March 6, 2015

After the long hike through the Amazon I definitely slept very well through the night and was up and ready to head to the local school in the morning. Children come for miles to attend the school and learn skills that would benefit them later in their lives as a resource for supporting their families. The children were so sweet and we all had a great time working with them. While all of us attempted to learn Kitchawa I also had the opportunity to work on my Spanish. I worked specifically with a little girl named Keyla. She drew me pictures and we wrote the words in English, Spanish and Kitchawa. After spending the morning with the kids, it was time for them to get to work and for us to leave. We went outside and many of us joined together to play soccer on the field. Sadly, my team lost but we had a blast playing. I was on a team with Mike, Kailey, Augustine, and Nate. We make a great team! Unfortunately, I broke out in hives due to Amazonian plant. Augustine’s wife gave a soap to try to take down the allergic reaction. It was this day that I realized I was really interested in the different approach to health care in the Amazonian region versus urbanized cities. Before dinner we watched the Grefas make baskets and bracelets. Their techniques were beautiful and very elaborate.