One month down.

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I currently feel like the personification of the phrase 'It never rains but it pours'. I've developed a kidney infection!!! I've started taking antibiotics and Pascual, the chef, has made me a local remedey to help speed up the healing process. Will I ever be able to go into the Jungle without feeling ill?!

As I've been at CICRA for one whole month I decided to make some lists. Here they are.

Cool animals I have seen (I can‘t put up pictures as the internet is too slow but I suggest you have look at some of the species online as they really are quite cool):
Saddleback tamarins (obviously)
Emperor tamarins
Titi monkeys
Capuchins
Squirrel monkeys - I call them my Guardian Monkeys as they always seem to turn up when I’m having a bad day and cheer me up
Spider monkeys
A Goeldi’s monkey
Owl monkeys
Fire ants (ouch)
Bullet ants (OUCH!)
The back-end of an armadillo running away from us
An agouti
A large, black snake
Various cool frogs
Geckos - we have one that lives in our cabin. I have named him Gilbert.
A tortoise
Macaws
Cockroaches
Spiders
Millions of mosquitoes

Things I have gotten used to:
Having a soup starter every evening
Re-hydrated soya meat substitute
Killing things - I now take great pleasure in murdering mosquitoes and annihilating ants!
Drinking brown water
Going to the toilet outside
VERY slow internet
Sleeping under a mosquito net - I actually quite enjoy this!
Washing all my clothes by hand
My clothes consequently never being completely clean…or dry
Getting extremely wet during a rain storm
Rice being the main component of all three meals of the day

Things I have not gotten used to:
Cold showers
Being alone, off trail in the Jungle
The smell of rotting mushrooms that emanates from all my clothes
Only having power for three hours in the evening
Chigger bites
Walking through spider webs
Inputting seemingly endless data
The smell of rotting bananas from our lab - I will never be able to eat a banana again
Being drenched by my own sweat for 90% of my waking life
The CICRA stairs
Not seeing all of you :-(

Here's to the next month. Let's hope I'm not plagued with as many health problems!

Love Emma and the monkeys
xxxx

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Comments

[Alex Cagan]

Hang in there!
Wow I'm jealous you've see so many cool things. I hope you get to see the armadillo's front end one day and that your health improves as you slowly aclimatise. Cagan

[Lizzie]

Wow, it is a lot you have done, what an adventure... ooh and f an agouti happens to fall into your luggage and come home I will happily take them ;oD Hope you unbreak soon. *huge hugs* xXx Lizzie