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Published: January 15th 2010
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So as I mentioned, we came back from the jungle and after a bite to eat and watching TV with the folks, we had another exhausting bath on the beautiful moonlit beach before climbing into bed (our hammocks above the cliff).
To describe the house a little better, it was actually a wooden cabin like most simple homes in the amazon, with a clean cement floor, partitioned into a kitchen, Regi’s room, his sisters’ room, and the parents’ room. The kitchen had no furniture, just a couple shelves and a stove, and the freshly washed plates would be in a large plastic bowl on the floor, as most things were, making it complicated for me to cook, so I usually left it up to Regi or whoever. Regi had just one dresser, and his hammock that he usually put outside. Two of his sisters shared a room together and with one of their sons, age 3. They had one small twin bed that they split in which every way they plopped on it, sometimes sideways, diagonally or whatever way. There was also a small hammock above the bed, which either the son, or son and mother would use. It
was common for people to also share hammocks here, even siblings into teenagehood. The parents room had the TV and a double bed, and Regi’s other nephew lived with them too, but I’m not sure where he slept, maybe with the parents, or on the floor wherever he fell asleep (he was maybe 10), and to tell you the truth, his mother lived next door and I thought he was just visiting until Regi finally told me that his mother had adopted him years ago (long story).
Anyways, that night, sleeping at the edge of the cliff I awoke around 3 am, and felt as if it was going to rain. I woke Regi just as droplets started to fall and so we had to move everything under the cover of… well I guess you could call it a sort of front porch.
It poured and poured rain the rest of the night and morning and I enjoyed the pounding sound from the comfort of my hammock under the shelter of the grass roof. It was comforting to be with the elements (but not in them, lol).
The next morning I slept in cause, well, it was
just raining. It was the first cool day ever, and I just spent some time writing in my journal.
Later that night, there was the first party ever since I had been in the community! A “live band”, complete with singer, synthesizer and speaker. Lol. It was funny, and as usual a gay woman hit on me, but besides that, the night was extremely strange. I was obviously the only foreigner, and blond there, and all eyes were on me. Regi told me he heard the boys whispering, carra tem sorte! (meaning, wow, that guy is lucky). Lol. It was funny, but for the first time ever I was too shy to dance, so we just kind of hung out for a while. I was tired as it was past my bed time and so I turned in early. Regi still wanted to hang out but was afraid to do so without me, as Brazilian’s are typically notoriously jealous, and so he was afraid I would be mad, but I urged him to stay with his friends (what the hell did I care anyways), and so he did.
The next day after the traditional morning dances in the
maloca, Carlos (my friend from Manaus) came to visit with some friends from Manaus, yay! Namely, Marlos, Rosie (another couchsurfer, and Patch, his other roommate’s, mother,). That was the first time I met his roommate Marlos, that occasionally occupied the hammock above Carlos’bed when he wasn’t in the jungle doing field research, which was practically all the time for the past 8 months. Marlos was a really down to earth, real roots kind of guy. He even has a wound above his ribcage where maggots were hatching (and it wasn’t his first time, nor his first parasite)- ok a little gross, but these things happen in the jungle - I know flies were digging at my scratched mosquito bites, just dying to lay eggs, but I was vigilant with spray, band aids and what not - I didn’t want maggots!! But nonetheless, Marlos, was probably the nicest most open, warm, and friendly, friendly, person I ever met. He totally made you feel at home even when he wasn’t at home, and he went out of his way to make you happy and comfortable, super, super, considerate, awesome, awesome dude. Anyways, later we all went swimming by the beach and had
lunch in the “restaurant”. In the evening I saw them off to catch their boat back to Manaus. I was leaving myself the next day back to Manaus and so I had to pack my things.
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