WELCOME TO THE SELVA 

So, now it is Friday.  I arrived in Lima Tuesday morning and here in Satipo Wednesday morning.  The other entry goes until the bus pulled in.  It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.  I go from feeling very secure to questioning everything I’m stepping on and putting in my mouth.  Sometimes the people are endearing, especially the ones I live with, and other times things are just so dirty that I feel worlds apart.  So, here is my story since I’ve arrived.

All the roads in Satipo are dirt.  All of the stores are open faced in that there isn’t a front door because there is not a front wall.  Dogs and cats are everywhere and live amongst the people as companions.  They come in and out of the stores at will.  Some have collars but that is a rarity.  So, we drove through the town on the moto-taxi headed for the house.  We left the central town area by crossing a bridge over a pretty wide river.  Her house is about 200 yds past the bridge.  We walked through a big wall which serves as the front of her home and runs all the way around her property as a barrier.  It opened up into a type of courtyard, behind which was the house.  We were greeted by her two dogs and a couple of the 4? cats.  At this point, I was still in a grumpy mood from lack of sleep, scary bus rides, and the threat of malaria.  So, what I saw was a house that didn’t really have walls.  There is a room to the left that only has three desks inside of it and a couple book shelves.  It is also the only room with a door on the bottom floor.  I then walked into the main area behind the dogs.  It was wide open with no back wall, half a side wall, and then a kitchen on the left.  In this room is a giant pile of firewood for the stove.  In the front of the room is a door that leads to another room.  However, the door is a wood plank that you can swing back and forth.  My house mom told me I could rest in there because she didn’t have the key to the upstairs.  Inside the room was a bed with a cat on it and a book shelf of clothes.  However, the large front window was non existent.  There was another plank of wood half way covering up the whole with some fabric draped to cover more area.  The cat on the bed got thrown out the window.  I decided I’d write in my journal.  Back to the kitchen.  It actually was quite beautiful.  It had a stove, oven, sinks, and washing machine that all looked new.  Also, the tiling on the walls and the counter tops were shiny and new looking as well.  However, there were no shelves, cupboards, or cabinet doors underneath all the countertop space.  That, and I didn’t see any food, dishes, pots, or plates.  Connected to the kitchen was another room with bunk beds.  There was only the one door leading into the room and it was quite dark because of this.  That, and there were some boxes in there and everything looked pretty dirty.  At this point, I was trying to figure out where I would sleep for real.  All were pretty scary options considering I’d be here for 3 months and none of them were enclosed or had AC (both were recommended to avoid Malaria carrying mosquitoes).  I walked out of the main room into the back courtyard area where there were some clothes lines to dry the clothes.  There were some steps that led up to the top part of the house.  I looked further back past the courtyard and there were a bunch of trees and vegetation.  Further back there was a hut that is the other kitchen.  This is where they can cook over a real fire.  Across from the hut is a pen where the chickens are kept, however there are usually two that just run around free in the back.  Next to the chicken pen is the outdoor shower.  Then, separate from those is the outhouse.  I’m happy to report the outhouse has a flushing toilet!  So, I moseyed back up to the house to the bed and sat down to write in my journal.  I was consoling myself with the thought that I could change to another family that had been mentioned if I couldn’t handle this place. 

After taking a short rest, I asked my host mom if we could go check out that clinic to ask about vaccinations.  We took one of the moto-taxis into town and stopped for lunch. 

