Fun Fact No. 65: Tourists in the Amazon are unfriendly. Strange but true. You smile or greet a foreigner here (and tis the season, so there are about a gazillion more than normal which means about 50 new people a week but they only stay for a few days before heading off into the jungle) and they either look the other way, pretend they didn´t see you, or just plain frown. Mean. It´s as if they think that this jungle experience is JUST FOR THEM and no one else. Well poo on you!
So I´m in this weird moment right now. I´m between wanting desperately to see everyone (and everything including an iced chai from Flightpath and some pad thai from Thai Noodle House) because I know that my departure is right around the corner and wanting to just stay here where I´m finally completely comfortable and in a research groove. I am between nostalgic and depressed and anxious and sentimental...it´s a weird place to be and I´m trying to juggle it all. I remember how difficult it was to leave Spain back in 2000. But I adjusted and I maintained friendships ever since (did I tell y´all? One of my best friends from Spain, Iñaki, is coming to Austin on September 10 for a week! Hooray hurrah!) as I know I will with my friendships from Peru. But still. It´s weird to even think about not driving my motorcycle, eating tacacho, seeing my friends and dancing with Explosión.
On another relatively personal note, I´m having troubles with my weight. As in, I weigh too little (due to a variety of factors including change of diet, constant heat, depression back in spring, and a recent stomach bug), which I know in theory is bad for me, but in a culture where skinny is good and a little paunch is bad (I haven´t weighed this little since high school but I still have a paunch as should any of the female persuasion and everyone points it out to me), I actually like being this skinny. I would probably gross myself out with this ridiculous adolescent weight if I were in the US, but for the time being I guiltily love it. But then I feel weird - I constantly think about my weight whereas in the states it was rarely an issue (only in the last few months before I left because I had gained a bit too much to still fit in my pants but nothing traumatic). I like food and I like eating but now I´m way more conscious of what I eat and not necessarily in a good way. Way, weigh, way, weigh. It´s no wonder English is so hard to learn. Besides the point, I know. Anyway, we´ll see what happens when I get back, I guess.
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