A Month of Volunteering and being AWOL

Has it really almost a month since my last blog? Apparently so, and the blog isn't the only place we have been AWOL on. We went to brunch earlier this week with some friends and the owner of the restaurant made several comments that it has been too long since we've seen one another. When he asked what we've been up to, we did not have a very interesting answer.  What have we been up to?

We donated blood, again. This time we did not take pictures. This experience was almost identical to the first time both of us gave blood. We were done with the process within an hour of us getting there, It is quick and easy and you feel like you did something good for the day. Neither of us fainted, both of us enjoyed our cookies, and we potentially saved six lives with our donation.

We also have figured out how to vote while living here. Despite what some may think, Robert and I did not have to revoke our US citizenship to move to Panama.  After spending time in Panama it has become evident that people from many different countries are paying attention to the US election. While the system may not be perfect, unlike other expats here, who are not citizen, I am able to have an opinion and do something beyond make memes like this:

Robert and I continue to teach English. There is one other teacher who helps us with our class. The three of us make a great team and we seem to enjoy it. The more we teach, the more I continue to realize that learning a new language is difficult for everyone. We are taking Spanish classes. One thing I have realized is that our student's and classmate's (including my own) gripes about learning the other language are almost identical. 

Pretty sure this applies to Spanish too....
link

We also participated in a beach clean up with some of our friends. This beach clean up was not nearly as exciting as a previous ones because we did not find anything outside of the normal stuff: plastic, cans, and bottles. Although Robert did find a used tampon, and our friend found a dirty diaper. Even though we did not find anything "exciting" we picked up a lot of small trash which I know will make a positive impact on the  animals in the ocean. After all, every bit helps! 

Dead Jellyfish on the beach

As we continue to settle into living in Panama, life is becoming more normal for us and less exotic seeming. We stay busy and have a constant reminder of how fortunate we are to be in a place where we can work and have time to do things we enjoy. Life has been good to us!