EVST 3014: On the River - Experiencing the Brazilian Amazon
- Claudia Failor
- Jan 13
- 9 min read
Updated: May 5
Link to Project Proposal - Comparative Microplastic Abundance in Rural and Urban Regions of the Amazon River
Why I Applied For This Class:
I originally applied to this class as a non-honors student because the description hit all the marks for my personal interests, and, even better, I would have the opportunity to go abroad. When I first saw this class option in the University of Cincinnati's abroad course catalog, I was pretty stoked. The course description included information about the pharmacological benefits of the Amazon Region and touched on the importance of sustainability and the various factors that influence policy and decision-making regarding how the river is treated and managed. These are honestly two of my largest interests outside of my typical academics, so this class felt like it was given on a silver platter. I applied for the class and was then offered an in-person interview with the instructors of the class: Stephen Matter, Eric Tepe, and Debbie Brown.
Click here to Read more in depth about my interview and application process
The day of the interview, I remember I had had a rough morning, as I was not happy about a grade, or I was really struggling to understand one of my organic chemistry concepts, something along those lines. I was 90% close to canceling the interview, as I thought I wouldn't have a chance at getting the spot. Luckily, that 10% in me took over, and I put my feelings aside and went to the interview. I remember walking out of the interview afterward feeling much better. I really enjoyed talking to the professors, even though this was my first time meeting them, I already knew that I liked their vibe. During the interview, I also found out that acceptance to this class was geared more towards honors students, and honors students would get priority, as it counts toward an honors experience (I had no idea what that was). After the interview, I looked more into the honors program, which was something I had heard of in passing, but never really looked into, because again, imposter syndrome; I didn't think that this was something that I would qualify for. I had actually joined a Zoom meeting at the beginning of the fall semester that explained what rAMP was, as I really wanted to get involved with research. About halfway through the 2-hour meeting, the presenter mentioned that to be accepted into rAMP, you must be an honors student. This was a pretty big letdown for me because I had been hyping this opportunity up in my mind and becoming very excited. This was the first time I had really heard of the honors program. Fast forward to after my interview, I went ahead and took a deeper dive into the honors program. After I realized that this was something I wanted to pursue, I took the time to fill out the application. To my surprise, I actually got in. I got my acceptance email while I was on a ski club trip in Colorado, and I saw the email while I was on the chairlift. I immediately called my mom because I was so excited. My family was very proud of me, even my little brother (which was surprising).
I was excited and surprised when I found out that I had been accepted into the class. I was really looking forward to the newness of the Amazon River and the different challenges that this trip would include. The challenges that I was aware of were: that I did not know anyone in this class, I didn't really know what to expect from the course load, as I was already taking 18 intense credits this semester, I had never been to the Amazon River, we would be living on a river boat for 10 days, and the overall nuances of the trip were so foreign to me. These all subsided once we got to Brazil, but plenty led up to our journey.
What Was The Lecture Like?
The classroom that we met in was oddly shaped, with the tables forming one big square. We met twice a week for an hour and 20 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Throughout the different lectures over the semester, we learned a little bit of everything in regard to Brazil. Below is the relevant course schedule that we followed, including informational lectures with slide presentations, Zoom calls, and in-person meetings with different people who held unique perspectives on Brazil, and insight into the trip. We met with the following people:
Cynthia L. Howard, Ph.D. - University of Houston Clear Lake - Department Chair of Environmental Sciences and Professor of Biology and Environmental Science, College of Science and Engineering
- She is actually the person who introduced one of the instructors of the course to this incredible experience on the Amazon River. She has been going to the Amazon River for over 30 years and continues to bring students from UHCL twice a year to experience the river for themselves and collect data for research projects. One of my favorite things about talking to her was learning that she is actually a toxicologist and helps students conduct different research projects, including water quality analysis, when bringing students to Brazil.
