This & That...

I’ve had a rash of “issues” lately with anything electronic and it’s making me crazy! I suppose the humidity is the problem? It doesn’t matter if it’s my $300 IPOD or my $3 Chinese-made travel alarm clock, they’re not happy and I’m not happy! I keep toying with the idea of buying a new laptop so I can Skpye and do other things which seem impossible with my current mini, first generation ASUS notebook (with a total of 2GB!) but then I think, “what am I thinking?” I know it won’t be long before some other electronic glitch occurs to rock my peaceful boat. None the less, I do think about staying better connected with the outside world and hope to find a way soon. On the other hand, no news is good news and I know if bad news happens, it will find a way to track me down.

When I first moved into my apartment I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! It was (is) so nice and peaceful with a surrounding garden filled with tropical plants and trees. Located right in the downtown area, it’s a great location to get anywhere I need to go plus walk to work in less than 15 minutes. During the night, the area got as quiet as any jungle lodge so what was there not to like!? Well, now a year and a half later, the party is over—well, actually, it’s just begun as in the surrounding block, three new discos have opened. These places are completely open to the outside with the music louder than loud plus it goes until at least 5 AM. The ordinances which should control this problem are simply not enforced. And amazingly, it’s not just Friday and Saturday night but most nights! Since I don’t use my air conditioning, which might drown things out a bit, my latest strategies are to wear ear plugs and I bought a new fan which is actually rather noisy. (Normally not a good feature but in this case a bonus!) Usually this does it but over this past weekend it was not enough. That deep level boom-boom, cut right through the house and into my bed and pillow. My last resort was to close all the doors and windows, which thankfully they have glass. This did make a difference but it was toasty inside. So my little piece of jungle in the middle of Iquitos has been breached; however, I still wouldn’t move anywhere else so bring on the music!

We had winter last week in Iquitos. For 4 days the temperature got to about 76 for a high and much cooler at night. I was in long pants, shoes, socks, long shelves and a jacket. It was a nice change of pace and good for sleeping but I was glad when it ended. I’ve started a new Spanish class from a regular teacher-tutor who speaks in English too. I have to say I hate the class and it’s taking all my willpower to stay. It’s not because it’s a bad class it’s just that no matter how prepared I am or how much I think I know, it’s never, ever enough and leave the class angry and frustrated. Learning another language, at least for me, will be one of the most difficult things I will ever do. I have finally settled down to watch on TV consecutive “telenovelas” where I’m slowly figuring out the plots. I may not understand it all but the Mexican actors are very easy on the eyes!

Question? There are a very large number of Brits living in Iquitos for one reason or another. I’ve met very few Americans. If all these Brits are here, where are the Yanks? What do they know that we don’t? And is a “gringo” only an American or anyone from the Western world—Yanks, Brits, Canucks, Aussies, etc.? Just wondering? :/

Well, I’m off to the jungle for most of the month of June to help with service projects and water workshops. It should be fun as several old friends/acquaintances will be coming with groups of new volunteers. Our water students will be back this week to do a little on the ground research about usage rates and other obstacles to using clean drinking water. Part of the fun of having these groups come in is they are bringing me, piece by piece, all the “fixin’s” for a Thanksgiving supper this year in Iquitos. Wasn’t there a song by Johnny Cash about taking car parts home from work one piece at a time? Well, that’s how I feel about this project. Coming this week is gravy, stuffing and Ranch dressing: Next up, cranberry relish and the makings for a pumpkin pie. I’ll keep you posted on the progress and ultimately the results.