Adventure, Fun, and Personal Growth in Panama

We are in full swing here in Panama. Our family and students are enjoying and benefiting from everything the this unique place offers. It's been sunny, dry, and very photogenic here. Many outdoor adventures are literally just outside our doorstep. So far, we have camped on the beach, trekked one of Central America's premier trails, and explored many of the mountain trails and rivers of the cloud forest to the North. 

Students have been active with Volunteer Work on Community Service Projects. We've become friends with one of the teachers of a local private school (one that is drastically underfunded) and have painted several of their class rooms. We are also going to a local school on a weekly basis where we teach English, play with children at recess, and contribute in anyway we can. You can see these pictures from this week to the left and below the text. 

We continue to focus on: 

*Music Production and Music Recording

*Spanish Language Learning

*Academic Coursework

*Daily Chores and Cooking, and Gardening

*Exercise (we go to the gym 3 times weekly)

Our Personal Growth Emphasis is on Developing Healthy Core Values Through Awareness, Creativity, Accountability in Goals and Projects, and Learning New Life Skills. The picture above is our ranch style home, Casa Amarilla, where family, students, and staff live.

Led by Eder Rodriguez, a Native Colombian, and one of our 3 bilingual resident staff, we conduct daily Spanish sessions, individually and in groups of two or three. Our Spanish class are held in our open breezeway room where we can hear the birds and smell the flowers of a tropical world very different from  where we come from.

In addition to our Volunteering and Spanish Learning activities, we are teaching a family and their friends English every Sunday. It's been wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the locals, and for our students to participate in a positive and wholesome social environment every weekend. Last weekend, the Garcia family invited us to teach English at their families property in Boquete, where we had also a picnic, went swimming, and played soccer with their daughter and their friends. You can see a picture of the scenic soccer game to the right.

Musically we are continuing to compose and record some great original music. To hear some of our past productions, click on to our music page here. You will find a Divshare player which features short segments of many of the original songs that students have written and recording in the last few years in Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Panama. 

We are also fielding a Football team in the local league, La Liga de Fútbol Americano Chiriquí. It's been a great social outlet to meet local people and participate in a team setting. We've currently had one scrimmage and, much to our surprise, the local Panama teams know a great deal about this sport which originates in the United States.
Another exciting development is our Organic Garden. One of the challenges here is growing temperate vegetables like broccoli, kale, and lettuce and other greens in a hot tropical climate.  We have seen significant progress and are now beginning to harvest some of the greens. We also enjoy several mango, cashew, noni, and lemon  lemon trees in our yard. Matt and Rich are very passionate about healthy eating habits, which includes lots of vegetables and vegetable juices in their diet. Their enthusiasm sometimes inspire the students to  learn more about nutrition and health.

Teaching English at a local school

Before we descend a trail into the Canyon

Melon, our dog at Casa Amarilla

The fairgrounds at Boquete

An artistic shot from one of our days exploring Boquete

The Garcia Family and Friends, whom we teach English on Sundays

Crossing a stream on our hike of The Quetzales Trail

Students prepare and teach lesson plans for our English students on Sunday   

A charming boy who asked us to take his picture, than demanded "moni" for his photogenic skills. One dollar well spent...

Boquete, a town about 30 minutes from our home, is one of the premier coffee growing locations in the world. 

One of several avion visitors who flew into our home 

Exploring one of Panama's oldest port cities, Puerto Armuelles

Student Profile: Jaxon A.

Jaxon A. returned home from Chile 10 months ago, and yet we still enjoy the "buena onda" (good spirit) that he generated during his entire 9 months with us. Jaxon joined us in Argentina in August of 2011, and from day one he showed more enthusiasm for learning Spanish and for experiencing life in a foreign country than we had ever encountered. Jaxon had a lot of academic work to complete during his time with us. Although academics were never his passion, he methodically worked each day of the week to complete the courses necessary for his High School diploma.

Over time, our family and students alike began to respect and admire the personal dignity and kindness that Jaxon exhibited throughout each day. It was as if Jaxon was costantly appreciative of his opportunity to live and learn in Argentina and Chile. His enthusiasm was always contagious.

