The Amazon Rainforest

During our international student welcome orientation we were advised that each and every one of us would most likely become very sick during our time in Ecuador. Jessie, thinking she is invincible, refused to believe the debauchery that was coming from the mouths of the USFQ officials. 3 and a half months in, after eating all of the street food I could find, sharing drinks, etc... I was still untouchable. That was of course until last Thursday night which, will go down in my ecuahistory as being the worst night of my study abroad experience. I will spare you the worser details but let's just say I vomited 5 separate times between the hours of 10pm-3:30am. What was worrying me was the frightening thought that my sickness would inhibit my ability to accompany the BC Gringos on our weekend trip to the Amazon Rainforest. Although I had 4 final projects that had to be done, as well as a VISA meeting at the consulate, I made the decision to stay in bed all day which, paid off as I was able to spend the weekend in the selva!

We spent most of the first day traveling to the selva. After about a 5 hour bus ride to some tiny little town, we ate lunch (correction: everyone else ate lunch because I didn't have an appetite for another 3 days or so), and headed on this boat down the Napo river for two hours to our hostel. While on the boat, Colleen and I devised an entire book series which, regardless of the fact that I am a dreamer and not a realist, I honestly believe could become the next Harry Potter or Hunger Games... the book series will be famous one day so get ready. When we finally got there we relaxed on some hammocks for a long time which was much needed. After dinner everyone went on a night hike that I chose to skip because I was still exhausted and sick. Unfortunately, that night at around 4:30AM, right before I finally got to bed, I vomited once more. This vom was a particularly tricky vom on the account of there being no lighting units whatsoever in the selva. So there I am, at 4:30AM in the middle of the Amazon, trying not to wake up all of the girls in my cabin yet, unable to find the door to the bathroom. I wish this was a lie but, I was fairly certain for a moment that I was going to have to vom on one of the girls because I was completely blinded.

The next day was hands down the best day in the selva. We visited an amazonian village in the middle of the jungle where they taught us about their crops, cooked for us, and showed us some of their traditions. We were able to bring them a lot a lot of food which was great but I felt a little too much of the "Jesus Complex" while we were there. Ya know, the civilized white university students showering the impoverished with food... Anyways, they then cooked their traditional jungle food for us which involved larvae.. yes, I tried larvae... and no, I couldn't quite get it down. We then got jungle paint on our faces, feathers in our hair, and learned how to shoot blow darts. Toryn and I were the only ones who shot the dart through the fruit!

We then headed back for lunch and a little relaxation at the hostel before heading back to the Napo river to construct our own raft out of logs and rope. While I will admit, the guide and the boys did most of the work, I still found it really cool to say we were floating through the Amazon Jungle on a raft that we made. While on the raft everyone was pushing each other off and the current was really strong so it was really fun to just let the river take you. We also saw one of the most beautiful sunsets while floating on the river.

After dinner that night we were visited by a Shaman who, we were told, would cleanse the devil spirits from some of us. Four of us had little "sessions" with the Shaman which included sitting in a chair across from him and having him so a series of things. First, he would make all of these weird noises and wooshing sounds and would graze your face and shoulders with this leaf wand stick things (bad description, I know). Afterwords, he would smoke from some cigar and take your scalp and blow the smoke into your head. Things started to get a little weird when he appeared to be dry heaving (vom sounds) and would then blow the good spirits into your scalp. Of the four that participated (Me, Pat, Jon, and Toryn), Pat and I were told that we had bad spirits that he needed to release. It was a very... strange experience but definitely one I will never forget.

The next morning the group did a four hour hike but Beth and I, who had been sick that week, decided to stay back and rest more. This kind of thing is so unlike me but I just didn't have the energy. It was a great decision, however, and we napped in our beds and on the hammocks for four hours. After lunch we did about an hour hike/boat ride to this little village where women make pottery. Not gonna lie, very anticlimactic, but hiking through the jungle during the night was really cool. That night, Colleen, Toryn, Pat and I stayed up late playing Yukur, a game that I learned while in Nicaragua with Arrupe. Pat and I dominated which always makes the game more fun.

The last day we visited an animal preserve where we got to see monkeys, cheetahs, birds, crocs, and some animal that looked like a guinea pig on steroids. Our guide was one creepy looking cat.. I don't even know how to begin to describe it but, we collectively realized that all accents are sexy to girls except for chinese and german accents... I think this is true. Afterwards, we took the boat back to the mainland, then took a five hour bus back home. Pat and I played the Newlywed Game against Beth and Casey... we kicked ass but no, for the record everyone... we're not dating (just to end all of the speculations).

As I write this I cannot believe I have a week and a half left in Ecuador... tempus fugit.