My name is Jonas. I am 21 years old and from Northern Germany. I just graduated from school before I arrived in Cusco. I thought a lot about what I wanted to do in my life after school, which job I should take, where I should move etc. It is not an quite an easy task, so I decided to take some time off, learn Spanish in Latin America and devote myself to my passion for animals. In search of an adequate project, I came across NGO Taxi. Their animal protection project seemed to combine exactly what I was looking for: animal care in the rainforest in Peru, a country that still has so much tradition in their culture. I flew to Peru in November 2014 and after 4 weeks of language classes, I felt prepared enough to start my adventure in the Amazon jungle.
Besides taking care of about 20 exotic animals, I was mainly responsible for maintenance and repair of the shelter. I also guided tourist groups through the site explaining to them the different animal species and typical Peruvian coca production. What I liked most about being in the jungle was the calm atmosphere, the sounds at night and my work with the animals which seemed to appreciate my help in the most thankful way. In total I lived for almost 6 months in a country with a totally different culture and tradition and enjoyed a very simple life in the jungle that made me think a lot about our aims and goals at home. I realized, that I need to be careful which life I am going to choose for myself.
