Sunday, October 20, 2013

Simone Littledale trip journal part 1

-->
October  12th, 2013

October 12th, 2013.
We arrived in Leticia around 2pm and I was immediately affected by the vastness of the Amazon. On a map of South America it’s plain to see that yes, it does occupy a good deal of space but you’ll never know it’s true scale until you see the canopy stretching from horizon to horizon like you’ve come to the end of the world. Even Leticia, a busy town, seems a paltry clearing in the face of the jungle. We dropped our things off at the Universidad Nacional’s boardinghouse just outside of town and headed into Leticia in search of two absolute essentials: rubber boots and a hat. What Leticia lacks in size it makes up for in raucous vibrancy. There are kids everywhere, friendly stray dogs haunt the shade beneath every awning, and crossing an intersection is an exercise in faith and luck. We stopped for lunch at a place that had to be the inspiration for the Rainforest Café; oozing kitsch and decorated with everything from tacky beaded wall hangings to a fishbowl of sawdust housing three pulsating grubs the thickness of a man’s big toe. After lunch we wandered down to the port and took a shortcut through a covered market. At this hour it is mostly empty save for a few fruit vendors sitting amongst their wares and looking as if they are being slowly consumed by oranges and bananas, and bored children making plastic trucks trundle across the uneven concrete. When we reached the port, Diego swept his arm in a motion of grandeur, declaring what we were seeing to be the mighty Amazon River. At this point in the year it’s more of a creek, surrounded by beached houseboats. In actual fact, what we were seeing was more of a canal. The “real” river lies behind an island called la Isla de la Fantasia. The only boats that can manage the canal during this time of year are the zippy little canoes sporting specialized motors known locally as “pekepekes”. After scoring some boots and an excellent Panama hat we headed to Parque Santander for the nightly roosting of the parakeets. You can hear the din of their chattering at least 3 blocks away and there are literal thousands of them, flying in tight groups, all banking at the same time like fighter jets and screeching. Even locals gather to watch this affair, which may have been going on since before Leticia’s founding. Once a colony of parakeets chooses a roosting spot, they will always return there. The sound at times is so deafening that your ears ring just as much as they would at a rock concert!
The Calanoa Foundation, founded officially in 2012 by Diego Samper and his wife Marlene, has been hard at work for years helping indigenous communities not only have access to crucial support and resources but to rediscover their cultural identity, a concept that for many tribes is in danger of being lost forever. The projects I will be working on are 1) daily digital photography workshops with groups of all ages that will focus on teaching the basics of photography as well as encouraging the community to take a closer look at themselves and the beauty around them, and 2) painting every house and community space in the town with murals of local wildlife and indigenous oral history. With these projects we hope to bring out the artistic side of the community--many of whom are of Ticuna descent, a tribe traditionally renowned for their skill as painters--and instill a sense of pride all while beautifying the community.

October  13th, 2013.
This morning we headed to market to buy provisions, stopping first by the river to meet up with a friend of Diego’s called Melciades—yes, like the character from One Hundred Years of Solitude—who is not only Diego’s go-to guy in the Amazon but a skilled curandero with an impressive knowledge of Amazonian plants. He is a lovely man. According to him, the market at 9am on a Sunday is apparently quite slow, but it seemed lively enough to me. The majority of what people buy there seems to be fruit: everything from peppers to copoazu hanging in bright bunches and overflowing from plastic washtubs, and fish: tiger-striped catfish, fat piranhas like sliver medallions and one huge creature that to my surprise was still alive, heaving on the steel table as fishmongers scraped and sliced efficiently. Markets are a fascinating way to get a sense of a place; it draws all sorts of people and there is always something interesting to look at. After lunch at the same place as yesterday and altogether too much arroz con pollo, we caught the fast boat to Calanoa, about an hour and forty-five from Leticia. At a certain point about ten minutes into the ride you reach a place where the river forks and it’s possible to see the Brazilian, Colombian, and Peruvian shores. When we arrived at Calanoa, a woman from Mocagua named Maria and her young son were there to greet us. Calanoa is gorgeous; all the cabins and covered spaces are giant A-frame shapes made of interlaced palm leaves and dark jungle wood and the minimalist/indigenous décor gives it the look of a trendy eco-lodge, but beyond the lovely façade Calanoa is the home base to various important community projects, both current ones like the painting of the village and those to come such as a floating inter-village library. Maria led me to where I would be sleeping, which is basically an awesome attic/tree fort with a hammock and a mosquito net. You enter through the floor and two walls are open (save for some mosquito netting) to the jungle and all its whispering glory. I told her it was like a dream from my childhood and she laughed.
 Diego took me to see the cabins where guests stay, which are well-equipped with their own flush toilets and electric lights but are basically of the same design as our cabin. As we were walking around the garden identifying stevia, papaya, and lemongrass, Diego told me about how when some folks from Kwantlen College were coming to visit Marlene ordered all the banana trees along the pathways pruned back and tidied. The problem is, tarantulas use the folds of banana trees as shelter and thus started showing up everywhere as they looked for other hidey-holes. When I asked nervously if it was still happening, Diego laughed and told me that it was less common now.  Of course, when I went up to my room to put on some bug repellent, guess what was hanging out on my ceiling? Yep, a nice big pink-toed tarantula, casually rubbing her pedipalps together as if she were twiddling her thumbs. 

October 14th, 2013.