The restaurant had the same wide open front.  Once we sat down, a young man brought us two mugs.  In the mugs was a drink that looked like a mixture of water and dirt.  It was like when we learned in biology the difference between a mixture and solution.  Hot cocoa looks to me like a solution and this looked like a mixture with particles of dirt suspended in the water.  I wondered if he had just dipped the mug in the river.  I asked my host mom what it was and she gave me the name of the drink which I can’t recall.  She said I couldn’t drink it and ordered me a Coke.  Thank God for corporate America.  Then, she ordered me some fried chicken.  It was actually freaking delicious.  After that we walked over to the clinic.  There was a large hall with rooms to either side, as well as rooms that could be entered by walking along the outside of the building.  While we were walking along the outside of the building I saw the wonderful miracle of breastfeeding multiple times.  Then, we got to our spot.  After a short wait and watching a baby get some shots, it was our turn.  The doctor explained that the shot my house mom had received was for yellow fever, which I already had.  He also explained that the area was safe for Malaria but that deeper in the jungle or less clean towns there existed a danger.  He gave me some pointers on how to protect myself: repellent, mosquito net, don’t shower after 6, be careful at dusk and dawn, etc.  He also told me about the other diseases in the area like dengue, but that was further off in the woods.  He also told me about this other disease, eismaria?, that is usually more around dirty areas because it’s a parasite that hangs out in dog shit.  Luckily, there aren’t a bunch of animals running around our home… wait a minute. 

So, I left the doctors office feeling a lot better about my chances for survival.  On the way back, we stopped by a place where I could call my family and let them now I had arrived safely.  Once again, she insisted I call my mother so that she could here my voice.  This time I got a hold of her.  I had to ask the girls at the front of the store to make some change for me.  One of the girls said she liked my eyes and I got embarrassed.  Then my host mom said something because she likes embarrassing me in front of girls.

After I finished my call, we headed for the market to pick up food for the night.  She bought a bunch of stuff that she figured my body would be used to like Italian dressing, mac and cheese, mayonnaise, olives, etc.  She didn’t really know what they were.  And today while we were eating, her daughter asked what the Italian dressing was and what it was for.

Then, we returned to the house where I took a shower.  There was no warm water and the water that came out was actually quite cold, yet refreshing.  Her kids arrived home shortly afterwards from school.  Three beautiful kids: Fernando, 12; Isabella, 10; and Valeria, 8. By this time, the upstairs was unlocked and my host mom took me to see my room.  I was relieved.  There were doors and glass windows upstairs.  I once again would be sleeping in a girls room.  Pink is quickly becoming my favorite color.  She had done a great job of designing the room.  There is a little desk she made that can fold up or down from the wall to conserve space.  All the drawer and cabinet room is below the bed and she has shelves in the room for her daughter’s stuffed animals.  It is the same in the other two rooms.  There is a spot for a bathroom up here but they need to wait for more money before they can finish building it.  So, it’s outside for me.  To accommodate me, the girls are sleeping together.  When I asked where the mom sleeps, she said the room where I had rested earlier that day.  It was amazing how much the mom had put into making her kids comfortable and how little she had done to make her room comfortable.  I felt a bit ashamed for the way I had felt earlier; however, my main concern was that malaria.  After we had eaten and showered, I got to observe their weekday nightly ritual.  The three kids went into that front room and sat in their respective desks doing their homework while the mom went from kid to kid to help with the studies.  I joined them and got to help the son with his trig.  It felt good to do some math.  Then, I fell asleep sitting up, then put my head on his desk and was donesky for a while.  Later, we all went back into town for dinner.  We had chifa which is the name of the Chinese food with a Peruvian twist.  It was much like being at home.  Rambo was even the movie that was on the tv.  Later, we returned home and I passed out.  However, I had to kill a cockroach and a decently sized spider before doing so.  I thought of the movie “Broke Down Palace”. 

The next day, I woke up after the kids had gone to school.  I squeezed a glass of OJ for myself from the oranges off the tree in her backyard.  I also had some jam and tostada as well as coffee with Mariel (my host mom).  Later, we went to the market to buy food for the home.

I guess I should fill in why there was no food in the home.  The family had been in Lima at the beach for the past 3 months of Summer vacation.  School had started that Monday.  Mariel had returned from Lima I believe that Saturday before, and then headed back on Monday when she heard I was coming in town.  It had previously been planned that I was going to meet someone else in Lima who would put me on a bus by myself and then I would meet someone else in Satipo.  Also, Mariel wanted me to live with her because she thought she could make better food for my stomach since she had lived in Spain for 5 years.  I do love this lady.

