| Week 10 & 11 | |
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I just realized that I haven't written anything in a couple of weeks. There hasn't been too much going on around here to write about I suppose. This week started with a big party for Dia de Crianças (Children's Day). Children's Day is a national holiday celebrating kids. Stores and businesses are closed, and it is marketed like Christmas! The actual holiday was in mid-October, but we celebrated a little late. The party was held in the employee kitchen and about 200 people showed up from neighboring villages. There were putt-putt boats packed like sardines lined up at 8:00 for a 10:30 party. A priest came in and held mass. He was incredibly long-winded. The service was of course held in Portuguese. I could only understand parts of the sermon. One minute he was talking about blessing the children and working to make a future for them. The next minute he was talking about looking at nude pictures of women and filling your mind with pornography. I'm not sure where or when he made the leap from children to pornography. Looking around the crowd of people I suppose it was warranted. Every woman (let me rephrase)… Every girl over the age of 12 was pregnant or nursing. I was shocked by how many very young girls were pregnant. I suppose I shouldn't have been so terribly surprised…but I was. After mass, my school children sang a song in Portuguese, and another in English. Then they commenced with the feast. They barbequed chicken and made potato salad, rice, and farinha. There was also a huge 3-layer cake. Everyone with full plates and eventually full bellies appeared to be having a good time. After the food was gone (and I mean all gone, not a scrap to be found), came the important business of handing out presents. They had tons of little toys. Each kid received a coupon and then traded in the coupon for a toy. The kids had a great time. It was something to see. But more than anything, it was just hot! Scott has managed to get in a couple of days of fishing over the last two weeks. He of course goes during the week while I'm working. He's caught one 18 pounder, and a few little ones. He came home one day with a huge swollen whelp on his hip. Peacock Bass fishing is not like trying to catch a sand bass or a striper. You have to "jerk" a top-water bait to entice the fish to the surface. He held his rod on his hip all day as he "did the jerk." It got a bit sore. Some of the veterans out here duct tape foam cushions on the ends of their rods for that very reason. The next time he went out it rained all day long. It stayed either wet and miserable or humid and miserable all day. But I think he kind of likes the fishing thing. He doesn't ever turn down an invitation to go. My school is the same ole thing. Philipino and I just finished reading the first Harry Potter book. He loved it! We will read a few other things before we start on the second Harry Potter. It was a good incentive for him. It was a good way to hook him into reading. Two girls who work here have a seventeen-year-old sister who lives in Barcelos. Last week she was dancing at a Catholic church with a boy who was not her boyfriend. That night while she was sleeping, her boyfriend came in and doused her with a bottle of liquor and set her on fire. She was sent to Manaus, where she died a few days later. They had a funeral for her yesterday in Manaus. There have also been several accidents out here this week. One new guide hit a sandbar going about 30 miles an hour, and the two fishermen in the boat were thrown around. They were a little bruised up but not seriously injured. Another accident happened that was just a fluke. A boat going full speed (about 55 mph) in the center of the river hit a huge log that was floating about 6 inches beneath the surface. The boat cleared the log, but the motor hit it dead on. It completely ruined the motor beyond repair. The motor cover flew off and hit one fisherman in the shoulder and bounced on to the other fisherman's head. One was bruised up and the other had to have his noggin stitched up. The next day one of the guides poked his eye with a battery cable. It is all nasty looking, and he says it hurts very badly. The following day there was another incident with a motor and a log. This time seems to be negligence on the part of the guide. He has since been "grounded" for a week. The motors cost around $10,000 each by the time you ship them to the lodge, so this has been an expensive week. The guides have had a thorough, butt-chewing about safety every night this week. I suppose not thorough enough, or the last three or four accidents wouldn't have happened! The season is fully booked, so things are beginning to pick up around here. Anytime you have 30 people together there are bound to be people you like and dislike. For the most part we have really enjoyed the guests, but a few have been extreme jerks. I am able to avoid a lot of it because I just stay away from the Lodge. But Scott has taken on a lot of responsibilities that puts him in direct contact with the guests. Some people have worn out their welcome with Scott. The last group was a huge bunch of smokers and Yankees. Individually that makes them barely tolerable, but put the two together and…. We are glad to have a new group arrive today. We will have to go to Manaus one day soon. Our visas will expire on the 18th of November. We will go for a long weekend (I hope). |