....thats the slogan on the posters here. And I'm starting to feel like I will never leave Panama! I think I fell in love with this place all over again in the last two weeks. I went to interpret (Spanish/English) in a rural town in the interior of Panama. A group of US undergrads came down here to build eco stoves and water filtration systems for 16 families. In my time here, I have seen the campesinos, and known how they live, but I hadn't yet spent any time in a community. They were some of the kindest and most genuine people. Their expression of thanks to the students for what they did was extremely heartfelt. One man brought us what must have been 100 pounds of oranges and tangerines from his property. A little less than half of those homes have electricity. Before building these water filters, they had to get water from the nearby creek - which also happens to be the creek that they throw their trash into. So sickness from the water was pretty commonplace. One man had 5 kids to raise on his own; his wife died of respiratory illness, probably thanks to standing over a wood burning (and very smoky) stove for many years. Doing that kind of work really impacted me, just in the same way camp does. The university students came from two schools - one private, one public. You could see a difference in their reactions based on their school. I should also back up and say that all 30 of us slept in a classroom at the school. There was one shower. Water ran out on occasion. But to see the students come in there, not knowing what I expect, and to walk out after a week with a different perspective on life, was really cool. One girl left with a different career path on mind!
After that, I spent a bit o time in the city, doing city-like things. It's funny to go from Rice and beans to eating sushi in some swanky hotel lobby, then to eating wings while watching Oregon play in a championship game he next night. But such is life in Panama, I suppose!
After that I went to Santa Catalina to do some scuba diving with friends from Bocas and from a dive shop there. We had to have seen 30 white tip sharks. it was a really fun day, I'll add some pictures soon to prove it. And yesterday we hung out at the beach, ate some fish, and went to a town party down the road in San Lorenzo. Lots of locals. Lots of topical music. Lots of dancing, as usual. :) but while I was dancing and having fun, I had this thought: will I ever be ready to leave? I have my little Casa Verde family up in Bocas, job offers, good friends in a few places. I'm really loving what my life is like right now! Maybe I am not so set on traveling once march rolls around. We'll have to see how I feel then. Nonetheless, I'm heading back to my island today. Back to the grind of working and having fun. Life. Is. Good.
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