This week marked the first casualty of Early Termination (henceforth known as ETing, and appreciate these paranthetical statements, because it's harder than hell to find proper punctuation on this keyboard). It kind of sucks, especially since she was an EH volunteer and losing her brings the female count down one more, as we are constantly and mercilessly surrounded by guys who would like to think they oozed testosterone (whether or not this is actually true is, on occasion, debatable).

This week also marked our first venture into el Ciudad de Panamá. Now, I know I am constantly comparing all of my huge and worldly traveling experience with that of México, but I honestly wasn't that impressed. It was just a bunch of unsightly architecture that was half finished. Thus, we spent most of our time in this ridiculous mall with ridiculously expensive stores for our 3 dollars a day budget. I have to say, I like our host site, in all its rural glory, much better.

Spanish class has come screeching to a halt as my class and the class of geniuses above us embark on projects and abandon our studies. I am the weakest link, language wise, and I am working with three guys (Pete, Nelson and Franco) to construct a compost latrine in a poorer part of our host site. On the one hand, it will be good to pick up technical Spanish, and I'm really sick of spending four hours a day listening to how to construct the grammatically perfect Spanish sentence, but on the other hand, I'm working with three guys, one of whom studied abroad in Argentina and is fluent, and one of whom speaks like four hundred different languages that I refuse to keep track of (that would be Franco, whose blog has thusly been added to the side bar). But intimidation is overrated, so I am just going to listen and build and speak when I know what's going on, and everything is going to be great.

Also, I am not ETing. Because I love Panamá. Seriously.

Next week we Aspirantes (trainees) are embarking on volunteer visits to various sites. I am going to a Comarca in Bocas Del Toro, and I'm pretty excited about it. I keep reevaluating my preferences toward my site in my head, and have come up with a whole slew of new options. We'll see how the site visit goes, and on the 12th I will know where I am going to spend the next two years. Sweet.

On a side note, I've taken up running. Who saw that coming...no one?

That is all for today. Pictures will come when I find my USB cord, which could be never, but I also might buy one of EBay.

WRITE ME LETTERS AND SEND ME BOOKS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN ENGLISH. AND NOT SHITTY BOOKS EITHER.