Brasilia

Brasília.

Capital of Brazil.

The feel of Brasília is one that is extremely difficult to describe. Vast open spaces of fields or concrete, low cement buildings and short stubby trees, buildings like UFO's or communist resident blocks... I really felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. The city was built in 1956 (and it is obvious) and planned by urban planner Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer. The City is designed in specific sectors: Hotel, residential, business... etc. This makes it very difficult to get around without a car, not that you would want to anyway becauseof the incredible heat. Brasília is located in the interior of Brazil, and the local ecosystem is the Cerrado, a rapidly disappearing biome. The Cerrado has grown to adapt to the intense heat, wind, and fires. This is apparent in the short scrubby plants and trees, with thick and spongy bark. The herbaceous flora are stunning: bright colorful flowers grow everywhere and are especially evident in areas where there was a recent burn. The thunderstorm we experienced during our stay was the break of an almost 70 day (I think) record without rain. Incredible fires had been raging through the land and burned herds of cattle. Fire management is a must here. We also got a private meeting at The Nature Conservancy and a great presentation on their activities and projects. My favorite day was when we got to visit (briefly) the University of Brasília. I really love college settings- watching the student activities and interactions showed me how alike students are. We like to play games and jokes, eat out on the lawn, give protests and support causes. Walking through campus, I felt so at home.

Excited biology student visits The Nature Conservancy

The military building of Brasília (U.S. Pentagon equivalent). Across the street was a park that represented the various ecosystems and resources of Brazil.

First church built in Brasília, designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

The interior of the church is painted with bright colors and various shapes such as flowers and kites. It was so beautiful and peaceful, many of us took some quiet time for reflection and prayer.

Universidade do Brasília

Freshman initiation in the department of Engineering Physics. I got this information talking to some very grateful freshman in Environmental Engineering. They seemed pleased they picked the a different major than these unlucky boys.

Some posters supporting various events and causes. One of these below is about hazing.... Ironic.

Brazilian parliament- also fondly dubbed by the locals as the contact lenses!

Flags: Brazilian flag followed by the district of Brasília, then Rio de Janeiro!

Huge bridge- Our driver took us over it 3 times in a row just to make sure we knew this.

View from my bedroom- The lovely Fantasy Motel! Complete with some great hourly rates. Yes: our neighborhood was super shady.

The beautiful lights show by the Parliament square. Complete with epic music and a nice refreshing mist to cover the crowd.

The Day that Brasíla Trembled

Oh yes, we lived through an earthquake. Our driver called us in the middle of the night to tell us not to panic when we felt the aftershock- just leave the hotel quietly and quickly. Luckily it never came to that.

Holy Cabeça!

The clue-less interns...



Cabeça!!!!
I turn around from sorting skin tissue samples in the sink to see my mentor, Camila, holding a large frozen plastic bag triumphantly above her head- and she is absolutely delighted. “Cabeça!” she yells again, before passing it on to another student and excitedly talks in rapid Portuguese. In the lab, we were cleaning out the tissue samples freezer. A giant, horizontal freezer filled with samples of fat, liver, kidneys, skin, hair, muscles, eggs, placenta, fins and calfs (filhotes). We have been working all morning sorting these frozen samples into buckets and bags on the floor, and as we reach the depths of the freezer, treasures are becoming unearthed. Finding dolphin and turtle heads are just some of them.


Tissue samples all on the floor. Reaching the depths of the freezer.



I am only just beginning to understand the passion that Camila has for dolphins and sea turtles. Seeing this incredibly young and beautiful woman getting her hands and lab coat covered in thawing blood and fat, but smiling and laughing as she digs through rank tissues, I am truly inspired. Not to own a collection of tissue samples in my freezer, but to really find a job that I love and am passionate about. Today I sat in on a lab meeting she held to discuss some data discrepancies, but it ended up being one of the most inspirational talks I have ever heard. Camila is a woman that is easy to smile and laugh with you, loves a joke and tricks. But as easy it is for her to smile, it is just as easy for her eyes to flash with fire, and her voice get husky with passion. Sitting in a room full of undergraduates, we were all held spell-bound as she talked about her experiences as a student, and now a professor. She would smack her fist repeatedly against the desk- saying that now is the time to make a difference, now is the time for a dream and to have a passion for your work. "Se voçe não tem um sonho, não faz nada! (If you don't have a dream, you will do nothing!)".
Now I understand the drive behind the students in my lab. They go in every day and open rancid and decaying animals, combat flies and maggots, walk or bike for miles on the beach at 6 am in the morning to find specimens or save a stranded animal. They work weekends, sometimes all day, and many have started collecting their own samples and tissues to start their post-grad studies. Camila is the driving force, pushing everyone to work, but most importantly; pulling out the passion that fuels it. What I am especially impressed with is how much she focuses on connecting the work with conservation. In the U.S., sometimes I feel that the purpose can fall through the cracks. But here at CEM, the goal is always there, on t-shirts, posters, stickers, notebooks... Keep the ocean blue, save the sea, save the sea turtles, protect the dolphins, protect the birds...
Now, I really do believe in the future of Brazil.

Me, Lu, Lucy, and Camila

Marine Vocab 101

Tartarugas marinhas- Sea Turtles
Carapaça- Carapace
Plastrão- pectoral plates
Carcaça- Carcass

Caranguejo- Crab
Água-viva- Jellyfish
Lula- Squid
Povo- Octopus

Ameaçar- to be threatened

Espécie- Specie
Cetáceos- Cetaceans
Golfinho- Dolphin
Baleia- Whale
Focinho- Snout
Rostro- Snout
Filhote- Calf
Fusiforme- Streamline body
Umbigo- Belly button
Estômago- Stomach
Gordura- Fat
Fígudo- Liver
Rins- Kidneys
Laringe- Larynx
Músculo- Muscles

Presa- Prey
Encalhe- Stranded/beached

First person to memorize all words get a sweet postcard from me!

Loose Seal!!

Slowly getting over the pain of losing all my music, and not being in the U.S. for the best holiday ever: Halloween....

Here are some pictures:

Pontal do Sul: the not-always-

so-sunny beach town. On our first trip here (as a group) we did beach walks for stranded animals (but only found dead ones), wildlife rehabilitation, and beach sampling for benthic organisms.

(Above) a. The monotone beach, sky, and water appear to stretch on endlessly with a twilight zone feeling of hopelessness. b. The carcass of a Frigatebird is tossed about in the shallow waves. c. A sea lion has already been picked clean, with some blubbery flesh remaining.

Lucy: always the first one to get her hands on the dead things.... Also a ruined fishing

net with barnacles.

Animal wildlife rehabilitation includes feeding the Brown Boobies and the greedy Penguins!

Blind Sea Lion with a taste for Mammal blood....

Beach Sampling: taking sand samples to bring back to the lab.

Lucy, again showing her expertise with field equipment, is calculating

the beach incline.

This dog was named Chang-li.

So Cute.

We finished out our week in Pontal with a bang of course:

Biking, motorcycles, swimming, futebol and caiparinhas all on the beach.

So ended our group experience in Pontal.

But for myself, Lucy and Courtney, we get to call this beautiful place home- thank God the sun decided to shine for us!