Here...have some bananas

So apparently my last post was popular with the ones who read it. Did not realize that:
A) My comments would be taken so much out of context. Totally didn´t notice that...but thank you to those who called me out on it...I miss you guys.
B) Aunt Sheshie knows/took jello shots?!?! Wow that one almost made me fall off my plastic lawn chair in the internet cafe. Well done.

Moving on. Sunday I was rudely awakened by Polivio, my host dad (who is dying to see a drunk gringa), at 6 am to go to the market. I was like umm can we wait a little...it´s not completely light yet. But no, the crack o´dawn is the way to go. So we rushed over there and spent all of 10 minutes in the market...all of that for nothing? But I guess you need to get there early to get the best pickin´s. We had fried frog legs for breakfast...yumm (and that´s not sarcastic...they are really good!)

Then Monica told me that my job was going to be in Zamora and no longer Yantzaza. Zamora is the capital of the province, about an hour bus ride away or 40 minutes by car. I was pretty surprised because she said I was going to be staying there, overnight. So I packed a bag and jumped in the car. We arrived at where I was going to be staying, with the family of the director of the Health Ministry for the province. First of all, his house has a name..Tzanca. That should have been one indicator of what was to come.

We get there and it´s like a mini nature preserve in a house! He has over 100 animals in this house and it´s absolutely gorgeous. His wife maintains them during the day while he´s away busy managing the health care of the province. Just fascinating the types of moonlighting that goes on here!

Anyway, I was in the kitchen with one of their daughters and in walks this danta which is this bear-like anteater type of animal only native to the Amazon. It was so big! I freaked out! She just calmly walked over with a potato and led it out! It was crazy...apparently it escapes every now and then. Luckily it hasn´t gotten into my room...

So I´ve been staying there and working with the Ministerio de Salud, helping out with some magazines/guides they want to publish as well as various health fairs. This week I just chilled and read a book, but I think it will deal more with what I´m trained to do (more PR activities) in the future.

Yesterday I went back to Yantzaza and stayed there for a meeting in the hospital. In the afternoon I went for a run. My usual route was changed as the road was no longer there, so I had to go a different way. As I tried to cross a ¨babbling brook,¨ if you will, a woman walking yelled at me to go another way. Well, long story short we started talking and I ended up walking with her all the way back to her house. She works in a finca or farm and walks 2 hours each way. I suggested she get a bike. She said that her husband wouldn´t let her because women who ride bikes suggests they want sex....

I´ll let you ponder that one.

We get to her house and she´s like, here...I want to give you some bananas. She takes a plastic bag and puts, swear to god, like 5 pounds of bananas in for me. She was so cool...we had a great conversation and afterwards I was so glad the road had been changed. Moments like that reminded me why I´m here.