This is the best life ever!

So it has been one week since we arrived in Panamá and I am still completely in love with this country. It feels as though we have been here for months, but maybe I just have a lot of dirty laundry...
On Friday Pablo drove Hannah, Joy, Nancy, Marc (our professor) and I to El Caño, the archaeological park where I will be working for the next few weeks. The archaeologists at the site are great and gave us a tour of current and previous excavations. While right now the site they are excavating is a bit crowded, we will still get a chance to assist them by sorting through dirt for human and dog teeth (los dientes de humanos y perros). Quite dirty, but exciting. I´m learning a lot about bones! The site includes several unexcavated earthen mounds, two graves that have been excavated, and lots of strategically placed columns (some of which used to have heads before people cut them off to take to the United States...) that most likely signified a market area and sports arena. While this week we will be traveling to San Blas, I should be working there about 5 days a week once we get back.
After we spent the morning at El Caño, we went to Penonomé and La Pintada, where they were setting up for a weekend festival. I bought a very cool woven hat from a man and it makes me look totally Anthropologist. It was an awesome day and we listened to a great mixtape of Pablo´s, which included select songs from the soundtrack to Grease, Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, and Britney Spears. Pretty killer tracks.

Saturday was very relaxing, just a lot of reading, a Biology lecture out on the deck and a JINS discussion on ethnic relations in Panama after dinner.

Sunday was one of my favorite days so far. The morning started with cereal (per usual), and laying out on the rocks down by the river reading ´Beak of the Finch´. Then Jackie and I went to the swimming hole and everyone joined us. It is one of the greatest swimming holes of all time, very secluded with good climbing rocks and a waterfall. Quite possibly the reason I have been bathing so often. Next we enjoyed a delicious lunch, followed by a biology class in Omar Torrijos National Park. A few of the BIO 444 students joined our class of 5 as we hiked for a few hours deciding on what to study. The rainforest is one of the coolest places I have ever been, especially when we have our professor (Chad) and three very intelligent bio students (Denyse, Joey, and Will) telling us everything we would ever want to know about the plants and animals around us. We finally decided to study the percentage of surface area consumed by herbivores in a two week period of new growth and old growth plants around La MICA. Pretty exciting. After getting quite muddy in the park, the chiva drove Chris, Jackie, and I up to El Copé for a little more excitement. We walked around the town, chilled on some benches, and had a swell time trying to use our Spanish while talking to the local police. (Who by the way, absolutely love the ladies around here.) We also pulled out the uber-gringo card by taking pictures of a local fútbol match between the local kids while waiting in line at the panadería (bakery). They probably loved it. On our hike back to La MICA we ran into a gringa named Kayla who has been here for 2 years with the Peace Corps. Hopefully we will get to spend some time with her after we get back from San Blas. In short, after the long hike back we jumped in the river for a late night swim, ate dinner (french fries at last!) and then went to bed. Great day!

Now I am the last one on the computers and everyone is waiting on the bus to leave for Kuna Yala! Hasta luego!