This morning I woke at dawn to the sound of soft rain.  The jungle always seems to find pleasant ways to sing you to sleep or wake you up, though it does so on its own schedule and so sometimes you end up waking at what some might consider an ungodly hour. My eight-legged friend had moved to the other side of the ceiling and was hunching happily behind a beam. I met Melciades on the way to the kitchen and he asked if I’d heard the birds going crazy this morning. He told me that the elders believe that when the birds start calling like that, it means that the river is going to rise. Sure enough, the river was higher than it was yesterday send apparently last week there was a beach. Melciades is full of stories—he told me that not a month ago he saw a jaguar on the property. He had been down at the beach and had heard an unfamiliar sound cut through the din of insects and frogs. He peered into the trees and suddenly the jaguar came into view, stalking a dove. Hunting here is easy for them; Calanoa rests on land that was once used for growing fruit trees and had been abandoned so the trees had gone wild and the jungle crept in. The fruit attracts all manner of animals and birds and Diego tries his best to keep their trails intact so they are not disturbed.
Diego’s niece Daniela arrived this morning—she and I had a chance to meet in Bogotá for coffee and hit it off from the get-go. She’s kind and very bright, with a passion for social issues and a love for animals that I can definitely sympathize with. Soon after she arrived we met with Diego Vasquez, a professional painter from the village who will be leading by example and helping us plan out the designs that will go on each house. He is a shy, patient man in his early thirties and possesses some serious talent. We discussed the desire to really bring traditional influences and narratives into the murals and what we could do to encourage that, as well as explaining that the figures need not be entirely true to life and that we hoped he’d play with surrealism and themes of animal transformation.  Daniela showed him the maps she had brought to not only give us an idea of where to start but to involve the townspeople in drawing on the map; naming rivers and marking where certain animals could be found, cultural cartography, if you will. As we spoke, the sky collapsed in a sudden downpour that obscured the Peruvian shore and sent a mini Amazon river cascading down the slope. When I mentioned that I’d never seen it rain so hard, both Diego's smiled and told me that this was nothing.
We were supposed to have a meeting with the curaca (elected, state-recognized representative of the village) in the afternoon but we ended up having to wait almost an hour before he appeared. While we were waiting, we took a first look at the eight donated cameras that we’ll be using for the photography workshops. We numbered each camera, its memory card, and its charger and organized them into little Ziploc kits. Because each camera is different it will be a mite complicated: some have battery packs while others take AA, not all the memory cards are the same shape so some have USB cables, and some are a little damaged. Finally the curaca appeared accompanied by two young girls and we explained the projects again. He seemed enthused about the project and didn’t have too many concerns so the meeting was short. When he left, the darkness was beginning to deepen and the mosquitos came out in force, so we moved into the kitchen. The moonlight wasn’t as bright as it was last night but you could still make out the shadowy forms of pigeon-sized bats wheeling through the damp air. Daniela saw me making a woven bracelet and taught me how to do more complicated patterns. She’s a good teacher, and patient with my fumbling over the Spanish language. When we went to bed the tarantula had returned. I might have to name her.
October 16th, 2013.
Last night we had the most incredible storm, pouring and gusting well into the morning. It almost seemed  a living thing by the way it would pause right on top of us and rain so hard that we thought it might wash us away or rip the roof asunder by the force of its thunder alone. After a while it would move off deeper into the jungle only to return with increased fury. Even the ever-present frogs had gone quiet, feeling what I’d imagine to be a sense of inadequacy. In the morning we organized groceries and reviewed the cameras ones last time, and at around four Maria came down the path hauling a massive catfish decorated all over with black and silver stripes. Known locally as pintadillo, these fish can apparently grow a good deal larger than this one, which was no minnow at nine kilos. The reason for the fish was eighteen Polish tourists on a circuit of Amazonia. They only planned to stay one night at Calanoa, which meant a lot of work for Maria, Melciades and Beatriz, another Mocaguense with a shy smile. As we had a meeting with the townspeople at four, we couldn’t help with the prep so we headed to Mocagua by pekepeke. We had a couple minutes before the meeting so Dani showed me the lake in the center of town. The first thing you notice as you’re walking across the bridge is a large colony of oropendolas, crow-sized birds with an incredible song akin to large drops of water. They are known in Spanish as mochileros because they weave hanging nests that look strikingly like the woven bags used by people all over Colombia.
The town meeting went well until people began to get bored and then it became a bit disorderly. When there are a lot of people talking at once I find it difficult to follow the conversation and often I lose sight of what we’re talking about and can’t find it again. There was one man who spoke very well about the benefits this project could have for the community and how important it was to fight to keep their identity as indigenous people. Most of the town seemed enthused about the painting project and the photography workshops and when Dani brought up her idea of a communal-use pottery kiln, there were nods all around. It was dark when we returned to Calanoa and we ate dinner in the kitchen with the three guides that were leading the Polish group. They were headed on a night excursion in the jungle and so Dani and I joined them in hopes of catching sight of some nocturnal monkeys, which we had been hearing almost every night but had never seen. The guide, Jorge, was an expert tracker with a broad knowledge of all things jungle. He stopped by many medicinal and useful plants and explained not only their use but how they were traditionally prepared. My favourite is the palma sancona, whose massive spiny roots form tents six feet high and which drops beautiful dark brown seeds veined with red like a river map. The local people used to use the spines to grate yuca and make jewelry from the seeds. We also got a chance to see quite a bit of wildlife: at least four types of frog, a praying mantis that began shadow boxing rather threateningly when we shone our headlamps on her, a slender green and brown snake that looked for all the world like a vine hanging from a tree, and best of all, some little tan-coloured monkeys high up in the canopy! Dani and I caught a glimpse of them just before they fled our lights.
October 17th, 2013.
We arrived at the community centre this morning to find dozens of children waiting for us, eager to be among the first to take the photography workshop.  We went to work splitting them into groups of eight (a camera per person) and chose a group of little girls around nine years old to go first, since they had organized themselves very quickly. We didn’t want to overload them with information so each lesson covered the basics: turning the camera on, the shutter button, the zoom function, and the number one important rule of photography: “don’t drop it”. Once they had the gist of it down, we began our walking tour of the village. Mocagua is small, with a population of six hundred or so, many of which are under eighteen. It’s a pretty and peaceful village alive with flowers, birds, and free-range chickens. At first the girls were easy to keep together, but after about 45 minutes many of them kept running off to have breakfast and change into their uniforms. It was then we realized that we had been eating up class time so we collected the cameras and told them to run along to school. The workshops would have to be held after lunch each day, since class ends at 1pm. Since we had some time to kill after that and it was so hot out, we ended up falling asleep on the floor of the community centre, which the children seemed to think was hilarious.
At lunchtime when I was taking photos of the clouds of butterflies by the river, a pink dolphin broke the surface and rolled lazily back under not two metres from where I was standing! They truthfully are quite a vibrant colour of pink, the guidebooks don’t exaggerate. Upon our return to the village after lunch we went by the health centre, where Diego León Vasquez had been working on painting a mural with some young men of the community. In a single morning they had transformed the dingy little building into a vibrant scene of the jungle as seen from the river. Diego L. had worked an otter and a capybara into the river and was setting the base for a school of dolphins. I think after seeing this, people will start getting excited about painting their houses.
Our second photography group was also all girls, around the ages of 11-13. They took considerably less photos than the little ones, but were more careful wish the composition of each shot. We gave them freedom to wander unsupervised and told them to return at 3:30. This group’s work consisted of many shots of a lanky, pretty girl posing awkwardly for the camera, dark eyes fixed on the camera. After waiting out a short cloudburst we gathered the third group, all boys. Admittedly we were a little more worried about this bunch as they had seemed a bit rowdy but turned out to be good and patient boys. We split the group and I ended up with two “tag-alongs”, both six years old and adorable, clinging to my hands as if I were their lifeforce. As we made our rounds the boys would run ahead and I’d call them back, only to discover that they’d found something wonderful: a captive peccary, curly-tailed puppies, or borugos (a rabbit-sized rodent akin to a capybara) living in someone’s kitchen.
In the evening we downloaded the photos to Diego’s computer and were delighted at the results; there were a great many pleasant surprises, especially in the portrait department. Something about a kid behind a camera makes people soften and smile or look less guarded than if an outsider were taking the photos. Here were wizened grandparents, mothers, dads, sisters, their eyes full of love and patience. There were also so many photos of chickens that it became something of a running joke.


October 18, 2013.
We spent the morning painting the health centre with the help of a group of young boys. The work went quite fast with five extra sets of eager hands, and they listened well to our instructions and made us laugh with their jokes and commentary. It seems that the days will pan out as follows; painting til lunch, then two photography workshops until dinner. Our first group was mixed boys and girls but unfortunately we had some issues with a few of the cameras not holding a charge and leaving some without a camera midway through the workshop. We put them down to repeat it for the next day. The second workshop, all energetic boys, was a little more difficult to manage and we were stretched a bit thin trying to keep track of them and making sure they took care of the cameras, as well as working through the large group of tag-alongs begging to be lent cameras too. Eventually we had so much trouble with them that we cut the workshop about 15 minutes short. One little boy, a headstrong, sullen child named Vitaly, was so mad that he hadn’t been allowed to take more photos that he marked the wall of the health centre with mud or paint or something. Thankfully it was the blank western wall and not the mural, but we told him he couldn’t repeat the workshop tomorrow as he had wanted to do. Maria’s son Nicolas was also in today’s group, he is a fun boy with a talent for mischief who ran me a bit ragged but also had me laughing hysterically the whole time.

