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9
A TASTE OF WORK
UMP
大學廣場
APR 2014
I
t was
18
April
2013
. I received a one-month internship offer
at Fauna Forever which is a non-governmental organisation
aiming at the conservation of the Amazon forest.
I t was
15
June
2013
. I had f inal ly arr ived at Puerto
Maldonado, a city in Peru at where the "office" of Fauna
Forever is located. The dreamlike experience started by
a pleasant greeting at a wonderful wooden lodge in
the middle of bushes and trees - it is the Fauna Forever
House. Upon arrival, I was already overwhelmed by the
dynamics in Puerto Maldonado on the first few days -
being one of the most expensive cities in Peru, the city
is filled with gold miners, Brazil nuts collectors, hunters,
local residents, environmentalist, etc. Then I realized I was
the first office intern in the organisation. My job duties
included washing dishes in the house, cleaning the shared
bedroom and bathroom, cooking meals, sorting out the
enormous article library, looking for potential cooperation
with universities and volunteer agencies, conducting
meetings with the founders and so forth. It is basically
about all the back-up or administrative support for the
sake of the smooth running of the organisation.
Another quick fact, most of the conservation work is done in
the major research centre inside the Amazon Rainforest, namely
ARCC (Amazon Research Conservation Centre). It takes a
3
-hour
drive and another
2
.
5
-hour boat ride from the Fauna Forever
house to ARCC. After working in the office for two weeks, I
finally got the opportunity to go into the forest for a week. It
was definitely a mind-blowing journey. At the very first day of
the journey, my colleagues and I caught sight of a jaguar on
the boat ride, which was once in a blue moon according to
my experienced colleagues. Then I saw great otters, caimans,
tarantulas, monkeys, lots of birds and snakes which I could
barely name. The highlight of my journey is surely the night
when I went out with the caiman team. We saw a black-headed
calico snake eating a rat! We stayed for almost an hour just to
watch the snake swallowing the rat from half-way till finished.
During the week in ARCC, I
also joined the bird team and
the mammal team. We went
out at around
5
:
30
every day in the
morning and set up nets to capture
birds. Then we identify, 'process' (including
a check on molt limits, age, weight, health, gender, etc.) and
photograph them before release. In the mammal team, I went
with my colleagues to follow a group of saddleback tamarins to
record their behavior and feeding locations. Leaving the formal
trail, we went into the forest by pushing aside
all the entangled branches and leaves.
Following the group for almost
5
hours
in the morning, I could not forget the
moment when the tamarin and I were
staring at each other in the eyes. Deep in
the jungle, I also met some glass-winged
butterflies and a colourful little bug.
Apart from the astonishing animals I saw, the
lifestyle in the jungle is surprisingly preferable.
Zero reception of Internet or signal for phone and
computers made full relaxation possible. Moreover,
power went off every night at around
9
, so healthy
lifestyle is the only option. Accompanied by the
peaceful symphony of nature, falling asleep and
waking up were some best moments in a day.
The week in the jungle passed in a blink. Finally, it was
20
July
2013
. Saying goodbye was the toughest task I faced in
the whole month because of the relations I had developed
with my fellows. With part of my heart being stolen and
kept in the forest, the story temporarily comes to an end.
I left my heart in
Cora Chan (Anthropology / Year
4
)
AMAZON
About the author:
Cora is a Year
4
student in Anthropology. She went to Mexico for
a year-long academic exchange from August
2012
to May
2013
and
moved to Peru for internship from June to July
2013
.
About Fauna Forever: