27th May 2017

Yes, today was a special day. Firstly, obviously my birthday and secondly, the halfway point of my educational leave. Since I haven't had an easy time here in Ecuador, it was a joyful day in that regard as well.
I was curious to see what kind of celebration my people here had come up with. Messed, the son of Tzama, who also has a wife, house, and children of his own, hinted that there would be a dance party. Hopefully not, but if it were, ...
Well, it wasn't. In the morning, when I showed up at the tienda at half past eight, everyone who passed by wished me a happy birthday. I spent most of the time preparing a walking stick made of tropical wood, reading, and listening to Tzama's thoughts on the work of environmental organizations like Amazonwatch, Greenpeace, WWF, etc. Not much good. That will be material for another interesting chapter.
Throughout the day, one by one, Maria Flores left and eventually Messed and Nanki too. They went to Puyo, so there probably wouldn't be a dance party. Lunch was served late, just before three o'clock. Tzama's sister prepared rice and cebiche because Maria Flores was still in Palora. Afterwards, Tzama told me that there would be a birthday party at 4 o'clock.
I went to my dwelling, put on a shirt, and rested a bit. It took me exactly 13 minutes, with my walking stick, to get back to Mura, the house where I live. I measured it for the first time.
I was back by four o'clock but, of course, nobody was there. All the children were in the pool, and Tzama also came freshly bathed from the pool. Punctuality works differently here.
By the way, as Tzama explained to me this morning, the pool was a community project. They paid for the machine hours, a digger, for the workers' food, and for the rock material that had to be brought by truck. That's it. As cost-effective as possible, but with tremendous value for the community. The pool is a daily bath for the people, easily accessible, a recreational activity for the children after school, and a place where clothes can also be washed.
At half past four, the villagers began to gather in front of the tienda. The sight of the blue and visually adorable cake attracted mainly the children. I was invited to the center of the table and then it began. Anyone who has experienced a birthday here knows that many words are spoken first. Maria Flores started it, and it felt very official. I felt more than honored by her words, and I kept my speech very short. As they all noticed, I am not a man of many words, neither in my language nor in Spanish. But I am the one who feels honored to be a part of the community here, and I am the one who wants to express my heartfelt thanks. More speeches followed. Tzamarenda gave the longest one, and his words made me almost sink into the ground because I haven't done that much. However, and I understand this very well, it is the simple commitment without visible benefits, the connection between different cultures, that he appreciates. In conclusion, he said that he hoped their community could be part of my family. I have to admit that it is true, and I was already worried about what it would be like in two weeks when I leave. I can already see myself crying like a crybaby because this willingness to simply accept me in the community ... pure warmth.
Let's wait and see and enjoy the cake.
After that, during the discussion with the adults, it was about the environmental organizations again. My contribution was that I will write about it and try to propose it to some documentary media to report on it. In my opinion, information is the only thing that helps.
As I said, I won't write about the background here in the blog.

I'll do that later. What's going on there, where the money is going, which is being invested in projects in the Amazon, in the millions.

Then I made my way to Mura, prepared for bed, and was almost gone when apparently several people also arrived here for an ayahuasca session. It took a long time for it to be quiet because you still often heard someone spitting out their bodily fluids.
I think I will refrain from that in the future as well. It reminds me too much of the time when I tried to get rid of excessive alcohol with this method.