Life in the Amazon

My experience in the Amazon so far has been filled with mixed feelings that I dont know how to describe. It isn´t what i expected but that doesn´t mean a bad thing, only different. There is a weid and awkward barrier between the volunteers and the villagers that I am trying my best to break. I am going to talk more to them and maybe even see if they would take me out to explore deeper into the amazon and possibly even out into a canoe on a river. I have done some exploring on my own and with a couple others to some amazing lookout points which have some indescribable views over a cliff into as far as you can possibly see into the Amazon rainforest. There is a natural labyrinth nearby that I have heard talks about and can´t wait to find and explore.

The living conditions are far better from what I expected. Two other girls and myself share our own house which is situated high up on a hill nearby the village which overlooks the amazon. I have my own bedroom complete with a huge bed and balcony with views of an amazing volcanoe that sits right in the middle of the rainforest. In our house we have our own oven, fridge, toilet, shower and even a tv and dvd player, although none of the dvds are in english. Our house belongs to a guy by the name of Soren who lives here with his wife who is the doughter of the chief here. From what I hear they are away until possibly december. So for now we get to stay in his house. But next week I am planning on heading to a different community that is alot more remote and deeper into the Amazon with alot less facilities. The shower is a nearby river and the bathroom is a hole in the ground from what I hear.

This entry is being written in different sections and it has been almost a week since I have written the above comments on a piece of paper in my room.

The barrier between us and the villagers is becoming faded less and less. I have been hanging out and talking with them more and more and it is passed that weird awkward stage. They call myself Jiru which means machine in Shuar, because I explained to them That I am actually a robot that doesn´t require sleep or food. Thus, Jiru is my new Shuar name. We have been on some cool hikes and explored a nearby river for swimming which is beautiful. On another note, there has been some shady events going on in the village and a girl got all of her money stolen from her and I have gotten my ipod stolen. We are all gonna talk with the chief soon and see if we can get to the bottom of this. When I first arrived i was seriously questioning my decision to stay here for 8 weeks, and up until today I felt really confident in my decision to be here for 2 months, but if shit like this keeps going on unnoticed I think I am going to have to leave early and find somehwere else to stay for 2 months before I leave for Peru. I will keep this updated soon and thanks alot for reading.

- Jiru