Drielly Queiroga, Ph.D. - Brazilian Native, visiting professor at the University of Cincinnati -
- When Drielly came to meet with us, she was so full of energy and was excited to tell us all of her favorite things about Brazil, and gave us tips on what to bring and buy, as well as different cultural norms to expect that may differ from those in the United States. She taught our class about certain hand gestures that may seem normal in the United States, but have a totally different meaning in Brazil. Drielly also made our class laugh by showing us the way men and women wave differently in Brazil. She showed us that traditionally, men put their hand up, don't wave it, and don't smile when saying hello, and a woman in Brazil waves similarly to the way those in the United States would by smiling and moving their hand.
Moacir Fortes Perez Junior (Su Mo, Captain Mo, or just Mo) - Brazilian Native, Biologist, founder of the Amazonia Expeditions tour group
- We met with Mo and Harissa (a recent graduate from a university in Brazil and a biologist studying birds). When we met with Mo over Zoom for around an hour, he asked us about what we were most excited to see and who we were. Through the screen, we could already tell he had a great personality and was a silly guy; however, he was even funnier in person.
Also, throughout the class, we learned a bit of Portuguese and some common phrases we may hear and say. I would say there were a lot of similarities between Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish; however, there were so many differences that only some of the words were really transferable. There were certain moments when I said/heard a word and thought I understood it because it had a similar spelling to a word I was familiar with in Spanish, and later I found I was completely incorrect. Another interesting topic that we went over included the political history and connections between the U.S. and Brazilian governments. I was truly shocked to see how many similarities there were between the U.S. and Brazilian timelines with different leaders. Through history, it was interesting to see the different patterns that both countries had followed and the relations between different politicians. I was specifically curious to understand how different politicians have controlled different policies surrounding the environment and how this has affected the protection of the river.
Birding - As a class, we took a trip to the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies on a Saturday morning. We met around 7 am and took a 40-minute bus ride northwest from campus, and spent the morning walking on the grass paths through the field and working on identifying Ohio bird species and becoming better at using our binoculars.
Class Schedule
Week | Tuesday | Thursday |
1 | Introductions to each other & the course | Travel Health, e-visa |
2 | Planning for the trip, supplies, and packing | Geography and Climate |
3 | Taking pictures of Nature | Political History (Ch. 1 & 2) |
4 | Geology and Hydrology (Ch. 6) | Dams, fires, forest code, agriculture, and economy |
5 | Talk with Professor Drielly Queiroga about current events in Brazil | Swimming test at the rec center |
6 | Introduction to birding, binoculars, and meeting Cindy Howard | Biodiversity - why so much? (Ch. 9) |
7 | Proposal reviews | Plant Communities and Adaptations Evolution, coevolution & neotropical chemistry (Chapters 3, 10, 11) Saturday: Estimating bird species richness in Ohio – field trip - 7 AM-1 PM |
8 | Life along the river (Ch. 12) | Practice Portuguese |
9 | Finalize project details discussion | Packing your bags |
10 | Spring Break - On the river | Spring Break - On the river |
11 | Rest/Recover from the trip | Debriefing |
12 | Project work | Project work |
13 | Presentations | Presentations |
14 | Presentations | Presentations |
15 | Presentations | Wrap-up: Project report, Reflective essay & Journal due, Schedule exit interview |
What Was The Trip Like?
The trip was more incredible than words could describe. We met at the Cincinnati airport (CVG) around 8:30 A.M. for our flight to Houston at 11 A.M. Then we flew from Houston, Texas, to Panama City to Manaus, Brazil. We finally ended our travel day in Manaus around 4 A.M. when we had gotten to our final destination, the Iracema (Mo's Boat - named after his mother, Iracema). Although we thought Mo would let us sleep when we arrived, we did not. After arriving at the boat at 4 A.M., we then met on the top deck for around an hour to go through introductions and safety. We met the boat crew and introduced ourselves to them. At last, at 5:15 A.M., we were finally allowed to go to our rooms and attempt to sleep. Some of us slept, others didn't, as we were waking up at 7 A.M. I, for one, went to bed and got my 1-ish hour of sleep. It was incredible, but not enough. However, at 7 A.M., we were up bright and early with the sun to begin our day. Every day held a unique experience, and we got the opportunity to do different things every day. Each day started with an early morning wake-up to Mo's favorite classical music, anytime between 5 - 6 A.M. every morning, and getting our day started right away. Typically, we went out for a morning canoe tour for a few hours to explore the beauty and nature, while other days started with a hike.
