Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of an internet connection while in the Amazon Rainforest. So this is a pretty late blog post. However, me (Steven Menefee) and the other student leaders of the week - Leila and Samanta wanted to share a little something about Ecuador’s slice of the Amazon Rainforest with its beautiful sunny days where you feel like you can touch the heavens and of course beautiful rainy days where it feels like a love movie. The region of Ecuador that encompasses the Amazon rainforest is called, El Oriente. You may àsk how have we been getting around in the rainforest? Well, I took my first step into some mud that led to a huge river, (which reminded me of princess and the frog) and then into a long boat that could hold up to 7 people including our driver. As soon as we were seated with lifejackets on, we were sent on our way, zooming through the waves like a dolphin! All the while I was gently letting my hand run through the waves. I’ll let Leila explain what kind of service learning we did during our time there.
Floating away down the river in our primary mode of transportation this week!
Tom and his wife Charo hosted us and explained our activities for the week which involved planting a lot of trees primarily, bamboo, canela (or cinnamon), Araza (or the Amazonian pear) trees, and a medicinal tea plant called Guayusa. We dug out bamboo trees and put them on sacks. After that we left them next to river, so the indigenous Mirador community who needed the plants could get them and plant them in their property. One day we went to help them plant trees and we got done a little bit early and wound up teaching a little bit of english and learning some Spanish and Kichwa at their school!
There were also some days when we were not able to do any planting because of how much it would rain. On these days we did a lesson about oil in the Amazon and the economic reasons that drive Ecuador to rely so much on oil instead of trying to save the Amazon rainforest. We all got assigned different roles like Environmentalists, Oil Companies, Workers or Colonists, and the Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador’s Amazon. We also watched a documentary called Yasuni Man that was really helpful at understanding the history and current fight by the Waorani people to fight off oil companies from drilling in the Amazon.
We planted these trees and also flagged them so they could monitor growth!
On some days we kept planting even when it rained!
Steven and Leila roleplaying as environmentalists and Sky role playing as the Waorani during our lesson on Oil in the Amazon.
Introducing ourselves at the primary school in the Mirador community.
Since it is the rainy season, it was raining almost everyday. But we still had time for mandatory fun, like epic games of hide and seek, arm wrestling, or jumping in the river. We also learned a lot about planting trees and how important it is to wildlife and for preventing erosion. By now I'm sure everyone in this group knows how to plant a tree. We also got to do some activities in the afternoon when it wasn’t raining like visiting Amazoonico which Samanta will tell us all about.
Who could hold their breath the longest? Erickito!
Gaining muscles by planting trees and by arm wrestling.
During our time at the Arajuno lodge we got the opportunity to visit the Amazoonico Wildlife Rehabilitation center where they gave us a tour of the place. We got to see so many different animals and learn about how they were rescued and where they came from. We got to see an an anaconda, Tuscans, different types of monkeys, pigs, crocodiles, tortoises, tapirs, and a coati which is an animal that is related to the raccoon family. I learned a lot about some new animals from this tour and I'm sure the rest of the group did as well. We got to see all sorts of birds including parakeets. The parakeets we saw were very chatty and loud. They liked to make lots of noises. It was a great experience to see the parakeets because they would also repeat any words or sounds we made. Some people in the group would say Hola and the birds would say it back. Many people would whistle a tune and the birds whistle the exact same thing back. It was a very nice experience for the entire group. After the tour we got to look around at the small gift shop they had at the Rehabilitation center and see if we wanted to purchase anything. I got myself a bracelet that had a beautiful bird on it and my bracelet said Amazoonico on it. They were also selling plushie monkeys of different colors and some people of the group bought those and there was also stickers at the shop too.
Bright and sunny at the Amazoonico Rehabilitation Center!
This is the Spider Monkey that got the Amazoonico Rehabilitation Center started!
Near the end of the week we visited the Mirador community to do a Cultural Exchange with them. The people in the community greeted us and one of the people in the community who's name is Franklin got to share their knowledge of Plant medicine with us. He showed us the plants they had where they live. He explained what the plants were used for and answered any questions we had. After this, one of the women who is part of the community showed us how the women make a well known beverage in their community that is called chicha. We all got to try some of the Chicha drink that had already been made. Another women showed us where they get the natural Cords for the handmade bracelets they make.
They get the strings from a leaf and they showed us the process of how to get the string out of the leaf and they let us try doing one of the steps ourselves. The men and women of the community also showed us a dance that couples usually do together that involves the women dancing and chasing the man and trying to catch him with her hair, while the man tries to get away while playing a song on a women dancing and chasing the man and trying to catch him with her hair, while the man tries to get away while playing a song on a drum. They also showed us how a traditional arranged marriage would like in their culture. They showed us how they used to do arranged marriages, in the past but they no longer do this anymore. The Mirador community made us a meal for lunch and they really spoiled us with food which I was truly grateful for. We got to try some dead grubs on a stick which are some small insects that look like small chunky worms. They gave us a lot of tasty food to eat and we were all satisfied and appreciative for the meal.
After they shared so much of their culture with us, we did Henna with the community. Collectively we are from the US but have so many different cultures among us. Our OE Carol brought Henna which is a popular tradition in parts of the Middle East and South Asia. We shared this decorative and cooling practice with all the people of the community. We did Henna tattoos on the young kids as well as on the adults. I, Samanta, did henna on one person in the community and drew a small leaf. It was really nice to get to know more about their culture as well as getting to share with them one part of our collective culture as well. Of course, there’s things you can’t always predict whether its rain or getting sick but I’ll let Steven say more about that.
Every experience here in Ecuador is a beautiful site, it's everything I could ask for. With every trip I believe there's ups and downs and my down, unfortunately, was getting sick for 5 days. I had to take that beautiful boat ride out of the amazing Amazon to see a doctor in Tena where I was diagnosed with an intestinal infection and given antibiotics to help treat my illness. Thankfully, our OE Matt stuck with me in Tena for around 3 days till I had regained some energy and our OE Carol stayed with the rest of the crew back at the lodge.
Once I returned after 3 days, it was our last day at the Arajuno and at that - it was a nice hot day. The sun was beaming, the nice type of beaming where you can get a perfect tan and go tubing in the wonderful river! We had a wonderful boat driver take us down stream with some inner tubes. We docked at a beautiful beach where the sand wasn't too hot or too cold and then we threw our tubes into the water and floated our way down the river. To give you a perspective, imagine a lazy river where you just lay back and let the water take you like there's no care in the world. With me being a little dare devil I came across a few small waterfalls and you know I had to go down them so I did. I floated with no worry for about an hour down the river having a few small conversations with other people floating down next to me. If I had someone recording me it would be a perfect movie/music video. I wish everyone could live that experience with me. And to everyone who is reading this, we hope its a reminder live your dreams to the fullest don't let nothing hold you back. I believe in all of you.
Alice Yvonne and Leila trying to hold onto each other while tubing.
The Steven smile- which tells us he’s feeling a little better!