Learning the subway system has
proven to be quite a feat. With all the transitions and the constant changes in
the subway stop schedule, it no wonder how newbies can get so lost in the city.
But lucky for me I had just recently purchased the one “cheat sheet” item that
has made my transition to the city a breeze… the iPhone. This particular day, my sister and I were
going to test out how long it takes to get from my apartment in Brooklyn to my
internship in West Village, Manhattan.
After typing in the address of my internship in a subway app on my
iPhone, it gave us step by step walking directions to the nearest subway and
exactly which transitions to make, and which stops to get off at.
I felt a completely different vibe
of my neighborhood as we walked to the subway stop early that morning. The
trash man greeted us with a tip of his hat and a friendly “good morning”,
strangers would ask us if we needed help if we had a confused look on our face,
and the sounds of Creole being spoken from one neighbor to the next was
intriguing and made me feel as enthusiastic to learn about these people as I do
when visiting another country. Only instead of a 15 hour plane ride I just had
to walk a block out of my apartment.
After fiddling a bit with the metro
card machine and receiving very agitated answers to our questions from the woman
working behind the glass at the station, Cindy and I hopped onto our train and
headed Uptown. The 45 minute train ride
was a long one, but far from boring. At one point I looked up at the artwork
placed above the seats and saw a picture representing everyday New Yorkers
riding a subway. Sitting side by side in the picture were tourists, punk rock
kids with short spiky hair, Europeans, Asians, Latin Americans, street
performers, business men and women, and hipsters drowning out the ride with their
iPods. When my eyes fell down from the
picture and onto the seats in front of me, I amusingly found the group of
people not to be very far off from that portrait portrayal. Cindy and I played
a game of how many languages being spoken on the train we could name.
Artwork in the subway
Cindy and subway riders dozing off
When we got off the train and
stepped into West Village, I instantly fell in love. Instead of daunting
skyscrapers and fast-paced crowds, my eyes gazed upon a village of cute
restaurants and tree lined roads leading us straight to the antique railing on
the steps of my internship. I was quite alright with the realization that most
of my time would be spent in this part of the city. I asked myself why I didn’t
try to find a place to live around here, and was quickly answered by the “For
Rent” sign on an apartment nearby with one too many zeros after 2’s and 3’s for
monthly rent.
After getting to know the area
quite well, Cindy and I met up with a friend for lunch in Time Square. We had
seen time square from one angle the day before, and were surprisingly
unimpressed. It was just a building with ads. However, after being directed to
the CORRECT side, I found myself wanting to spin in circles to take in the
whole site.
Time Square
In a large area made just for pedestrians, I spotted various people
dressed in Disney costumes, Statues of Liberty characters, and street
performers dotting the huge group of tourists snapping pictures like their life
depended on it. We walked farther and a door of a building opened slightly
revealing a glimpse of a giant Ferris wheel. I looked up to see the sign “Toys
R Us” and Cindy and I raced through the revolving doors to witness the mini
amusement park inside, complete with a giant Ferris wheel.
Outside
Inside
From door to door, we “revolved” into the most
interested places including a giant lego store, candy bar, and the infamous
Rockefeller building. After a tour
through NBC studios and a much needed iced-coffee energy boost, Cindy and I groggily
took the subway back home.
Picking our feet up one after
another up the outside stairs to my apartment proved to be torturous on our
sore calves. I fumbled tiredly with the
keys, and was briefly distracted by a group of girls coming around the corner yelling loudly and
playing. Or so I thought, until I felt a nudge from Cindy to hurry up. As the
group got closer I began realizing what I thought was playful banter was
actually obscene threats. A fight was about to break out right on the corner.
Cindy and I hustled inside and bolted the door behind us. Once safely away,
instead of turning on the TV we sat in the living room with the perfect view to
our very own “Real World: Brooklyn”.
Sitting with our knees pulled up to our chests and occasionally pulling
back the blinds to get a better view, I mentioned to Cindy that those girls had
to be no more than 14 years old. She looked at me and replied, “Yea, but Annie
- they could probably beat up our dad.”
