Travel: Virginia resident spent a week on a reserve in Ecuador

Highlights and high points: On a more in-depth level, I witnessed a lifestyle of old tribal traditions that was slowly integrating modern-day capitalism and global connectedness. The elder generation, displaying stretched earlobes with holes the size of silver dollars, spoke only the traditional Waorani language and showed no interest in learning Spanish (never mind English) or any curiosity about me. The adult generation was reluctantly beginning to embrace the customs of the modern world, “giving” me spears, hand-woven bags and tribal jewelry before then “asking” for money. The younger generation was fascinated and followed me around everywhere as I taught them how to take a picture with a camera or write their names in English and introduced them to new styles of music on my iPod. I can proudly say that I introduced the music of Bob Marley and the Wu-Tang Clan to the tribes of the Amazon jungle.

Cultural connection or disconnect: The Waorani have historically been violent and resistant to outsiders, so I thought it best to establish positive relationships with the children as a path to acceptance by the rest of the tribe. I’d brought along things for them to play with, including a few tennis balls. They were fascinated by the fuzzy green ball, the way it looked, the way it felt and the way it bounced. I showed them how to play catch, and eventually, the concept of throwing a ball back and forth for pleasure started to sink in. Before I knew it, everyone wanted to play. Soon the tennis balls were flying all over the place as the children giggled with delight. Over the following days, I taught them how to pitch and hit the ball with a stick, and a jungle version of Home Run Derby — whoever can hit the ball past a certain line the most times wins — naturally emerged.

Eventually, the Waorani taught me in return how to throw a spear, how to accurately shoot a poison dart blowgun, and how to make a hammock from scratch.