From SATA-Peru-2007
We all woke up around 6 a.m. (not by choice) because of the wildlife in and around Manu Learning Center (MLC). This was our first night at MLC and in lowland tropical rainforest and I think we were all a little shocked to hear the plethora of strange, loud morning noises. We had a delicious breakfast of fruit, and then fried eggs with a kind of chutney and deliciously prepared manioc on the side. This surprised us all because we could have never expected the food to be so delightful in such a remote place. After breakfast, we had our first Matsigenka 101 class with Anthropologist Glenn Shepard (who is one of the three professors we were fortunate to have during our time in the rainforest). It was essentially a 3.5 hour crash course in Matsigenka language. It was extremely overwhelming, but helpful in learning some basics as well as the overall picture. After class we relaxed for an hour or so, until lunch at 1. Lunch was great, like all meals we had at MLC. After lunch, we split into two groups and took a tour of the trails behind MLC. I was in Varun’s group (Varun is one of the other professors on the trip, a ConnColl alum, who specializes in tropical rainforest ecology) and he taught us a number of things including different ant colonies that we encountered, for example leaf cutter ants that gather pieces of leaves to bring back to their colony and feed them to baby aphids that live in their colony. Then, they eat the sap from aphids, which is sweet, sticky and apparently delicious (for ants). We also learned about the characteristics of different plant species and bird species. We were even fortunate enough to see a pack of squirrel monkeys. They are very tiny, but super fun to watch as they hop from tree to tree. We got back around 4:30 and Rick and I immediately made our way down to the waterfall by the river for a cold, refreshing and powerful shower. We washed our clothes/bodies before heading back to MLC for Varun’s lecture at 6. His lecture was about tropical rainforest soil types and the soils role in the vegetation. We learned that the soil here is actually nutrient deficient- despite contrary belief. This is because the plants are constantly absorbing all the nutrients from the soil. After the lecture we had another amazing meal. After dinner, Glenn taught us the song Buffalo Bill translated into Matsigenka for some additional language practice. The other highlight of the night was Varun showing us a folder of his different facial hairs over the years. It was hilarious and shocking, went to bed by 9:30.
October 24, 2007October 28, 2007
