NOLS - Semester in the Amazon

  Brazil

• Southern Brazil: 
Cuiaba

Term: Fall 
Dates: September 7-November 25, 2009

Description: Join NOLS for an expedition into a place with more species of plants and animals, more free-flowing freshwater, and the largest intact areas of rainforest left in the world.

You'll see trees in all different shapes and sizes, vines that wrap through the forest, colorful orchids and bromeliads, monkeys crashing over the treetops, snakes and lizards on the forest floor, capybara, toucans and macaws, and lots of insects. The jungle is vast, but youll get an entire semester to traverse the Amazon Basin from south to north.

Your 80-day adventure explores places such as the tepuis of the Guiana Highlands, the Brazilian Highlands, and one of the Amazons remote tributaries that runs into the main basin. Youll also get a chance to meet the rainforests local peoples, including seringueiros (rubber tappers/frontiers people).

If you crave a remote tropical expedition, get ready for the haunting sounds and smells of the jungle.

Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
The first few days of your course will be spent learning first aid at the NOLS Amazon base before leaving to start your expedition.

Amazon River Travel
You may begin your river section by practicing paddling and river safety skills in the Brazilian Highlands for 7 to 10 days before entering the Amazon Basin proper. Then, for the next four-week section of river travel, youll navigate canoes down the upper tributaries of the Madeira, Tapajos or Negro rivers and wind past the native ribeirinhos, indigenous tribes, gold miners and fishermen on your way to the main Amazon River.

Youll plunge into the heart of jungle river travel here as you hone your paddling skills and learn both tropical and river hazard management while negotiating rapids one day and paddling long stretches of still water the next.

Backpacking
There are two hiking sections, one in the Brazilian (or Guiana) Highlands, where you will practice backpacking and land navigation, and one in the rainforest uplands of the Amazon Basin. Here youll learn the intricacies of camping in a rainforest, sleeping in hammocks, and finding routes. Cultural interactions with indigenous peoples are possible, as are opportunities for small group travel and a student expedition.

Cultural
The Amazon Basins biodiversity is matched only by the cultural diversity of its inhabitants. From locals living off fruits, plants, fish and the land to indigenous tribes with intact cultural practices, the Amazon offers a window into a unique and exotic world.

Throughout your semester you will spend time with caboclos, seringueiros and indigenous people in their communities as you travel on foot and by riverboat. Our options include staying with local families, contributing to community projects, and visiting isolated riverside communities.

At the end of your river section you will visit and live with a ribeirinho community for four to five days before finishing in Santarem.

Highlights:
College Credit:
(Optional)         

16 Semester Credit Hours
2 Hours Biology
2 Hours Environmental Ethics
4 Hours Leadership Techniques
4 Hours Skills Practicum
4 Hours Risk Assessment

Cost in US$: $13,250

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel to Brazil Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Scholarships are Available. - Each year NOLS offers over $800,000 dollars in scholarship assistance. Scholarship aid is available to applicants who show great potential to excel as NOLS students and who would be unable to attend without financial aid. These scholarship dollars are made available through the generosity of alumni and friends to the NOLS Fund. Our graduates realize the great impact a NOLS education has and volunteer both time and money to further the school's mission.

Application Process Involves:

• Phone Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad
• Job and Internship Network

NOLS The National Outdoor Leadership School's Mission Statement: The mission of the National Outdoor Leadership School is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment.

Year Founded: 1965