October 19th, 2013.
This morning Daniela and I spent some time going from house to house on the street beside the health centre asking what people wanted to paint on their walls. The Segundo’s house will sport a king vulture, the symbol of Pedro Segundo’s clan. The young woman (I believe his daughter)  brought us juice and we showed her the field guide to birds to be sure we painted the right one. Doña Patricia two houses down was very enthusiastic about the painting project and told us she wanted a huge pirarucu covering the front wall of her house and possibly a monkey too. The other two houses posed a bit of a challenge: the Tangoas only wanted the bar they run next to the house painted, though later explained to us that they were going to rebuild their house and that it would be a shame to paint it and then knock it down. On the bar they decided on a pond scene with herons and Victoria regia flowers. The last house already has its façade painted green and the owners don’t want anything else. We then went to work painting the interior of the health centre, and were pleasantly surprised when Vitaly showed up and asked for paint so he could cover the damage he did yesterday.
We only had one workshop today due to the boat running late, and it was with a group of older kids and thus very relaxed. At one point a boy named Eduardo took us to his house to show us the babillas (small, less aggressive versions of the caiman) his dad had caught and was keeping in a massive pot in the living room. As we were finishing up the workshop the wind began to pick up and we barely made it to the shelter of the community centre before it stared to really pour. We realized we were missing a camera, though fortunately we had lent it to Maria’s elder son German, a mature, calm boy so we weren’t terribly worried that it would be harmed.

October 23, 2013.
This morning we painted John’s house. He is the secretary to the curaca and a ridiculously nice person with an infectious laugh. Both his sons have taken a photography workshop. They plan to paint their two-storey house with a forest scene; lots of green, with vines wrapping around the railings of the veranda. As Dani and I were prepping the railings, John’s wife Maria (from whom we always buy sodas on hot days) came upstairs to have a look. When we asked if she wanted to help, she shyly nodded yes. We gave her a sponge and soon she was stippling like a pro. The work went fast with an extra set of hands and it helped that it wasn’t in the upper thirties like it has been. Tomorrow we will paint flowers on the crossbars. In the afternoon we had two workshops, both good groups of chill kids. One man had captured what he described as “a dreadful breed of caterpillar” under a gourd for us to photograph—the thing looked like Chewbacca from Star Wars, covered in thick white hair that begs you to touch it...a clever trap. The hair will stick in your skin and burn worse than a wasp sting. In the second group we had Melciades’s youngest son, the spitting image of his father, join us, as well as a lovely boy named Arnol who went around with a heliconia flower tucked behind one ear and a leafy branch in one hand like the prince of the forest. After a long day we went for a swim with the kids. The vivid Amazonian sunset had turned the river to beaten gold and the water was warm and soothing. We had splash wars and played shark and Dani and I screamed just as much as the kids. It almost made me wish I could be a nine-year-old again.

October 24th, 2013.
Today was wickedly hot, and the house we were working on was in direct sunlight so Dani and I were wilting a little, but the kids helping us somehow had the energy to sprint all over the place. We started out painting with plastic bags to add texture to the background, but since that technique leaves the hands totally gloved in paint I said they could use the excess on their fingers to make marks too. All was going civilly when Segyale, a quiet little boy of five whom we all adore and who follows us on every photo walk, smacked his tiny handprint in white right on the lower border, where we hadn’t planned on painting. The older kids gasped, and there was a moment of heavy silence as they looked at me and then at Dani, expecting us to scold them. We both burst into laughter and then it was off to the races. More and more kids joined us as we slapped our handprints all over, turning the wall into a sea of blue and white hands of all sizes. By the end of it, we were all exhilarated and covered head to heel in paint splatters. The wall looks beautiful, and the owner of the house thought so too. A relief, since we’d had an incident that same day with one of the homeowners being very upset that we hadn’t painted her house a uniform colour but had opted for an abstract background.
Tonight was the culmination of all the photography workshops thus far, the presentation of the best photos taken by the kids. Dani, Diego and I had spent hours each night selecting the best and we were all very excited to show the community the final product. At first not a single adult showed up (though almost every child in the village was there), though midway through they began to filter in and appear at the windows. The presentation was a success, drawing roars of laughter, shrieks of delight, and wolf whistles every time a pretty girl appeared onscreen. It was really rewarding to see how well-received the photography project turned out to be, and the adults that did show up expressed interest in participating themselves.
October 25th, 2013.
As yesterday was the last of the workshops with kids, we spent all day today painting Maria and John's house. We had two young girls helping us to paint flowers on the veranda and they did a lovely job of it, making careful designs on scrap paper before running to get them approved by Maria. It was also the first day of the adult workshop, though we constructed it a little differently; each person will keep the camera and the charger for three days and then return it to us. There were a few complications to figure out: Three of the cameras take rechargeable AA batteries but we only have one charger for those, and another two have to share a charger cable, so we had to do a little juggling to make sure those who had those cameras lived relatively close to each other so as not to pose too big of an inconvenience. As we painted, people wandered by and we took their names down and Dani gave them a short lesson on how to use the camera. She went into a little more detail than with the kids, explaining the video function and composition a little, though once again, we didn't want to overload them with too much info. Every camera has a multitude of features, many of which frankly aren't of much use to anyone, even aficionados. People young and old came by; some of the young guys who had been painting with us every day, Don Jairo who owns the store next door, and an older woman who is the single mother of Mercy Amalia, who always tags along on our workshops regardless if she can use a camera or not. I'm really excited to see what this new and diverse group comes back with.


Cronica de viaje Daniela Samper

-->

Domingo, 13 de octubre de 2013

Llegué a Leticia hacia las 3h30 de la tarde, los domingos los horarios de los vuelos son más tarde. Nuevamente quedé asombrada al sobrevolar la selva como de horizonte a horizonte todo era verde, como ejercicio empecé a  buscar los indicios de ocupación y fue casi aterrizando que se empiezan a notar los claros en el bosque. Al bajarme del avión volví a sentir el aroma particular de la selva, un olor húmedo que me acuerda siempre a las hojas caídas en descomposición, a flores marchitas y a frutales ya muy maduros.  Al llegar me encaminé al hospedaje de la Universidad Nacional que queda en la misma carretera del aeropuerto, como a unos 15 minutos. Cargada con aproximadamente 25 kilos entre las dos maletas, el camino fue arduo y llegué empapada en sudor. Al llegar estaban celebrando una fiesta de cumpleaños, entonces había niños correteando, nadando en la piscina y música infantil que abarcaba todo el espacio. Amparito, la encargada del hospedaje, estaba esperándome y fue mucha la emoción, recién desempacada, de reconocer una cara amiga. Fue muy amable y estuvo pendiente de mí el tiempo que me quedé. Era la primera vez que viajaba sola a Leticia y me tenía nerviosa cualquier eventualidad. Me acomodé en la cabaña comunal y tan pronto me organicé, salí al centro de Leticia. Iba caminando por la carretera y paró una moto que me propuso el aventón hasta  el centro.

