Resource Curse: Conservation & Economics in the Amazon
Summer II 2022:
I love to travel, but I hate it at the same time. I am a big plan person. Everything seemed to be planned out, but when we got going most of the trip was rained out, metaphorically and physically.
We did our online course, which was fine and easy enough. We learned a lot about the conversation on oil in the Amazon. We learned about the history of Ecuador, the politics, the social climate, and the environmental actions being taken. Then we learned a lot about the basic habitats in Ecuador and how there are several totally different regions based on how much the elevation changes in Ecuador alone. The Andes run right through the middle of Ecuador, one the west the sea creates fisherman villages, in the mountains there are cities in the valleys, and in the east, there is the amazon rainforest. A week before we are about to leave we had a zoom call with the whole class, Dr. Henk told us that his visa from Sri Lanka was invalid and he could not come on the trip. I was in complete shock but Dr. Holliday was taking his place as well as a grad student to help with the basics of biology. So basically we were left with an economics teacher on a mainly biology-based trip especially considering we were spending four days in the Amazon.
We went, and the flights there were fine. We arrived in Guayaquil and the forecast changed for rain for the entire trip. We stayed in a sketchy hotel with the bare minimum amenities. The first few days were cool, we went whale watching and walked through the poor man’s Galapagos to see blue-footed boobies. Then we headed to Baños a city in the mountains, they had a really cool market. However, the food there was all the same. We had chicken and rice every night for lunch and dinner. The bus rides were long and bumpy. The bus ended up breaking down twice. My friend got elevation sickness and everything that we were supposed to do depended on the weather being nice. One day the weather cleared up so we could go white water rafting. I was so excited. Then I swallowed the water by accident because the guide had us screaming when rowed. From then we went into the city where we were departing for the rainforest from. As soon as were about to get to the hotel, my stomach started to hurt. We got to the hotel and I had to run up to our room skip dinner and stay in the bathroom all night. When they got back from dinner I was even worse off. I was so dehydrated and I told my teachers. The next morning I felt even worse. I tried to go to breakfast I could not even get bread down. I ended up throwing up in the street, and my teacher asked me if I wanted to go to a private doctor. Of course, I said yes. I had to spend the next four hours getting a cocktail of drugs pumped into my arms. I felt terrible, but the nurses were so nice to me. I finally got out of there and then we headed into the amazon rainforest. By the time I finished hiking 4 hours into the jungle and setting up tents I was exhausted. I felt like crap and had no appetite. Day after day I took my medicine most of the time not even keeping it down, soiled my clothes from sweat, etc. I had to wash my clothes every day and lay in a hammock trying to eat bananas. The last day we were about to leave I felt better only for one of my other friends to get sick. I could not push my limits because I knew I needed to make the four-hour trek out of the forest.
Finally, we left. Made it to Quito and did some touristy things such as the equator museum. I had points taken off my grade for wearing shorts that day even though my clothes were dirty because the hotel we stayed at the night before couldn’t take all of our clothes to wash. At the airport, we had to write a 3-page essay on the biology portion of the trip. While everyone else got to write their paper it was nearing eleven PM, I got randomly checked twice for the TSA-checked baggage and carry-on. So I could not get started on my paper and we had to have it turned in by our 7 am arrival in Washington D.C. no we had no other opportunity to write our essay because we were given only free time during our bumpy rides on the bus. So as it was midnight I had to get started on my paper. I stayed up until three AM writing that paper so I could sleep for the rest of the night.
I learned from this trip, that I know my body, and I know how to stand up for myself and how I feel. I should only do things that I am comfortable with. You can learn even if your environment does not permit it. There were times during the trip when I made efforts to go on my own and learn the language and about the biodiversity without someone treating me like a child. I am happy that I went on the tip and I am happy that I got to experience this with my friends.
I have attached my artifact here. This artifact is one of the presentations I did after coming back from Amazon. This was to compile the information I gained before I left during the lecture portion and the actual physical information I learned in Ecuador. It was so sad to see how desperate the people of Ecuador were to protect their environment for the sake of the entire Earth and the government just selling off the land as if it is not protected.
Artifact details: Name; Davice Jones, Date; (7/18/2022), Title; Ecuador divided: Environment vs. Economy.