maketai

Maketai means you're welcome in Achuar. I already have such a place for these people and their amazingly rich culture in my heart... I feel that saying "Maketai for this experience and sharing with me all that you do on a daily basis" is only appropriate!
Where can I even start? I have had some of the best, most enriching, most surprising conversations of my life this week. There is just SO much I didn't know, didn't expect, and couldn't have imagined that comes out of the mouths and hearts of the Achuar people.
I have not only listened to a generations old myth around the campfire, but heard story upon story as the campfire burned out of men and their journeys alone into the forest with all sorts of natural hallucinogenic plant induced dreams ad experiences.
I had the opportunity to talk to one of the most respected employees here at the lodge, who it is widely known and accepted that he has some Shaman (or ritual healer) qualities and talents, and he told me about all of his children growing up without their father because he is here working, how money has changed things for his people, how he appreciates what he has learned as a chef here and that he wants to pass it down to his daughters... all in a kitchen where we were both dripping in sweat as he fried plantain chips.
I listened to one of my students as he told me about the three day walk to his community from here. Even if he takes a motorized canoe all day as far as possible up river, he still faces an 8 hour walk to the next community to eat and sleep and then another four hours in the morning to his family and community. In 2010 there are people that WALK (and more realistic speed walk or jog) hours upon hours and days upon days to reach their homes. He was saddened at long it had been since he's been able to make that journey. He is the star English student here and is currently trying to finish high school in the closet center of civilization, as they say. So on his vacations form working at the lodge he dedicates himself to studying. He is 40 years old.
I met the children of one of my students who were brought here to be, for lack of a better term, babysat while their mother was giving birth (or in spanish literally "giving light"). It wasn't until that moment when this five and six year old could NOT communicate with me that I realized some of these men I work with are still the only ones in their families that speak Spanish and now they are learning English. Wow. Left unsaid that these cute little kiddos were left to their own devices for three days straight... jumping and swimming in a large river with a big current (not to mention snakes, piranhas, etc), running through the jungle barefoot, and watching the strange foreign girl to see what crazy thing she would do next!
One of my favorite people so far is my friend the bartender, Rafael, another one of my students. Now, you may be thinking he made his way on my favorites list because he is the bartender, but that is not it at all! It is simply because he takes the time more nights than not to teach me something. For example he is a self taught astronomy student and has taken hours out of his life to try to introduce me to the Southern Hemisphere constellations... which has been absolutely amazing! He has taught me Achuar language vocabulary many an evening after I finish teaching. Rafael has also taught me the card game that has allowed me to fit in here! As well as my first introductions to Ecua-Volley... all with kindness and patience!

I have also had the opportunity to become friends with some of the naturalist guides who are young Ecuadorians (mostly from Quito) who dedicate themselves to this project and working leading alongside tradional Achuar men the groups of tourists. They are super helpful in almost every facette of this experience. As I was helping one of them cleaning all the kayaks for the lodge (a learning experience in and of itself) I asked what I thought was a simple question "Why did Ecuador switch over to the American Dollar in 2001?" Little did I know that David was going to launch into the entire history and consequences... more so because he is/was an activist for his beloved country Ecuador. I realized quickly how little I knew about this very oppressed little country that I now find myself in! There was, as I understand it, basically a nationwide depression in the late 1990s and early 2000s and due to the government's issues all the banks went bankrupt and everyone with money in the banks lost it all! The government promised to pay back and when they couldn't, right before the president was ousted from office, he made the irreversible decision to change to the dollar so as not to have to recover the worth of his country's currency! I also learned that Ecuador has had 1o presidents in the last 10 years. Wow. One in every three Ecuadorians is currently living outside of Ecuador. Peru and Ecuador were at war less than ten years ago where yet more land was taken from the Ecuadorians.
There was an unofficial viewing of a new documentary to come out in the States this month, called Crude. It was an amazingly well done video on the problems with oil companies and drilling not only in the Amazonian rain forest, but more specifically here in Ecuador slightly north of where I am currently. It shows what could have and still might happen to the very land and people I am currently living with. I highly recommend any and everyone who is interested in human rights and/or what I'm doing at an ecolodge in the middle of the jungle teaching indigenious Achuar English... this documentary will open your eyes and explain a great deal of what the Ecuadorians are up against. I'm convinced they are a people "luchando" or fighting for thie beloved land, culture, and country. I'm not convinced that all my "facts" are straight or stats point on, but I am convinced there was/is A LOT going on here that many people are ignorant of... myself included.

On a lighter note, I saw the world's smallest monkey on a canoe ride this morning on the Postaza River!!!
"The Pygmy Marmoset, which lives in the upper Amazon basin in South America, is the world's smallest monkey and reaches 35 cm ( 13.7 inches) in length, including its tail, and weighs up to 3.5 ounces at maturity. "

I also got to see my very first river dolphins! Yesterday while swimming I saw my first one surfacing and blowing air... and then today a pod of them from the canoe! Not nearly as big of show offs as ocean dolphins, but none the less impressive and supposedly they have pink bellies!

We attempted the first all girl (three... myself, a housekeeper, and the other volunteer) volleyball team yesterday. We were sadly unsuccessful, but it was so fun and I'm learning! There was also a poor attempt at a soccer game with a girl on each team... what a joke! Between the humidity, beaming sun, lack of drinking water, full morning of work, etc.... it was a pretty hilarious (or frustrating if you were one of the serious guys) attempt! Finished off by a nice bowl of chicha (the yucca alcohol) and a jump in the river!

Oh, it's also Carnival here (well, not so much here here... in the jungle, but...) so I have had flour dumped in my hair and water splashed all over us at the dining room table! As I understand it, this is nothing... so we'll see how I make it through until Ash Wed! My class schedule is very busy right now as new employees just arrived from vacation, I have convinced the head administrator to take class, and have two new employees who have joined the ranks! Right now I'm at a total of 16 students and 7 hours of class a day! Pretty cool!

Love and miss you all and hope to take some more pictures soon! KK