Bit of a quiet week here in Bocas. The last couple days it has rained almost non-stop (I now understand why it's called the 'rainy season'), so there hasn't been much time for outdoor activities. Things move at a different pace down here and it's a bit tough to get used to. I've always been of the mind that I have to be on time or early for things and if I'm even a second late I have done something wrong. Down here if you're a bit late it's not a huge deal as your transit time relies heavily on the weather, the availability of water taxis, and the amount of people you stop and talk to in the streets. Coming from such a regimented background (school, work, sports, etc) it's nice to be able to move at your own pace and have a bit of flexibility in your day.
Seeing as how the extracurriculars this week are in short supply (don't worry I'll tell you about them in a bit), now seems a good a time as any to talk about the Spanish classes I'm taking at Habla Ya. I have been there for a total of 3 weeks and I have learned so much more than I ever imagined I would. My class size has varied from 1-3 people so the individual attention from the teacher is fantastic. Every Tuesday, the whole school gets together during our break and everyone goes around and introduces themselves in Spanish. Even if you know as little as I did that first week just being able to say what your name is, where your from, and how old you are was enough. It's a great way to get to know everyone at the school and it's a fun way to practice what you've learned in class. Every student gets a workbook and in them are activities that you do during class and as homework to help understand the grammar and all the rules. It's tough but I think if I keep at it I'll be able to hold my own. The toughest part for me right now is vocabulary but that will come with time and a little bit of work!
This week I had my first dive as a certified scuba diver! I plan on diving at least once a week so be prepared to hear about this a lot! Anyways, being able to just go out and dive without having to do any of the skills beforehand was fantastic! We had so much more time to explore and I saw so many things I've never seen before. Ready for it? This week I saw: Lobster, crabs, jellyfish, lionfish (3), chain morray eels (4), sand rays (5), a baby drumfish (which I found), and adult drumfish, a huge eagle ray (followed it for a while, but kept our distance), and pufferfish (2, 1 which was HUGE and 1 that I found and pointed out to the group). Can you see why I love this activity? It's a whole new world down there and on every dive you can see something new.
My other adventure this week was heading to the mainland and going on a cacao tour. It was so weird to be in a car again after getting around by boat for the last 3 weeks. Never thought that the motion of a car would feel so foreign to me. The tour itself was one of the best ones I've been on so far. For one thing, our guide spoke mostly in Spanish and I understood about half of what he was telling us! Some got lost intranslation and my lack of vocabulary but he would ask if I got it and if I didn't he or my classmates would explain what I missed. We climbed up the mountain and he told us how all the cacao grown in the region is picked by hand and then sold to be processed. Of course the community keeps some for the purposes of the tour but everything that is sold is done so on the fair trade market. The chocolate they sold at the community is 90% cacao, with the only additives being sugar and milk, and is by far some of the best chocolate I've ever had. I may or may not have bought $10 worth.... Absolutely backbreaking work for a high quality product.
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