Leaving

My four housemates woke me up to say goodbye at 4:30 this morning, and I haven't been able to go back to sleep since. I literally am missing them already -- our house feels so huge and empty and I have five more hours here alone.

Yesterday we had great plans of going to Taboga Island. Jake, William, Pono, Stephanie, and I were in the craziest rush to make the 10:30 ferry, and when we arrived at 10:29 we discovered that it only runs on weekends, and we would have to wait until 3:00 for the next boat which would leave us stranded on the island overnight anyway. So we went to a nearby beach on the other side of the bridge and watched Taboga get pummeled by rain all day. Haha.

It looks so rainforestish when the clouds rest on the hilltops
That dark shape in the distance is where we were supposed to be!
Jake, Me, & William @ Kirby's birthday dinner
This semester absolutely flew by! I would be a mess right now if I wasn't coming back next semester. Blake aptly described this winter break as a vacation from our vacation -- it's that good here.

Flippin Sweet Weekend

So I didn't save any seaturtles with my bare hands - none of the nests were due to hatch this weekend. As far as conservation was concerned, we painted some signs and cleaned up the beach. But mostly we just chilled on the beach and hung out with the locals of Chiriqui and had a great time.

Hector turned seventeen!

Tito and Marcial

I was innocently walking on the sand when this gigantic toad lept across my path and attacked me. No jokes.

Playa Barqueta

crazy robot crab

Thanksgiving

It was delicious. And now I'm gone til Monday. Yeahhhh

Coolest Dog Ever

I love Annie, and I'm not at all saying that this dog is cuter than her, but I must admit that it is a little bit cooler. This is our friend Steve's dog Murphy. We are going to steal him. Very soon.

I just found out this morning that I'm going to spend the weekend in Chiriqui (the red-orange province right by Costa Rica) to work with the Peace Corps on a sea turtle conservation project! I'm so excited!

Fishing Trip

First, another Halloween picture

My school!

Private beach! We just pulled up to an uninhabited island

Taboga island

No one caught a single fish. Oh well.

Halloween + more

I somehow didn't take a single picture at any Halloween party we went to, so I scanned facebook to steal other people's shots. I only found one picture from that weekend, but I came across a few other random ones spanning our time here. They're fun.

Animal Encounters

Last weekend at the beach, our neighbors had monkeys! So the guy brought over Pepe for us to play with. He had a little candy in his mouth, which he removed and offered to one of the guys. Haha.



I had the most interesting cab ride the other day. The driver looked hesitant to let me in the car. He told me he had an animal with him. I looked in the back seat, and saw something I have never seen before in my life. It had a raccoon's tail, but a face reminiscent of an anteater. It was adorable. I hopped in.

So the whole way home the driver told me all about Chuy, his beloved pet. He called it a gato solo, but I later realized it is what we call a coatimundi. Chuy is about the size of a cat, but he's only six months old, and the guy says he'll grow big as a dog!

Coatimundi - so you can get a full body shot

For Thanksgiving, us international students got invited to feast at a totally ritzy place downtown called the Union Club. Sweet.

Playa Gorgona

Panama is great because everyone in the city owns a beach house. I went with some friends from school and a bunch of local Panamanians to spend the weekend on the Pacific coast.

Steps from the door to the sand

While I was there I got incredibly homesick ... for La Boca (the neighborhood I live in). I couldn't believe how much I missed my housemates. We're just like a crazy little family in our big, gecko-filled, ant-infested house, and I missed it terribly for the three days I was away.

I just love this country. And a Panamanian told me I speak beautiful Spanish. Yay.

I feel like I am going to get so homesick when I go to California for Christmas, because this is where my life is right now. I mean, I have a Blockbuster card down here and everything.

Late October Overview

My pictures have been piling up from various random occurrences here in Panama. So here's a couple highlights I guess.

Chiva for Cynthia's birthday

Stephanie Murray, Jake, Stephanie Manciagli, Josh
I went to the Smithsonian Marine exhibit on the Causeway. It was pretty lame except when I asked an employee why one of the turtles was in a little pool all alone. It's a biter, so it has to live alone until its anger subsides and it learns to share. Hahahah

School here is so intense. There was a mandatory pumpkin carving contest for one of my classes. This is the Pumpkin Princess, created by Seana, Libby, StephanieManciagli, and me.
I hope we win.

Rainshower

Last night it rained so hard that my roommate Seana suggested we go outside and wash our hair. So we took rainshowers, get it?


We are going to make it some sort of tradition.