Primer Año

Since I arrived in Panama last year, there has been many changes. I've lost 45 pounds...my brother and his wife moved to Iowa and are expecting their first child in October...my father moved to southern WI...my mother met her current fiancé and is planning their wedding for October...my grandfather passed away in late May...I went back for the funeral...my ex-girlfriend got engaged...many friends finished college, got engaged, or married...my sister-in-law finished a CNA course...my sister returned to teaching...my nieces and nephews finished another year of school including all their extracurricular activities...been a few really sick days and a few really amazing days...qué mas? Seems like more has changed.

It's really interesting meeting the new volunteers and seeing myself in them last year. I didn't know where anything was, how anything worked, how to speak, how to listen, how to stay healthy, or how to stop sweating. Funny hearing them compliment my Spanish but not as funny suddenly feeling older. Birthday 26 is coming up in a couple of weeks.

I'm on my way home returning from a leadership conference with my counterpart. It was really well done and he got a lot out of it. I could see his confidence growing right in front of me. Well, I'm gonna sign off, hopefully my package came in today. Happy Labor Day!