1. We live in an abandoned bakery.
It is a very interesting set up. We
have one big room where we all sleep which was used to store bread. It’s awesome,
we live in a room that is made to be fresh and cool!! The sinks in the
bathrooms opened with your foot so you would not contaminate anything, which we
had to fix before moving in. Right next to our room is a big open space which
holds an industrial size oven!
2. I hitched a ride on the side of
the street.
The driver ended up being the
judge of Picota, his name is Yuri. He is from Lima and had been here about two years.
He had air conditioning in his truck, PRAISE JESUS! It was the first cool air I
had felt in a week when I first got here. And above all if was a free ride!
Usually people charge about 4 soles per person, but he gave us the ride for
free!
3. I ride motokars everywhere.
A motokar is a hybrid of a
motorcycle and a wagon? It has space for three people in the back and a small
trunk to place your things. Which has come in handy for all the traveling back
and forth with fans, shelves, and I even saw people back there!
4. I eat mini coconuts.
5. I climbed up a waterfall.
We were in Sauce, a city that
revolves around a lake about an hour away from Picota, and we went on a hike.
Now, if you know me I don’t hike. That’s it. Anyway, it was a pretty big deal. We
went up and down and around until we got to this tinny waterfall and were all
like “that’s it?” and the guide goes, “no the water fall is over this
waterfall. Well, it didn’t seem tiny to me anymore. Cause now I had to climb
it! Well it went, half me holding on to a rope, half being pushed up and pulled
up. It was not graceful at all whatsoever, but I made it through!
6. I ride in the back of trucks, very
fast trucks at that.
When we head to Tarapoto to get
some groceries and don’t want to spend too much on a taxi, the cheaper option
is riding in the back of a truck. As
they go by, we signal them to pull over, get inside and headed out. The ride is
BEAUTIFUL! There were mountains everywhere and a huge river that runs for miles
beside us. We always have to hang on for dear life because they go fast. The
fun part is always the speed bumps!
7. I rode next to 2 chickens my first
time riding a truck.
It was scary people! The chickens
were hanging from their feet and were super close to me. We made a sudden
movement and they started freaking out and flapping their wings, so I started
freaking out too. Here’s the picture to prove it.
8. I experienced a city power outage
at night.
This one may not be as cool but,
it has quite a story. Andrea and I had traveled to Picota when we were living
in Buenos Aires, to the Priests house to get internet, take showers, and buy
some fans for our rooms. Once we got to Picota, we bought our fans and headed
to the priest’s house were we just relaxed the rest of the day. Well around 8
pm, when I was in the shower the power went out. The power didn’t come back for
a while so we headed home, and the city has no emergency lights. It was pitch
black! Thank God for cellphone flashlights, because we walked and walked in the
dark to look for a taxi. Just imagine two girls carrying heavy fans, a towel on
their heads, and no light anywhere. God sent an angel and a taxi stopped for us
as we were walking around. I mean what an adventure! We got home and 10 minutes
later the light came back on.
9. I HAD PARASITES.
This one is not as fun…actually it
wasn’t fun AT ALL! But, I can say that I had them. I got tested, and you can
probably imagine how that goes, so I’ll save those details for obvious reasons.
I had to wait an hour for the results and when I did I found out I had THREE! So
I began to take the pills, which were for seven days and it was baaaad… so bad
that I could barely eat for a whole week. Now I’m fine, but I’ll always think twice
about not washing my vegetables again!
10. I ate a worm! Actually, two.
This one is the coolest one I
think, because it’s what you expect to do when you head to missions in the
jungle right? I was walking toward a store to get a snack and I saw a worm in a
tree. It looked super yummy considering I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch. I
looked around and really, no one was looking, so I grabbed it and ate it just so
I could write about it now. JUST KIDDING! The one that I ate was cooked, and
not wiggling around! I was walking to a store and the lady that owns it was
sitting outside with her mom. They were snacking on chips and something else I couldn’t
make out. I asked what it was and she grabbed one and said it’s a “gusano.” She
put it towards me to scare me and I’m pretty sure I made a face of shock and disgust.
They both laughed and for some reason I said, “Can I try one?” which really, I didn’t
mean, but she offered it to me so…. I ate it and it was super weird, but not as
bad as you think! Later, Andrea and Dulce joined me and I had another one with Andrea.
That I did, just so I could say I ate two.
The adventures Jesus takes you on, right?