From living in the Brazilian Amazon
to moving to New York City, I was told I would experience a true
jungle-to-jungle lifestyle.In the 3
short days since I moved in, hiking through the Amazon seems like a walk in the
park in comparison to the hustle and bustle of this city. The journey from
Tampa to New York may have only been a 19 hour car ride, but I feel as if I am
in a foreign country halfway across the world. With wide eyes, a racing heart, and aching
feet, I have tried not to blink for fear of missing out on seeing so many new
things.
Three days ago, my hands were
tightly gripped on the wheel as we were approaching the city. My eyes wanted to
wander to take in everything as we turned on the first road in Brooklyn, but I
had something more vital to focus on. I was getting my first taste of New York
driving and was quickly learning how to weave in and out of cars double parks,
pedestrians running across the road, and impatient honkers behind me. At every
stop light I took advantage of the break from road concentration and was
surprised to see such an eclectic amalgam of cultures represented amongst the pedestrians.
The most prominent group in that
particular area was a Jewish community. Women walked across the streets in long
black skirts and men proudly marched in their black suits and top hats, with
short haircuts, except for the two curly strands of hair falling from either
side of their hats. Cindy tried to point out the hair style to me, but for lack
of better word – referred to the men’s curls as “doodly-doos”. I loved seeing
the little boys walking around in their miniature suits, and miniature
“doodle-doo” hairstyle.
A honk startled me out of my
cultural fascination and it was back to the real world of driving in the city. I
felt as if I was in a Mario kart game, if only I could have just power boost my
way through the traffic. It took almost 20 minutes to get 4 miles from the
interstate to my new apartment.As we
drove closer to my street, the buildings began gradually jading.The supermarkets transformed into small
corner grocery stores with handwritten signs in the windows stating “We accept
Food Stamps”.A woman on the sidewalk
distracted us with her flailing arms in some sort of confrontation with
presumably her husband. Her eyes were bugged out as she shouted loud
profanities which we could hear clearly despite our closed windows. When my GPS
finally announced “I had arrived at my destination”, I looked to the left and met
the gaze of a group of hoodlums in wife beaters and flat bill caps, chilling on
my apartment steps. I suddenly regretted
not bringing along my Bon Qui Qui Halloween outfit so I wouldn’t stick out so
much.
As I pulled my luggage up the steps
with the help of my parents, I was greeted by silent stares from my new
neighbors. I felt overwhelmingly unwelcome, until I spotted my new roommate
leaning out of the window waving down with a warm smile on her face. Once
behind the bolted door, I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful apartment with a room
bigger than I had imagined. My roommates were
incredibly friendly and I liked them immediately.
One from Brooklyn and the other from Trinidad, they informed me that the
majority of people in this part of town are from Trinidad and Haiti. They told
me it was a safe place to live as long as I don’t get stuck in the wrong part
of town at the wrong hour of the night. They also warned me to be aware that my
16-year-old face and Southern mannerisms (meaning smiling) definitely make me
stick out, not only in this part of town – but in every part of the city. I was
going to have a lot to learn.
At a tie for 10th, I thought Trampled By Turtles
and Two Door Cinema Club were equally incredible… although very different
genres.
We walked up to Trampled By Turtles a little late, but got
there just in time to see the front crowd in a full on hoedown. The best way I
can describe their music style is a modern day blue grass, and that fiddle and
banjo combo will get your feet moving. At times the beat goes so fast, you
could hardly see their hands strumming. This band is from Minnesota, but they
have been traveling everywhere and will be playing at Lollapolooza in August!
I had never heard of Two Door Cinema Club before, but
decided to check them out at a friend’s suggestion. We sat pretty far back, but
as soon as the band started playing their first song our eyes widened at the
impact they had on the crowd. We had to move as close as we could before they
ended their set. My favorite song by them had to be “Something Good Can Work”.
It was incredible live and is one of those songs you could blast in your car
and find yourself using your steering wheel as a drum set.