Apenas acabé con las vueltas, me fui directo a tomar un jugo de copoazu a la panadería del Parque Santander, que a esa hora recibe a todos los loritos para pasar la noche, que siempre regresan al mismo sitio, nunca a otro, para dormir. No había copoazu, entonces me decidí por araza, que es un jugo con un dejo carrasposo, pero de un sabor fuerte como la maracuyá. Me quedé un buen rato escuchando a los loritos que hacen tremendo alboroto, pareciera que estuvieran discutiendo por la mejor rama, en el mejor árbol, más que llegando a descansar después de todo un día volando en los parajes del río. Como era domingo, había mucha gente en el parque: niños por montones jugando, padres vigilantes sentados en los bancos charlando, carritos de helado y de fruta esperando atraer al próximo grupo de niños, mucha recocha y charlas pasajeras. La misa estaba en la mitad cuando llegué y después de un rato empezaron a salir por grupos de la iglesia. Pensé que hasta en el rincón más recóndito el domingo de misa no falta. Seguro debe ser que reúne a los familiares, una excusa para las abuelas para salir de casa y  a las comadres que se juntan para compartir los chismes de la semana y los últimos sucesos acaecidos. Además, el domingo siempre es el día para lucir las pintas más bonitas, toda una excusa para arreglarse y recibir coqueteos. Todas las niñas andan con un lindo vestido y algún peinado ideado por sus madres, las muchachas maquilladas y luciendo sus curvas y los hombres embadurnados de colonia y recién afeitados. Me encantan los domingos en los pueblos y pequeñas ciudades, son los días con más movimiento y llenos de alegría, siempre hay diversas actividades, casi siempre es el día de mercado, la ocasión para pasear con la familia –principalmente con los padres ausentes gran parte del día entre semana-, de hacer visitas, de permitirse el descanso y la recocha. Cualquier domingo es la ocasión ideal  para aprehender el espíritu de los lugares, de alguna manera es el día que se rompe con la cotidianidad del trabajo y deja ver las formas de divertirse y pasar el rato, dejando traslucir el ‘carácter’ propio del lugar.

Lunes, 14 de octubre de 2013
Me desperté antes de que sonara el despertador. Hice recocha un buen rato, obligándome a levantar hacia las 7h30. Desayuné, organicé mejor la empacada de las maletas, me bañé en la piscina y estaba lista en tiempo record. El moto carro llegó un poco tarde y estaba estresada por no alcanzar el rápido de las 10am. Al final, todo salió bien y estaba instalada en la lancha minutos antes de que arrancara.  Todo el trayecto desde el embarcadero hasta el río Amazonas es muy sucio, lleno de basuras y pensé que como primera imagen para un recién llegado no es exactamente de bienvenida al río más grande y bello de América del Sur. Cuando entramos al río Amazonas me quedé pensando en el viaje que  recién comenzaba, en todos los proyectos que iban a iniciar y en las amistades que iban a surgir de esta estadía, la primera temporada larga en campo. Llevaba varios meses preparando mi investigación de tesis, entregando avances y con mucho estrés por las obligaciones académicas. Fue en ese momento, de navegar el Amazonas y visualizar la vastedad de este gran río, que volví a reconciliarme con el lugar, que me acordé porque me enamoré de sus paisajes y después de todo porque escogí este paraíso para formarme como etnógrafa.
Toda investigación nace de la curiosidad, de la incertidumbre y de los indicios que se perciben en las cosas, las palabras, los lugares y del encuentro con personas excepcionales. Exige desafíos más allá del ejercicio intelectual, implica adaptarse a otros lugares que se mueven al ritmo de un cotidiano propio, moldeado por las exigencias del medio y esculpido en las vidas de sus habitantes. Vivir la selva es la tarea más difícil, una experiencia que sobrepasa su belleza exuberante que, como experiencia puramente ‘estética’, nos remite a los imaginarios que Occidente ha creado sobre este espacio, lleno de ecos, de espejismos, de sombras, siempre de ‘otros’ tan distantes, maestros de sus propias vidas, de la selva, de los secretos que oculta en su espesura (Diario de campo, junio 10 de 2013).
Esta investigación surge de la posibilidad de trabajar con mis tíos, Diego Samper y Marlene Escobar, en consonancia con su proyecto de volver a residir en la selva. Por tanto, de este proyecto de vida, que lleva cocinándose muchos años, nace Calanoa, una reserva natural privada, localizada a las orillas del río Amazonas, vecina del resguardo de Mocagua y del Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Amacayacú, a 60 km de la ciudad de Leticia. Calanoa es un proyecto que propende por “la conservación biológica y cultural de la región amazónica mediante la integración del arte, el diseño, la arquitectura, la investigación científica, la comunicación, la educación comunitaria y el turismo sostenible” (Web Calanoa). La Fundación Calanoa surge en el 2012, a raíz de su trabajo continuo con las comunidades de la región. La trayectoria de la Fundación Calanoa ha marcado un precedente en la gestión cultural y en la propuesta de un modelo innovador de turismo comunitario. El principio esencial de conservar la diversidad biológica y cultural, de buscar la recuperación e innovación de las artes y los oficios y de concebir el acto creativo como corazón de todo proyecto; son los ejes de su filosofía de trabajo y las directrices de la fundación.
Precisamente, esta temporada de campo voy a acompañar el Proyecto comunitario de pintura de las viviendas en el resguardo de Mocagua, Amazonas. Me emociona mucho participar en este proyecto de trabajo colectivo. Por lo menos, en algún momento, las brochas pasarán por todas las manos. Es mi primer acercamiento a trabajar con la comunidad y la oportunidad única para conocer mejor a sus habitantes, ya que se va a entrar casa por casa para pintar la fachada. Hay mucha expectativa en el desarrollo del proyecto, me pregunto cómo se va a perfilar la participación de los habitantes, cómo se irán entusiasmando y, ante todo, me causa mucha curiosidad  la forma en que se va a plasmar la búsqueda propia de expresión artística. Incluso, es un proyecto ideal para revitalizar el oficio de la pintura, puesto que los ticunas son reconocidos en la región como pintores tradicionales de la corteza de yanchama.

