Introduction!

To avoid mass e-mail, I've decided to keep a blog of my Peace Corps experience. JFK asked me what I can do for my country and so, next month, I'm headed off to Panama to ultimately become a "tourism and English consultant". I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm excited. It looks like I'll be able to update this bad boy about once a month. That seems to be the average for the other Peace Corps blogs I've been reading. I'll kick this off with some fun things I've learned about Panama!

• Everything in el bosque will kill you, sting you, poison you, or lay its eggs in you. (just kidding but it's starting to seem that way).
• Speaking of... they have coral snakes! I want to see one because they are the prettiest snake but I don't want to see one because (SURPRISE!) they can kill you.
• There are several indigenous groups in Panama and they have the most political autonomy of any native people in the Americas.
  
• Panama is on the US dollar... I had no idea.
• Cashews grow wild but are really poisonous before you roast them and even then the smoke during cooking is toxic.
• Some people have a poison-ivy-like reaction to mango leaves.
• The Peace Corps makes you take a swim test in which you turn your pants into a flotation device... I'm very curious to see how I will hold up.
• Hot dogs are a favorite. Really big. The breakfast of champions.
• Pasta goes with rice. They do that in Costa Rica too though. :-P
  
• A lot of pc volunteers adopt pets. I really want a dog! I don't want to feel like I'm cheating on Hobbes though. Maybe I'll stuff him in my bag...
• It is considered weird to live alone en el campo. I kind of already knew this but I had no idea of the extent of it.
  
• Pretending that I'm married will make sure that I only have to answer one question, "Why isn't your husband here then?" Instead of five million inquiries about which Panamanian I'm marrying when and wether or not we're going to the U.S. or staying here and how many kids we're having and blah blah blah etc.
  
• There is one active volcano in Panama. If you visit me, we're going there. I don't care how many times I see it.
• I'm going to need to buy high heels for la ciudad.
• Mother's Day is a massive blowout. Maybe not as huge as hotdogs but almost...
• Bob Villa is a Peace Corps Panama alumnus.
  

So there it is. Keep an eye on this page for contact info as it comes up and changes. Please leave plenty of comments so we can keep in touch! Also, start making plans to come visit because I'm already homesick.