I'm updating this from Santiago, Veraguez, while my clothes are at the lavamático being scoured of their mildew smell that they accumulated over what was the busiest week ever. And it's not over yet.

This last week was tech week, which meant the nineteen remaining EH volunteers headed out to the Ngäbe site Cerro Iglesias, where we proceeded to construct five composting latrines throughout the community. The basic concept of composting latrines is that you create a two-chambered block construction and put two toilet seats (one per chamber) on the top. You use the first chamber for six months, and use two different parts of the seat--one for when you piss and one for when you shit. After you're done, you put sawdust over whatever solid waste you've just produced, and continue to use that chamber until it fills, and then let it sit for six months, after which you should have straight up compost for a garden of some sort. It's an important concept here in Panamá, especially where water tables are high, as it eliminates risk for fecal-oral disease transmission, etc. etc. This may sound strange, but if you're planning on coming to visit me, you'd better get used to the idea, as I'm building one for my eventual house.

We also got to stay with a Ngäbe host family, which was interesting, but I am glad I'm being sent to a Latino site. The Ngäbe women have a lot of pena, which basically means they're shy and look down at the ground, and since I'm shy and look down at the ground when I first meet people, I probably wouldn't get shit done. HOWEVER, we almost didn't get there at all because our Chiva never showed up, and when one did, we broke down somewhere on the mountain and had to evacuate out because of this cloud of opaque white smoke. Then, as we were leaving the site, the other Chiva didn't show up, meaning we hiked for a while, which would have been fine except my Teva broke and I had to hike barefooted.

Now we're all in transit to culture week, where I, along with four other people, will spend the next five days at an Emberá site in the Darién learning the language and getting painted and awesome shit like that. I also get to stay in Panamá for a night and pick up a cell phone and go to Riba Smith, which is Panamá's answer to Whole Foods.

Finally, for anyone in Chicago, especially if you go to Columbia, read "The Time Traveler's Wife", which was written by some professor there, and which mentions places like Berlin and the Western stop on the Brown Line and the Newberry Library and Smartbar and Belmont throughout the entire thing. I read it this last week and it made me homesick as hell.

I miss you all and apologize for this insanely boring entry. You'll probably get one tomorrow with my cell phone number on it though, so everyone go out and buy an international phone card, because incoming calls are free for me!