So, brief update on the house. The roof is being devoured by termites, which is lovely. And the termites have attracted scorpions. So far I've only seen itty bitty baby scorpions, about an inch long, which are actually kind of cute. But I just know that the mama scorpion has got to be out there somewhere...
On a lighter note, the elderly woman who lives across the street (Señora Bella) stopped by the other day to give me a stool and a broom. So now I have two stools and a chair- definitely moving up in the furniture department. My host mom also visited and brought me 2 plates, 3 bowls, a wooden spoon, and a wooden fork (for my "chinese noodles," she tells me - I have a thing for the ease and inexpensiveness of Top Ramen). Señora Bella also took me on a tour of my yard and showed me all my fruit trees that I knew nothing about. It turns out I have an orange tree (so delicious!), a grapefruit tree, and an avocado tree! Unfortunately, I'm not enamored with avocados but I give them to my neighbors which seems to ingratiate me to them- always a good thing. Apparently I have a variety of other trees with random Panamanian fruits that my host mom has been slowly introducing me to in an attempt to find one that I like. No surprise that I am still a picky eater and prefer to stick with the classics. Besides, when you have an orange tree in your backyard do you really need anything else?
On a lighter note, the elderly woman who lives across the street (Señora Bella) stopped by the other day to give me a stool and a broom. So now I have two stools and a chair- definitely moving up in the furniture department. My host mom also visited and brought me 2 plates, 3 bowls, a wooden spoon, and a wooden fork (for my "chinese noodles," she tells me - I have a thing for the ease and inexpensiveness of Top Ramen). Señora Bella also took me on a tour of my yard and showed me all my fruit trees that I knew nothing about. It turns out I have an orange tree (so delicious!), a grapefruit tree, and an avocado tree! Unfortunately, I'm not enamored with avocados but I give them to my neighbors which seems to ingratiate me to them- always a good thing. Apparently I have a variety of other trees with random Panamanian fruits that my host mom has been slowly introducing me to in an attempt to find one that I like. No surprise that I am still a picky eater and prefer to stick with the classics. Besides, when you have an orange tree in your backyard do you really need anything else?
I've got some random pictures to put up, in no particular order.
This first picture is pretty self-explanatory. My friend Cassie and I went to a Serpenteria and held some of Panama's biggest native snakes. It was pretty cool. There were also tarantulas but you'll notice there are no pictures of me holding one of those...
A few weeks ago I went to Girl Scouts Camp where troupes from all over the country got together. I stayed in a tent with my host sister and three girls from our troupe of 12 year olds. It was a lot of fun though I was glad to leave after 2 days.
These are the girls I went to Girl Scouts camp with. On the far left is my host sister and on the far right is my host mom. We had a lot of fun and the girls are so sweet.
Every year the Girl Scouts in the 5-8 age group have a pageant to determine who will be the queen for that year. At first I didn't understand all of it and was concerned about it being a popularity contest but, after the girls did their ball gown walk and their dance routines they each chose a rose from a bouquet. One of the roses had a slip of paper inside announcing the new queen who turned out to be Stephanie (pronounced "estephanie"). She's the one in the pink dress on the right. Last year's queen, Anna Gabriella, is sitting behind them, in teal.
This is me and Helvia painting signs for the Ecoclub.
We then walked the couple of miles from the main highway to my town, putting up signs along the way. The signs promote responsible living, saying things like, "Without water, there is no life- conserve" or "Please don't litter". The kids came up with the sayings themselves and we put up 12 signs in total...
...including my favorite sign, which says "Bienvenidos a Atalaya, EcoClub, Amigos de la Tierra, Vive EcoClub" which means (as I'm sure you figured out), "Welcome to Atalaya. Ecoclub, Friends of the Earth. Long live EcoClub." I love that I see that sign every time I head home.
So, this is a bug that I saw the other day. How cool is he? It's like he has little brown and orange boots on his hind legs. The kids in my Ecoclub thought I was crazy to get such a kick out of him. I had to explain that we just don't have things like that in the states. I think they take for granted all of the amazing, beautiful butterflies they have in Panama, too.
This is my host mom's cat, Chirri. She calls him the Jefe (chief) of the house. He's a little brat because he scratches you if he's in a bad mood. But when he's feeling cuddly he is really cute. Generally people in Panama hate cats so it's kind of impressive that she has one and that she allows it indoors.
My host mom also has lots of ducks (patos). This little patito became the best friend of my host nephew Yosuet and his big sister Yumelis for a day.
This last two picture is to tempt you all to come visit me in beautiful Panama. This is the beach that the Decameron Resort sits on, right next to where I'm headed on Monday for a week of In Service Training. Rough life, right? Just remember, my door is always open!
A few weeks ago I went to Girl Scouts Camp where troupes from all over the country got together. I stayed in a tent with my host sister and three girls from our troupe of 12 year olds. It was a lot of fun though I was glad to leave after 2 days.
These are the girls I went to Girl Scouts camp with. On the far left is my host sister and on the far right is my host mom. We had a lot of fun and the girls are so sweet.
Every year the Girl Scouts in the 5-8 age group have a pageant to determine who will be the queen for that year. At first I didn't understand all of it and was concerned about it being a popularity contest but, after the girls did their ball gown walk and their dance routines they each chose a rose from a bouquet. One of the roses had a slip of paper inside announcing the new queen who turned out to be Stephanie (pronounced "estephanie"). She's the one in the pink dress on the right. Last year's queen, Anna Gabriella, is sitting behind them, in teal.
This is me and Helvia painting signs for the Ecoclub.
We then walked the couple of miles from the main highway to my town, putting up signs along the way. The signs promote responsible living, saying things like, "Without water, there is no life- conserve" or "Please don't litter". The kids came up with the sayings themselves and we put up 12 signs in total...
...including my favorite sign, which says "Bienvenidos a Atalaya, EcoClub, Amigos de la Tierra, Vive EcoClub" which means (as I'm sure you figured out), "Welcome to Atalaya. Ecoclub, Friends of the Earth. Long live EcoClub." I love that I see that sign every time I head home.
So, this is a bug that I saw the other day. How cool is he? It's like he has little brown and orange boots on his hind legs. The kids in my Ecoclub thought I was crazy to get such a kick out of him. I had to explain that we just don't have things like that in the states. I think they take for granted all of the amazing, beautiful butterflies they have in Panama, too. 
This is my host mom's cat, Chirri. She calls him the Jefe (chief) of the house. He's a little brat because he scratches you if he's in a bad mood. But when he's feeling cuddly he is really cute. Generally people in Panama hate cats so it's kind of impressive that she has one and that she allows it indoors.
My host mom also has lots of ducks (patos). This little patito became the best friend of my host nephew Yosuet and his big sister Yumelis for a day.
This last two picture is to tempt you all to come visit me in beautiful Panama. This is the beach that the Decameron Resort sits on, right next to where I'm headed on Monday for a week of In Service Training. Rough life, right? Just remember, my door is always open!
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