IPBio Volunteer Blog

With my time coming quickly to an end at IPBio, there are so many things I will miss about this place. For one, the constant nature. Just outside the door there is forest abound, full of birds of all kinds, mushrooms and some really strange sounding frogs. The diversity of life here is truly mind-boggling. I feel like I see a new type of plant or insect everyday. I would appreciate the latter kept its diversity out of the house however. I will also sorely miss the constant smiles and friendliness of the people here. After growing up in the west coast of the US where people for the most part keep to themselves, the friendly greetings from nearly everyone I pass on the street took some getting used to. People are also surprisingly patient while I struggle to conjure up some Portuguesish sounding sentences. All that time spent on duolingo sure came in handy… I came to the Reserve to work on the bioluminescent mushroom program. How did I get here? I still ask myself that– I never would