Immersion #2 - Shukshuyacu

Showing up at Shuchshuyacu

This immersion was a lot different than the last one I must say. In Shucshuyacu it felt like we did a lot less than we had done in Solo but it was kind of nice to chill out.  The first day we got there and we watched them finish the Tambo that the other group started, it was really funny to see them climb up this house type thing with nothing but one ladder that didn’t even go up to the roof. They literally shimmied up the palm leaves with a larger palm leaf on their back, they looked like bugs.  Speaking of bugs, the bugs were so much better here and I think my bug bites from Solo are healing, thank the lord. I was afraid I was going to come home looking like I had some disease seriously.  Anyways, on the day that we arrived we also worked on the community’s beowerta or their new garden.  It was amazing to see how community oriented they were because in Solo it seemed like no one was working together but in Shuchshuyacu everything was done together. The weeding of the garden went by really fast but I wish I had had a machete so I could have helped them more, I felt like I was getting in their way more than anything. After weeding we helped the community make Chicha which is a beer/alcohol that they make out of corn. It takes a lot of water, which they don’t have a lot of so it was really nice for them to do this for us and also for the ceremony that would be held the following day.  When we were making the Chicha I was able to help them carry water and I held the pot on my head just like the women do. They said I had really nice posture and although I wasn’t balancing it I think I could do it after some more practice. After all of our activities we ate dinner and packed it in basically after the sun went down. I think the first night was the latest one and we stayed up until like 9:30pm, real late! It was fun though without electricity because we all sat around talking and listening to Nick play his guitar and just kind of sang and stuff. It was a good bonding moment I think.

(I know Ed would be proud)

The day of “rest”

On Sunday it was more of a day of rest for everyone in the community but we started off the day with a ceremony of the new Apu getting sworn in. Although it was kind of boring since I can’t speak Spanish and had no idea what was going on it was interesting to see the emotions that were in the old Apu’s face and also in other people’s faces. I am surprised at how accepted crying is for the men of these communities, it’s actually quite refreshing. During the ceremony they had a toast with wine and popcorn, which I thought was different and we also go to try the Chicha that we made and it was actually quite good. I don’t know how much of it I could really drink but it was pretty tasty for what it was! After the ceremony we had a soccer game against the girls of the community. No shoes and not really any rules to be honest. It was an intense game but we won! So I was definitely excited. I scored the first goal which made me super happy. The other group lost in the soccer game so it was cool for us to win, even though I felt bad because the girls of Shucshuyacu were really upset. We had another game later on which was less intense and more fun but I didn’t play because I was so dehydrated. After the first game I walked down to this little spring to rinse off and that was the closest thing I had to a shower between Saturday and Tuesday. It wasn’t that bad though because we weren’t getting too dirty. After the soccer games we basically just chilled out most the day and it was really relaxing. That night though it was tough to stay awake because there wasn’t that much to do and I wish that we had a way to watch movies or something just to make it later into the night. I felt like I was sleeping way too much!

(Just a little friend I made)

Arts, crafts, and the never-ending party

Monday we woke up and were so excited to do the crafts because we had all been looking forward to it.  It was fun to learn how to make the Chumbe’s and some people got to learn how to make some pottery as well. I didn’t do any of that because I had done it in high school and I wanted to let the other girls have time to learn how to do it as well. After the crafts we had lunch and then started the going away party/dance.  We danced from 1pm until 7pm, I was literally falling apart by the time we stopped. I was already sore from the soccer game the day before and the dancing just made it that much worst. Many of the guys indulged a little too much on the alcohol and were kind of creepy but luckily we all noticed it and tried to stay away from them. There were more guys our age around towards the end of the party which was cool because it was a change from Solo who had all older guys and younger boys. It was fun to see the differences. One of the things that blew my mind is that there was a girl who was 23 and already had 3 kids, one which was at least like 7 or so. I can’t imagine have a child right now let alone 2 or 3. It is definitely a different life than what we are used to in the United States. It was a lot of fun to learn more about the culture though.

Coming back to Sachamama/Sangapilla

I am definitely happy to be back at Sangapilla and have running water/electricity. Though I am happy to be back here I would love to be home sooner than next Tuesday. I mean it’s nice to know that it’s only a week left until I am literally home but I am just about ready to head back. It’s fun and beautiful here but I miss home and all my friends and family. It’s kind of annoying that break will be completely over when I get back but it is what it is. It’ll be exciting to finally step back into JFK even though I hated that place when I was coming here, funny how those things change! Three weeks is a lot longer than I thought it was for sure but it would also be different if I spent three weeks in Cancun or something. Sometimes I think I should have listened to dad and went on vacation for these three weeks ;) but then I remember how much I have experienced here and learned from being here. I can’t say I would do this again but I’m happy I have done it, it is definitely something I will never forget.