Farewell, Panama

My preschool class (plus two older boys who wandered into the photo)

Back to blogging!  We left Panama in early June, and here are some photos from our last week there.

Pumpkin seeds grew!

By this point we were fed up with the humidity, frustrated with our jobs, and itching to get out of the jungle. TK finished the last of 18 chicken coops, relieved to be done with kayaking from homestead to homestead in blazing heat to labor on them. I threw together a few projects at the school that I had been meaning to do for months, like planting a school garden. 

TK and Margaret from the lodge made a surprise visit to the school,
 to bring cupcakes on my last day.

As much as I wanted to leave, I held back tears the entire last day of preschool. Back at the lodge we exchanged gifts and hugs with the staff members who were so wonderful for our entire stay there. We lingered with them at the dock, postponing our final good-byes and sincerely hoping we’ll see each other again. I love these volunteer gigs that allow us to grow intimately close with small communities around the world, but the transitions between them are so draining and sad. It’s one of the reasons we talk about settling down in a year or so.

Last boat commute home. Kind of impressive to not get a single person looking at the camera.

(This is how the older kids get to school)