Just got back from my visit to Cerro Papayo. I loved it. And I was misinformed. Everyone told me that the Ngobe are really closed-off and that people would be too shy to talk to me for the first few months, but they had a big crowd and a welcome sign when I pulled in. They immediately decided by committee to name me Chiti. And I was told the food would be horrible and monotonous, but it was flavorful and included vegetables and spices from everyone´s gardens along with homegrown rice and beans. I don't think I ate a single thing that wasn't from right there. And I was told that people where lazy and dirty and disinterested. It might just be an initial glow from meeting everybody, but I feel these folks have been slandered.

I'm living the first month with Felix, his wife Senia, and their kids Clementina, Felix, Elvis, and Elixelis (13, 8, 6, and little). The house is right across the road from the school, built of roughsawn mahogany with a tin roof and a dirt floor. Felix built a little room off the side for me. In the morning the window opens out to a sunrise out over the mountains. My garden plot has been picked out and I'll be carrying seeds when I go back. I haven´t decided yet, but I think I'm going to build my house next door.

And I did some walking. To go see people, to visit someone's farm, or to go to another town, you need to be prepared to hike over the worst trails ever through deep mud, up and down steep little hills. And you´ll probably be expected to haul firewood, since you´re heading that way. I'm going to come back in the best backpacking shape ever.

I need to learn ngobere right now. Everyone speaks Spanish well, but they only do so when directly addressing me. Which was awkward in the meetings explaining why I was there. Felix would switch to Spanish to ask me if I had anything to add.

I've got a better idea of my work now. I'll mostly be working on established projects, and I'm excited that the community has already demostrated their interest and willingness to work. There's a tree nursery supplying fruit and lumber trees to community to help reforest the region. And there is a large school garden run by the PTA. And the ecoclub is interested in setting a better waste management system. So my work will be somewhere in these areas. I´ll have to wait and see what seems best in a couple of months.

Well, I hope everyone's doing alright and I hope to hear from you soon.