Hot and Cold

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Grant and I are pretty depressed. His house is in a dry area that is being looted. He's spent the past few days waiting for the generator to come on so he can check the internet. I mostly sit around waiting for Grant to give me something to work on. We basically took today off.

I still wait like I did in the states for the water in the bathroom to warm up before I wash my face. It comes directly from the spring here though and it will never be warmer than ice cold.

The weather seems to have gotten warmer. When I was directing the students through their structured sample plot I stripped off all of my sweaters. Working with those students was really odd. They were all undergraduates from University of Oregon. I am their age and had only one week's experience over them, but there I was, the field expert.

No matter how warm it may be I'm still shivering when I blow my candle out at night. I read a little in bed and I don't put the book down when I get to the end of the chapter or when my eyes start closing. I put the book down and blow out my candle when my sweater clad arms are too cold to keep out of the covers.

I am usually in bed by 10 pm but last week I went out a couple of times. The students invited Yanayacu to their costume party. I didn't have any free time to find a costume, but I found my work jump-suit from this summer and Grant gave me his duck caller that looks like a duck bill --- I was a pato.

The next night I went out hiking through the pitch black jungle with Ryan. He was at Yanayacu to photograph the rare glass frogs around here. We found one but didn't handle it to see its transparent belly and all of its organs.

I 'm still doing a lot of hiking. We had a frustrating day of hiking around Papallacta looking for forest to work in but it had all been cleared. We cut our losses and jumped into the thermal pools the area is famous for. It was the first time I enjoyed touching water since I've been here.

I fear taking showers at Yanayacu. It is a hot shower but the minute you get out your body begins to steam and shake and it takes every ounce of courage to turn off the water and jump to your towel.

We ran out of gas to heat the shower a couple days ago though so I don't have to worry if it's been too long since my last bathing.

Not only the hot showers but the entire water supply was off this morning (a jam in the source). I found some hot water in a thermous left over from last night. I poured it into a mixing bowl and washed my face. It was the first morning hot water wash I've had here. It felt absolutely wonderful.

-Aaron

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Comments

[Shaaroni]

Missing Cold
So you went from warm to cold and i've gone from cold to crazy hot. we bathe with a bucket and a cup and it takes every ounce of my willpower to stop dumping cold (read lukewarmish) water over my head and step out into the oppressive heat to get my towel. Missing you...shaaroni