My name is Will, and I am a biologist from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A few months ago, I moved to Perú for a year of research here!
Perú is a spanish-speaking country in South America that is home to part of the gigantic Amazon rainforest. I am living in a town on the edge of the Amazon called Tingo María. With help from some researchers at a university here, I am studying cacao trees, which are the species of tree that produces the cocoa beans used to make chocolate. These trees are native to Perú, and they are very important for many farmers living here. That is because the farmers earn most of their money selling the beans to chocolate companies, who turn them into chocolate. My goal is to study the microscopic organisms, like bacteria, that grow on the cacao trees in order to help keep the trees safe from diseases that make them sick!
Out of all of the countries I could have chosen to do research in, I decided to come to Perú because I have Peruvian ancestry. My grandmother on my dad’s side is Peruvian, and when I was little, my family and I would sometimes come to Perú to visit her. I grew up hearing all about how beautiful and interesting a country it is, and I wanted an opportunity to spend some more time here.
