This morning, I woke up to another cold day in the jungle. The past few days there has been a considerable drop in temperature, so much that it feels like we are no longer in the jungle, but in the sierra.

When I walked into the dining room for breakfast, I was greeted by the boys, many of which were wearing their very thin blankets and sheets as robes and capes. Many had multiple short sleeve shorts on, and one of the educators told me he was wearing 5 pairs of socks. It was cold, but not quite that cold.

Being from Michigan, it makes me laugh to see all of these tough boys freezing in weather we at home would find in the fall or late spring. But for the people that live here all year round, it is cold – like how it occasionally drops very low during winter. Unlike how we are prepared to brace cold weather with warm jackets, hats, gloves and boots, very few of these boys have anything more than shorts and t-shirts. Why would they have long sleeve shirts when it is usually very hot?

According to the news, a cold front has been making its way north, from Madre de Dios, through Ucayali and making its way to Loreto – the state where Iquitos is located. The front should pass within the next two or three days, which will make for some uncomfortable weather, something we are definitely not accustomed to here in the jungle. This cold weather has apparently taken over the entire country, not just in the jungle, and has called the government to issue a “state of emergency” within the country.

My final work team arrives later today and they are going to be in for a surprise when they get off the plane!