Rukullacta: Week 1 in site...

Ok so I'm here in Rukullacta.  I've been here for a week now.  What to tell you guys....Well I live in a really tranquilo site.  It's very quiet all except for the roosters, the occasional dog fights, and the blasting music from the neighbor at all hours of the night and early morning (thank goodness for earplugs).  I'm surrounded by green...green, green, green!  I'm surrounded by mountains and forest and the Sumako volcano is not very far; I can see it when I go to Tena.  It's really hard to describe what I see except to say that there are times when I stand outside mouth agape staring at the distant mountains and think...Damn, I'm so freaking lucky! 

So I'm going to be working with the Runa Foundation in Archidona helping with investigations in guayusa and who knows what else...my job seems a little vague at this point.  For the past few days I've been visiting the viveros (tree nurseries) to meet the guys that work there and help out where I can.  Unfortunantly everyone runs circles around me and at times I feel more in the way than helping but I know that will change with time.  I have also been going out to communities to help cut estacas (tree cuttings) for the viveros.  That is an awesome job!  I went yesterday with Silverio, my counterpart, to a distant community to cut estacas at his cousins farm.  We went fairly far out into the "monte" (woodlands, forest) to find the guayusa trees.  It was an amazing experience.  I'm out in the monte hanging out all day with a Kichwa family cutting estacas and listening to them speak Kichwa and attempting to speak a little Kichwa myself.  At the end of the day before we left the Senora of the finca (farm) asked me if I would like to have some chicha de chonta (chonta is fruit from this type of palm tree...I'm not sure if I spelled 'chonta' correctly I'll check back with you guys on that).  I'm not a huge fan of chicha...it tastes very different to say the least, but I wanted to be polite and show my appreciation for letting me follow them around for the day.  I drank as much as I could and after La Senora invited me into her house to see some of the handy crafts she had made from 'Mate' which is fruit they use.  They carve it out and dry it and use it serve chicha and other things in.  As I stood there admiring her work she asked me which one I wanted.  I was really taken aback.  She wanted to give me one of these beautiful bowls?  I was so touched by her kindness I didn't know what to say.  To be honest I didn't think that she cared too much for me she didn't speak to me very much while we were out in the monte working.  And now she was offering me this beautiful gift.  It was a really really great day.  I hope I have many more similar experiences....

Here are some photos of my new family.  These are just a few of the kids...

Baby Dillon and Will

Baby Dillon and Jessica

Me!

Jamil and baby

Maria Jose and baby

Maria Jose, Jennifer, y Yo!