jungle and life

So i posted once on the jungle...it didnt save and i have not had the time/energy to post it again.

Jungle- I went to Iquitos with three other people from the program. Iquitos is the point in the old computer game Amazon Trail that you got to when you won the game...some of you are like OH Yeah and some of you have no clue what i am talking about haha. I spent one day in the city and 3 days in the jungle. I did not get malaria :) so life is good. I got to see anacondas, monkeys, lotsa spiders, and made a friend with a parrot named Pirata...he would wait outside my door waiting for me to play...super cute. I was sad to leave, the beautiful oxygen full smog free air was great. I cant wait to return to the jungle again someday.

So life since the jungle...I am continuing my research of health conditions in the poorer areas of peru. It has been a lot of work and have recently been seeing a lot of pig farms...which smell really bad. But the work i am doing is enabling authorities to improve these areas. My other research is now over and is less serious about a lot of underground life in Peru as part of a Spanish class project.

The end of the semester is coming closer and my final works are all coming to a close. Today I wrote 10 pages over how important a very unimportant movie called "Joan the Woman (1917)" is in the development of film. Needless to say my BS skills do translate into Spanish. One more 10 page paper to write and a lot of final exams left.

I want to travel to Cajamarca in the north. I will travel to Huanaco in the mountains with a Peruvian as my guide. And after my studies are done on the 12th, my friend Laura comes to visit me and we are going to Huaraz. She leaves on the 20th and I will return to Cusco to meet with old friends, bus to Puno and see the highest elevation lake in the world, and then travel to Bolivia and return in time to say good-bye to the host family and friends in Lima before heading home on July 27th. I am kinda dreading returning to the US I will not lie...I have created a life that I like here and hate to give it up. My goal upon returning to create a life that I like in the US and not a life that I have simply inherited or had cast upon me. I have always been unique but in a very beaten path manner...now my life is more of the roughing it though the jungle type without a path in site.

I have heard recently from a few people that they are actually reading this...makes me feel good that I dont just come on here and write to myself. Also, always humbling to put my political opinion out in the open and get the debate back. While heated minds create controversy, open minds create understanding and thats all I have to say about that.

Anyone that has a facebook is much more up to date on my life...I highly recomend that you guys get on that haha.

My level of Spanish...not sure how to say this without sounding arrogant...its good! I can shout my head off if a car almost hits me or get a number at a bar without a struggle. My econ professor likes me and I am one of the best students in the class among a lot of peruvians. My host family jokes with me and treats me like the son theyve always had. I get invited by peruvians to parties and among the loud music still understand the convo. I have no help, few people speak english. I feel like I have gotten to a point few spanish majors ever will with the language and when I get home and definatly going to my school's spanish convo hour every week for the only purpose of having the best white boy spanish in the room. I also speak like a peruvian...i use a french gargle on my "J"s and dont say half my "S"s i call my friends pucha and am not afraid to tell someone to cojate. Its very liberating, I am opened to a world that is closed to people that do not know the language and can move among a much greater part of the world without fear of communication. Speaches from Che have great moral meaning to me, I understand why Castro won the hearts of so many...and I see how Chavez is not the right path for South America. I love this soo much, that I might consider learning another language and placing myself out of my element in the future...french has always been interesting to me, german society is the most evolved in the world...u never know...to be continued haha

Also, the Star Trek movie was great...I bought it on DVD already and I loved it...just want to clarify...I was a Trekkie long before it was cool!

Also, my host mom is gone for the week to the jungle for a huge traditional medicine outting. Not sure if I have mentioned this before. My host mom is now publishing her 3rd book about medicinal plants. She is considered an expert on traditional plants and medical usage and is one of the world's leading experts on the issue...which is really cool that she is my host mom haha. On Friday, she had all of her hippy friends over and we make coca leaf offerings for them to take with her to the jungle...they were singing and dancing in my lil apartment...good times. But now she is gone to the jungle and the hostbro and I are living together for the week alone. He is busy a lot with his new girlfriend, and I am hardly home. We see each other at dinner at 8 and breakfast every morning. He keeps me up to date on soccer haha btw Peru lost to Ecuador tonight. Peru has a horrible team

While nice writing to you all, would love to hear back some news on the family and the lives of all of you guys. Will be home before I can believe it. Chau todo!