***

Me quedé dormida hasta Zaragosa, reconocí los parajes y estuve pendiente de la llegada a Calanoa. Afortunadamente, reconocí donde estábamos, porque el rápido ya se iba pasando. Al desembarcar, me recibió Melciades – que por alguna razón relaciono con Melquiades de Cien Años de Soledad, uno de mis personajes favoritos-. Me alegró mucho volver a verlo, es un hombre que se hace querer, es muy dulce y siempre con historias por contar. Ya andaba contándome como los micos frailes se habían comido todos los mangos de un árbol  y que un tigre estuvo rondando por acá. Tremenda noticia de llegada: un jaguar andaba por los parajes! Más que asustarme, desee encontrármelo, siempre he querido ver uno de lejos. Me fascina su mirada, su majestuosidad y elegancia, el rey de la selva tropical.
Dejé las maletas en la cabaña de mi tío Diego, mi hogar acá en la selva. Me sorprendí que ahora ya no iba a dormir en el primero piso, sino en el altillo. Ya estaba instalada Simone,  una joven canadiense, de madre colombiana, que había conocido previamente en Bogotá y que venía a participar en los proyectos de Calanoa. Es una chica dulce, conversadora y amante de la naturaleza, gran conocedora de pájaros.
Abracé a Beatriz que estaba en la cocina, preparando un almuerzo delicioso, siempre con su sabrosa sazón. Ella, siempre con su risa nerviosa, su particular forma de mostrar cariño con bromas y esos ojos que brillan y dicen más que las escasas palabras que logras sacarle. Después de almuerzo, llegó Diego León Vásquez, pintor tradicional de yanchama de la comunidad de Mocagua. Me puso feliz que me reconociera, no se acordaba de mi nombre pero sí de mi cara. Entusiasmada, le mostré los planos que había traído del pueblo y de la hidrografía de la región, todos calcados de los planos de otro mocaguense, Cristóbal Panduro. Diego es un buen aliado para armar talleres e iniciar proyectos. Después de contarle del proyecto del horno de cerámica, me comentaba que habían desenterrado una urna funeraria en una tinaja enorme y que estaba rodeada de pequeñas ollas de cerámica. Me decía también que era de los antiguos de la zona, los omaguas. Me emociona mucho esa información y me voy a poner a seguir las huellas de esa excavación.
Teníamos reunión con el curaca Gerardo Achique, pero tuvimos que esperar un buen rato antes de que llegara. Habían llegado dos chicas, creo que las encargadas de Familia en Acción, para la reunión. Mientras llegaba el curaca, les comentamos de los proyectos. Al principio me pareció que estaban muy distantes y hasta desinteresadas debido a sus gestos parcos, pero al final se despidieron con una sonrisa, lo cual me alivió mucho. Realicé que algo muy común en las mujeres de Mocagua es su silencio y discreción. Tuvimos una pequeña charla con el curaca para cuadrar una socialización de los proyectos. El curaca es un poco despistado, pero muestra siempre entusiasmo en apoyar los proyectos  de Calanoa y de ofrecer toda la ayuda logística necesaria.
Estuvimos revisando las cámaras para trabajar en el proyecto de fotografía, las enumeramos y  dejamos cargando las disimiles baterías. La idea es montar los grupos según las cámaras disponibles, con una metodología abierta y un registro constante de la actividad de la pintura y de retratos de su cotidianidad. El principio metodológico es dejarlos trabajar libremente después de pocas indicaciones técnicas y recomendaciones de uso  y cuidado de las cámaras. No recargarlos con información sobre composición, encuadre, exposición de la luz, etc.,  sino dejar que se exprese intuitivamente su mirada sobre sí mismos: el pueblo, sus habitantes, sus intereses.
Comimos lo mismo que el almuerzo, lo cual fue genial, ya que todo recalentado sabe más sabroso. Estuve enseñándole a Simone el tejido en macramé, que hace rato no practicaba  y me volvieron las ganas de volver a tejer. Al acostarme, caí profunda. Me levante par de veces porque la hamaca había quedado mal lindada, no fue una noche muy cómoda, pero aun así los ruidos de la selva supieron arrullarme hasta las 10am.

Miércoles, 16 de octubre de 2013
Anoche llovió como nunca, truenos a lo lejos, un ruido estruendoso acompañado de un gran aguacero, expresión de una autentica tormenta tropical. Fue tan fuerte que ni siquiera se oían los animales, los sonidos frecuentes de las noches, cantos para dormir.  Llovió toda la noche, ni un momento de descanso. Por momentos pensé que se iba a calmar, pero volvía  cada vez con más fuerza. Casi no concilio el sueño, me despertaban los centelleos de luz que entraban al cuarto, los rayos que se oían a lo lejos, la lluvia cayendo ininterrumpidamente. Es la segunda vez que presenció una tormenta tropical y la primera vez en el Amazonas. Fue muy emocionante sentir tanta energía y poder de la naturaleza, como si el mundo fuera ahogarse en un gran río.
Hoy llega el grupo de turistas de Polonia. Me causa curiosidad conocer un grupo de viajeros de Europa del Este, asocio mucho esa región con los gitanos, con los violines y con borracheras descomunales. María, Beatriz y doña María andan pa’ arriba y pa’ abajo alistando todo para su llegada. Con Simone nos pegamos un buen desayuno, teníamos la reunión hoy en el pueblo y teníamos que estar en forma. Estuvimos casi toda la mañana alistando las cámaras, mirando cómo funcionaba cada una y ajustando algunos comandos. Almorzamos unos deliciosos garbanzos – de todos los granos, mi preferido!-  con arroz y las últimas presas de pollo (es decir, lo que menos me gusta: ‘roer hueso’).  Hacia las 3pm salimos para la reunión en Mocagua. Al llegar todavía no había comenzado, así que fui con Simone al pozo. Es mi lugar preferido del pueblo, es realmente un paraje hermoso, siempre hay  victorias regias (y muy pronto por florecer), pájaros de todo tipo y con suerte se pueden ver pirarucus. Esta vez había un grupo de oropéndolas en un árbol cerca al pozo, acá se les llama localmente ‘mochileros’, puesto que los nidos son como mochilas.
Fue una reunión muy interesante. Era la primera vez que asistía a una reunión de todo el pueblo. Me pareció importante escuchar sobre proyectos alternos a los de Calanoa, que son los que conozco mejor, y enterarse de iniciativas como el manejo de basuras y un ‘festival de reciclaje’. La intervención de Leo, un mocaguense que trabaja en turismo, fue brillante; contaba sobre una capacitación que recibió con otros compañeros de gobernabilidad. Lo importante que es pensar sobre la gobernabilidad como soporte de la autonomía y el buen vivir, de los principios de solidaridad necesarios con la niñez y la vejez, la población más vulnerable socialmente, de integrar proyectos en relación a la vida que quieren y el futuro que se imaginan colectivamente. Incluso, Leo comentó de cierta inercia en la comunidad, alentó la participación proponiendo una mujer curaca, de pensarse la integración a los procesos políticos comunitarios de los jóvenes, los futuros líderes de la comunidad y los próximos a conformar el cabildo. Fue una intervención muy ilustrativa, un diagnostico ajustado a esa realidad que también existe, no todo idealizado a esa imagen de ‘comunidad’, de ‘nativos ecológicos’, entre otros. Me encantó escuchar que también se reconoce que hay cambios, pero que hay que direccionarlos hacia una buena vida en común.  Me gustaría conocer mejor a Leo, saber qué piensa de mi trabajo, si puedo contar con su apoyo, su experiencia en gestión turística y, lo más importantes, sus críticas y sugerencias.
Fue una reunión larga y al regresar a Calanoa ya era el atardecer. Comimos delicioso, bagre pintadillo con quesito encima, arroz y el famoso ‘patacón-cesta’ de Calanoa. Había jugo de piña y un delicioso manjar de Copiazu. Comimos con el motorista y el guía de los polacos y, al rato, llegó Jorge que iba a dar la guía nocturna. Entre muchos de los temas, el que más me cautivó fue la historia de Jorge de su encuentro con el jaguar en el río Mata-mata. Él cree que es un jaguar macho por el tamaño, “es un animalote”, dice Jorge.  Después de comer, nos colamos a la caminata nocturna de los polacos. Al principio no quería ir, pero Simone supo convencerme. Al final, estuvo bien que insistiera porque vimos de todo: muchos tipos de grillos, arañas y ranas; una tarántula de cola pelirroja en su cueva; micos –los que llevábamos par de días tratando de ver- en las copas de los árboles;  una culebra preciosa, delgadísima y de colores tierra; incluso, una manti religiosa muy graciosa, ya que peleaba con las lámparas que la alumbraban.  Fue una noche de historias, de oír búhos y ruidos de sapos que imitan a los pájaros, de sentir que se internaba bosque adentro, pero en el fondo se caminó una pequeña vuelta en círculo. Sin percibir cuándo, ya estábamos de regreso, como bajo el conjuro de una noche de cuentos, me fui a dormir contenta. Lo único era el ruido infernal de los sapos, pareciera que no iban a dejarnos dormir.

