Second Week

More pretty pictures!  Brief explanations:

• Tried to have a meeting -- failed.  Will try again Monday.
• The little frogs in this place are awesome.
• Finally hiked to the top of one of the hills in the place -- fantastic view of the sea and the Bocas islands -- and cool sites all along the way.
• Everyone in the community is super impressed that I can French braid my own hair (thank you, Mom!).  One muchacha was finally brave enough to ask me to teach her.  So I did -- results speak for themselves!  Pretty soon going to be starting a new trend here in Quebrada Pastor...

Some other beautiful things that I have seen and experienced here:

• China (girl who lives in my host family's house) was reading a children's book to Heidy, my host family's two-year-old daughter.  I almost never see children read except for school, so watch her being read to was awesome.
• The bus didn't let me off at my stop one night, but Feliciano, a man who lives in a community a three-hour hike from the road, waited with me in the dark at the bust stop to make sure I got on the next bus safely.
• Lucas, my community guide, has expressed in various ways the value of education for his children, which always makes me happy to hear.
• Willy, my "host dad," cares for his ailing father every day, and sacrifices a lot to be able to do so.
• Ines, who owns the largest tienda in town, patted me on the back as I lay crying in the community meeting place, sick with a roiling stomach of amoebas.  It was the most intimate human contact I had had since arriving at site, and it felt just like she was my mom.
• Then, two days later, Kenny, my Regional Leader in Changuinola, gave me a hug when I arrived (to again seek medical treatment).  Hugs are awesome.
• Cati, a woman in my community, helped me search for a free bucket in Almirante when she encountered me wandering around alone.
• Mechi, my "host mom," made me a bracelet -- which turned out to be my favorite colors, without even knowing!
• Hugo's children walked me home in the dark in a thunderstorm to make sure I made it safely -- may have even held my hand so I didn't fall on the slick mud.
• Rogelio found me sitting alone in the community meeting place and offered to walk me all the way back up to his part of town (~45 minutes) to show me around before heading back down again to do what he was planning in the first place.
• Teaching Janet to French braid -- and succeeding!
• Angel, one of my community guides, has spent entire days taking me all over the community to show me around -- and we talk about all kinds of things -- and he may have been the first person in Quebrada Pastor to ask my why I wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.
• When I visited Jose's house, the first thing he did was excitedly show off his composting latrine -- and how he uses his compost -- and how he was soap and water to wash with afterward -- heartwarming for and Environmental Health Volunteer!

That's all for now -- I can't possibly capture all of my experiences here -- there's been so much to think about and observe and experience, and it's a roller coaster every day -- but I'll keep working at it.  Hope these images give y'all an idea.