hiya just thought i'd tell you a bit about the house and town where i'm staying. I'm staying with a couple called Bilma and Raul who have three children (aged 15,12 and 2) however there are always the nieces and nephews around so always loads of kids running about! There are also three dogs and a monkey! The house next door has a hell of a sound system and the local popular songs are always blaring out! The food here is mainly rice, potatoes, pasta and plantains (often all together) and even if you go out there's very little variation! we sometimes eat fish from the pond but they're more bone than anything else! It takes about 45 minutes to walk from Bilma's into the town but there is also a frequent bus service and often plenty of taxis which are white pick-up trucks. Tena's a lot safer than i expected and it's fine to wander about on your own. In the evenings there are a few bars to visit and some salsa dancing to be done! the locals are always keen to give you a lesson! all the local men are really friendly and all happen to be guides! Everything is really cheap here - a 600ml beer is $1 and a cuba libre (a lot of rum with a dash of coke) is $1.50. I teach every morning at a school which is a 45 minute bus ride away and two afternoons a week i teach in an area 20minutes walk from the centre of Tena. The afternoon kids are alway more fun and sometimes take me swimming after class! i saw the biggest spider so far last night in the kitchen - easily bigger than the palm of my hand! it's friday so i'm going out tonight and hopefully going rafting tomorrow. hope all is well in the rest of the world. steph x