Have you ever asked someone to repeat themselves more than once, and when you don’t get it the second time, you just pretend that you did to not be a bother? Well, me too. That’s probably happened a good 5 times today, not at the fault of my wonderful host family, but rather, at my fatigue and worry that i will be a worse visitor if I am actually THAT incapable of conversing. On the morning of my first full day, I sat at the breakfast table as my host mom reminded me I was going to the chakra this morning. What i didn’t understand was that i wasn’t going with my host dad, but instead, with my 15 year old brother Cosmi. I figured it out when my family kept waiting for me to move; that, and Cosmi was standing at the door with rubber boots and a machete. The Chakra is an agroforestry system used by rural indigenous towns to live off their land communally in a sustainable manner. Basically, it’s a big rainforest on the side of the community that intercrops all types of plants. They’re used for everything from medicinal purposes, to food, to construction materials. Most families have someone go into the chakra at least once a day to harvest a couple of things. Cosmi and I walked about 10 minutes to the chakra, talking about a couple of plants and other simple things. We talked about our favorite fruits, and i revealed that I love the guavas and uvas here. Uvas are grapes, and here, guava means ice cream fruit, this long plant with pods of white, creamy sweetness. It’s difficult to describe a chakra, except that it looks like what you imagined a jungle would look like when you were little. It’s gorgeous, with many layers and countless different plants scattered throughout the forest. When we first hiked in, Cosmi immediately cut open a cacao plant for me to snack on. With these, you can suck on the pulp surrounding each seed, and it tastes like candy. I snacked as we walked only a few steps more to the uva trees. I was surprised to notice how high up the grapes were, at least 20 feet in the air. “How are you going to get those down?” I asked, and he stated, “i’m going up.” He told me to sit and watch as he does it. So I squatted on a nearby rock and gaped in awe as my 15 year old brother pulled off his boots, took a few moments to hug and hold the tree, and then swung his legs around to encircle and start scaling the tree. Once up the nearly 20 feet to the first branch, he pulled up a long bamboo stick with a kind of hook on the end that was leaning against the tree, and started using it to reach for the bunches of grapes on the far off branches. It was a fun game of trying to pull the grapes towards him and catch them. This was one of the first moments so far where I have been wowed by my host family. And I could write a book about each of my family members- my father, Bolivar, is a hardworking man trying to make ends meet for his five kids and three grandchildren currently living in the house. He cares so much about sharing his culture with me, and is reminding me to practice my Kichwa every time we see each other. Joel is nine, and both extremely silly, while also mature. He is always messing around and making jokes, but will never leave me in the dark. I’ve gone to the river with him a few times, which is so fun. I’m teaching him how to swim, and he’s teaching me every version of tag and hide and seek that exists. Yosalin, Cristi’s daughter, is one of the cutest little tricksters I’ve ever encountered. She’s three, and everyone calls her “la maestra” because I spend so much time with her, she’s basically reteaching me Spanish. Since Cristi has a newborn she’s constantly caring for, Yosalin and I like to spend hours together drawing in my notebook, counting her stuffed animals, or playing at the daycare next door. Each day she’s wearing a new piece of my clothing, either my watch, or my headband- I know better than to take off any accessory near her unless i don’t want to see it for a day. She shows me so much affection, and even when she starts to get on my nerves, as toddlers can, I miss her as soon as she leaves the room. Cristi is a strong young woman, taking care of two kids at my age, often making meals for the family, and still taking the time to invite me to watch novelas with her and chat about fun girly things. There’s so much more I could say about each family member, but I’ll save it for later. For now, I’ll lay out a typical day in the first week settling into my community: I wake up a little before 7, while most aside from the little ones have already risen. My mom, Susie, makes me breakfast and I eat with the kids or whoever else hasn’t eaten yet. If there’s no school, I play games around the house with Joel and Yosalin, or walk to the daycare for a change of hiding spots. In the afternoon, Joel and I will want to go to the river to swim. We may bring an insistent Yosalin, even though she’s too young to go in the water and will just throw rocks while we swim. In the evening, all of the family will be sitting around a bowl of picked and boiled Chonta to peel and chat. I may surprise them with understanding something they think I didn’t hear, or I may just sit in silence and find comfort in the home. Every family member takes the time to explain things to me, and have so much patience for my silly spanish mistakes and lack of knowledge. They’ve opened their home to me, and I know I will always have a piece of my heart and mind in their company. Not much else has happened thus far, other than a couple of day trips out to Tena (and feeling unwell- but I’ll talk about that later). Now, I’m feeling grateful and excited to know my community even better, and to get to work!
1 Comment
Mariam
2/20/2019 01:16:02 pm
I am SO sure that they are so excited to have you and are enjoying every moment of it. You are an ANGEL, don't forget that! The family sounds precious, and I'm loving these maternity vibes you're giving out.
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AuthorI'm a 21 year old university student, studying geography and food security, and spending a semester in Ecuador interning with Amazon Learning. ArchivesCategories |