9. The Alabama Shakes
Playing on Thursday night, this was the first band we saw…
and what a way to start off the Bonnaroo experience. This band is such a unique
mix of music style of rock and soul, but what really hooked me was the band’s
look. From a pretty far distance back, I imagined the lead singer to be your
everyday male rocker with skinny jeans and long hair. Imagine my surprise when
the crowd parted and I see a younger Diana Ross look-a-like with a curly afro
and glasses absolutely rocking out on her electric guitar. Wearing a flowery
shirt and pink pants, she didn’t care at all to change her look to be the lead
singer of a rock band. And with a voice like that, she quite simply didn’t need
to.
8. Temper Trap
I knew this band from their hit “Sweet Disposition”, which I
had heard on a Chrysler commercial back in the day. The electric guitarist in
this band was so entertaining to watch. Wearing a beret and crazy printed
shirt, he was getting so into the music he would sway back and forth whipping
his long blonde hair all around. But the
real draw of this band was the lead singer’s incredible voice. He could so
effortlessly hit some of the highest notes that at times I would confuse his
voice for the melodic synthesizer, it was that flawless.
7. Childish Gambino
It was a very last minute decision to see this rapper, but
he made a lasting impression. He apparently is also an actor from the show
“Community” and his comedy act and acting expressions gives him the edge over
so many other rappers I have seen perform live. His lyrics are all written in
clever wit, and his “Childish” face is so entertaining to watch as his eyes get
really big and excited as the lyrics start going faster, I couldn’t help but
compare him to a grown up “Lil P-Nut”.
6. The Stooges
While we were strolling through Centeroo taking a break from
the concerts, we see in the distance a crowd of people coming towards us. A
brass band blasted by us and a good crowd of people began following them,
including us, as we all paraded through the grounds. The band finally stopped
in the middle of the vendor stands and started jamming out some Jackson 5 and
everyone was dancing right in the middle of it all. Little did I know this was
an actual band from New Orleans called “The Stooges” that had apparently played
earlier in the day. The fact that this band was so pumped to make sure as many
people as possible had a good time listening to their music that they took the
show outside of the stage well after their concert won me over.
5. The Joy Formidable
Having not heard a single song of theirs before, I told
myself I was going to download their whole album after this concert was over.
This band is from England, and their main singer was a 5 foot girl with short
blonde hair wearing a dress and a punk rock attitude. Every single one of their
songs had such an intense guitar section that blasted through the speakers and
pumped up the crowd. During their last
song, the guitar player started jamming out and slid down to his knees to play,
then he jumped up and grabbed the drum sticks which he started chucking every
which direction. To make up for the lost drum sticks, the lead singer started
using her own guitar to hit the symbols on the drums. The energy in the tent
was unheard of as the band finished their final note and threw their guitars to
the back of the stage letting them crash on some speakers and walked off.
4. Foster The People/Silent Disco
Mark Foster is a born entertainer. With a stage set-up
looking like something out of “Legends from the Hidden Temples” the lights, the
music, and the energy of Mark Foster all combined made it impossible to tear
your eyes away from the big screen. I came into this concert only having heard
“Pumped Up Kicks” and came out of it with at least 5 new favorite songs. Every
single one of their songs has such a catchy upbeat melody it is hard to not
want to put them on repeat. Even though Pumped Up Kicks was an incredible song
live, with Mark Foster jumping off the stage and into the crowd, the best song
in my opinion was one called Houdini.
But the show was far from over, later that night we got word
that the silent disco was being DJ’d by Mark Foster himself. After waiting in
line for a stunning 2 ½ hours, we got an up close and personal experience with
only 300 people on the dance floor dancing like crazy to music that could only
be heard by them. After his time at the
disco ended, Mark Foster ran over to another small stage by the fountain to
play along with a band I had never heard of. He went from one thing to a next
energized by the music and the crowds.
3. Skrillex
If you had told me a few weeks ago that I would be in the
pit, front and center of a Dub Step concert I probably would have laughed. I
had always thought of Dub Step as more of a headache than music, but that just
goes to show you can’t write anything off until you experience it for yourself.
