Preparing to Launch

As the date of the trip gets closer and closer I become more excited everyday. My excitement has intensified over the past few days specifically because I have started to review all of the footage from last years trip. And it looks amazing!

I am working with Vincenzo and Sam in the video group and we are putting together two videos before we leave and then two videos when we are down in the rainforest. The two videos we have begun working on are short informational videos on leaf cutter ants and the Rio San Juan. I have also begun to look through some photos from last year’s trip to post for the updated social media plan. The social media plan is to make a new Instagram page that will have posts every week and will look to grow an audience to raise awareness of the Makengue Project. Another aspect of the plan is to link the Instagram page with the Facebook page in order to make posting more efficient. The video group will also make an updated promo video which will display the beauty of Makengue as well as its importance and significance.

I cannot believe how fast the date is approaching! We depart the country in just 10 days and by looking at photos and videos recorded last year, I know this trip will make memories that last a lifetime.

The Symposium was a Success

I thoroughly enjoyed the University College Research Symposium. After all the hard work we did over the semester, we were finally able to showcase everything we did in Makengue. I was nervous to present to a bunch of strangers. However it was nice to know my family would be there to support me. I looked to them during the presentation to help calm my nerves.

Dorian introduced the group and the Makengue Project. Then it was my turn. I introduced the documentary that I edited together. I was so proud of the work I did with Frankie. It was nice to see it on a big projector. I was also proud to see other people’s work. They did a wonderful job while they were there identifying plants, animals, and insects. I was also impressed to see the map of the perimeter. I was beaming in front of the audience. I knew that not many people had had the experience we had. We were only the second group of people from AU that had gone there. It was nice to know we were blazing a trail for future students. I only hope that they will have as much fun as we did, and be proud of their work there. I wish I could go back soon. One day, I will.

 

I want to go back….

Wow! However great I thought this trip would be before, it was SO much better. From the hikes, to the boat rides, to playing soccer in the local towns (actually I participated very little in the actual “playing” of soccer, but it was still a great experience), I loved it all. Might I also add just how awesome those hammocks were. Above all, the trip to Castillo had to be the highlight of the trip for me. As an SIS major, interacting with the local community, it was a great opportunity to get a taste of what may lie ahead in my future (and indeed to test my Spanish skills, which obviously need a lot of work). It also helps that the view from the fort was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen.

Much of the part that I prepared for while at school was the PSA day. While that day had its challenges, in the end the PSAs turned out well and new friendships were made.

But even beyond my own projects, it was great to help carry out other projects, such as the BioBlitz and the documentaries because we were able to see the Makengue Project in action. I gained a much better understanding of the goals of the project. It was great to see what Becki and Rito are creating and to be a part of that process. Overall, it was a great experience, and given the opportunity I would absolutely go back.

Best Spring Break Ever!

This spring break will be one of the most memorable in my lifetime. Finally being able to go after months of anticipation was thrilling. I was not let down! Waking up before the sun to go on two plane rides, stay a night in a foreign city, take a 3-hour boat ride, and finally a 20-minute boat ride was completely worth it. When we arrived at the reserve, I was blown away. It was so much lovelier in person than in the pictures from last year. Being in the middle of nowhere has always made me feel more at home. So you can only imagine that being hours away from Managua, in a third world country, in the rainforest made me feel secure.

My original intent was to film the nature. But through weeks of class, I learned that I would be filming so much more. I learned a lot about film in those 9 days and I could not be happier that it is my major. I loved capturing the experience of Makengue through the camera lens. I hope that who ever watches my content will feel as though they are there themselves, or make them want to visit the rainforest to make a difference. That was my intent. Working with the students from ProJoven was delightful. I got to know more about their culture and the language. Even though I couldn’t talk to them in complete sentences, I could understand them and their excitement when they were filming their PSAs. I’m glad we get to send some of the footage from that encounter to the leaders of ProJoven. I hope they can use it in the future. Everyone in our group was wonderful. I made some incredible memories during our trip. And I hope we can still be friends for many years to come.

ALL OF THE FILM, and some other cool stuff too…

This is a really hard post to begin because Makengue was so phenomenal. So, I am just going to focus on the key aspects of the trip for me. I think the most incredible thing I learned on the trip was how to film. I mean I have filmed before, but never with a good camera, and never with so much quantity. I filmed almost everything I saw…or so it seemed. I think the best thing I learned though was how to film wildlife. The first few days were rough. Yet, with the help of Angela (our lovely graduate assistant) and experience I eventually learned from my mistakes. My camera hand was shakier than I thought it was, so I learned the importance of a monopod and/or tripod. I learned that in order to focus in on a small objects you have to have your camera a minimum distance away. I learned so many things that I don’t know if I can remember them all or even write them all down. I think my favorite shot was of a cane toad catching a beetle with his tongue. By this point I had gotten way better at focusing the image and staying on the subject so as not to miss the moment. The only thing I wish is that I could keep filming with the same frequency so I can continue to learn, but what happens in Makengue stays in Makengue.

The second key aspect of the trip for me was being able to interact with the local populations surrounding Makengue. On the Monday of the trip we went on about a 15-30 minute boat ride to get to a small town named El Castillo. Here we meet a gay man who owned a (delicious) restaurant and interviewed him about his experience being harassed and how he continues to push on. Then we were able to go to the local school and meet students in each grade. THEN in the afternoon we played a soccer game with the Nicaraguan students—and we didn’t do half bad. Later in the week we worked with these same students, and even some others from a different town, on creating environmental PSAs only using iPads. It was truly amazing to see what these students could do in such a short amount of time and with such a big communication barrier.

