We're quickly approaching on three months in site, so next week I'll be able to move into my own house. There's still a ton of work to do and I bet I'll be pretty uncomfortable for the first couple weeks, but I'm very excited. Life won't be extremely

different, just a bunch of small frustrations that won't bother me anymore. From now on I'll be more independent, able to cook for myself, able to get away for privacy when I want to. And I'll keep busy with home improvement projects for awhile.

So, these days I bathe in a stream a ways from my house out into the jungle. A tiny creek has been

dammed to created a pool, with a spot to stand and pour water over yourself wit

h a gourd. It's actually very nice standing out in the jungle as I take my shower every day.

The other day I was coming back home on the tiny trail through thick forest when I met my neighbor going the other way. We both had on shorts and flipflops and were carrying soap and a towel and it was so much like going to use the communal shower in the dorm room that I laughed out loud.

But with any luck, I'll be able to connect my new house to the aqueduct and I'll be able to bathe in my own yard with a hose.

I'm finally getting a feel for the environmental issues of the area. I had read it was deforested, but disagreed at first because it seemed that every hillside was covered with trees, a scrub growth that's slowly taking over what used to be pasture. However, as I look further, I'm realizing that many areas remain deforested or are covered with low bushes, and that planting the forest tree species that have been eliminated from the area will greatly improve the ecosystem.

People here are not environmentalists, and well, neither am I. But it seems like everyone is excited about the project. Reforestation will mean more available water during the dry summers, more firewood and construction materials, more tasty critters to eat, and more fertile soil when land is cleared for farming. One of the fun things about a Ngabe community is that people want trees in the area. In other cultures, reforestation projects meet with resistance because people are afraid of the forest. Not the folks in Cerro Papayo though.

Well I don't feel like typing anymore because it's been a long weekend full of writing reports. Turns out the Peace Corps belongs to the US government and there's paperwork. But I miss you. And don't worry because I'm doing well and am in good company and I'll write again soon.

Written September 7th

Nineteen years ago, I had just turned four and I set off for school for the first time and I've started classes every September since then. It's weird not going back. The academic calendar has ruled my life for so long that a huge part of me feels that it's time to drop the pickaxe and pick up a book. So I have a small itch to get moving.

Other than that, things are going great. I've been spending my days talking mostly. There's a lull in the farm work, so people are hanging out more, talking and drinking corn beer. I feel confident enough now to drop by at houses out in the forest so I've been working at getting to know families further from town. Also, at popular request, I've started an English class for adults. But something must be wrong with my approach because of the 50+ people who asked for a course, about three have been coming. It's kind of frustrating, but overall I'm feeling optimistic about my prospects for work.

I'll be helping Felix and th Ecoclub with their nursery- producing fruit trees for around the houses and lumber species to reforest the area. I'll also be working with individual families to help with gardening, fish tanks, rice tanks, soil improvement, and especially any kind of farming that involves trees. And there's talk of a project to build stoves that use half the amount of firewood and keep smoke out of the ladies' faces. And those same ladies have asked my help getting funds for a communal building where they can get together to weave bags and sew dresses. Oh! And the school. I'll be in there a couple times a week teaching environmental education and gardening.

It looks like a lot, written down like that, and I'm excited to be able to work with that much variety. I hope that my work is steady and that there's a lot of it. In the past, I've found that I'm happier when I'm very, very busy. Without a good workload, life out here could be way too slow.

You've probably noticed that this week's blog as been focused on settling down for a long stay. A lot of my energy is towards that. Plans for work and for recreation, purchase of a few comfort

items, planting chilis, and working on my house. It's been two and a half months, so it's time to settle in. And the house needs work. It hasn't been lived in for two years, an eternity here. Termites and scorpions everywhere and all the support beams rotted out. I've enjoyed spending an occasional afternoon going to fix it up, imagining what sort of life I'll make for myself here.