Holy moley guacamole...

So these past few days have been nothing less than INTENSE.  Went out in service to the indigenous area that is occupied by the native tribe of people called the Shuar.  Let me tell you what..these people are beautiful.  The language is extremely captivating from what I've heard.  So my roommate William Carache and I are talking to this group in their tent area that's covered in these leaves, and after about 30 minutes, they offer me this drink.  And of course, I didn't want to disrespect their hospitality, so I drank it.  My hands started to shake after ingesting the drink.  I shared a scripture in Spanish with them, and after about 40 minutes in all, we left with new friends.  I told my American friends that they offered me a drink.  They said, "Did you drink it?"  I said, "Of course!  Did you want me to say, Estoy bien?  You're crazy..."  Well, they said the drink is called Chi che, and it's fermented Yucca.  The problem is that the Yucca is chewed by the locals, spit into a tub with the masticated Yucca, blended up, then served fresh, saliva and all.  Oh happy me.  One friend here, Daniel, told me he drank it 6 years ago..and he was out for a week or so.  THE RUNS.  So, that evening, I went with a brother to a neighboring town called Mendes.  Right before his talk, my stomach acted up...and it was crazy.  But it was gone as fast as it came. 

So I'm good now, no weird stomach parasite...at least for now...

And this morning at 6 a.m., we slaughtered a pig.  A bessie.  A massive sow.  It pretty much was the most disturbing thing I have ever participated in.  The screaming haunts me...

But that town Mendes (mentioned earlier), was beautiful.  I milked some cows, harvested Cocoa (chocolate), and ate Suca de Canea (Sugar Cane).  Man..this trip is encouraging..