Day 1 - Saturday, March 14th
7 A.M. - wake up to classical music
7:30 - Canoe tour
10:30 - Breakfast
11:30 - Arapaima (pirarucu) Farm
12:30 - Wedding of the waters
13:00 - Buffet lunch
16:30 - Exploratory trip - Igrape Xiboreninha village
19:00 - Dinner
20:00 - Night tour
22:00 - Go to bed as we travel to the Lago Encantado
Day 2 - Sunday, March 15th
6 A.M.- wake up to La Traviata music
6:30 - Breakfast
7:15 - Walking in the village of Igarape Preto
- Canoe trip
- Trip to the Enchanted Lake
12:30 - Buffet Lunch
15:30 - Hand line fishing for Piranhas
19:00 - Dinner - sports elegant
20:00 - Night canoe tour - Lago Miua Jananuaca
Day 3 - Monday, March 16th
6:00 A.M. - Wake up to music
6:30 - Breakfast
7:15 - Walk around the city of Manaus
- Visit the shops and fish market
12:30 - Buffet lunch
19:00 - Dinner
20:00 - Night tour - Ariau River - Rio Negro
Day 4 - Tuesday, March 17th
5:30 A.M. - wake up to music
6:00 - Canoe tour - hand feed wild monkeys
9:00 - Breakfast
9:30 - Swimming with pink dolphins - botos - Rio Acajatuba
12:30 - Buffet Lunch
15:00 - Bare Indian Village - Xirimoias - Soccer match
Day 5 - Wednesday, March 18th
5:30 A.M. - Wake up - La Traviata
6:00 - Walking on Terra Firme to Campina Area
9:00 - Breakfast
9:00 - Travel to Rio Negro
12:30 - Lunch
13:00 - Observation from top deck - Anauilianas Archipe Lago
15:00 - Searching for Whine Manakin (Dancing Birds)
19:00 - Dinner
20:00 - Night Tour
Day 6 - Thursday, March 19th
6:00 A.M. - Wake up - La Traviata
6:30 - Breakfast
7:15 - Whole day expedition - Rio Aturia - Lunch on the rivershore
16:00 - Fishing for black piranhas
19:00 - Dinner
Day 7 - Friday, March 20th
6:00 A.M. - Wake up - La Traviata
6:30 - Canoe tour - Ilha Camaleao
9:00 - Breakfast
12:30 - Lunch
15:00 - Visit the town of Novo Airao
20:00 - Dinner
Day 8 - Saturday, March 21st
6:00 A.M. - Wake up - La Traviata
6:30 - Iluminado beach
9:00 - Breakfast
10:30 - Ilha do Sacado - Fishing for Serrasalmus Niger
12:30 - Lunch
14:30 - Tuiucas Tucano - Dessanos Indians
19:30 - Farewell dinner
21:30 - Departure - Porto Sao Raimundo
Fly back to Cincinnati, Ohio
What This Experience Taught Me:
Through this class I learned things that I had never expected. Although I knew this class would improve my cultural awareness and global appreciation, I also grew both personally and socially. Even though we went to an incredible place I am not sure which part of the trip was my favorite, the place, or the people. I wrote about this phenomenon in my reflective essay, but our class's ability to get close and become such good friends over just 10 days was incredible. I was shocked by our flexibility and acceptance of each other, though we all had such different interests we somehow found similarities. Reflective Essay
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