Basically, Makengue and Nicaragua were life changing for me. It helped firmly establish in my mind that film is what I want to do with my life, but it also taught me that I want to go on more trips like this in my future. Whether it is going back to Makengue (which I hope I can do someday) or taking my experience and applying to something new!

The Final Stretch

The time is upon us at last guys. We are in the final stretch before taking off to Nicaragua! But before we go, I am sure that we all have some last-minute preparations to make before leaving. The comm group, for one, is working on completing the Life at AU documentary and uploading to the iPads to show them to the ProJoven youth. We have been given three new iPads from the UC office to work with the kids in Makengue.

I have personally been working on the class lesson to teach the students of ProJoven how to make a PSA, and what kinds of shots will be helpful. It will all be in Spanish, which I am not fluent in, but fingers crossed that they will understand me nonetheless! As a heads up to anyone who reads this before we leave, the students who we will be teaching will round up into three groups of five, each taking an iPad. We, the Makengue travelers, will be helping them where we can, directing them towards understanding their task, and helping to edit their films – don’t stress though. It will be mostly the comm group who will worry about that. (These PSAs will go on Nicaraguan TV!). The we-don’t-speak-their-language dynamic will probably be difficult to work around, but we should have enough Spanish among us to work through it.

Also, the coloring book is done! Check it out in it’s entirety here. I added the finishing touches earlier today, and Angela is going to take them to be printed out. It has fun outlines, spanish descriptions, and a groovy font, so they should look great. We also seem to have crayons to bring, so that portion of the project should be completed soon.

Hang in there guys. We’re almost there!

Makengue Coloring Book: Page by Page

The Communications group put together a coloring book that highlights species found at or near the Makengue Reserve.  We’ll be taking thirty copies along with a large box of crayons to share with a local elementary school in the San Juan region.  Here’s the coloring book, page by page:

So Excited I Can’t Help It!!

I think I finally have everything I need for the trip, if the stuff my mom bought for me gets here in time…but I am sure it will. I am so excited for a few reasons. First, the communications group is working on a coloring book and Lorraine and Katie have done a beautiful job on the drawings for it. Second, the filming for all the documentaries is so much fun. I have learned a lot about film and that is what I was really hoping for. The first thing we filmed was our group trip to the National Botanical Gardens and to the Smithsonian Nature and Science Museum. Not only did the group pick up really helpful things for the trip, but Katie and I really got to explore with the camera. Hopefully though we will be able to get an on board mic for the camera, so that we get better sound quality. I really want our documentaries to be as professional as possible because I am under the firm belief that anything worth doing, is worth doing well.

On a fun note: Katie, Lorraine, and I started filming for our AU culture doc, which we will use to show the high school Nicaraguans what it is like to be a college student in America and at American University. It was a lot of fun, and it was awesome to see how we all worked together. I really hope everything goes this smoothly when we are not in the “perfect” conditions and are tired!

Anyways, although there is still a couple of days until our trip, there is so much still to do. I definitely feel the pressure to get everything done, but I am not worried yet. Everyone is so willing to work together I know it will all work out the way it is suppose to. Until next time!

8 More Days!

The countdown begins. This semester so far has been a roller coaster of fun! So much work has gone into this trip, and I am so excited to finally go. As part of the Comm group, I have been partly responsible for completing the coloring book before we leave. I hope that we will have enough copies for the children in Nicaragua. I am also responsible for filming the Makengue documentary while we are there. This will entail interviews with the staff, and following around a staff member for a day to document their life on the reserve. I still need to make a general storyboard for the documentary before I leave so I have an idea of what shots to take.

The other documentaries I have been working on are the AU life documentary and the process documentary. Frankie is in charge of putting footage together in post, but I am helping out by filming some of it. I am thrilled to see what it will look like after it’s edited together. I am also responsible for putting in Spanish subtitles for the documentaries. My Spanish is far from perfect so I have been asking for help from my Dominican friend. As a whole, this experience has helped me understand what is involved in marketing and communicating for a small reserve. I am sure I will continue to learn throughout the semester. This experience will definitely help me in my future career.

Time to start packing for Makengue!

We’re Getting Closer…!

It’s mid-February, which means that we are immersed in the middle of our projects. At this point, the communications group (of which I am participating), is about to head into filming the project, our lives as American University students, and eventually the final destination of the Makengue Reserve itself. On my own, I have watched several short documentaries for inspiration to the process, including several short videos of individuals presenting their cities (in Spain) to the world. We have decided to take on this format for the life at AU film, using all of us participating in the Makengue project to show what life is like in an american university, specifically in Washington D.C.

Sample drawing of a red frog for the coloring book

In addition, we are about midway with the coloring book that we will take as an educational tool for the children in Makengue. With two of us splitting the task of drawing the plants and animals, there should be about 15 pages of outlines of Nicaraguan wildlife to color in with short descriptions. It is our hope to come in with copies of the book, as well as crayons for children to use to color them in.

I have personally taken on focusing on the public service announcement portion of the project. While in Makengue, we will work with the local youth to create an awareness video for Makengue, and promoting the importance of rainforest conservation. The greatest challenge at hand is determining exactly how each group is to put together such a video. Will we come in with outlines ready in hand, or will we let the students improvise for themselves? Also, it is our hope to get our hands on some iPads for this particular project, for both the filming and editing portion of the PSA process.

I am so excited for Spring Break when we will finally be able to see what we are all working towards! I have never been to a rainforest before, nor have I participated in a project quite like this in my life. To be able to be a part of a project, and to see the process in Nicaragua actually occurring, is an amazing thought. Can’t wait!

Sample drawing of a hummingbird for the coloring book