It´s about a twenty-minute walk from my technical class in the rainforest, up the gigantic hill through Santa Clara, to my host family´s little blue house. This morning, I stuck out my tongue to catch the salty drops of sweat that cascaded down my face and dripped from my nose, drenching my clothes in minutes. Ducking into the house with a quick "Buenas!" to greet the family, I ran into my room to change, attempting to avoid the comments about how red my face was from the hike. Before the door closed completely, my host mother beckoned me, and as I poked my head out, I was greeted by a large, naked, recently plucked chicken that just this morning was running and squawking contentedly around the yard. The laughter of my host mother gave away my shocked expression, and soon the entire family was gathered around to watch my reaction to this odd, somewhat disturbing sight.

As I learn more about the people of Panama, and the work I will be doing, I am increasingly excited about the next two years. The last two weeks of training were a blur, as a small group of us were temporarily relocated to a site near the beach for more specific cultural and technical training. I especially enjoyed technical week, journeying to Isla Iguana- a protected island surrounded by coral reefs, Isla Canas- an island known for its "arribatas", when hundreds of sea turtles come to nest in a night, Pedasi- a chill surfing town where we learned about ecotourism and mangrove reforestation, and Playa Venua - the gorgeous, laid-back surfing beach where we spent our free weekend.

I await my first visit, next week, to my site in Los Positos with great anticipation.