well thats it i have finally gone native! let me try and explain. got to the centro de semillas a hut about an hour and a half from puyo and up a vertical mud slope from the road. this was tricky with my full pack on but never mind. the first afternoon i was shown the propagating areas and some medicinal plants, explained the importance of ayuhuasca and told that wajurat (the man) has many children by many different women "its his destiny!" the other american girl that was there at the time told me after that she couldnt sleep one [View Full Entry]

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Well, this is not going to be the blog entry you were all waiting for, but that is ok. A friend of mine, Mary, just ¨tagged¨ me. Now I know what you are thinking....what kind of kinky things is Jeremy getting into down there in Ecualand? Rest assured, this is just a game bloggers play - why? I don´t have the foggiest idea, but I am game to give it a whirl. So I have to: * link to the person who tagged me - mary at http://www.travelingstorywriter.com/ * post the rules on the blog - the rules are here with [View Full Entry]

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Holy cow, I have been crazy busy, but it has been a very good busy - if such a thing exists. Three volunteers, two from Spain and one from Bulgaria came to FRATES a couple of weeks ago to volunteer there and help out with the summer camps I am doing with the kids in the communities. Umberto is here as well. Ah yes, the summer camp. The idea for the camp came to me as I was planning out the environmental education part of a project CODEAMA has with the three FRATES communities. My original plan was for a short [View Full Entry]

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The weeks seem to be flying right now. I by the time I start one week and figure out what the heck I am doing, that week is over and it is time to start the next. This never bodes well for those who have a lot to do. I am managing, however, to finally stay on top of everything I have to do. Perhaps that is because I am getting a better grasp of Spanish and thus I do things a little quicker; perhaps it is because I have made a conscious effort to not try and make everything perfect [View Full Entry]

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So, after being bumped up to business class (or should I say Clase Exectivo...which quite honestly sounds so much grander!) on the San Jose to Quito flight (ha ha...just like in the movies: "I´m sorry the flight is full so I´m going to have to upgrade you"...wahooooo!), spending some very busy days in the coolest capital in the world (so far atleast) and a very messy game of ring of fire (I´m sure I spent the entire game with my nose on the table....stupid rules!!!!), we headed off to start our volunteering in the jungle. Wow...long sentence! We are living [View Full Entry]

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Dog Karma - yes, you read that right, Dog Karma. I seem to have it right now in full force. A couple of weeks ago, right after my blog about the neighborhood dog becoming my buddy, I experienced yet another round of good dog vibes. I was out at the FRATES communities giving presentations at the local schools about the state of Ecuador’s environment. It was an overcast, slightly rainy day; I had just given a presentation to the kids in El Porvenir and was walking the 25 minutes or so down the road to the turn off for Vencedores. The [View Full Entry]

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Sorry folks, this is not the awaited blog update about the 2nd trip into Waorani territory - that update will be posted at some point this week. What I am posting on this blog is a solicitud for funding for a project of mine. Please read my letter below and help if you can. Greetings family and friends: Well, it has been 17 months since Susan and I embarked on this Peace Corps journey. We have 10 months left and are at that point where we are trying to start wrapping up projects and putting the finishing and hopefully, lasting touches [View Full Entry]

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So, how do you measure success in Peace Corps terms? One dog at a time. Yes, I have had some crazy dog experiences here in Ecuador - some so bad that I have second-guessed my love of man´s best friend. However, this morning was a good dog morning. As I was walking to work I noticed the dog that lives around the block barking at a passer-by in front of me. This dog has barked at me and nipped my heels for 6 months. I thought I had made a break through a month ago when I was sitting at the [View Full Entry]

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The long awaited next blog. I am sorry that I have been uncharacteristically late in writing this blog. I have been swamped with other important things to do and have not had the time or energy to sit down and write an account of my experiences over the last three weeks. So grab a beer, glass of wine, cup of tea, or whatever else you desire and give yourself some time to read the latest in the adventures of Jer & Sue. The last weekend in April Sue and I headed up to Tena to help out Mary Fifield (from Global [View Full Entry]

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Today is our last day in the jungle, emotions for me span the gamut of sadness and relief. Sad that this part of the adventure is coming to a close - there's still so much more to see and do. Relief that we are headed back to civilization and I won't have to worry about giant flying cockroaches the size of my hand crawling on me while I sleep (yeah, the size of my hand!). Sticky and slightly funky from the strenuous activities the day before we decide to start the day with a shower. As luck would have it, the [View Full Entry]

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