During my field study in Iquitos, Peru, I felt a sense of change. This experience opened my eyes to a new community, a new culture, and a new world .
When we reached the village called Santa Maria, there was this Intense happiness that surrounded my whole body.
I remember when one of the children grabbed my hand and led me to their village. As we were walking to the village, I noticed that most of the children didn't have any shoes on. We came upon this wooden plank, which was a walkway so the children didn't have to walk through mud. However, in this situation, that's not what happened. The children decided to let me and the rest of our group walk onto the wooden plank, rather than have us walk in the mud. The children however, walked in the mud and I thought to myself, “Why are they walking in the mud? Their feet are going to be dirty after..”. I then realized that this is how they live. They don’t see mud as a disgusting thing like we might, they see it as a positive thing, being close to nature.
Something else I noticed was when I saw all the kids, they were all playing with each other, talking with each other, and just being there for one another. Even though they don't have all the material things we may have, they are still so happy with the many resources the rainforest supplies them with. Simple living has its perks!
by Ellie Redwine