The Skrillex show was one of the most incredible performances; every single
person in the crowd was dancing. Before Skrillex even came on stage, the energy
was sky high. As we walked into the pit area, we found ourselves being pushed
by a crowd trying to squeeze into the tiny passage way that led to the front
rows. The security guards were screaming at everyone to put their hands up so
they could check our wristbands. We struggled through and found ourselves maybe
3 rows back from the empty stage with a giant space ship. Then a countdown
began, and out from behind the space ship comes out Skrillex. The crowd was
screaming as he climbed into his ship, the lights all on him, and then he
played his first beat. With that one beat my breath was literally taken away.
The hairs on my arms and top of my head were vibrating, my teeth were
chattering with the vibration, and the impact of the bass knocked my breath
away. My friend Linda and I just looked at each other with wide eyes wondering
what was about to come next, and were answered with a show that was so high
energy and intense, we never knew where Skrillex would take it next. As he
would build up the momentum, the crowd calmer at first, but as the beat grew
gradually faster and faster, until finally Skrillex turned it up to maximum
volume. At that moment the crowd would throw thousands of glow sticks into the
air which would fall back down and look like little fireworks exploded right
over the crowds heads. After the concert was over Linda and I walked back to
the campsite so energized, and so very deaf. We had to scream to one another
even though we were standing right next to each other, but no worries after a
couple hours – the ringing stopped and our hearing came back.
2.Dispatch
Even though hadn’t played live or come out with a new album
for years, but their songs had withstood the test of time because everyone in
the crowd was singing at the top of their lungs. And even if you had never
heard a single Dispatch song before, it was so easy to learn as you go and sing
right along. During the song “Elias” I was even surprised to hear how many
people in the crowd knew the words to the introduction, which is in a different
language. Then as the song hit the chorus everyone held up their hand and
reached out to the stage. But my favorite song they performed live had to be
Flying Horses, which got everyone dancing.
1. Fun.
In my opinion, there was absolutely no question that Fun. was
the best concert of Bonnaroo. For a band that is fairly new, with only one hit
on the radio, the fact that most of the audience was singing along to every
single song says a lot. I just heard of Fun. a couple months ago, and after
curiously youtubing a couple of their songs, I couldn’t find one that I wasn’t
absolutely obsessed with. The lead
singer’s voice has such a unique sound, and even his normal talking voice was
unique. I have a feeling this was his first concert in front of that many
people, because you could tell he was so humbled by the crowd’s enthusiasm. At
one point in a song he stopped the music for dramatic effect, and the crowd
started cheering so loud he had a hard time starting the song again because he
just could not stop smiling. Of course a huge crowd favorite was when he
started singing “We Are Young”, and at least 15 people started crowd surfing at
various parts of that song. It was so hysterically ironic that as the crowd was
singing the lyrics “I’ll carry you home tonight” they security guards were literally
carrying crowd surfers out of the stage area. I honestly cannot pick a favorite
song that they performed because every single one of them was incredible, but
if I had to pick one that made the biggest impression… it had to be the band’s
encore. Yes, Fun. was the only band I had seen during the entire festival that
received a chanting encore which brought them back out for one more song. They performed a cover of the Rolling Stones
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and the audience went crazy. It would not
surprise me in the least bit if by next Bonnaroo, Fun. will be a headliner.
We pulled the car into our camp
spot and I peered out the window through the hundreds of tents, trees, and cars
lining my view - trying to get a grasp on what Bonnaroo was about to be like. As
I hopped out of the car I had to jump aside quickly as I realized I had walked
right in front of a moving golf cart. There was no angry honking, however. Instead
as the cart cruised by, the man sitting in the back with long black hair and aviator
sunglasses smiled and gave me the peace sign. At that moment I knew I was going
to like it here just fine.
Our campsite
How did
I get to go to Bonnaroo? Well my friend Linda works for a news station in
Knoxville that was covering the event, and I got to be her plus one!
