days eleven and twelve- a weekend with the host fam.

i had a very good, yet very hard weekend.

on saturday morning i learned the actual meaning of island time, or panama time, by many experiences. when my host fam means early, they mean a little later, and when they say ´now´they mean in an hour or so. and so when they told me to wake up early, i was ready to go by about 830. anddd, we were on our way right around 3 o´clock! the drive to the farm was very long. when they said one hour, it actually meant three hours. hopefully ill get this special timing down soon. on the way, we kept making lots of stops. i think my host dad was paying all of his farm workers, cuz there was a lot of money involved. finally we made it to the farm around 630 or so. the house itself was very empty. a bedroom, a kitchen with a george forman-like grill and a toaster, and an empty room that could be a living room. little lizards were running around all over the place. and if i thought the mosquitoes were bad here, they weren´t.

we went for a drive around the town, so that i could see the people who live there. the farm itself is HUGE. probably about 2000 acres, not kidding. when you think of a ton of rolling hills and empty greenness in panama, this is where we were--right in the middle of it. it was so gorgeous. they own about 700 cows, a bunch of horses, chickens, and other farm animals. they produce milk and meat on this farm, and only a couple of fruits and grains for the workers themselves to eat, not to sell. a couple blocks off the farm we reached the coast, and saw this little fishing town. my family knew all the people in the town--probably about 200 people at the most. and the houses were were incredible, in a way that they were so simple that they were too simple. i dont know if i would have been able to live in something like that. but everyone was so happy, playing baseball and sharing bicycles. pictures of this town to come. we went back, made some dinner, then just went to bed. no lights = bed very early.

woke up around 630 this morning to the sounds of roosters, cows and other farm animals. i was already well rested by that time, so i got up and watched the farmers milk the cows. didnt do it myself, but i got close enough that it was good enough for me. then i went for a short horseback ride, and walked around the farm some with the host siblings (of course we only covered a very small portion of what the land is). we came back for breakfast around 830, and then just hung aorund the house some. we were playing UNO, or at least an idea of what the game is since the kids are young and like to make rules of course, and thennnn kids being kids, broke my camera. this definitely put a downer on my day. big time. like, big time. i am going to chitre, the big town about an hour away, to see if i can get it fixed. i am hoping and praying big time.

we then got in the car and drove around the farm land. i saw so many cows! i have some good pcitures with them (well, i dont personally have them due to the earlier events, but my host fam took some pictures that they will pass on to me) they were soo cute! and then my host dad said proudly: and these are to kill! ohh, yummm.

we drove to a nearby beach, and it was so gorgeous. there were hammocks all over the place and the sand was very white. but of course, to go with my camera mood, it was kind of cold and started to rain after a half hour. we went under a covering, where everyone was trying to hide from the rain. and tehre i met three american girls who are here in panama doing some team building exercises at the schools. so, i talked with them for a while and it was nice to speak some english. made my mood perhaps a tad bit better. but then the rain would not let up, and so we decided to just head home. teh car ride was not short, to say the least. but anywyas, im back and ...so here i am. nothing is open on sundays and so i have to wait until tomorrow to find out about my camera. im just gonna watch tv for therest of the day, im guessing. the kids are studying (the younger one is learning about malaria, actually). perhaps i should plan some more lessons as well.