I’m usually the person bleeding), Hydration pack, Fashionable waterproof pants and coat, which completely clash and best of all quick dry tops; because despite the sophisticated woman I am ;) women still sweat! But well I guess it’s all in the name of science right!

Despite all this the rainforest is now becoming my second home. I almost know every inch of my 2400m transect line including every loose branch and every slippery rock but it never seizes to surprise. Everyday spent in the field something new and exciting always occurs, keeping me interested whether it’s the diversity in bird choruses or the capuchins angrily throwing fruit at me. However at times the wildlife here tests my patience, trying to survey birds whilst dart around quick, struggling to grasp and position binoculars, and worse of all those darn Thrushes taunting me with their high chirped calls whilst they hide amongst dense vegetation. All this field work has given me a good grasp of on the direction of my project. I have decided that I am to investigate the importance frugivorous species in fruit dispersal and how this can be used in the development of ecological corridors and reduce the threat of fragmentation within the park. My paper aims focus on the distribution of species in relation to fallen fruit, how size and diet of the frugivorous effects distribution which interlinks which also interlinks with seasonal changes and the mutualistic relationship between fruit trees and frugivorous species.  This is something I am actually looking forward to investigating more.

One thing I think I should mention about how disorganised Brazil as a whole is or maybe how organised England is. Every time you do anything simple such as the supermarket or anything queing takes about 45 minutes sometimes just to buy one item and the till breaks every time. Technology here is terrible and that’s coming from someone who is a technophobe.  When you have a problem you have to go to five different places. Its hard to put into words but nothing is ever quick or simple here. Keeps me on my toes to say the least and my teeth are beginning to grind down to my gums at times.

Recently a friend said to me that I should forget about the once in the lifetime stuff as I can go to Brazil at any point in the future. But also consider the fact I’ve began to appreciate the people more at home, and he’s right in saying despite being so apart im more close with Joe, Friends and Family than ever before.  This is something I will treasure forever.

Finally one thing I want to add is how crazy the Thunderstorms have been!, it will be sunny all down and then the heavens will open. It sounds like the worlds going to end! and the flashes are light are surreal! although this is often comes with Blackouts and attracts insects, frogs and worst of all Snakes into my room! yes I found a snake into my room in which Joe had to guide out with a stick! alongside picking up the frog. I guess you can say our room is truly as wild as the rain forest itself

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams".- Eleanor Roosevelt

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

"The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny".- Albert Ellis

In my blood- Black Stone Cherry < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ29Pw1P7DE>

 Last Hope – Paramore < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEm7q5feofk> 

Christmas On Ilha Grande

Ihla Grande

So to the avoid the depressing feeling of not being at home with my family at Christmas I have decided to spend a few days on the paradise Island of Ilha Grande!

Day 1- Today has been a tiring day, woke up at 4:30 in the morning so I could get a bus into to Rio from Terresopolis (3hrs). although tiring driving through the endless mountain ranges which surround us whilst the sun rises was like walking into a post card. After arriving in Rio we then another bus to Andra dos Ries (3hrs),  From there I was supposed to get a ferry but as for some reason the ferry wasn’t running I ended up getting on another local boat which was taking food the island, it was there I realised how touristy this place is as on arrival we met some Friendly French backpackers. Unfortunately it’s currently raining here on the Island, nevertheless on arrival you could already see the amazing beauty of the tropical waters and forest that the island presents, something which will be even more incredible when the sun arrives (fingers crossed). Arriving here at 4pm we got settled into our hotel which unbelievably bright with outstanding colours of yellows, blues and pinks, something you would expect from a movie! After getting settled I decided to explore the surrounding area. The area is filled with small shops, restaurants, cocktail bars and places advertising different tours, all in such a close proximity you can explore everything in 5 minutes. After exploring me and Joe decided to go for a nice sea food based meal in one of the restaurants, the meal the delicious (fried fish!) followed by a cheeky cocktail on the seafront (despite the rain). One thing I am anxious about is fitting in the snorkelling and time on the beach. It’s given rain tomorrow so thinking about going seeing the ruins or maybe a hike, depending on the weather J

