so much to share

¡buenas!

here there is so much to share. the people share all parts of their lives with me as i share my ways with them. we share the green rolling hills, a soccer ball and a bottle of water, a classroom of exchange, our religions and spirits, kisses, the merengue, and bright shinning smiles. in turn, i would love to share my experiences of the past week with you all. time to put on your thinking caps (as nana would say) and use that imagination...

imagine waking every morning to roosters louder than the sirens of the city. kikiriki cockadoodledoo kikiriki cockadoodledoooooo... my morning are relaxing, the way of work is in ones own time. i have yet to learn the expression of rushing. when we must catch a bus and i mutter the word rapido the response, in full chorus, is tranquilla cati. waiting is not a problem, except for one who values their time more than the experience at hand. fighting time is useless here, the stigma of tardiness is more or less nonexistent. when good and ready i leave our house and head down a dirt road to the main road toward escuela llano largo.

once at school i help beitzaida teach her english classes. she has her subjects organized and lessons planned, i do the songs and pronunciation. for the older classes i teach alone and mostly in english. the hard part is that in every class there are about five students that love learning english and know so much more than their peers. i guess thats a typical classroom, we all move at our own pace. this is where my extra class comes in. today will be our second meeting. i cant wait!

after school i eat at home with yolandys, yolanda, and her some kids in the family. yolanda (my host mother)and yolandys (my host sister) both prepare delicious food, so i luck out either way. then i usually fall asleep in the hammock for a bit as the milk cows stroll by. at 2:30 i return to yolandas first grade classroom to teach kids or adults, depending on the day. after we play soccer or jump rope or twister, which was a huge hit (thanks stace!). i spend the afternoons with ivancito, enrique, luis carlos, nairobis (whose mothers name is kenya), maylen and yolandys. these are the grandchildren, nieces and nephews of yolanda. our neighbors are are all family too and although there is a fence between us conversation is constant, you can hear each other even when you are in the other house.

at night we eat, watch victoria (the most popular telenovela), then head to bed fairly early. the whole thing starts again at 6:30.

well that was my horario (schedule), boring, but for im sure some of you enjoyed it (mom and dad).

my next entry will come soon with stories of my weekend... stay tuned for food poisoning, a fish bite on my toe, my night at the discoteca, and more! yeah, thats me promoting this silly thing...

one love (also the name of a popular panamanian reggae group),
cati

stace and rick - please pass these messages on to the nans. tell them that i send my love...