Leaving Portland, Oregon:

I'm leaving Portland for an 11-week journey through Pakistan, China, and Kygryzstan! A major highlight and effort of our (Jordan and I) trip will be volunteering for several weeks in Pakistan with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Pakistan is an incredibly diverse country with a range of ecosystems - however it has one of the world's highest rates of deforestation, leading to increasing erosion and pollution. We have been corresponding with the Chief Technical Advisor of WWF-Pakistan and will be meeting him in Peshawar a week or so after arriving to discuss our plans. From there we will head north along the Hunza River and continue into Khunjerab National Park which stretches along the rugged mountains that borders Xinjiang Province, China. In Khunjerab, we will be gathering information for WWF from local villages regarding sightings of the endangered snow leopard and using that information as a starting point for tracking them in the Karoakorum Mountains and also helping herders to build fences to protect their livestock. In addition, we will be talking with villagers about the indigenous herbs they use for medicine, so that such deep-rooted and priceless knowledge can be disseminated and used for future generations. In the face of development and modern pharmaceuticals, indigenous knowledge of Pakistan's estimated 6,000 plants with medicinal properties is being snuffed out along with the plants themselves. Work is being done by the WWF to educate and increase the capacity of the communities to conserve biodiversity. This is exemplified in community awareness programs, teacher training courses and nature clubs for school children.

After our volunteering with the WWF, we plan to travel through the Khunjerab Pass to Kashgar, China, a point of refueling and rest. From there, we will continue on to Kyrgyzstan, where we hope to romp around in the summer pastures (jailoo), camping and staying with local Kyrgyzin in their yurts, learning about their lifestyle, and helping with daily tasks. Kyrgyzstan has a rich history of shamanistic medicine, which is still practiced, widely in rural areas. We hope to meet some of these healers high up in the meadows, and stay with him/her, experiencing his/her medicine, to enrich our own understanding of the human being, and the strings that connect us to everything else. We will spend the last weeks of our trip high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, backpacking, camping, and as mentioned, learning about their traditions
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It will be an adventure for sure, and we're overflowing with every emotion possible right now, but we do feel as prepared, or open, as we can be for getting beaten up a bit, getting involved, strengthening ourselves (physically and emotionally) and of course the economies of the places we visit. The mystery evoked by these places is why we are going, the uncertainty, the adventure, and because we want to throw ourselves to the wind. I've created a blog and we hope to update ya'll on our journey when we can, so feel free to check it out!

melissidanko.blogspot.com
www.flickr.com/photos/melissidanko

Melissa Callahan '05, UBRP alum from Dr. Michael Well's lab, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics

From the Czech Republic :

(Michelle Brandon and Amy Alabaster are researching tick-borne diseases as for their BRAVO! experience.)

I hope you are enjoying the 114 degree F heat in Arizona. Here it has been a bit chilly--it feels like it's about 70 degrees F at the moment. Things are well here in Ceske Budejovice. I had some interesting results in the lab last week and am going to take my project in a slightly different direction. Petr, the "tick digestion guy" here, has taken some interest in my project as well. I started playing volleyball with some people from the 3rd floor. They play every Tuesday night after work around 6:00 pm. It seems like everyone here plays at least 3 sports regularly.

This weekend is a 4-day holiday weekend, and I was going to work, but Ondra, the PhD student who helps me out when I need it, laughed and said "only crazy people work this weekend." So, when in the Czech Republic, do as the Czechs do, I guess... There is a big film festival a train ride away in the Czech Republic this week, so Amy and I are going to get up really early tomorrow morning and go see what that is like. There are some other wacky-sounding attractions in the area as well, such as a cafe that is pitch black and is staffed by blind waiters. I'd like to stop there.

I like it in Ceske Budejovice, although I do miss having a pet. It's difficult to think of the guinea pigs here as pets. I needed to blood-feed some ticks and watched the guinea pig be anesthetized, and it made a really nauseating sound. I'm glad that our mosquito colony in Tucson can be artificially fed!

Michelle Brandon, BRAVO! student in Dr. Libor Grubhoffer's lab at the Institute of Parasitology, Czech Republic and UBRPer in Dr. Roger Miesfeld's lab, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics.