He that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive. -Benjamin Franklin

 

It has been a good few weeks here in site, the elementary school had a week long vacation, during which we built a total of 25 smokeless Eco stoves for outdoor cooking and spent the rainy afternoons waiting for them to dry, which proved to be amusing.  These stoves are really cool, they only produce 5% of smoke and use a lot less wood making them more economical and better for the health of the people and the environment.   The people in my community really came together to help their neighbors build the stoves and by day two I no longer was leading, but instead working hand and hand with women, men, and children.  It is amazing how quickly one can learn with experimental education, and how much fun you can have!

 In other exciting news I moved into my new house this weekend.  If the bonchinche (gossip) hasn't reached you all out there, I have been living with a second host family due to an obsessive creepy neighbor and a few other "security" issues.  It proved to be difficult, but I was happy to do what I could in order to stay in my site and continue here rather than start all over again somewhere else.  So at month 9 in Panama finally (and again) I am in my own place.  I live in a basement of a family's house, but it has a lot of air, and I have my own private entrance and everything.  A beautiful black horse also lives on my  terrace!

 

                                                                                  
Here you can see my lovely abode.  Plenty of space for one and also for when visitors come.  It is however, temporary, as some friends of mine are actually building a house with more privacy and a big garden that they say will be ready in a month or two.  In Panama that means 3 or 4 months, so I will plan to move when I return from the states in January, and until then this is just fine. 
They tell you when you sign up for Peace Corps that you live in a fish bowl, that although you are constantly surrounded by people who find you interesting and want to know every small detail about your life but feel alone, solitary.  I find that to be true and that I lack deep connections with people, but I do have a few people here like my host family, Bercelio my best friend and then some, and my community guide Nairobis.  When I do feel lonely however (and this is for my fellow PCV's reading this blog) I think of this quote which I find beautiful and helpful. 
"Solitude is a silent storm that breaks down all of our dead branches.  Yet it sends our living roots deeper into the living heart of the living earth.  Man struggles to find life outside himself, unaware that the life he is seeking is within him.  Nature reachers out to us with welcome arms, and bids us enjoy her beauty; but we dread her silence and rush into the crowded cities, there to huddle like sheep fleeing from a ferocious wolf" 
-Kahlil Gibran

So when I feel alone, I look outside and see a sea of tropical forest, clouds that linger in the branches of the mango, avocado and lychee trees.  And its beautiful, and I appreciate the feeling of being alone with such beauty.  And soon, before I know it I will be back in the city like a sheep but with new memories, new culture and a life inspired.

Hasta luego, los quiero mucho!
Sina