Episódio 30: National Park Adventures (Aventuras em parques nacionais)

Duolingo English for Portuguese Speakers Podcast

Emily Nadal nunca tinha se sentido tão deslocada como quando entrou no parque nacional de Yellowstone, no verão de 2013.

I grew up in New York City, where there’s a lot of noise and people.

For fun, I went to museums and Times Square.

I never went hiking in the woods.

So, when I arrived in Yellowstone and I saw wild animals and huge mountains covered in snow, I thought, “Oh no.

Why did I do this?”

Welcome to “Histórias em Inglês com Duolingo”.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Nesse podcast, você vai poder praticar inglês no seu ritmo, ouvindo histórias reais e emocionantes.

Nesse episódio, você vai ouvir duas histórias de pessoas que exploraram alguns dos espaços naturais mais bonitos e famosos dos Estados Unidos.

No verão de 2013, Emily teve a oportunidade de morar e trabalhar em Yellowstone, o primeiro parque nacional dos Estados Unidos.

O parque fica no noroeste do país e se estende pelos estados de Montana, Wyoming e Idaho.

Ele é famoso por suas águas termais e gêiseres.

Just a few years before my trip to Yellowstone, I couldn’t even name 1 of the 400 national parks in the U.S.

My family never went to national parks while I was growing up, so I didn’t ever think about them.

We lived in the city, far from mountains and camping destinations.

We didn’t have the skills or knowledge to feel comfortable in those spaces.

Mas no segundo ano da faculdade, Emily ficou sabendo de um estágio no Serviço de Parques Nacionais, a agência federal que administra os parques.

O governo tava contratando estudantes universitários pra trabalhar no verão como guardas florestais, ou park rangers.

At that time, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a job, but I loved new adventures.

So, when I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone to work as a park ranger, I quickly accepted the offer.

I thought that living in the forest couldn’t be harder than living in New York City.

But when I arrived and saw the enormous mountains and all of the wildlife, I was terrified.

O Yellowstone é gigantesco.

Tem quase 9 mil quilômetros quadrados.

É do tamanho de Porto Rico! Muitos animais selvagens vivem lá, inclusive o bisão, ou bison.

On my first day of work, I looked out of the window of my bedroom and I saw a small group of bison in the parking lot outside.

It was the first time that I saw large wildlife in a place that wasn’t a zoo.

So, I felt intimidated by the big animals.

Os bisões não costumam ser agressivos, a não ser que se sintam ameaçados.

Mas o tamanho deles faz com que sejam perigosos.

Se forem provocados, eles podem facilmente matar uma pessoa.

The bison were so much bigger than the cars in the parking lot! It was spring, and the mother bison had their babies with them.

It was way too dangerous for me to leave the building and be near them, so I was stuck in my room!

Os bisões finalmente foram embora, e Emily pôde sair do quarto.

Mas não tinha sido um começo muito promissor.

E foi ainda pior quando ela descobriu que parte do seu trabalho seria orientar os visitantes sobre os animais selvagens, além de impedir que as pessoas arranjassem problemas com os bichos.

I quickly learned that many visitors to Yellowstone were not afraid of the wildlife.

A big part of my job was to tell people not to get close to the animals, or try to feed or touch them.

It’s very easy to get hurt.

Emily também era responsável por outras tarefas, como a manutenção das trilhas, ou trails, inclusive as mais remotas.

We spent a lot of time in remote sections of the park, where visitors usually didn’t go.

We installed boxes near places where people camped, to keep food away from bears.

We also maintained the trails.

I didn’t have any experience doing that kind of work, and it was really difficult.

Durante o estágio, Emily pensou várias vezes em largar o trabalho e voltar pra casa.

Até que ela recebeu uma tarefa que fez com que ela mudasse de opinião.

Os chefes pediram pra Emily construir uma cerca, ou fence.

For one of our projects, we cut down trees to build a fence.

The fence was at the top of a tall cliff, above a place where visitors liked to swim.

It was in an area of Yellowstone where people sometimes saw wolves.

Os lobos, ou wolves, eram muito caçados nos Estados Unidos no final do século XIX, e foram extintos do parque no começo do século XX.

Eles ficaram desaparecidos de Yellowstone por quase 100 anos.

Mas na década de 90, os lobos foram reintroduzidos como parte de uma iniciativa pra melhorar o ecossistema.

It’s still very, very unusual to see wolves in Yellowstone.

