“I
know you'll like it. There are lots of trees. The people are
friendly, but we'll have to adapt. There's nothing comfortable about
this place...” said Igor just before the cell phone connection
became too full of static to make out any intelligible conversation.
Since
that first call, I've learned a bit more about the place Igor calls
home and Iris and I, too, will call home in a few months. Ringed by
mountains draped in tropical rainforest, lies the small village
accessible only to those willing to leave the luxuries of
modernization behind. Crossing streams and rivers and riding a
rickety route, he arrived in a village in which indoor plumbing is
non-existent and pit-latrines in scarce supply.
I
only recently came to the realization that for the first time in his
life, Igor is living on his own alone. He tells me he's suffering
and I know that he is in some ways. Many anecdotes he has shared
take me on a journey down memory lane to Kenya and the challenges
life presented there. In many ways I would love to be in rural
Bellavista with him. I would like to make him more comfortable,
listen to him, and share our daughter with him. But then, in some
ways perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't wish for
anyone that they live alone all their lives. I know there are people
who do truly enjoy the solitude and independence that such a
lifestyle offers, but I simply can't fathom living that way forever.
What I do believe though, is that living alone for a short time is an
experience that everyone should have. It helps with introspection
and also teaches a person to value what others contribute to the
home.
While
he lives in one small room without access to plumbing, he shares his
habitat with a variety of critters mostly of the insect and arachnid
sort. Just today I heard from Igor letting me know that in his
window he found a spider the size of his hand. I pitied him, then
begged him to do his best to get rid of such
visitors before Iris and I arrive.
Iris
and I continue to enjoy our lives of luxury in a cooler climate
comparatively, without heavy rains and mud to wade through, low on
unwanted pests, and safe from most tropical diseases. In one month
we'll trade this life for the American one and then all too soon
return for vaccinations and immigration paperwork before boarding
various means of terrestrial transportation to take us to our final
destination: a one or two room home deep in the jungle where we will
keep Igor company and bring his many moons alone to an end.
