Miguel Ángel Torres Yunda is a fifth-year PhD candidate at the University of Florida. He received a BA in History and a BS in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University (2019) and an MA in History from Georgetown University (2022). His research is focused on the transnational nature of the Putumayo District during the Rubber Boom in the Amazon. The following blog details his first major research trip after qualifying exams and is foundational to his dissertation.