Where did the last two months go?!

I guess that is what living on an island does to you. All sense of time sort of slips away...like living under an imaginary rock of sorts. I am doing great and have been getting more into the groove of work and life on San Cristóbal. My main project is helping my tourism group get a hostel up and running. The area of Bocas del Toro is currently booming and the country is pushing tourism hard, so there are lots of agencies and other NGO´s here working to promote sustainable tourism, ecotourism, ethnotourism, geotourism....pick one and it is happening here. Luckily the community I work is motivated to take advatage of the action, so we are working on completing this hostel/hotel so people will have a different option for accomodations here in the islands. We already have a group from France that comes to stay every other month or so for a cultural exchange, so they will be happy to have a place to stay. I have been working with the president of the group, Esperanza, do things like track expenses, work on creating a price list of activities, and whatever else... including builiding a composting latrine for people to come use when they come visit. Lucky for me the latrine is right next to my house!

View of my house and new latrine from the hostel. The guy working hard is my friend Jesse or Krawdi as he is know, who lives about a 40 minute hike away in a neighboring community called Valle Escondido.

Fun times with concrete. I have a new respect for anyone who does construction/mansonry. It is hard work and mixing concrete in a wheelbarrow in the heat is no easy task. Pai seems to have caught on as my nickname of choice. I was dubbed Melly when I arrived, but only a few people use it anymore. Fine with me, I like Pai better.
My friend Brian, or Kogira, he came out to lend a hand. He is in the process of having me dread his hair so he looks a little more crazy than normal.

View from the second floor of the hostel at sunset. Pretty huh?

The guys working hard to trim the inside of the thatch roof. I got up there to help out too. Not easy work.

Last but not least here is little video I took of my house. I have been living there for about a month and it is wonderful. I love having a place to feel at home finally unpacked the slippers my mom gave me almost 6 months ago. I have been enjoying cooking and having some nice quiet time in the evenings to read. I do miss my host family thought. I always felt a part of things and didn´t have to do much to be out and involved in daily activities. Now I have to go out and search people out. Kind of a weird switch to make...luckily I have no shortage of visitors.

It is hard to believe I have been here almost 8 months. A new group of Peace Corp trainees, group 63, arrive in a few weeks. On the one hand, I am almost a little sad to know I won´t be a new volunteer anymore but on the other I am happy to have training and the first few months in site behind me.