Day 2 aka Christmas Eve! – Honestly it doesn’t feel a lot like Christmas, today was a small disaster, it was given thunderstorms all day and until now it’s been overcast but warm (probably a good day to actually get out snorkelling) however because we expected rain we went to see some of the ruins and sat by the beach having beers and another meal consisting of crab and four cheese pasta alongside a hefty breakfast at the hotel. Today we also had a dip in the natural pool! Which are nice and refreshing. It was also nice to see some of the island in the sun but I’m still looking forward to going out snorkelling and seeing some of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil, however likewise this is somewhat weather dependant, hopefully both Christmas day and boxing day! At the moment with it being Christmas Eve I have just opened the present which I packed before coming here! I love it! It’s so quirky and a lot, of thought has gone into it. I got a travel sized ‘4 in a row’, hikers sock, a buff head scarf, a bottle opener an awesome “climbers” key ring and a waterproof notepad so my field notes don’t get wet! Pretty much what every traveller needs! This morning I also got some good pictures of the hummingbirds coming down to the feeders J.  Tomorrow is going to be strange without my family so I’m going to try not to overthink it. Christmas here just have the same charm to it like at home. None the less Feliz Natal!

Day 2 aka Christmas Day!- Before arriving in the Brazil many people told me that Christmas Day would be one of the worst days as I would miss home, without a doubt I do still miss home but it has been quite the opposite in many ways,  so opposite in fact that it’s been the best day since I have arrived in Brazil! This morning me and Joe booked a snorkelling tour to visit 6 of the most beautiful islands Including the ‘Blue Lagoon’. Firstly the islands were astonishing and photos do not do it justice! To get to these beaches we went on a speed boat which was great in itself going fast with the wind blowing in my hair. We also had a great tourist guide who translated everything to English and made sure we was ok the whole time. I honestly just felt at peace! As being on the water will always be a second home to me. Secondly beaches were the most striking locations I have seen in my entire life so far. The water was a turquoise blue and Emerald green colour with many coral reefs; many islands or beaches surrounded by rainforest and therefore can only be reached by boat. Finally it took me a little bit to get used to the snorkel but once I got the hang of it! I couldn’t stop, seeing the majestic angel fish surrounding me was mesmerising, so many fish!! Although at one point we missed a fantastic opportunity, whilst pulling the boat up to one of the islands we stayed at we saw a sea turtle unfortunately it has swam away by the time I could get in the water with my snorkelling gear. Gutted! Other beaches we saw along the way included the lover’s beach and the witches’ beach (named after a woman who was burned for being a witch because she treated the slaves equally and slaves from surrounding areas would beg to work for her).  One of the beaches also had a river estuarine/man-groove feel to it. Which I obviously went swimming in! It was exquisite and felt like you were swimming in a river in the middle of the rainforest. Overall today has been an experience of a lifetime! I am honestly struggling to put it into words to describe this you. I could go on and on. 

Arriving back on the Island Abraão, Both me and Joe realised we have burnt BAD! I mean when I say bad I look like a lobster and can’t move! One of the worst (if not the worst ) I have ever burnt in my entire life! (Hint Tropical Island means you need at least factor 50 suncreamL).  To top the evening off we went for Christmas dinner on the beach front and had the most delicious meal since arriving on the island, Tai Prawns with celery for starters followed by Isla Grande traditional meal of Banana, fish, tomato dish! (as seen in the picture below) Not your traditional Christmas dinner but delicious none the less. Finally finishing with a cocktail of Cachaça (traditional Brazilian drink) with Ginger and Honey! One thing today has made me realise that even though I love and appreciate the Rainforest and where ever my career may lead me. My true passion will always remain in marine biology.