They usually stay away from humans and prefer to be in more remote places.

There are only around 100 wolves in the whole park, and they are monitored by wolf biologists.

While I was at Yellowstone, I saw so many different kinds of animals.

But for the first few weeks that I was there, I didn’t see any wolves — and I didn’t really want to.

I thought that wolves were ferocious and dangerous.

Foi em parte por causa dessa fama que os lobos foram caçados até a extinção.

While we were driving to work on the fence one day, we saw an animal on the side of the road.

We didn’t know what it was, but it was really big.

As we got closer, we realized it was a wolf! And it wasn’t just one wolf — it was three! They seemed a little afraid to cross the road.

But after a few minutes, one wolf started slowly walking across the road.

When it got to the middle, it stopped, turned, and looked at us.

It was an incredible moment! I didn’t feel afraid of the wolves at all, but I did feel small in their presence.

Já que os lobos são raros em Yellowstone, os funcionários ou visitantes precisam avisar os biólogos do parque sempre que avistam um desses animais.

E foi isso que Emily e seus colegas fizeram.

It was a surreal experience.

For weeks, I didn’t really feel comfortable in the park.

I was always worried about encountering wildlife, and I really missed city life.

But seeing the wolves was special, and it made me feel calm.

Ver os lobos mudou completamente a opinião de Emily sobre Yellowstone.

Aquele encontro surpreendente e tão próximo ajudou ela a ver a vida selvagem com outros olhos, e trouxe uma perspectiva totalmente nova.

I felt very connected to the wolves.

They have such a scary reputation, but seeing them actually helped me feel more comfortable in the park.

And I gained a new respect for wildlife.

O encontro com os lobos fez Emily se sentir mais confortável na natureza.

Mas Brian Harris sempre se sentiu muito mais à vontade ao ar livre.

Ele cresceu em Chicago, no estado do Illinois, e passava muito tempo fora de casa.

I liked to play basketball, football, and other sports.

Or just be in nature.

These things were a big part of my life.

I never considered what my world would look like if I couldn’t do those activities.

Mas em 2006 Brian teve que enfrentar essa realidade, porque naquele ano ele perdeu a visão.

I thought I could never go hiking or do any of the activities that I loved again.

And I thought that part of my life was over.

Brian tinha servido no exército.

Quando tinha 25 anos, ele foi enviado ao Iraque e quando viajava num comboio, uma bomba explodiu.

Ele teve um derrame cerebral, ou stroke.

I had a stroke after the explosion, and I was sent home to Chicago.

But I still had my vision.

I had a lot of health issues due to the explosion, but I thought I was recovering well.

And then about a year later, and I woke up one morning and everything was dark.

A explosão e o derrame lesaram os nervos óticos de Brian.

Os médicos disseram que em algum momento ele perderia a visão, e sua cegueira seria permanente.

It is a terrible thing to experience.

After that, my life was a lot harder.

Além de perder a visão, Brian teve mais derrames, e um desses AVCs deixou ele paralisado por três meses.

Pra piorar, uma infecção durante a recuperação obrigou os médicos a amputar parte da perna direita dele.

I learnt how to do everything again, and it took me a while to get used to my new life.

I was depressed.

I didn’t really want to do anything.

I didn’t want to hang out with anybody.

I felt different.

Brian ficou depressivo por vários anos.

Mas um dia em 2016 ele se inscreveu na Associação de Veteranos Cegos.

E por meio de uma colaboração que a associação tinha com a organização Team River Runner, o grupo de veteranos cegos saía ao ar livre pra praticar esportes adaptados, ou adaptive sports.

Eles convidaram Brian pra andar de caiaque por uma semana no Rio Yellowstone.

Ele nunca tinha feito aquilo antes, mas topou.

They showed me how to kayak.

And it was kind of difficult.

I didn’t know what was going on because I couldn’t see anything.

We started early every morning, at about 7:00 am.

They showed us how to use a kayak, and most importantly, we learned how to roll the kayak if it ever turned over in the water.

If you can’t roll, you can get stuck in your kayak under the water.

I thought I couldn’t do anything without my vision, so kayaking was an awesome feeling, and I fell in love with it!

Em grupos como o de Brian, os guias dão as ordens em voz alta pra que os caiaquistas cegos consigam navegar pelo rio.

Por motivos de segurança, os guias também garantem que sempre tenha alguém na frente e atrás do grupo.

