Fun Fact No. 44: speaking of dogs, they attack motorcycles too! You’d think you’d be safe from packs of angry dogs when you’re on a motorcycle. Big, two-wheeled noisemaker with an engine. It scares me, but not very many dogs. I have been attacked by dogs while going at a good clip on my motorcycle. Luckily I do have speed in my favor. And if you hock a logy, it scares them. I think it’s the aggressive throat-clearing action that intimidates them, not the phlegmball.
Once again, I fell off the radar. Sorry, folks. I need to get out of Iquitos so I am going to Lima and then Trujillo with my friend Lissette's family. Or maybe I'll just go alone, because I need to get out of this place. I don't know that much about Trujillo but people say it's great, so I'm going to give it a whirl. And then we'll see if I don't just hop a plane to Austin. Just kidding! I am being very productive in my fieldwork lately, so I know I need to stick it out. Plus my motorcycle is better than ever these days and I really enjoy zipping around town.
On Sunday I went to Zungarococha Bungalows with my new roomie, Sandrine (a fabulously low-key, super sweet French girl who works at the regional government), Monica, Gloria, and my mechanic, Hiro Hito (yes, his parents idolize Japanese culture. His sister is Yuriko...they're creative people). Zungarococha is a beautiful cocha (or giant lake) a good 30 minutes into the jungle. It's perfectly quiet, no motorcycles and there's a raft in the middle of the lake that you can take a canoe to get to and then just dive off and swim. The water is gorgeous: cool and amber-colored, and it's just lovely. We bought tacacho (plantain balls) and juanes (rice, saffron, and chicken cooked in banana leaves) and ate on the raft and floated on the cocha. It was heavenly!
The motorcycle diaries continue, and they're arresting the guy who took the commission off the sale of my bike. The good thing about the drama is I met Victor (the step son of the old man who sold me the motorcycle), an extremely sweet Jewish boy (hard to find here) who is preparing for his Israel Birthright trip. Except it's different here than in the US. Because there are so few Jews in Iquitos, they have established a program that takes the Jews in waves to Israel after three years of extensive coursework with the aim of keeping them in Israel. It's not just a visit, it's for keeps (if they want to). This is the third and final trip, with about 200 Iquitos Jews going. The first trip was in 2001 (800 Iquitos Jews), the second in 2004 (400 Iquitos Jews) and now there are only 200 left. 98% of Iquitos Jews who go to Israel end up staying there, living in Latin American communities and working and studying. Victor was so excited to see the pictures from Jamie Freedman's recent trip that he is as ready as he'll ever be. He leaves in September and he plans on bringing his family with him after 6 months. It's neat to see him so excited about it, and so into Judaism.
Genevieve's friend Carla was here with her BF Oron a few weeks ago and how lovely it was to see them! It's so strange to have someone from Austin here, seeing what I see and living what I live. It was great to have them, if only for a short time, and they introduced me to their friend Andrew who is studying with one of the few female shamans out in BFE. Andrew is a playwrite from California who speaks Spanish very well and now stays at my house whenever he's in town. A really interesting person, and a nice new friend. Most of you know that I could use real friends down here.
Turns out my landlady's a jerk. She ignores our calls and pleas for repairs and she owes me S/. 75 for replacing the deadbolt on the inside door of our house. We repeatedly asked her for a contract or lease or something and she wiggled her way around it. The funny thing is that because I changed the deadbolt (the other one just broke clean off), she has no way of getting into the house. So I guess right now we're living rent free. And because I lived at the lumber store for so long, I have friends who can fix things that are wrong with the house for cheap. Kind of funny, but great because every penny I can save, I will.
Recent wonderful news is that my dear friend Mario Luis (geographer from UT to refresh memories) was awarded a TAship for this coming school year so he'll be in Austin. I want him to live at good ole Andrew's Apartments, because he'd be a great new addition. I'm excited to have him in Austin. He was afraid that he would have to return to Paraguay without an assistantship, so we're both pretty happy. Good news!
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