the [bugs] come out at night.

last night as i sat in my house i realized it was under attack. around every light bulb was a swarm of 10-15 bugs. there were also various bugs on the floor, many of which i have never seen before. every 5 minutes i was sweeping them out of the house until i realized i was getting no where. as i fell asleep i heard the constant hum of hundreds of little wings flapping. it could only mean one thing...

summer is officially over. sunny, breezy days are no more. back are the hot and humid mornings and heavy storms. soon, i'll begin to wake up early every morning to check the sky and see if i can wash my clothes. walking anywhere will mean being soggy and covered in mud. everything i own (and i mean EVERYTHING: books, underwear, rice, my bed...) will smell like mold. and with winter come all of these bugs. my legs will once again look like a polka-dot mess. (see one of my posts from november to view a foto of such legs.) basically, life will get harder.

the summer was always my favorite season back home and here i love it even more. summer was like being on vacation from life. i forgot what it was really like to live in the tropics last august-december. now, i am begining to remember again. and it makes me miss home. it makes me remember how lucky we are there. only in coming to live in panama did i realize that living in the tropics isn't always like living in paradise. sometimes (if not most of the time), it's like living in a big swamp.

p.s. i still love it.

and here are pictures from the school's 81st anniversary celebration in my town.

the night before, they have a parade and all the kids have "torchas." they're paper lanterns with a candle inside. some start flaming a bit. kids and fire. very safe.

some of the 7th grade girls at the parade.

day of the anniversary. the conjunto folklorico performing.

girls dancing.

tamales the coop made to raise money.