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Published: April 18th 2011
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It doesn't really seem as though I have been back at the jungle house for three wonderful months! So as for the promised tales about our "Arajuno Jungle Lodge". Ha. It went nowhere near how we planned! Apparently our doubts were based in truth and we worked very hard to try and keep the 33 people happy but ultimately they left early. Our dinner was a fiasco...not enough bowls/plates/forks, a pan of dropped veggies, a botched batch of rice...and we didn't even have enough liquor to satisfy their needs! Luckily we had some Puro Puyo (a local grain alcohol made in some grandmotherly lady's bathtub) and gifted it to our unhappy guests. However, once they left Rachel and I felt a wave of relief crash over us. The following day we went into Puyo during Carnival activities to get things straightened out for our returning (and 4 new volunteers). Everything in town was chaotic...taxis couldn't drive into the center, kids were throwing buckets of water into cars and people were dusting innocent paser-byers with flour (which is quite unkind as it is sooo sticky and hard to get out! Foreigners seemed to get it bad. Our volunteers got to see the
finer side of things...parades, body painting competitions, the mayor's extravagant car...while Rachel and I tried to do our errands in a city that was on holiday. I actually came close to tears when my car died, for the fourth time that day, in a residential neighborhood. Push starting the car is not such an issue anymore, however, when a woman approached me and sprayed shaving cream INSIDE my car I was about to lose it. So I casually got out to breathe...and then it hit me. Water balloons began raining down from above. Eventually they all saw I was upset and came over to help me push start the car...all wearing smiles and says, "Pues, es Carnival!”
We picked up the four newbies and left the vehicle at the mechanics. A cab brought us on a crazy ride through town...doing nothing (well, actually stopping sometimes) so that the locals could drench our new charges with water/flower/spray as they wished. Everyone was a good sport that night after a final stop to pick up a chicken in a plastic bag we returned home to make dinner. I had never cut off a chicken's head before...until that day. Nothing too wrong or
hard about it really, except if one uses a dull knife (and YES it was already dead when we got it). But for those of you who know me, a few years ago I wouldn't even cook or touch meat...so to chop off the head, cook it and still eat it; well, that's quite an improvement.
The Return to University Life The weeks that followed were filled with a lot of fun. Our house got full and took on a different vibe as most of our volunteers were under the age of twenty. We played rum bong (like beer pong, but with, well you guessed it- rum), built a Ping-Pong table, played capture the flag in the darkness of the jungle and all the while trying to keep the boys out of trouble. They would go on these 'adventures' as they called them, usually wielding machetes and at times an axe...as you can imagine it is pretty scary to know that four 18-year old boys are wondering around, unsupervised, with such sharp objects. Well, miraculously no one got hurt.
Typical
So we have had some rough times scattered about and I can no doubt say that our volunteers our tough.
Besides the car that is slowly dying, our generator has had instances of working in town at the mechanics only to arrive at the house 1.5 hours later and not work! How can that possibly be?!? The fridge usually starts to smell funky after 2 days without electricity, so you can imagine the stench after five. Putting things such as cheese in buckets of water can only help so much. Thankfully all is working at the moment (well except the car, but that is virtually a given at this point). It was comical the other day, when the car did work. We were driving up our hill to go to one of my favorite schools and bam...landslide blocking our path. We decided to cancel one of the schools that day but Kelsey, Jeremy and I got out, crossed the landslide, waited in the pouring rain and eventually boarded a bus that was really late. The locals seemed to get quite a giggle out of seeing the foreign people so incredibly drenched. Our day didn't end there, though- Jeremy took off to work in town and we gave him our valuables since we still had another walk ahead of us. Kelsey and I got off and walked about 50 minutes with intermittent rain, enjoying the views and chit chatting. We got to school about an hour late and caught up by splitting up and teaching two classes at once. The director and the women cooking were shocked at how wet we were and the fact that we didn't have dry clothes with us. While we were teaching after lunch, one of the women handed us a steaming hot cup of tea leaves...which she spiked with alcohol. We were told to drink up, that we would not get sick after finishing it. Surprisingly it worked out as she said...and we had a lovely buzz as we finished up our exam review. Can you imagine a school in the states where that would happen? I remember in Spain that around the holidays there was always some kind of alcohol in the fridge for break time...but during class??Unheard of!
Happieness Things are on the upswing, progress is being made with getting actual electricity in the house and we are only about $3500 away from a new car! Rachel and i have been putting a much needed feminine touch on the house- a garden is coming along smoothly, there is much more organization and the house seems tidier. Also, I have become a giddy little schoolgirl ever since Jeremy came back into the country. It has been wonderful to have him so close by and be able to escape the house's stresses when needed. We took off with Rachel a few weekends ago (the first time Rachel and i have left the house together for a weekend without volunteers in 8 months!!) and stayed in Puyo and...Ready for this?!?- we watched a MOVIE!!! Now this might not seem like such a big deal, but believe me, it is! There is no theater around here (several hours away) and my computer does not have a disk drive...so it was a treat. The following day we went to a little known spot along the river, about an hour out of town, called Piatua. Soon enough we were lounging on rocks in the river and enjoying our rum and cokes...completely disregarding the rain that was starting to fall. Lucky for us the rain let up and we had a beautiful day jumping from rock to rock, floating down the rapids, bird watching...and of course sipping on cocktails. It was easy enough for us to get back to Puyo that night...which worked out well as we had a lovely breakfast at Jeremy's and then a walk through the colorful Sunday market- completed by the sight of roasting giunea pigs. Yum. Right now he has gone off deeper into the jungle and should be getting back today. On Friday we have a cooking class planned for our volunteers and after that, Jeremy and I are headed out on a vacation to the coast!! I look forward to lazy beachside days mixed in with coastal hiking and lots of good company!
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