I have to pee but ...

... I thought Id leave a post first. This is how much I love you all: a bladderful.

On my new family. Its the same family that I went with to the jungle lodge. The mom, I guess she likes me, invited me while I was staying out at the lodge to her home and family. Theyre hillarious and adorable. Theres a mom, a dad, a grandma, and four kids (one girl whos 16, three boys- 9, 15, 19). The house is cement (mostly ... I think it has one or two wood walls?) ... with a corrugated tin roof and dirt floors and its on one of the main city drags. The roof doesnt match up with the walls perfectly (its supported by wooden planks so theres a couple inches between), but they gave me a mosquito net so I wouldnt get munched in the middle of the night. My bed is as cozy as the hostel bed, but its quieter and I dont worry so much about the people coming and going.

My bedroom is a boys room ... it makes me laugh. The three oldest brothers share a room, and I have the bed of the brother who has gone into the military. Theyre artists, the boys, and they have decorated all of the walls and the door with graffittied names of girls, faces, marijuana leaves, and one lovely lime-green rendition of a hairy penis. When the mom directed me in there, she just kind of laughed and shook her head. Boys. The youngest one just hides any time I get near.

My bedroom-mate is Ekson, who was also my guide in the jungle. Contrary to what you would think given the wall art, hes pretty shy. Hes shorter than me and very round in the face-- I would have guessed he was younger than 19. When I asked about the girls names, he got very embarrassed very quickly ... especially when I pointed to the one above his own bed ...

Last night the mom worried about how dirty I was and wasnt I going to take a shower ... and this morning before I left she worried that I hadnt washed my face ... and when was I going to do my clothes ... and where was I going today ...? Mothers.

Love,
Me.