"Do not go where the path may lead..."

There are kids in my house at least 4 hours every day. One or two will stop by for last minute homework help or to get a high five starting somewhere around 6am. I am not usually awake yet, so unless it is a really important homework thing or they seem really desperate, I usually ignore them or tell them to come back later after 7. Josecito is a particularly demanding 8 year old who is usually on my porch shouting, 'Amber! Come here! Gimme 5! What are you doing? Come here! Amber! Come here! Why are you still sleeping? Amber! Amber!' ...he's not my favorite alarm clock, but he is one of my favorite kids. From 8am until at least 11am I usually have a break, 3 guaranteed hours of peace in my house while all of them are in school. About 11am they start having recess breaks and I find them stopping by for 10 mins or so on their way back from buying candy. At noon the kindergarteners are done and the rest of them finish at 1 so by 2 my little hut is guaranteed to be busy with 5 ...

Hey friends. It has been 365 days in Panama, and as my second year in Panama begins, I thought I would give you a quick recap, particularly since the last few months got a little crazy, I left Nebraska on May 1st, 2012 and landed in Panama on May 2nd. Ten weeks of a special kind of hell called training where everyone pretends like they love it all the time later, I swore in as a PCV on July 5th, 2012. I quickly found myself learning how to be a Djabwera, an Embera sister, living in the remote village of Playona. After 3 months of living in survival mode experiencing the ups and downs of living with a host family in the height of the rainy season of the Darien, I got to move into my own hut. I was supposed to be living alone but have had many uninvited roommates of the wildlife variety. In those months I became close friends with the fellow PCVs of the Darien, particularly the 3 down river of me. Let's just say the first 6 months in country are tough and I am not sad to have t...

Yes, all activities were done wearing flip flops. Unless I was barefoot. :-) Sunday, February 3rd Wake up at 6AM when the girl next to me starts elbowing me repeatedly with as she brushed her hair. The bus takes a pit stop for breakfast but I am too tired and cranky to buy anything. Two and a half hours and a boat ride later, Ben and I finally arrive on Bocas Island, our 26 hour cross country bus ordeal finally over. We find out our next boat doesn't leave until 6pm so we catch a ride to Starfish beach and spend the afternoon in paradise. Our ride back shows up late so we get back after 6, terrified we missed the boat. Turns out the driver is still in the casino so we meet up with Tricia and Grayce and watch the Super Bowl until he is ready to go at 8pm. We get to Tricia's island in the dark, get to her hut, make dinner, and go to sleep immediately, about 9.30. I haven't been this tired since college. Wednesday, February 7th We start moving at 6.30am and T...