Sam shooting some interviews for News Channel 6
This was incredible for so many reasons. The first reason
was of course the free ticket, the second reason was the amazing company of my
friend and her reporter Sam, and the third reason was the fact that our press
pass tickets allowed us so many amazing benefits. Not only was our camp site
right next to the main Bonnaroo grounds and stages, but the press pass also
allowed us into the press tent area. In this area they had free water, plugs
for your phones, and a tent where band members would come to be interviewed. The press interviews were open to all who had
a pass, so it was during one of these interviews that I got to meet the actress
Kristin Bell!
Kristin Bell at Press Tent
Kristin
was there to promote her new movie, which was being shown in the cinema tent of
Bonnaroo. I had never actually met a famous person before, so right before I
tapped her on the shoulder to ask for a picture, I realized how badly my hands
were shaking! After we took the picture she asked me what my name was. I
nervously said “Annie” and then told her that I loved her sloth video. As soon
as the words left my lips I instantly felt regret. I had seen a video of her on
the Ellen show where she cries after her husband gives her a pet sloth. But why
I thought she would know what I was talking about when all I said was “your
sloth video” was beyond me. After a brief look of confusion, she thankfully started
laughing. Either she realized what I was referring to, or she was just that
nice to pretend like she did!
But
besides all the incredible bands at Bonnaroo, one of the coolest things about
the whole festival was the community they built right there in the Manchester
farms. One morning while Linda and Sam got up early to do some interviews, I decided
to explore the area of “Centeroo” as they call it. The first thing I stumbled
upon was a morning yoga session. Hundreds of people were laying in the grass
following the yoga instructions of the person on the stage. It was very
relaxing just to be able to stretch out on the soft grass.
Then I
walked over to the rows of food stands by the ferris wheel. There was not a
Subway or McDonald’s in sight. All of the food stands there were owned by
private businesses or families, and there were so many healthy choices to
choose from.
Just a
little further down from the food stands was this tent with 5 or 6 gongs
forming a circle. People would sit inside the circle and the owners of the tent
would start lightly banding on the gongs. Apparently this was a form of
meditation and relaxation.
Since
Linda and Sam had a hotel in Murfreesboro, we ended up spending our nights
there. We always meant to camp, but by 2 or 3 in the morning a shower and a bed
sounded too good to pass up. It ended up being a good thing because the showers
in Bonnaroo cost $7 per shower, and the lines are always ridiculously long. By
the end of Bonnaroo people even resort to washing off in the fountain in
Centeroo.
Washing off the Bonnaroo dirt!
The “people-watching” had to be the
most entertaining thing about Bonnaroo. Most were dressed according to the
weather… bathing suits, shorts, and tank tops. But every now and then you would
catch someone dressed in a crazy get-up. We saw everything from Gumby costumes,
to Where’s Waldos, to fairies and dragons. The most entertaining costume we saw
was a guy who had falling asleep by a tree wearing a unicorn mask. So many
people would stop to pose with him in a picture. I wonder if he even noticed.
The people at Bonnaroo were some of
the most interesting and friendly people I have ever met. It was so easy to
walk around and make 10 new friends from all over the country, and even some
from abroad. One morning I decided to go around and ask random people where
they were from and who they were most excited to see play. With the level of
friendliness at Bonnaroo, most of the people actually came up to me! I talked
to quite a few people who had driven 19 hours or more from Boston, New York,
and Philadelphia just to see this music festival. With some of these people
suggestions, I discovered some amazing bands I had never heard of before.
The town of Carrezero is unique. As our boat was approaching
the riverside community, I realized I had never seen anything quite like this
place. The houses were lined up side by side, safely situated above the water
by four wooden poles being used as stilts for each house. As our boat floated by, house after house
after house came into view, a half-a-mile stretch of wooden houses. But as we
got closer I realized not all were houses – some were
stores, others churches, still others bars, and at the end of the stretch was a
large school. What we were approaching was a community created right on the
border line between the Amazon River and the rainforest, and it was all
connected by one long bridge. And as for
transportation, besides the bridge, everyone traveled by boat or canoe.
The riverside town of Carrezero
I had a feeling a town as unique as this would provide a
unique experience for us. What I didn’t realize at the time was that each
curious resident of Carrezero was thinking the same thing as our boat full of
foreigners approached. As for their unique experience, I did not let them down.
