Gerbils

Fun Fact No. 5: You have to close your mouth on a motorcycle or in a motocarro (motorcyle with rickshaw thingy in back that is basically a taxi). This is so your teeth aren`t covered in dust and dirt. This may be common knowledge to most, but I learned the hard (and gritty) way.

Fun Fact No. 6: People in the Amazon shower at LEAST twice a day. No B.O. here because it´s so hot that you sweat enough to shower (well, sit on a stool and dunk water on yourself) pretty frequently.

OK, so I was asked to post a picture of a gerbil. Luckily, I took a before and after picture of cui, so here you go:

As you might be able to note from the size of this critter, they don´t have too much meat. But it does taste just like chicken (surprise!). Seriously.

Anyway, since I last posted lots has happened. On Saturday, I went to a soccer game (Iquitos vs. Pucallpa, a city about an hour away by plane). They have a great stadium here and it seats about 25,000 people. Cost of the ticket? About $3. And they think it´s expensive! It was a crappy game though - both teams have great players but they don´t communicate. At all. But it was lots of fun to eat popcorn and drink beer and watch soccer. I had FUN.

Yesterday it was COLD (like 60ºF or so) so Kirle (the eldest daughter) and I watched movies on my laptop. It rained all day and it was the perfect lazy Sunday. Then last night we ate pizza and drank wine and walked around the main square and shot the bull. LOTS of fun. Super relaxing.

Today I went to try to open a checking account and I can´t without a residence permit from Peru. So Mario Jr., as generous as he is, is going to open an account for me and give me the card. I can make deposits and I can use the ATM , I just can´t withdraw at the bank itself. Which seems like a great deal to me. Speaking of Mario Jr., he takes me around on his motorcycle here and there and loves showing me the city. I always have fun zipping around (even though I normally HATE motorcycles - but there isn´t another option here - there are very few cars) and we stop and eat ceviche or have a tall glass of fresh squeezed fruit.

On the home front, I think I´m going to stay with my family here for a bit. They have a gazillion animals including on dog named Laico who normally hates me. But the other day I came home and he jumped on me and started licking my face. I think we´re friends now. He follows me around and sits underneath my chair at dinner. He has HUGE ears and the sweetest face. Here`s a picture of all the dogs lined up sleeping in the hallway.

About the house: The house where I live is on stilts. It looks out over a cocha, or lagoon, that is actually dried up now. It´s very airy because it´s not like a regular house. It has big windows but no glass or screens or anything, and because there´s nothing behind it but jungle, it gets a wonderful , refreshing breeze. Since it´s on stilts, it´s just slats of wood for a floor and you can see through them to the ground about 30 feet below. The environmentally conscious me has a hard time just throwing the garbage down there, but that´s the way it´s done. You would think it smells, but it doesn´t, probably because the humidity eats everything up. Plastic actually decomposes here, if you can believe it. But I love the house. I´ll post pictures later.

OK, since the internet here is slower than molasses , I´ve got to sign off for my sanity. But More later!

Oh, and one more thing. Here´s a "before" picture, to chronicle my whiteness. I´ve been here just 3 days and I´m already browning. We´ll see what I look like in 10 months. Yes, I´m wearning sunscreen. :)