Day 3 aka boxing day: Despite being in pain from intense sun burnt today has been a fairly good day. With the sunburn in mind it’s been hard as it’s been the sunniest day’s since we arrived and I was already in agonising pain. Being a trooper none the less we decided to visit the Lopes Mendez beach which has been voted the 6^th most beautiful beach in Brazil! After a nice calming boat ride, on arrival Joe went for a wonder as he does and I lost him for the entire day. Not a problem though I made it down the beach and found a nice shaded spot to sit down. The beach was as beautiful as expected! With a long stretched beach with soft white sand and green sea J. Whist there is chilled by myself with my iPod listening to some Frank Turner and Paramore alongside playing with my camera.  I guess you could say I was finding my “Inner Chi” ;). However the beach was described as having decent surf and as expected all the surfers were out, but to me the water was pretty flat! If they think them waves are considered good surf they should visit Cornwall!  To reach the boat back I had to walk a 20-30 minute forest trail which included huge sectors of bamboo, too my surprise I saw two groups of marmosets, some local people were feeding the primates some banana and offered me to have ago.  It was a fantastic experience having these wild primates feed from my hand and has been a highlight of my time here so far.  Arriving at the other beach I was reunited with Joe, funny enough he spend the entire day on the beach next to the one of the most attractive beaches in the country! What an absolute wally :P.  On return we had some nice crepes for Tea with Palm Heart (A Brazilian dish) followed by a Tequila Sunrise and a Pina Colada by the beach.  It should be noted that even though the beach was beautiful! As stated in previous blogs the view alone just doesn’t cut it for me. I prefer British beaches with the cheesy shops, freezing waters with great surf and rock pools, playing ‘creeping along the beach with my dad’ :P (even if I’m 21) together with body boarding, rock scrambling and sand castles. No matter what spectacular beaches I see around the world, nothing will ever live up to Newquay to me. I guess I will always be British at heart.

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad! Miss you every day!  

My advice is for people who are considering travel abroad, make sure you book somewhere special for Christmas and keep yourself busy :) also avoid social media as much as possible. Theres no point depressing yourself with people sharing pictures of them with there loved ones! Christmas doesn't have to be depressing 

Frank Turner - <If I ever stay> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kXAAtTRp3Y

December in Brazil!

It’s crazy to think that since I was about 5 years old I wanted to save animals and see the world. Now I’m 21 conserving wildlife and the environment in a rain forest National park in Brazil.  It seems surreal. I've never been that clever growing up especially struggling with dyslexia my entire life, and many teachers and people I knew growing up never expected me to go far or never thought I’d ever cut out for even college and now I’m doing what I've always been so passionate about and undergoing a bachelor of science degree. Safe to say I've already exceeded my own expectations.

Finally Myself and Joe have begun collecting data on our own research which means going down the trail for 2500m all the time and my legs/knees are already killing me! Especially on the last 400m which is just horrendous climbing at least I’m getting in shape. Although even though it’s early days I've had some amazing experience despite the hard-work, this includes seeing beautiful birds including the Manikan as seen on the new David Attenborough programme, parakeets, LOTS of hummingbirds and even a baby frog in my hair. But best of all we saw the endangered southern Muriquis!!! One thing I have learnt working in a rain forest is that insect’s including mosquito's are a pain; plus some flies following me and Joe around like we’re cartoon tramps. Vines also may look amazing and pretty in documentaries but in life are serious tripping/strangling hazards; especially for me whom is extremely clumsy. At the moment admittedly I do feel a little bit like Steve Backshaw :P. 

Although conservationist’s worst enemy is unpredictable weather. As it stands 27/11/14 I have woken up another day early in the morning to find the weather is rain to go out in. The trail we collect our data from is extremely slippery during the rain and the river too high to cross making it too hazardous to work. Plus wildlife often shelters from the rain anyways. Very annoying at the moment when were currently in the rainy season. 

Since my last blog I have also moved into new accommodation here as well, the accommodation is larger which is good when sharing with another person. Although the kitchen is smaller and lots of rangers come in and out. But best of all is that the Capuchin's are always right outside out room, which are super interesting to observe. Other new experiences include another event here which I love because it means we get tons of free nice food including the Brazilian beans which taste delicious. Although generally I am not keen on the Brazilian food, it’s too bland and no spice. Although the Acai drinks here are incredible, it’s like a thick fruit, sugary smoothy. Yum!  And let’s not forget the Caprinhas!, made from cachaska (don’t know how to spell it). Also at the event we saw a strange tradition where at this time of year people from Rio come in wearing costumes representing different animals and playing the drums. I thought this was a very odd tradition.  Another experience includes trying out the local nightclub. Not something intend to repeat that’s for sure.

It’s a strange experience being here in December, its warm here and it’s difficult to feel very festive, especially knowing that I will be apart from my Family this year. I am trying to make the best of a bad situation though.  It’s nice being in a warm country but in honest truth I miss the cold days at home.  Nothing beats the rush of Christmas, finding presents for everyone and listening to Christmas songs for weeks. Unfortunately I will miss that this year.  I am also still struggling a lot with the culture here and Brazilian people often consider the British to come across as very cold people. I guess because were not as expressive and overly friendly like the locals here.   

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.