Monkeyin' around

“Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.”

For my last two weeks, I have been living amongst the monkeys, poisonous ants, and mosquitos in a village (more precisely in an animal refuge) in the jungle. At this refuge there were pumas, monkeys, and a bear, though I was working with the capuchin monkeys (there were also spider and squirrel monkeys that live in the area). We started at seven everyday, and throughout the day we cleaned three times, and fed them five (three meals and two snacks). Though it was work, and sometimes very hot, it was all worth it because we got to play with the little ones as well. At first I was shocked that the other volunteer in my section knew their names, I couldn't tell any of them apart, but by the end I knew not only their names, but also their personalities. Monkeys, especially these ones, are like humans- they cuddle and give hugs, they can be playful or calm, and they cry (and scream) when scared or angry. They are also all very different. Many of the males (especially the biggest ones) hates girls, apparently they are too macho like many of the men here. Because of this, there were many I couldn't feed or touch (I got bitten a few times, and my hair yanked out as well). There were some though, that I fell in love with. Pepe, a funny playful and cuddly monkey who was always sweet and wanted attention, and Dede, a crazy monkey who loved me, but liked to bite everyone else. Some of these monkeys were extremely smart, there were a few who would give you back their plates when they wanted more food for example. And, like in any community, there were the crazy ones. One, the biggest and meanest of them all, would put his blanket over his head and rock back and forth like a drunken man, and another one, who when you said her name and talked to her, would examine you closely while screaming (very loudly), just because that was her way of saying hello.

There were about thirty volunteers while I was there, some like me who were staying just two weeks, and others who have been there years. We would work all day, then go to dinner and drink at night, making the mornings a bit tough sometimes, especially after our huge Christmas dinner (which since we any started cooking after work, only started at 23h30). The most exciting thing besides the monkeys in the last two weeks was the fact that I finally got to ride on a motorcycle! Here, amazingly enough, taxis are motorcycles, how cool is that?

Now I am in Sucre, a beautiful city where I will spend the next month focusing on learning Spanish and volunteering in an orphanage. Luckily here I have a bed (unlike the straw I was sleeping on before) and the temperature is perfect, about 20c and sunny (with no insects! I have hundreds of bites from the jungle). I already love my home stay, and I even have a four year old sister and eight year old brother, whose goal is to teach me as much Spanish as he can, definitely the best Spanish teach I have ever had!