Life is funny. Four months ago I was lamenting how slowly time passes and now, with only 35 days left of my 26 months of Peace Corps service, I am dying for a pause button. These last two months have gone rapidly and I'm running out of time to do all of the things that I need and want to do.
Thankfully the transition out of my community is going very smoothly. Next week I am moving back in with my host family, which is not common for Volunteers to do but for me it makes perfect sense. I have a lot of running around still left to do so every minute that I am in Atalaya I want to spend with them. They have been, since the very first day I got here, my rock. It will be very difficult to leave them in October and I want to enjoy every moment that we have left. They ask me a lot if I'll come back to visit and I really hope that I will, but it is so hard to know what the future holds.
The immediate future, however, is pretty clear. On October 14 I am flying back to Oregon. I am beyond excited. I told that to a Volunteer who had completed her service a few years before me and she said, "What? You didn't enjoy your experience?", which kind of frustrated me. I loved my experience. I am so glad that I joined the Peace Corps and I don't regret any single step of it- not the missteps I made along the way, or any other part of it. But I am definitely ready to be home again, after 2 very long years. I will carry this experience with me for the rest of my life- it has changed me (hopefully for the better) but Mom, Dad, I miss you! And I want to come home. :)
Until then, I'm just wrapping things up. This week I'm in Panama City doing my "Close of Service Medical Exams". The Peace Corps takes pretty good care of us, which is nice. We were required to have a clean bill of health coming into the Peace Corps and the same is required for when we leave. Yesterday I saw my gynecologist, today I saw the dentist, and tomorrow I get a general physical. Every day I provide a fecal sample to the lab (so not fun) so they can make sure I'm not harboring any parasites, etc, and I'm having a TB test. Also, 72 hours before I leave I'll get tested for HIV, just in case. All these things are mandatory, which I'm glad about. I appreciate that they take such pains to make sure that we are healthy and happy, whether we're here or somewhere else.
Then, after tomorrow, I'm taking a little vacation before heading back home. I'm excited to get back to Atalaya for awhile. I've been running around a lot lately and it will be nice to relax for a little bit with my host family. I still can't really believe it's almost over. This has been my entire world for the last 2 years and I may never be back again. How strange...
In preparation for my impending departure I've been going a little crazy with photos of flowers. I don't ever want to forget all of the gorgeous flowers they have here. So, forgive me for all the ones I'm about to post, along with my usual array of pictures.
Thankfully the transition out of my community is going very smoothly. Next week I am moving back in with my host family, which is not common for Volunteers to do but for me it makes perfect sense. I have a lot of running around still left to do so every minute that I am in Atalaya I want to spend with them. They have been, since the very first day I got here, my rock. It will be very difficult to leave them in October and I want to enjoy every moment that we have left. They ask me a lot if I'll come back to visit and I really hope that I will, but it is so hard to know what the future holds.
The immediate future, however, is pretty clear. On October 14 I am flying back to Oregon. I am beyond excited. I told that to a Volunteer who had completed her service a few years before me and she said, "What? You didn't enjoy your experience?", which kind of frustrated me. I loved my experience. I am so glad that I joined the Peace Corps and I don't regret any single step of it- not the missteps I made along the way, or any other part of it. But I am definitely ready to be home again, after 2 very long years. I will carry this experience with me for the rest of my life- it has changed me (hopefully for the better) but Mom, Dad, I miss you! And I want to come home. :)
Until then, I'm just wrapping things up. This week I'm in Panama City doing my "Close of Service Medical Exams". The Peace Corps takes pretty good care of us, which is nice. We were required to have a clean bill of health coming into the Peace Corps and the same is required for when we leave. Yesterday I saw my gynecologist, today I saw the dentist, and tomorrow I get a general physical. Every day I provide a fecal sample to the lab (so not fun) so they can make sure I'm not harboring any parasites, etc, and I'm having a TB test. Also, 72 hours before I leave I'll get tested for HIV, just in case. All these things are mandatory, which I'm glad about. I appreciate that they take such pains to make sure that we are healthy and happy, whether we're here or somewhere else.
Then, after tomorrow, I'm taking a little vacation before heading back home. I'm excited to get back to Atalaya for awhile. I've been running around a lot lately and it will be nice to relax for a little bit with my host family. I still can't really believe it's almost over. This has been my entire world for the last 2 years and I may never be back again. How strange...
In preparation for my impending departure I've been going a little crazy with photos of flowers. I don't ever want to forget all of the gorgeous flowers they have here. So, forgive me for all the ones I'm about to post, along with my usual array of pictures.
Recently I went to the Veraguas coast with some friends for a quick trip. The beach is about an hour from my house but I go very rarely. There never seems to be enough time. It was great to swing by and enjoy the palm trees and the ocean breeze.
Dennis was a good sport and let me put a flower in his hair. Isn't he cute? 
Yeah, we're adorable.
My PCBFF (Peace Corps BFF. I'm a dork.) came to visit my site last week with her youth coop. My youth coop is very organized, run completely by the kids, so her group wanted to come see what that looked like (the parents are very controlling with her coop). CoCo with a coop member and a giant pig (above). Below- chickens. So many chickens.
Some of the members of my cooperative (in khaki) and CoCo's cooperative (in pink).
This flower is naturally orange, blue, and red. It's so weird looking...
Purple is my favorite color so naturally these are one of my favorite flowers here.
A couple of weeks ago Dennis' ex-stepdad came to visit. He was in Costa Rica to have dental surgery (much cheaper there than in the states, even if you throw in the expenses) and he popped down to Panama to see Dennis. We went on a beautiful hike and he spoiled us with a hotel room and great meals. Thanks, John!
The hike itself was a little brutal. It took us about an hour and a half of walking pretty much straight up. But the lookout point was gorgeous. It was worth it.
This is the infamous Murci, my pet bat, and his girlfriend, Murcette. They live in the corner of my shower (which I've posted below so you can appreciate just how close to my head that actually is). They're just fruit bats but having to clean bat poop out of your shower before you use it is annoying- especially with no water pressure.
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I'm in love with this toucan. I hate that he's caged up but I love that I get to see him. His beak is so beautiful. I know you can barely see them, but his feet are blue, too!
Some of the low lying mountainous regions of Panama are perfect for orchids so there are a lot of orchid farms. I really enjoyed strolling through one recently and snapping a million pictures. I hope you've enjoyed them!