So, we went through the market and Mariel embarrassed me in front of some girl again.  She loves pointing out that they will all love me b/c I’m gringo.  However, she won me over when I first arrived in Lima and called me James Bond.  Then she said I was prettier than him.  She knows the way to my heart, and because of this I can forgive her for anything.  The market is pretty interesting.  Everything is open air including the meat.  The really bothersome part is the animals.  I just have a problem with stray animals being so close to my food.  However, it would be different if it were Mattie.  Then, Mariel bought me a hat so I wouldn’t get the gringo burn again.

Later that night we returned to great the kids and have lunch dinner.  Then, Eduardo stopped by the house.  Eduardo is an architect in Rio Negro, the neighboring town.  He is my other guide while I’m here and his wife will be my teacher.  We talked a bit and then he, Mariel, and I went out to the town.  We went to a shop that had cakes and smoothies.  The smoothie was fresh fruit and a dark beer.  Pretty good.  We also had some apple pie.  The crust was quite thick in comparison to the good ole’ US apple pie.  While talking, we decided I’d start my job on Monday.  I was also informed that on Monday I would meet the Alcalde, Mayor, of Rio Negro, the neighboring town.  Shit, I better get my Spanish together.  We then returned home and I read the paper we had bought while the kids studied.  I just wanted to go to bed but it was only 10:30 and the kids were still going strong.  So, I made my macho statement for half an hour until I conceded my weakness and headed for bed.  Only had to kill a small spider before bed this time.  Things are looking up.

Today, I got up late and have been writing this crap all day.  We went to pick up the kids from school and then walked back together.  For lunch we had this chicken type soup with rice, veggies, and chicken.  It was quite delicious.  She also made me a salad like the ones they made in Spain.  She prepares my food separately.  For herself and the kids, she puts it all into one bowl.  They don’t really do the separate courses thing. 

So, how do I like the trip so far?  I like it.  Life is really different.  I think my mind has been shutting a lot out as I slowly acclimate to the environment.  It’s interesting being the richest person in a town and I’m currently in debt.  It is also extremely weird being the only white person in the town and probably the first American to visit here in years.  However, the people are all extremely nice and helpful as well as open to me.  Mariel is always talking to people and butting her nose into things but people never seem to mind.  Most Americans just go about their business, but with Mariel it’s different.  She is always looking to interact with people.  Whether it be walking up to some guy working on a house because she wants to know who will live there or going to play with the baby that just got a set of shots.  The people here all help each other and are grateful for the camaraderie.  Also, I love the kids.  It’s amazing to see them at night while they study.  They are like a team.  One will have a question and they’ll all work together to solve it…especially the strong willed 8 yr old Valeria.  The mom puts a lot of stress on their education.  She tells me often that the town is poor much because of ignorance… some people just aren’t willing to work hard enough.  They all also laugh a lot together, thanks especially to their mother.  All of a sudden, all the girls will get up and chase each other to the next room, including the mother.  This happens while studying.  I love the energy and zest for life they have.  It really makes one question the real differences in quality of life here.  However, there are some downsides too.  I don’t think there is a trash service, so there are often bags of trash just floating down the river.  I never feel that safe when it comes to my health because of the animals running and shitting in the streets.  Being the wet, damp atmosphere, I feel like there are always puddles of bacteria farms in the streets.  What I miss the most is a grocery store where I now the standard of meats and vegetables is safe.  I don’t miss having a tv or anything else, just the one thing I’ve never thought was that cool, the grocery store.  Also, I have a feeling that I’m going to get sick of dehydrated milk and that’s really all there is here.  Yuck.  Also, the people here mumble a lot.  I have a terrible time understanding them because half the time I can’t hear them.  I have a feeling I’ll be saying “mas despacio y mas fuerte” a lot during this drip.

Well, I threw my hat in for an experience and an experience I shall get.  Please send me some emails about what’s going on in the states.  Kisses… James