Jueves, 17 de octubre de 2013
Hoy empieza la pintada del pueblo, hay mucha expectativa y emoción rondando en el aire. Diego y Marlene llevan meses planeando este proyecto, iniciado en el 2012 por la misma comunidad, y me han contagiado de su entusiasmo y pasión. Desde que empecé a trabajar con ellos se ha hablado de este proyecto y me emociona mucho poder hacer parte.
Se va inaugurar el proyecto con la pintada del Centro de Salud, por un lado, como ejercicio de entrenamiento y, por el otro, para prever una metodología de trabajo. Diego espera que iniciando con este espacio público se exploren las técnicas del muralismo, además es la situación propicia para entender las propiedades de la pintura de exteriores que se va a utilizar y, principalmente, es el momento ideal para crear expectativa en la comunidad, puesto que de un fondo descolorido y manchado empezarán a brotar colores, formas y representaciones propias de su entorno. Los pintores quieren hacer un paisaje amazónico: el río, la selva de fondo, animales de monte y pájaros.
También esperamos comenzar con el taller de fotografía, pero todavía no sabemos cómo convocar a la gente ni los parámetros del taller.  Igual, esta incertidumbre no dura mucho. Al llegar a Mocagua aparecen de la nada una manada de niños y espontáneamente Diego los invita para que tomen el taller de fotografía. Sin nada previsto, niños revoloteando alrededor, puro alboroto y emoción, nos ponemos manos a la obra. Me pongo a organizar los grupos, mientras que Simone empieza a explicar al primer grupo cómo funcionan las cámaras. Cuando ya tenía a todos los niños presentes anotados para los siguientes talleres, decidimos salir a caminar con el primer grupo. El primer lugar que quieren ir es al 'pozo' como le dicen ellos a la laguna que parte en dos el pueblo, por un lado, las casas a la orilla del río y, por el otro,  la 'loma' pasando el puente del pozo. 


Sábado, 19 de octubre de 2013
Han pasado varios días que no me he sentado a escribir. No he tenido el tiempo entre el trajín de las mañanas pintando y las tardes de los talleres de fotografía con los niños. Los días van transcurriendo y se van pareciendo por la velocidad y el ritmo que va tomando el día a día. En las noches, se siente el dulce cansancio de estar todo el día rodeada de risas, alboroto y juegos. También, es el único momento del día que podemos sentarnos a revisar lo que tomaron los niños e ir seleccionando las mejores fotos. Siempre nos toma un buen rato y ya cuando acabamos el sueño pesa. Ya cuando estoy arrullada en la hamaca, no pasa mucho tiempo para caer profundamente dormida, casi que no me despiertan los ruidos nocturnos de la selva o el alboroto matutino de los pájaros. Además, el intenso calor de las mañanas y parte de la tarde es agotador, cada esfuerzo físico se vuelve monumental, especialmente, las caminatas a pleno sol recorriendo el pueblo con los niños.
***
Hoy me levanté con ánimo, ya va cogiendo su propio ritmo la vida acá en la selva.  Los talleres de fotografía van sobre ruedas, ya empezamos a coger cancha en la metodología de trabajo y el transcurso del taller mismo. Por ejemplo, hemos establecido que al comienzo de todo taller los niños se tomen un autorretrato o que solo al final se les muestra cómo usar el video, ya que hacían tomas de video a la deriva y sin mucho sentido. Hoy se pintan las primeras casas, es decir que empieza en forma el proyecto de pintura. Me emociona como nunca convertirme en una niña traviesa con las manos llenas de pintura y toda una pared por echar fondo.
Voy aprendiéndome los nombres de varios niños, en todo caso, ya reconozco muchas de sus caras. ¡Hermosos rostros, son niños verdaderamente bellos! Lo que más disfruto es la espontaneidad y cariño que nos manifiestan a Simone y a mí. Son niños muy amorosos, sonrientes, tranquilos y muy traviesos. Al conocerlos cada día mejor también voy aprehendiendo la personalidad del pueblo, de alguna manera, así como son los niños son sus padres.
Ha sido gratificante el taller con los niños, son inquietos, preguntones, con mucha energía y muy intuitivos. Hay una sensibilidad enorme por su entorno, una gran curiosidad por retratar mil cosas con las cámaras.  Aprenden rápidamente cómo usar la cámara y no dejan de retratar todo lo que ven pasar: gallinas, pollitos, perros, flores, frutos, a cualquier persona que esté por los parajes, a ellos mismos tomando fotos, al televisor, a sus familias, a las casas... A veces es difícil guiar al grupo, andan correteando y siempre hay otros niños curiosos que se unen a la marcha. He recorrido el pueblo muchas veces, las mil vueltas al pozo, a la loma y la escuela, pero siempre hay cosas nuevas por ver, principalmente las 'mascotas' salvajes de los niños: babillas bebés, los mil veces fotografiados borugos de la chiquitina de Mercy, Pedro, el pecarí, Rango, la tortuga.
Jueves, 24 de octubre de 2013

Han pasado 5 días desde que comenzamos los talleres de fotografía y hoy ya es el último taller. Cayendo la tarde vamos a proyectar una selección de las fotos en la sede de la comunidad. Logramos hacer una selección de aproximadamente 250 fotos, que fue muy difícil, ya que realmente dejábamos por fuera muchas que tienen su encanto. Hay niños muy buenos fotógrafos, sacan instintivamente encuadres muy propicios, una composición interesante, retratos que llegan a ser más auténticos precisamente porque no es un extraño tomando la foto. También, hay fotos que salen desenfocadas o con movimiento que son muy buenas y lo que nos ha sacado las mayores carcajadas han sido los autorretratos de los niños, que muchas veces son solo partes del rostro: un zoom a los ojos, a la nariz, a la boca, a la sonrisa reluciente...
Esta experiencia ha sido bellísima, me toca profundamente haber sido parte de este proceso, sentir tanto cariño y alegría, de compartir todas estas tardes con los niños y contagiarme de su mirada curiosa y fresca. Me he encariñado muchísimo con los niños y me encanta cuando vienen corriendo a saludarnos y abrazarnos cuando nos topamos con ellos.
***
La proyección fue muy concurrida por los niños, estaban todos los que participaron en el taller. Había por lo menos 70 niños, la sede resonaba de risas y de conversaciones infantiles. Me conmovió mucho que cuando entramos a la sede los niños empezaron a aplaudir y decían: "un aplauso para Simone", "un aplauso para Daniela". A lo que yo riposté con "un aplauso para los niños". Fue realmente un momento muy especial y por poco se me escurren las lágrimas.
Desafortunadamente, no llegaron muchos adultos y la proyección transcurrió con las mil carcajadas de los niños, sus comentarios jocosos de algunas fotos, releyendo en voz alta los nombres de los autores de la foto que salían abajo de cada una y comentando entre ellos que había pasado en el momento que se tomo la foto: "yo estaba al lado cuando la tomo" o "yo tome también una foto así".
Mañana se empieza el taller de fotografía con los adultos. También ya vamos a estar de lleno en la pintada y podremos compartir más momentos con los adultos. Pienso llevar mi música, sobre todo escuchar otras músicas y ritmos latinoamericanos, a ver si así cambiamos un poco el ambiente tropipop y regetonero.