Only two hours later I found myself trapped on the dock with my camera in the
middle of a timelapse, and a downpour quickly approaching. I only had a couple more minutes left until
my timelapse finished, as I held a little umbrella over my camera and
unsuccessfully tried to cover my back with a blanket that was only getting more
soaked by the minute. The people of Carrezero found the sight humorous.
Later that night we interviewed a man in the town church. The
sun had gone down quickly, and we found ourselves in the old building with very
little light. The scene was almost eerie, and it didn’t help when the man we
were interviewing began telling us stories about the legend of the Curupira.
The Curupira is a creature that is said to live in the rainforest. Its purpose is to protect nature and the animals
of the forest. It is a placid creature – until people come into the forest with
intent to harm nature or engage in the overkill of animals, to which it
responds with trickery or aggressive behavior.
The Curupira is about the size of a child, and covered with black hair.
Its feet are turned backwards, and it uses its backwards footprints to confuse
people into getting lost in the forest. You know it is nearby when you hear its
shrill whistle.
Just as the man began telling of his personal encounter with the
Curupira in the forest, the door of the church began to creak and slowly opened.
A shadow the size of a child materialized. We all froze and looked on as the
shadow came closer to the dim light, walking slowly. When the shadow finally
came into the light, we realized it was my mother, tip toeing to the first church
pew so as not to disturb the interview.
After we were done, we all walked back to our boat just as all the
electricity went off. The generator that provides power for the town shut off
precisely at 10 p.m.
After a night of hearing ghost stories and legends of Amazon
creatures, the events that occurred the next day could be classified as nothing
less than ironic. The archeologists had finally found success discovering
archeological sites in the rainforest, they had stumbled upon three thus far,
and the last discovery would have been the perfect setting for a horror story:
In the middle of the town’s main dirt road leading into the forest, they found
the remains of a person, a human skull thousands of years. And not only that,
the archeologist discovered five more buried vases containing human remains. They
had stumbled upon an ancient burial ground.
The ancient skull buried underneath the dirt road
Unfortunately, I could not stand up long enough to share in
the excitement of this discovery. For some reason, that morning I woke up
feeling like something wasn’t right. That odd feeling gradually grew into a
horrible headache and uncomfortable stomachache. This feeling grew worse by the
hour, and by the time the archeologists had made this discovery, my legs felt
like they were about to give out. Every inch of my body was in pain. I felt as
if my entire body had gone numb, and become stuck in that “pins and needles”
phase, where every little movement hurts. Even the gums of my teeth were
tingling in pain. I stumbled back to the boat and fell into my hammock, not
moving until our boat docked back in Gurupa, ending our five-day “camping”
trip. By that time I had a high fever yet was shivering from a cold sweat in
the middle of the Amazon heat.
I stumbled back to our hotel room, hit the bed, and was out
in a deep sleep. The last thing I remember was my mom talking to my sister on
the phone, and my sister saying I had signs of Danghai fever.
When I woke up, it was dark. I asked my dad what time it was.
“It is 6 o’clock” … “In the morning?” … “No in the evening”. I had slept for 24
hours. My fever had broken. This ruled
out Danghai fever, which usually lasts for weeks. I must have caught a less
severe tropical fever from one of the children in the interior. Nevertheless, I
felt weak and sore. I used the little strength I had left to pull myself to a
sitting position. I looked at the bruises on my legs, the bug bites all over my
arms and legs, and the seemingly incurable dryness in my throat from
dehydration. I was absolutely spent, driven to the final ends of my strength by
this journey. Yet I was happy to have experienced it – fever, bites and all.
When we woke up in the boat after the storm, everything was soaked. My mom said that there had been a leak in the roof above her the whole night, and she lifted up her hammock with a huge wet stain on it. I jokingly asked her if it truly was a leak, or she got scared during the night and had an accident.
