All of these experiences include people. People are what kept and keep me going. The energy of the Ecuadorian Amazon was like no other, and I struggle with the fact that I had to leave a place that brought me so much joy. It doesn’t take money, a big house, a busy schedule, or a fit body to be happy there. All you need is an open heart, a wide smile, and a willingness to laugh at yourself to feel like you belong in the local culture which is full of life. After four months of being in Ecuador, I became part of an extensive family that I know I will return to and I gained a plethora of new skills to use. Having already traveled to four continents and over 20 countries, where I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and where I spent my time in San Pablo/Tena, Ecuador are two places I can genuinely consider I have family.

Day 6

The kichwa host family and I were out the door and trekking up to the chakra-farm at seven in the morning to prepare for a traditional amazon dinner booked at the restaurant. We all carried a load of cooking equipment or fresh local amazon produce in large baskets slung over our back and secured with a rope handle resting on our heads. Dona Elena and I started food prep and equipment cleaning. While food prep was going Don Clemente started two open fires under a bamboo shelter and had water boiling straight away. By noon the kitchen was running like a well-oiled machine with more family members coming in to assist with food harvest from the chakra, food prep of over twenty different foods, tending the fires, and dining room preparation. The thirty restaurant customers arrived at sunset and started with a tour of the farm before digging into a magnificent amazon feast.

As a biochemical engineering major, I learn a lot about western medicine and how to modify things on the DNA level. Traditional medicine and this field are not always combined as they could be. I can see there being some potential with bringing the knowledge I have learned from the Amazonian plants to the world of the laboratories. Additionally being introduced to plants in the Amazon has opened up a new field of study for me that I may pursue.

Putting into words how this experience benefitted me educationally and for my potential career is extremely difficult, because this experience definitely has changed my life. Tangibly, this experience taught me so much about traditional medicine and medicinal plants. As a biochemical engineering major, I mainly see how medicine is made in labs, and it was awesome to see how medicine is directly taken from nature and used. I could see the collaboration of the traditional and western medicine being a potential project for my future.

For 9 weeks I participated in an agroforestry internship through Global Nomadic. This opened me up to a company that produces and sells an energy drink made from guayusa, a ‘tea’ like leaf native to the Ecuadorian Amazon. I worked for the Fundacion, the non-profit initially attached before total separation in the Summertime. The vision of the Fundacion is to improve local livelihoods and conserve tropical biodiversity by creating sustainable value for rainforest products.

Throughout my agroforestry placement I undertook a variety of different roles and had the potential to participate in a number more, those of which I did participate in are listed below.

• Creation and editing of monitoring guides.
• Research into the health properties of Amazonian plants.
• Creation and editing of communication products such as posters, handouts and product packaging.
• Organisation of intern work.
• Creation of a guide for future interns.
• Creation and updating of vivero (plant nursery) inventory.
• Reforestation project: rotating agroforestry fund.