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Amazonian Field School



Kwantlen Polytechnic University


In June 2013 Kwantlen Polytechnic University launched the KPU Amazon Field School.  The aim of the project is to develop and establish an Interdisciplinary Field School for Kwantlen students and faculty in the Amazon Rainforest, based at the Calanoa Natural Reserve, in Colombia.
The Amazon Field School (AFS) offered 15 students and 2 faculty the opportunity to travel to the Amazon and engage in an intensive cross-disciplinary field study for a period of 2 weeks.  Students attended and participated in scheduled cultural and contextual immersion activities.
The Amazon Rainforest offers a wealth of study and research opportunities in one of the most unique and important places on our planet.  The AFS has the potential to become a major draw for students and faculty who are interested in study and research in broader contexts.  Kwantlen is privileged to have this opportunity to be part of the Calanoa project and to help promote an understanding of the significance of the Amazon region to the integrity of our planet. 

Students found the AFS to be an enriching and transformative experience.  To read about the students’ experiences in their own words follow link to AFS blog: http://www.deepskills.ca/blog/category/amazon/

The next KPU Amazon Field School (AFS) will be offered once again in May 2014.
To find out more about the Amazon Field School, check out our website at:

We would like to thank Diego and Marlene, everyone at Calanoa, and the village of Mocagua for their hospitality, generosity and openness to sharing with us this very special place. 
We look forward to being back next year!

Lucie Gagné



 

Reflections from the Amazon Field School

 

This was a life-changing experience for me. I believe that Kwantlen should have more of these classes which offer different learning opportunities for students. Participating in this course was even more interesting while being on location in the Amazon. This further enhanced the experience by allowing students to get out of their comfort zones and be exposed to new environments. As a result students were able to tap into themselves and develop personal skills that may never be developed in a regular classroom setting. I felt like I was working on my development as a person and not just focusing on hard skills. I believe that in traditional classroom settings students rarely get the chance to focus on themselves and are not fully engaged. IDEA courses allow for freedom to learn without too many restrictions. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to experience something life-changing and with much personal growth. Being a part of this course while being in the Amazon rain forest is something I will never forget.


§

Before making the decision to travel to Colombia as a representative of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) I carried a burden in my heart that prevented me from feeling completely satisfied with my experience as a student. The routine I developed, reading books and attending lectures, was no longer fulfilling so I shifted my focus toward finding a way to be a part of something more, something great. The Amazon field school was just that. Being a member of the Amazon field school program not only provided an opportunity for me to be a part of a life altering journey, it also changed how I view education. Furthermore, being a member of the program offered more than an opportunity to learn about Colombia and its culture, it also provided me a safe outlet to break personal boundaries and increase my self-awareness. By participating in the Amazon field school I acquired knowledge not only about Colombia but also about myself and recommend that students who are searching for direction (in their personal lives or in their studies) partake in the Amazon adventure.


§

The Amazon experience allowed me to flow like the river itself, in such a form where each day was lived fully and intensely. It inspired me to create more, and use the living spirit of the forest
as my vessel of expression. Getting long hours of sleep, waking up early and rested, ready to encounter a new day. The air was constantly electrified by sounds from nearby nocturnal wildlife. It was interesting to notice the Yin and Yang in the forest, for which by day and night are were completely different. I am both humbled and awed by all the generous, intelligent and creative Colombians that we met along this journey. It was a heart-guiding experience for most of us. The opportunity that Kwantlen gave me to experience this is something I will be eternally grateful for, and I encourage further Colombian and jungle field schools. For me it was an extremely rich experience. I gained knowledge on the biodiversity of Colombia, experienced the wild, thriving nature for myself, and gained creative inspiration that will direct me on multiple levels of my life and academics. I indulged in various local Amazonian artistic media, while also learning about the politics and social issues of Colombia as well as the ecology of the land. I came back with a new drive and broadened perspectives. I came back with a new layer of skin and soul that share the same storytelling nature as the layered trees.



§

The IDEA 3100 Amazon field school was a life experience that I will never forget and one I will always brag about! IDEA has such a unique approach to student learning, and I am so proud to be studying at a University that has program like this. I have never, in my 6 years of university, felt so involved in my learning. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this IDEA course. In IDEA you touch on multiple topics, and experience multiple views and reactions. The course was very interactive. Every student in IDEA 3100 wanted to be there, making the learning process that much more interesting and rewarding. I feel like a better-rounded student and person after just one IDEA course. I have personally seen what a Science concentrated degree can do to you, and I wish Simon Fraser had something like IDEA to keep me balanced when I was studying for my B.Sc. Not all students are traditional learners and I feel IDEA has an approach to education and learning that the world needs to adopt; IDEA’s teaching methods seem to fit more learning types. This program is something to be proud of. Thank you to Ross and Lucie for being the such passionate instructors. It’s refreshing to have instructors that are so dedicated and involved with student education and learning.


§

The Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts Amazon Field School was a great experience. The instruction of this course embodies most learning styles. This allows true learning to take place, each student at their own speed. Personal reflection allowed me to garner a deeper understanding of myself and the information I learned on this trip. Current university structure puts all emphasis on memorization and regurgitating information onto standardized tests. This fails to create true intellectual development. The IDEA course structure of hands on experience and self-reflection allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the material ultimately accessing higher intellectual thought. Everyone I told about my trip to Colombia was surprised to hear that such an exotic trip was being offered at Kwantlen rather than UBC or SFU. I assume this is because they still believe Kwantlen to be a lesser institution. However, everyone I have told about the Amazon has been really excited to experience the field school vicariously through my photos and account of the trip. One thing that stood out to me after a conversation with a friend was, “Jeez, if my school had trips to Colombia I woulda stayed in school”. I really believe this sums up the benefit of having this Amazon Field School, it puts Kwantlen on the map.

§

The Amazon field study was an ambitious endeavor to give students a transformative experience, and Kwantlen’s IDEA program was truly successful at doing so. This adventure to Colombia is something that I will never forget. When I started at Kwantlen I had a goal to further educate myself, I never thought that my time at university would also lead to such an amazing experience such as this. I thought University would be a place and time for me to grow in a sense of education, however this IDEA field study helped me to grow as a person, which I believe in combination with my education I have received will help me to be successful in my future after I graduate. It is because of the IDEA program that I have become a more rounded student, with not just in classroom experience but a more international perspective. Which is what I believe will help me to go further in both studies and career goals. Sometimes it takes straying from routines and pushing yourself past where you thought your limits were to help further develop yourself. This is what the IDEA program does; it gives you that push past the routine and into the unknown. It is a program that allows for one to further develop themselves in ways most traditional education doesn’t. It is the non-traditional ways of IDEA and the fact I got to go to the Amazon Rainforest as a field trip that have made it one of my favorite classes at Kwanlten.







