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The McDermott Scholars Award covers all expenses of a superb four-year academic education at The University of Texas at Dallas, in concert with a diverse array of intensive extracurricular experiences, including internships, travel, and cultural enrichment.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Hola from the Amazon Basin! ~ Emily




I just got back from five days of exploring the amazon rainforest in the northern part of Peru around the city of Iquitos. I had an absolutely amazing time and learned tons about the culture of the indigenous people in the rainforest and the habitat itself. I saw a bunch of different animals, including five different species of monkeys, a sloth, a tarantula, a huge bull frog, parrots, and gray and pink dolphins. The natives are scared of the pink dolphins because they think that if you swim alone with them the dolphins will take you and turn you into a dolphin. They also have an ancient legend about the pink dolphins which involves the dolphins turning into men at night and impregnating all of the virgin women. One of my favorite activities that I participated in while in the jungle is parana fishing. I caught two paranas and then cooked them and ate them with dinner. While fishing we also found an anaconda and with the guide´s help we were able to hold it!

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