Panama. The country, not the van halen song.

•Clothing is ridiculous here. Can I please buy some clothes that aren't skin tight and don't have rhinestones? Please?!

• I don't think panamanians use the bathroom. I seriously never see them use the bathroom. And this observation has been backed by other volunteers.

• They think my flashlights are amazing.

• I showed up to a meeting in my PC polo, a skirt, and black rubber boots. Yes as a matter of fact I am that cool.

• So you have read about how much I love rice. But I have recently come to the realization that at least rice is not weird.

• Oliver chases after cars after I can in...it's so sad to watch him running an barking. He also gets mad when I ride a horse.

•My current best friends are a 40 year old woman, a 15 year old boy, and my dog. And I'm ok with that.

• My birthday celebrations have been excellent so far. I was sung to on skype by 4 high school Spanish classes and my family. I ate good food in Chitre. And there is more to come this weekend!

• I finally got all my mail from during training! And am caught up on mail and packages in Chitre. Thanks so much for sending and I try to reply as best I can.

Here are some things I have been up to....

Here are some things I have been up to....

• I got what most Peace Corps volunteers fear. A gusano. What started as a bug bite, turned into home for a half inch worm with an ugly head. We removed it my suffocating it with tobacco and then squeezing it out. I guess its better to get the scary things out of the way first thing.

•On another creepy crawly note, I have seen 4 snakes, two of which were close encounters. One passed right infront of the horse I was riding. The other was right infront of me when I was walking and I only saw at the last minute. Dont worry, no bites.

• I have been bathing in a stream.

•Eating sugar cane is delicious.

•Everyone think that I should get married and stay in Panama.

•Discotecas are super fun but slightly creepy.

• People are never ever on time and often what they say they are going to do am what they actually do are two different things.

• I feel super cool when I walk around in my black rubber boots.

• Everyone is incredibly generous!

•People don't understand why I am not afraid to ride a horse or walk alone or live alone or play soccer with the boys.

• My dog is starting to listen better.

• I can hear howler monkeys at night.

• The whole world stops when it rains.

• Panamanians eat a lot.

• I hate opening my email and receiving a billion emails.

• They have this weird thing where hot and cold things cannot mix. Like you cannot have a cold drink with hot food. And you cant shower of you are hot. I have broken this rule with much difficulty.

•I have yet to completely figure out my cell phone. Partly due to my frustration that comes from the signal constantly cutting out.

• I have become addicted to coffee. If I don't have it in the morning I have an awesome headache midday. And I crave it sometimes too.

•Pretty much everything in some way can "hace dano" aka cause damage. This is also an excellent excuse for not eating things you don't like.

• It makes me feel really good when people say I speak a lot of Spanish. I think they are more surprised I can speak Spanish at all, but it's a confidence booster.

Sent from my iPod

Lot of leavin left to do

I have been thinking a lot about life. And really it there is a lot of leaving...graduations, moving, traveling, different friends. Each time we change something in our lives, it can be really sad. But I just realized that it a good thing to be sad about leaving. Because that means it was amazing and it enriched your life. If you were not sad about the change, to me that means it did not make a significant impact on your life. It is amazing how quickly people and places can make an impact on you. But what is truly important is recognizing that those experiences are now a part of you and helped you grow. And what is ahead is far greater than the past.