Transplant to the Real World

After several months of only looking after #1, I think I may have forgotten the feeling of having to be responsible for someone other than myself. How does one re-acquaint himself with external responsibilities? Solution: Rent a baby for a day and try and keep both you and it happy and fed. Lucky for me, my sister Erin happily volunteered my 8 month old niece Kate for this experiment on my current mental psyche and its reaction to the rigors of what hypothetically could be in store for me later in life.*

*hopefully a lot later in life.

And so, Kate and I set out trying complete several errands around Kansas City before our family jaunt down to the Lake of the Ozarks. Fully aware that carrying around a cute baby immediately dissolves any personal deficiencies I may have in the looks & personality department, I set off in anticipation of shooting fish in a barrel around town. Although scouring for chicas was not the primary goal of the day, earlier, Kate and I came to the mutual agreement that I would not leave her for another girl that day as long as she behaved. The only thing that would void this agreement was if she went #2 in her diaper, in which case all bets were off and she could be left anywhere. The day of errands went fairly well--Kate kept the part of her promise about behaving and we managed to get everything done that we set off to accomplish. Although, even with her impeccable behavior I still was mentally and physically spent by the end of the day and completely reaffirmed in my belief that I am still ill-equipped for the responsibilities of taking care of anyone but myself. Lucky for me, I still have many months left of only self-preservation to worry about and am in no danger (virtual fingers crossing) of placing myself in a similar type situation.

Other than spending time catching up with family, mass consuming has been the theme of the return back to the States. I have succesfully eaten all types of foods that had been absent from my S.A. diet and now am going through round two on the checklist. Also, I have completed round one of two weddings, with Mike and Lindsay Tiehen's fun-filled May 17 wedding in KC. The next few days will be maxed out with me scrambling to get all my gear in order for my Wednesday departure to Naples, Florida for the Clarkson wedding followed by my international departure on Tuesday the 27th back to Bogota, Colombia.

Just to keep you'all in the loop, I'll let you in on what appears to be the tentative schedule of the next 3 months of travel. Once arriving in Colombia, I plan on spending about 2 weeks there to do a little more travelling around the country. After that I am going to head back into Ecuador to spend about 2 weeks preparing for entry into the Amazon. Basically, while staying at the lodge in Ecuador, Petro and I were introduced by owner Tom to his friend, Otobo, who is somewhat of an unofficial leader among the Huaorani tribe (wikipedia link for info), which is an indigenous group living in a remote area of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This tribe, which was recently "contacted" by civilization about 50 years ago, is currently at a major junction in the direction of their future existence. With foreign oil companies itching to get at the liquid gold they live above, some Huaorani leaders are trying to protect their land and people from the bum-rush that has been put in motion by these companies and the government. Once such person is Otobo, who is trying to create an income outside of selling out to the oil companies, by introducing eco-tourism to the area. He needs help doing this, and the opportunity exists for me to go in with him and spend up to 2 months living with him and providing any assistance I can in establishing facilities for future adventure eco-tourism that can monetarily benefit his people. The logistics are a little disconcerting--living amongst a tribe in which most people are prancing around in their birthday suits, hunt with spears and blow guns,and speak a language few outsiders have mastered. To cap it off, the location is a three day canoe trip up several rivers. Having never fully recovered from some college induced injuries, I have concluded that these circumstances are appealing to me and have tentatively agreed with Otobo for a July 1st entry date. The opportunity seems to be too great and exciting to pass up and I am starting to come to the reality of the magnitude of this trip. A little pre-trip prep is needed and I am still trying to decide if I will be purchasing the supplies here in the U.S. or back in Quito. One cause of concern is the lack of communication I will have once I go in. As much as I want this story told while deep in the bush, it appears the only way this is possible is through a phone or computer with a satellite connection. Not educated in the ways or logistics of this kind of technology (nor probably having the means for it), if anyone has any good suggestions or solutions to this hang-up please give me a shout soon. Any lucrative funding ideas are always welcomed....
Also, as it appears I may be going in solo, if this type of experience is something that greatly appeals to you, please let me know, as a comrade on this adventure would do wonders in the way of keeping sane.

Monkey is the new goat,
BQ

PS. I don't have my old cellphone so if anyone gets a one ring call and hangup--please call the number on the Caller ID as it is me using a payphone and trying to save the quarters.