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Archive for February, 2008

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Adapt: My New Mantra

Monday, February 11th, 2008

One thing I´ve been meaning to write about for awhile is fear.

Traveling-at least as far as I see it-is about confronting your fears, and getting over them. At least, for me.

When I first started this trip, I remember feeling a s trange combination of elation(for actually doing it) and being really scared. I was scared of lots of things: getting robbed; getting sick; bugs; not speaking a language; being isolated; being far from home…the list goes on and on. [read on]

I Take The Family Pig For a Swim

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Ok, so you will not believe what I just did-I took the family pig for a swim in the river.

For those of you who know anything about pigs, you know this is alot harder than it sounds. For those of you who know nothing about pigs, my advice is don´t attempt this alone!

The said pig, who has no name, as he is going to be eaten in several months at a birthday party, loves to go swimming. He actually has quite a nice life compared to other animals here. Many people here have pigs-and many of these pigs are skinny, sad, and closely tethered to trees.

My family´s pig on the other hand, is enormously fat, with a shiny black and pink coat. On hot afternoons, he grunts alot until Arturo takes him down to the river for a bath. On this particular afternoon, having never taken a pig for a bath, I decided to accompany Arturo and the pig down to the creek. [read on]

I Find A Place To Live

Thursday, February 7th, 2008
So last off, I had no real place to live. After checking out several possibilities, of which there were very few indeed, I decided to ask a woman who works at the hospital if I could live with her. She ... [Continue reading this entry]

I Get Visited By Two Travel Godesses

Thursday, February 7th, 2008
I was camped out in the diningroom of the tiny hospital here when I last blogged...and although everyone was quite nice, it WAS the diningroom. It was hardly private or comfortable! I was looking for alternative accomodation in the ... [Continue reading this entry]

First Day With the Ngobe-Bugle

Friday, February 1st, 2008
So I´m here in Soloy, writing on a computer in the school´s computer lab-which was donated by Bill Gates. It´s a little surreal. Soloy is kind of the unofficial capital of the Comarca, which is an independently governed ... [Continue reading this entry]

I Lose All My Bags In Panama, and I Drive to Costa Rica To Find Them

Friday, February 1st, 2008
I arrived in Panama City on Wednesday night, then took a taxi to the bus terminal. While in the taxi, I got a glimpse of the city: It´s huge, modern, and extremely multicultural. There was tons of traffic, literally bumper ... [Continue reading this entry]

Ode To Simon, the best dog in Guatemala

Friday, February 1st, 2008
I´m finally here in Panama, but before I start writing all about my newest adventures, I owe an entry to Simon. Simon was my constant companion when I was in Guatemala. You could say he was a dog, ... [Continue reading this entry]