Jerome Finds His Groove

A Jumping Stick, Not a Walking Stick

Wow, New Year’s Day, and it sure doesn’t feel like it. For starters, it’s usually a holiday in most places, but not at the Tambopata Research Center, and not with less than half the volunteers needed to do the work there is to be done. I awakened early with a terrible headache, and I hadn’t had an ounce to drink. It was, though, an extremely hard day yesterday, and I may have been drinking too much coffee. After first waking at 4 in the morning, I decided not to go to the clay lick and help Jerome (still feeling used?) and take two aspirin and go back to bed. Though I felt much better when I arose two hours later, it wasn’t till I had a cuppa that my head really improved, a sure sign that caffeine is giving me headaches.
Karina, shockingly not working early this morning, made an extra effort to talk with me, and twice approached me, the second time taking a seat with me after hugging me “happy new year”. She asked me what I was thinking, and I only then realized she really wanted to talk and find out how I was doing, what I liked, what I didn’t like, etc. I told her I wanted to do more clay lick, climbing and if my ears were better, transects and foraging surveys. It was great to finally be able to talk with her – not sure why we hadn’t been able to do it before, but language is definitely one problem.

This day was reasonably mellow, but very hot. I worked inside on data entry in the morning, which was boring but acceptible, I guess. In the afternoon, Jerome and I had been assigned to climb two trees on the island. One guide and her three female tourists came with us so they could see the chicks that we would be lowering from the nests. My elbow hurt from climbing the prior day, so I asked Jerome if he wouldn’t mind climbing both trees, and he was fine with it. (I think he kind of liked showing off his skills for the girls!) I got to do all the measuring and photoing of the chicks, and the girls enjoyed very much seeing the chicks as well.

On the way back to the resort, Jerome asked me how his English was. I told him I thought he had about 90% comprehension, but that speaking needed work. I pointed out a few things I had noticed, but told him I thought his accent sounded good. He also pointed out that he says “Sahnks” instead of “Thanks”, and told him he had to keep saying that that way because it was irresistable.

The guide for the girls asked the manager if I could eat dinner with the group tonight. Dinner was so much fun with Jerome quizzing the girls (two Australian and one American) about the way that girls think, and what he did wrong about the girl from southern California who ended up hooking up with the guide instead of with him! It was all very funny.


Rainforest Petals on a Trail at TRC