§

The IDEA 3100 Amazon field school was a life experience that I will never forget and one I will always brag about! IDEA has such a unique approach to student learning, and I am so proud to be studying at a University that has program like this. I have never, in my 6 years of university, felt so involved in my learning. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this IDEA course. In IDEA you touch on multiple topics, and experience multiple views and reactions. The course was very interactive. Every student in IDEA 3100 wanted to be there, making the learning process that much more interesting and rewarding. I feel like a better-rounded student and person after just one IDEA course. I have personally seen what a Science concentrated degree can do to you, and I wish Simon Fraser had something like IDEA to keep me balanced when I was studying for my B.Sc. Not all students are traditional learners and I feel IDEA has an approach to education and learning that the world needs to adopt; IDEA’s teaching methods seem to fit more learning types. This program is something to be proud of. Thank you to Ross and Lucie for being the such passionate instructors. It’s refreshing to have instructors that are so dedicated and involved with student education and learning.

§

The Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts Amazon Field School was a great experience. The instruction of this course embodies most learning styles. This allows true learning to take place, each student at their own speed. Personal reflection allowed me to garner a deeper understanding of myself and the information I learned on this trip. Current university structure puts all emphasis on memorization and regurgitating information onto standardized tests. This fails to create true intellectual development. The IDEA course structure of hands on experience and self-reflection allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the material ultimately accessing higher intellectual thought. Everyone I told about my trip to Colombia was surprised to hear that such an exotic trip was being offered at Kwantlen rather than UBC or SFU. I assume this is because they still believe Kwantlen to be a lesser institution. However, everyone I have told about the Amazon has been really excited to experience the field school vicariously through my photos and account of the trip. One thing that stood out to me after a conversation with a friend was, “Jeez, if my school had trips to Colombia I woulda stayed in school”. I really believe this sums up the benefit of having this Amazon Field School, it puts Kwantlen on the map.


 

§

The Amazon field study was an ambitious endeavor to give students a transformative experience, and Kwantlen’s IDEA program was truly successful at doing so. This adventure to Colombia is something that I will never forget. When I started at Kwantlen I had a goal to further educate myself, I never thought that my time at university would also lead to such an amazing experience such as this. I thought University would be a place and time for me to grow in a sense of education, however this IDEA field study helped me to grow as a person, which I believe in combination with my education I have received will help me to be successful in my future after I graduate. It is because of the IDEA program that I have become a more rounded student, with not just in classroom experience but a more international perspective. Which is what I believe will help me to go further in both studies and career goals. Sometimes it takes straying from routines and pushing yourself past where you thought your limits were to help further develop yourself. This is what the IDEA program does; it gives you that push past the routine and into the unknown. It is a program that allows for one to further develop themselves in ways most traditional education doesn’t. It is the non-traditional ways of IDEA and the fact I got to go to the Amazon Rainforest as a field trip that have made it one of my favorite classes at Kwanlten.
§


Kwantlen Polytechnic University was the first school in Canada to embark on an adventure to the Colombian Amazon, and I was fortunate enough to be one of its first participants. We hiked through the Amazon rainforest with shaman guides, sometimes during rainstorms; we had an evening boat ride down the Amazon with nothing but the stars and galaxies to light our way; we met with professionals and locals to hear their tales of social responsibility, global issues, and magic; and we witnessed countless rainbows, sunsets, and thunderstorms, showcasing the diversity and complexity that is the Amazon. I remember on the boat ride to Calanoa there was an intense thunderstorm – lightning bolts illuminated the night sky as fireflies danced between the trees – and all I was thinking was: the adventure has officially begun. I am eternally indebted to Ross, Lucie, Marlene, Diego, Carolina, Daniela, everyone at Calanoa and Kwantlen Polytechnic University for providing this transformative experience. I learned so much about myself, about Colombia, and about the world around me. Ultimately, this was an experience I will never, never forget. It was expensive, it was terrifying, but it was exciting, necessary, and infinitely rewarding. I will recommend this field school to whomever I can for as long as I can.




The IDEA Amazon field school has reminded me how much I enjoy learning. I have always found that I have had problems connecting to the material in a traditional classroom setting. I have difficulty focusing during lectures, as I know that my style of learning is a kinesthetic one. I learn best when I am actively engaged, and generally rely on trial-and-error to solve problems and understand material, (which is not necessarily conducive to receiving high grades). While I do remember material easily when participating in discussion, I am often one of only a few members who are interested in speaking. Despite my relatively high grades, I do not consider myself to be a good student. I procrastinate often, rarely read assigned materials or texts, and draw pictures instead of take notes. I calculate grades and percentages to determine the minimum amount of work I can get away with doing and still maintain my GPA. I do not blame the school for my general lack of motivation, as the traditional system is something I simply do not fit into. IDEA does not only encourage participation; it demands it. It demands 110% in everything that is done, and I was more than willing to accommodate that demand. The student-directed approach to learning is one that really appeals to me as well; I am much more willing to put effort into a project that I devised, or devised within a group, than I am with an assignment that is imposed upon me, or that I do not understand. I feel as though my input is welcomed, and the learning environment is one that is receptive, friendly, and encourages personal growth and development. I love that every student gets a chance to speak. The concept of open discussion is embraced, and IDEA is one of only a few classes where I felt challenged to honestly and openly reflect on the material presented to me. I will continue to take IDEA classes during my time at Kwantlen, as I believe the skills I have developed this semester as an IDEA student are skills that I will keep with me, and continue to use, for the rest of my life.

§

In Colombia, I went on an amazing journey – and not just within the trip itself but also an emotional roller coaster. I experienced so many eye-opening things that I have difficulty
putting it all into words. One of things that I really wanted to do when I was on this trip was to
go into it without letting fear stop me. There was no doubt that I had fears and anxieties about
what I was getting into but I realized that this was an opportunity of a lifetime and a chance to
make as many memories as possible. I wanted to do everything and experience everything
because I knew I would regret it if I didn’t. I tackled my fears while I was there and it has given
me a new sense of courage now. It was frightening enough just to decide to go to the Amazon
in the first place knowing that I would be in an truly unfamiliar environment. I didn’t know how
I would feel while I was there. I felt that I pushed myself to be brave and not worry about the outcome as much and I always ended up realizing that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I surprised myself with how I reacted emotionally to the situations I was put in. Even though overall I had anxieties there was something internal pushing me to be brave. It was a feeling that I had never experienced before.

§

During this field school I learned that I don’t know very much about the world, but I
know I really want to.  Colombia made me realize that university alone does not shape
you into knowledgeable person. Experiences such as this are essential to being a better rounded person. IDEA exposed me to so many avenues of study that I was not aware of, and many that I am genuinely interested in.  This is the first course in my 6 years of university where the grade was not the focus of my study. I believe that this is the reason why I fully engaged in the process and the journey. Our group reflections helped me break out of my shell. They were an important part of this process for me. I was shocked at the way I was able to speak to the group. I was much more open than I am used to being. It was not just about facing fear, it was about trusting others. Something I feel I had lost. Now, I want to only associate myself with things I believe in and things I am proud of. I want to see the world. If Colombia alone has taught all this, I can’t imagine what seeing the world would do. Life is a journey, and I think that mine is finally taking off. I want to have more of these experiences; they are priceless lessons; an entirely different type of education. Thank you Ross and Lucie for pushing for this field school.

§

I now know a calm peace within myself like I have never known before. Spending two weeks walking side by side the group, everyday has been the catalyst for this. I realize now that I cannot move forward alone, I must engage and be part of the greater whole in order to realize any true and lasting meaning. Our group and the people of Colombia, the Amazon and certainly the villages have shown me that it is possible to be happier with less. Watching the children of
the village on the football field proved this to me. We are all connected. I can now feel the connection after living it, it came from the Amazon and the people – it was not there 
before we left Canada.