The past 3 days I’ve been raking by myself for 4 hours straight. This time alone has been spent thinking a lot about my time here. I have less than a month left at the wonderful Un Poco del Choco. I’ve been reflecting on my 3 months here and wondering what the next month will bring.
It seems as though I’ve been here for much longer than only 3 months, yet that time has flown by. Jonathan, Jaimie and I have been holding down the fort while people come and go. About a month ago Zora came along. This girl was witty, adventurous and hilarious. She really brought us together – we’d all spend the afternoons chatting outside and the nights playing games, listening to music and just enjoying each other’s company. Then Nico showed up. He was planning to stay here for 2 months but ended up leaving after 4 days because “the weather didn’t agree with him.” The same day Nico packed up his 3 suitcases and left us, Eva arrived. Eva is an intelligent, Spanish speaking German who has fit in quite nicely here. A familial affect has come over our humble abode here in the jungle…and it’s really REALLY nice.
One of the best things about living with 3 biologists is learning all about the forest around me. Eva has taught me about a variety of crazy orchids – some with flowers that look like naked men, monkeys, bees, smiley faces and flies. Jonathan has taught me about the wild wild world of birds. I’ve even released several birds after he has weighed and measured them. That, my friends, is pretty snazzy. Jaimie observes most of the day. He sits in front of a plant for an hour and waits for hummingbirds to come to the flower. So from him I guess I’ve learned patience…although I don’t have much of that. I suppose I’ve learned that I’m missing a lot when I walk through the forest. He can spot flowers and animals that I completely miss. It’s easy to look with out seeing and to listen with out hearing. As in: I miss a lot.
Wilo and Nicole have helped me learn also. Wilo has taught me how to work with power tools, and how to manipulate wood and make really beautiful things out of an ordinary block of wood. Both Wilo and Nicole have helped me a lot with my Spanish. I’ve learned verbs like cojer, lijar, and picar. I think I’m getting better with my past tense and reflexive stuff…but that stuff still messes me up. DARN YOU SPANISH! Nicole has helped me realize how gracious and helpful a person can be. She goes out of her way to help us all and keep us happy.
The things that seemed like a big deal at the beginning of my adventure here (like spiders in the bathroom and hundreds of stairs to climb up) don’t seem so bad anymore. Specifically the spiders…in fact Jonathan threw a wolf spider at me the other day and yeah I freaked out but not as bad as I would have 3 months ago. Like I said in an earlier post: Jonathan is a lot like my older brother. Praise Jesus I’m an only child.
All and all, life is good.
EcuaCora 