When you’re out on the water, nothing matters.

If you have any troubles or doubts, or if you’re worried about anything, you feel calm on the water.

You’re free, and you’re a part of nature.

Depois daquela primeira prática de caiaque, o mesmo grupo convidou Brian pra fazer outra viagem.

Essa seria de duas semanas, no famoso Grand Canyon.

O plano era percorrer 360 quilômetros em 14 dias.

I didn’t know much about the Grand Canyon before the trip.

But I saw pictures of it before I lost my vision, so I had an idea of what it looked like.

And I also knew that the Colorado River, which goes through the Grand Canyon, was big.

But I wasn’t very familiar with the park.

Andar de caiaque no Grand Canyon exige um esforço enorme – tanto pra quem não enxerga, como pra quem enxerga.

O rio é caudaloso e cheio de corredeiras.

Brian teria que treinar por um ano inteiro antes de fazer todo o percurso.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure about kayaking through the Grand Canyon.

I needed to do some research first.

And my family thought I was crazy.

I had a great team to help me during the trip.

They made me feel confident.

And with their help, I thought, “I’m ready to do it.”

Pra se preparar, Brian e os outros quatro caiaquistas cegos que iriam com ele treinaram em outras corredeiras e praticaram com guias.

We were going to be out in nature for two weeks, with no hotels, restaurants, or bathrooms.

We had to carry everything with us on the trip, including our tents and all of our food.

I had never spent that much time in nature before I lost my vision, so I couldn’t believe that I was doing it after I lost my vision.

A viagem começou numa manhã de setembro de 2018.

Depois de toda a preparação e todo o treino, eles entraram no rio.

O primeiro dia foi fácil.

Como não tinha muita correnteza, Brian não ficou preocupado.

Mas já no segundo dia eles enfrentaram a primeira corredeira.

I was kind of nervous when I heard that first rapid.

Our guide said we were about to kayak through it.

He told us to stay calm and relax, and remember everything we learned in our training.

That was the only thing that was in my mind.

So I stayed calm, and I went through the rapid.

Depois que Brian conseguiu passar pela primeira corredeira sem problemas, ele foi pegando confiança.

Mas teve um dia em que a equipe teve que remar num trecho do rio conhecido como Lava Falls.

As corredeiras dos rios são classificadas numa escala de 1 a 10, da mais fácil pra mais difícil.

E a Lava Falls era 10.

Water is very dangerous.

You don’t understand the intensity of water until you’re actually in it.

When I went through Lava Falls, a wave hit my kayak and it turned over.

I was able to get back up, but then another wave hit and the kayak turned over again.

The river was so strong.

I was under the water for about 20 seconds while I tried to roll my kayak.

My guide was eventually able to help me, and I rolled back up.

Foram momentos como aquele, em que Brian quase se afogou, que fizeram ele reconhecer sua própria força e resistência.

E o fato de não poder enxergar aguçou seus outros sentidos.

I remember hearing fish in the water.

We got to taste salt from a rock wall.

Our guides explained how the colors of the water changed in different parts of the river — from clear blue to green to brown.

We hiked to a waterfall, and I stood under it as the water fell.

It was much colder than the water from the river.

Being away from everything that was human was a whole new experience for me, and I learned how to respect it.

Depois de 12 dias, eles terminaram aquela jornada por um dos rios mais turbulentos das Américas.

Teve momentos assustadores, mas eles conseguiram.

The trip changed me because after I finished it, I knew that I could almost do anything.

I learned that my disability couldn’t stop me from doing anything that I wanted to do.

And that was the feeling that I got from the Grand Canyon.

Faz alguns anos que Brian foi pro Grand Canyon.

Ele segue participando de outros esportes radicais enquanto trabalha ensinando crianças cegas e suas famílias a curtir o caiaque.

It inspired me to work with children who were born with disabilities.

Although I wasn’t born with my disability, I understand the difficulties that they have.

And it’s an amazing experience to teach them that they can do so many things in life — they just have to do them a little bit differently.

Brian Harris é o diretor do Distrito 2 da Associação de Veteranos Cegos e mora em Chicago, no Illinois.

Esse episódio foi produzido por Emily Nadal, nossa primeira narradora.

Depois de vários outros verões trabalhando em parques nacionais, ela virou jornalista e voltou pra Nova York, sua cidade natal.

Eu sou Helena Fruet.

Thank you for listening!