Finally in the Amazon

The sound coming from the few dogs barking is easily drowned out by the screeching chickens from around the small neighborhood of Pepita de Oro (the little golden nugget). Since the first night I have been in this house, things have been the same every night, with the noise starting at2am and ending around an hour later. When I heard I was going to the Amazon I imagined what the movies show, straw huts, monkeys and poisonous snakes. The city of Tena has more people than my hometown in the U.S, complete with paved roads and buildings. The animals usually stick to the uninhabited surrounding jungles, although there are rumors the pond in my neighborhood holds a big crocodile that likes to wander at night.This new life has been tiring but very exciting. I’m typing this as my boss argues loudly over funds that could end a small cocoa business. A loud German ex-pat turns red in the face making the point that the payment would be small and unimportant. My boss counters that he only has so much money to loan and the payment would be significant for his division. The meeting uses all the chairs in the room. The secretary of my office and I end up sitting on the window sill, the small amount of wind slightly cooling us from the humid mid-day heat. She asks me to give her a quick English and I agree.