He showed us all that the number one factor for making something happen in one's life is enthusiasm and positive belief. In spite of his non-academic approach to learning Spanish, he plowed through his verbs and conjugations tables and spoke Spanish at every opportunity. After a not so productive period (musically speaking), Jaxon became inspired to write and produce original songs and collaborations with Nick Giannelli. We realized right away that Jaxon was another very good singer that no one - including Jaxon - had previously been aware of. He is a natural singer with a charasmatic " vocal personality". He continues to write and record since he has returned to the States. Graduating High School, becoming conversational in Spanish, and blossoming as a songwriter-singer-producer were the main achievements that Jaxon accomplished during his time with us, but we will always remember him for his natural helpful and friendly spirit which he brings to life everyday.

Hiking Los Quetzales Trail

Los Quetzales Trail was a truly spectacular hike. It led us 7 miles through one of Central America's most trekkable cloud forest, known for its birdsighting and mysterious mist. The students had a blast, experiened a type of forest no one had seen before, and got a great workout too!

First, we drove uphill from our home near Dolega across a beautiful landscape where the mountains meet the sunny coastal plains. After an hour of driving, we arrived at Cerro Punta, a mountain village which serves as a agricultural haven to Panama and the starting starting point for our adventure.

The term "cloud forest" was certainly accurate and led to some stunning pictures. The mountain elevation combined with the low level cloud cover makes much of the trail literally through the clouds. This type of microsystem is also known as a "mossy forest" because of their abundant vegetation and the moss which covers the ground. 

After we hiked from the bottom of mountain, we arrived at the trail head - where the real fun began. Trekking through mud and crossing several streams, we kept a look out for the elusive quetzal bird which can be encountered in this region. Although weren't able to spy one, we listened to numerous bird sounds that we'd never before heard. 

This was one of the interesting plants we saw along the trail. It appears to be a type of orchid.

Our group at the end of the hike - happy, hungry, and with many pictures and positive memories to take from the experience.

Starting the New Year in Panama

Our home in Panama

Our move to Panama has been great and gone very smoothly. We have a comfortable, spacious ranch-style home with sunny porches wrapped around three sides of the house.  There is a huge garden space out back and the yard is covered with plants and fruit trees. Our first project in the garden space was to clear out and till the land in preparation for planting. Currently we're in the process of creating raised beds and we will soon plant after they are completed.

Located between the mountain town of Boquete and David, we are rural but close enough to town to access the gym, shopping, and community service opportunities. We are also within quick striking distance to hiking trails, rivers, mountains and the Pacific beaches to the south.  

Coffee beans in Boquete

An interesting note is that our location places us right on the edge of two different climates.  In the rural landscape known as Algarrobos, we experience the heat and warm breezes of the lower coastal plains; dry season lasts from December through March and we've mostly had temperatures in the high 80s. On the other hand, just down the road the town of Boquete finds itself in a mountainous valley where there are breezes and temperate weather throughout the year. A very international town known for its flower festival and coffee cultivation, Boquete is often a whole 15 degrees cooler than our location and provides a nice break from the heat.   

Hiking in Boquete

Since we arrived in Panama, we've encountered friendly and welcoming people as well as more American expatriates than we are used to. Some of the highlights of our first month include doing volunteer work at a animal shelter, camping on the beach at Las Lajas, hiking to a prinstine waterfall beyond Boquete, and getting to know the owner of the house, Anel and his family. Below are pictures of some pictures of the house and things we've been up to.

Volunteer work in an animal shelter

Camping in Las Lajas

Preparing the Garden Space

Where we have our daily Conversational Spanish class

Our trip to the Waterfall

Olé! Our Adventure in Spain

Our trip to Spain this year was a rich experience that featured the deep history and culture of Spain. We spent our time exploring the Southern Region of Andalucía.

It's our favorite part of Spain for many reasons: the Atlantic and Mediterranean beaches; the spectacular geography which features mountains rising up abruptly next to the sea; the very visible traces of Phonecian, Roman and Moorish cultures; the Flamenco music and Gypsy culture which has become integrated with the culture of Southern Spain; the light in the late afternoons which is unlike any other place; and of course the wise Andalucian people who have seen more than their fair share of upheavals and invasions in the past centuries. Here are just a few of the thousands of photos that we took over our last two trips in Spain.