After a few days of refresher training courses, I am fried. The brain is working at the rate of a Panamanian sales clerk. The tech classes and advice from current Volunteers were inspiring, the Spanish lessons needed and the ocean swims refreshing. However, this is the first time our training group had been all together since July. Being isolated from all other Volunteers the majority of the time causes us to go on a bit of a social binge when we finally do get together. There was a lot of catching up to do and that we did and then some.

Two weeks until Christmas vacation! Mi novio Chan is coming down to keep me company during my first xmas away from home. I'm excited to do some more traveling within the country. The ever-changing itinerary presently consists of:

Dec 22-24: Panama City - Panama Canal, Casco Viejo
Dec 24-25: Cerro Punta, in the highlands of Chiriquí
Dec 26-27: Boquete, Chiriquí (hiking, coffee tour, Volcán Baru)
Dec 28-29: Los Pocitos, Chiriquì (my site) on the coast
Dec 29-Jan 04: Portobelo, Islas Kuna Yala, Panama City

It will be difficult to stay focused for the next couple weeks!

(The pic is from back during training days)

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.

Ah independence! Traveling with a group of 34 gringos can be quite tiring after a couple of weeks. Today we were let loose on the country of Panama in small groups to visit sites around the country. The excitement of an airconditioned bus and chaperone-free travel has left me feeling slightly giddy (as well as the anxiousness of missing my chiva ride to the next city due to an urge to find an internet cafe).

I´m traveling with two others to a town in Los Santos, the southernmost, peninsular province in Panama, and tomorrow morning heading to the Pacific coast on my own to visit a current volunteer in Las Canas. I don´t know if I´ll be able to resist the urge to plunge through the mangove forest into the cool waters of the ocean...

Highlights so far: seeing squirrel monkeys jump through the trees, hiking through the jungle to get ´fertilizer´from the nest of leaf-cutter ants, building an organic garden with my host family, learning sustainable farming techniques, hearing a swarm of African flies buzz over our Spanish class, crossing the Puente de las Americas, coconut ice cream...

Panama! After a few days in country, I got my first real 'Panama' experience today during a visit to a rural community a few hours from Panama City. We hiked up Cero Cadaiguana (Zero Iguana face) mountain, where we were treated to a spectacular view of the communities below. The hazy expanse of the Pacific Ocean loomed in the distance. The site gave me a taste of what type of work I may be doing as well, from teaching in a school a few days a week, to reforestation and ecotourism projects. Tomorrow we leave from El Ciudad de Saber and go to our training community. I'll meet my host family for lunch tomorrow! Time to go practicar mi espanol....