Méligo, Bai, y Betdi. Please avoid obvious references to skittles and pots of gold.
Mom, this one is for you.
A long beautiful day of hiking.
You cané see the wind in this picture, but it´s there!
My neighbors, Ben and Lisa
Host family´s beans, but not all of them.
José impressed his latino counterparts with his knowledge of coffee prunning. It was a great exchange between Ngabes and Latinos (and gringos, for that matter.)
Lines of beans have been pulled up and left to dry in the feild before being degrained.
The roommate. One of them.
The Process: Porear (v) hit bean pods with sticks.
The Problem: Juice served from an old chemical bottle.
These girls were sitting in their house when I handed them a photo I had printed for them. The light hit the photo just right so that the picture turned translucent.
In town; on Vacation...
Tomorrow Brett and Dad come to visit. My first visitors from home. I am really excited to see them.
It has been a busy month. The summer keeps getting hotter, and dryer, but I´m getting used to it. Every other day I fill my big chacra up with my dirty clothes, 10L water jug and shampoo and go to the stream (mejor dicho ¨trickle¨). I still prefer the summer to the winter on account of the beautiful afternoons and rainless evenings.
I´ve visited some other volunteers in their sites, done some hiking, talked alot about soil conservation and coffee tree prunning. This month I spent more time with friends than I have before. Even though it was work related and alot of fun, the time out of site leaves me feeling disconnected from my community. So after Dad and Brett´s trip I am going to do what I can to stick it out for a couple of weeks and get my head back in site.
Ben, Lisa, Steph and I went to the capital of the Comarca to attend the election of the new comarca president. It was a beautiful hike with rainbows at every turn. The wind nearly knocks you off your feet it blows so hard, and it was colder than I ever expected Panama to be. We spent the night in a church and were awoken by a less than pleased padre who told us we had no right to stay there. we left, but I have never been chastized by a man of God before. As one could imagine, I felt rather guilty.
Favorite moment this month? Sitting in Ben and Lisa´s home on plastic chairs drinking wine and laughing about life here and life at home. Following a long and successful day taking about Lombriculture (worms that make strong compost) we debreifed by candle light and the good stuff (from box of course!) I have made some amazing friends!
I feel as though I need to make a statement. I have tried to be really honest in this blog. I have shared the very best and the most uncomfortable of what I have experienced here. It´s been lonely at times and I´ve struggled, but I am really glad that I am here. I have no doubt that this is where I need to be right now. I have also probably never had so much fun. I have a larger and more diverse group of friends than I have ever had before. The relationships I have formed with some of my fellow volunteers are really strong, and my friendships within my community are maturing into real, honest friendships. I do alot of laughing in and out of site. So thank you all for your support, your concern and your love! I miss you all, but I´m really happy here and I wouldn´t trade this experience for anything!
