Cuentos del campo

I am sure everyone is waiting with hush anticipation for my stories, so I will try not to disappoint.
Where to start after three weeks in the field? First off, I managed to not fall off of any cliffs, but I did have some spectacular falls. I have noticed that it is especially difficult to walk down a trail that was created with a machete, is wet with rain, severely slanted, and only having one hand to balance because the other is cradling the baby of my professor, his camera. No worries, my body absorbed the impacts, and no harm came to the camera. We did have two other unexpected suprise attacks from wasps. The first time, I managed to avoid being stung, although I was rather close as one was caught in the hood of my jacket right next to my ear. The second time, I was blindsided(almost literally) as one zoomed at my eye and got me right below my eyebrow. At the same time, another attacked my arm and gave me a big red sting. I had some minor swelling under my eye for the next couple days. We now run past the wasps nests waving our hand close to our face to attempt to swat at them(it is the advice of Martin and I wish I had a camera because it is hilarious). I had a close encounter with a rather large hen that a woman decided to bring on the bus. She was holding it, and the blanket fell off, putting the large beak awfully close to my head. Needless to say, I was hoping that it wasn't mad. We also saw our first frog of the mountains, and you will not believe where. Not in the field, not near the house, but on the bus. I saw something fly through the air, so I shined my head lamp on it and it was a rather small, unassuming brown frog. I reached out to grab it, but then thought of the passage I had read in a book that day. It contained information on poisons in the skin of frogs and toads, and how many are not brightly colored. So I decided that I would leave it be.
Daisy, the daughter of Valentina (our cook) and Lucio (our guide), is two and a half and adorable. I often wake up in the morning(because we are slow risers generally) to Daisy loudly singing. She is very shy with people, and especially with me and other gringos. But almost always I can say to her "Da me cinco" and she gives me five. "Mas fuerte" and she gives me a bigger five. I think she does it because she knows she can get candy out of me, but I am okay with that. She is fascinated with the digital camera, and we take pictures of her and ask her who is that? In a quiet, small voice she says "Daisy". She is learning to speak Spanish and Quechua, but she can always tell me if she has un oso en su champa (a bear on her sweater).
Miguel and Lucio would leave early to work on the plots(on the motorcycle-we had some laughs about that) and Martin, Made, and I would come after on foot(it can be hard to wake Made up in the mornings, so sometimes I threaten her that I have a glass of water to throw in her face). Martin is really fun to talk to, even if I can't understand every word he says. He has taught Made and I some really important words in Quechua, such as let's go, rain, butt, and cow poop. We like to laugh because the spelling of poop in Quechua is the same as the abbreviation for a conservation organization here. Martin has a house in Sunchubamba, where his wife and kids live. He was visiting them for his birthday when we arrived at Esperanza, so unfortunately we had to eat his birthday cake without him. He knows alot of the trees in the area, and is a really good guide. I am always so impressed with him because he does his job without complaint, even if he doesn't want to. He has started to converse with me more and let me in on what is going on, such as problems with the other people in the house. One couple, one man, with tarps for walls should explain. But he is always ready with a laugh or a joke, and he is very fun to be around. Lucio is more reserved, but he is also ready with a laugh. Martin and I, secretly with Made, planned a weeklong trip in November to the other side of the river to put in transects and search for orchids. It will be quite the experience, because we are going to hike straight up the mountain and back down to reach our camping spot. I am sure I will be huffing and puffing with a giant bag of equipment on my back. John, my professor, and another girl from the states who is arriving to help, will be with us. It is supposed to be colder and wetter on the other side. I am actually really excited about it.