While everything was laid over the edge of the boat to dry in the sun, I decided to go for a swim in the river. A small boy saw me swimming and ran to jump off the wooden dock, splashing into the water next to me, excited to have someone to play with. I was weary where I put my feet as we waded deeper into the water. The mushy Amazon mud was foreign to me, and I didn’t want to step on anything else foreign that might bite back. My playmate didn’t seem to share this worry; he was splashing and playing and trying to taunt me into racing him.
I swam with him to a giant floating log, happy to grasp onto it and get a short break from swimming. But he had other ideas; he hopped onto the floating log and started walking in place. The log began to spin in the water – the. Soon he began running on the log. As soon as he felt a little off balance, he jumped into the river and resurfaced laughing at the game he created.
He began to climb up the log again, and looked back at me wondering why I wasn’t joining him. He had made it look easy, so I figured I would give it a try. I pulled myself up on the log. Lying on my stomach, it wasn’t hard at all to balance. So now to the next step: I pulled my legs underneath me, and began to slowly stand up. To my surprise, I was balancing. My playmate looked very proud of me, so I decided to test my skills and begin walking in place as he had.
I fell hard, and I fell fast. The only thing that slowed my fall was the impact of my shins smacking against the log before I splashed head first into the river. As I sank down into the mucky water, my legs were throbbing in such pain that I didn’t know if it would be possible to start kicking to get me back to the surface. But at that moment I felt the scales of a huge fish rub against my thigh, and that was plenty of motivation to start kicking. I broke the surface of the water with a gasp and swam slowly back to the dock. As I climbed up I saw bruises already forming. This was a lesson learned the hard way: I can’t do all the things children of the Amazon seem to be able to do. This was disheartening, because I had become inspired by the children’s daily routines and how they play in the forest.
The children of the Amazon truly amaze me. At times I feel as if they have no fear. They wake up every morning and have the entire Amazon rainforest as their playground. I have seen children as young as 5 climbing trees 30 feet in the air, walking around with machetes half their size, wading in river waters known to have piranhas and snakes lurking just below the muddy water.
I believe their lack of fear comes from generations of wisdom passed to them by their parents and grandparents about the dangers of the jungle. And their wisdom to stay away from certain areas of the water, from certain plants, allows them to grow up in one of the most free childhood cultures. Imagine as a child being able to wake up, hop into your own canoe and race your brothers or sisters, or explore various creeks off of the Amazon River. Instead of grabbing a pack of sugar loaded Gushers you just climb the nearest tree and snack on a fresh mango. There is no need for video games to entertain yourself; you can create your own obstacle course over fallen trees and broken branches, all the while chopping a path through the forest with your own machete. Later you could grab some fishing line and a hook and sit with your siblings at the edge of your wooden dock to see who can catch the biggest fish. And as for bathing, your mother only has to tell you once, because you look forward to running off the dock and jumping head first into the river.
Later that day I was again astonished by the children. We were hiking through the jungle on a search for a site the archeologists had found. Three young boys had seen us disappear into the forest, and were curious as to what we were up to. They had begun following us and made a game out of running ahead of us, climbing trees, and running back to show us different tropical fruits. During this hike while I was getting various cuts and scrapes, they were running through the forest without shirts and barefoot. When they would walk in front of me, they’d make sure to turn around and point to different plants to warn me if they were poisonous or caused rashes. I couldn’t believe how much they knew about the forest.
After just 20 minutes of hiking, we were all feeling the wrath of the Amazon sun and the swarms of mosquitos that made it hard to even breathe. Our legs were sore from climbing over overgrown plants. I was looking at my feet wondering how they were continuing to move forward, when a glance up caused me to stop in my tracks. Ahead of me, there was a fallen tree. Under the tree, about eight feet down, was a swamp of dark water, the surface chaotically covered with plants and sharp branches. The only way to get across was to balance on the log and walk over the swamp.
The three boys scampered over the log with ease, laughing all the way. I took a deep breath, very aware of the bruises still on my leg from the last time I tried this, and stepped up onto the uneven log. This time, with an eight-pound camera strapped to my neck, I didn’t test my skills. By some miracle I made it across.
In so many ways I am no match for these amazing children. But I had an incredible time playing with them, and most of all, learning from them.
