as one era ends, another begins.

Dave and his best friend Anny. She refused to go to school until she said goodbye.

Dave is officially done with Peace Corps. I never thought I'd see the day when the 27 months of his service would end. I was fortunate enough to have a school schedule that allowed me to travel to Panamá and help him celebrate his last few days in Loma Bonita. Having visited four times in the past two years, saying goodbye was sad for me. I can only imagine how hard it was for Dave after living there for two years.

The first few days of my visit consisted of Dave being sick - 102 fever at one point. The poor guy can never catch a break when something big is happening. Luckily, it only lasted a few days. We spent most of the time in his house and wandering town visiting families - nothing too strenuous. One exciting moment was when Soyla was teaching Dave some songs on la mejorana - their smaller version of a guitar... looks somewhat like a uke.

On July 5th, Greg flew in. We went into the city to pick him and a RENTAL CAR up. Yes, the rental car was probably the best decision we made. First, Greg didn't arrive until late afternoon so getting to LB that night on public transportation would have been impossible. Second, the car would make going back to the city with Anzuelo (our dog) and all our luggage much easier.

Driving back to LB from the city, we decided to stop for dinner. Greg had his first Panamanian meal and was a little surprised at how cheap it was... and the concept of NOT leaving a tip. Then we went to LB, with a quick stop in Penonomé for fireworks. More on that later... By the time we got to LB, we were all ready for bed.

The next day, we visited some families and went to the school. At the school, we passed out some gifts that the kids from my church had prepared during Vacation Bible School two weeks before. It was great to see the kids (mostly the little ones) excited about the bags. Some of them began wearing them immediately and we even saw some using them the next day.

That night was probably the highlight of my trip. First, we went to Catalino's house for dinner and fireworks. Well... one firework. Dave shot it off and, instead of going in a straight line, it curved and went through the tree before going off. Then we went to Mama Maria's house at the top of the hill for dinner #2 and another firework. Afterwards, we went to the school for bingo... and fireworks. This time, it was a square shaped one that you  leave on a flat surface and light. It then does several fireworks instead of one like we were using earlier. The first few were really nice... and then it tipped (because they had placed it on grass that was not flat) and it started shooting into the school hallway. Everyone ran but was laughing, not afraid, and then got back to bingo. After bingo, we went back to Dave's place. Fernando and his kids came up to do the last single fireworks with us. Dave did one, Fernando did one, and then Greg did one. If you haven't heard about it yet, Greg didn't really know what he was doing and ended up holding onto it a little too long - only letting go at the last minute. He's fine, but his shirt and fingers were just a tad black. We finished off the night setting off these little... bombs? They call them la bomba if I remember correctly. Earlier that morning, Dave thought they were one thing... but they weren't... and set it off. It makes a huge explosive sound that shocked both of us! Now that we knew what to expect, we stayed far away when setting them off that night. Though pretty dangerous, it was a fun way to spend Dave's last night in Loma Bonita. 

If you want to see videos of Dave setting one off at Maria's house, the one at school, and Greg's attempt, go to Dave's blog.

The next day consisted of packing and cleaning Dave's house. His goal was to be packed and out of his house by 11. I didn't think we'd make it, but we did! Something he didn't expect, still being in LB at 3. Saying goodbye was hard and took longer than he expected - but it was a welcome delay. We ended up getting to the city later than we planned, partly because of the delay leaving LB and partly because there was an unexpected passport check just before the city.

That night, Greg and Dave did laundry and I organized the bags - we just stuffed them earlier in the day. We took Anz for a walk on our way to dinner. The hostal wanted us to keep him in his kennel while there, so we decided to take him with us. When we got back from dinner, we just kept him with us. He would whine so loudly when alone in his kennel... we thought it was in the best interest for everyone.

The next morning, Dave and I headed to the airport with Anz and another volunteer who was also going to the airport. We got there with plenty of time, returned our rental car, and then found out Anzuelo needed to be dropped off at a location around 15 minutes away! This is when frustration started to set in. I went to check in while Dave and the girl went to get a cab and drop off Anzuelo. When I had finished checking in (after cutting into the wrong line - New Jersey instead of Texas), I called Dave and found out it was too late for Anz to be on my flight. Dave said he had to figure out what they were going to do but to wait for him. My flight wasn't until 9:55 but began boarding at 9:05. At 8:30, Dave was STILL at the office. I was so thankful when, at 9:07, Dave showed up. Sadly, we only had a few moments to say goodbye and then I headed in. They were already boarding my row when I got there, so I went straight from seeing him to going to my seat. Perfect timing, but definitely not how either of us had planned the morning to go. No breakfast, rushed, and no clue what would happen to Anzuelo.

Before my plane left, Dave told me that the company had called him back with the info and that Anz would arrive in Houston at 6 but wouldn't make it to San Francisco until the next day. At this point, I didn't know what to think anymore. I filled with so many different emotions. I felt terrible that Anzuelo was going to be stuck in his kennel until the next day - with just a potty break and possibly a walk in Houston (they weren't very descriptive in what they would be doing). 

I got home that Friday night and headed to campus Saturday morning for class. We had a presentation that day and it was honestly the last thing on my mind. All I wanted to do was get out of there and head to the airport to pick up Anzuelo who would be arriving at 1:21. Thankfully, I was able to do my presentation early, get out of class, and be there before he arrived.

Anzuelo is adjusting really well. When he first arrived, he was a bit timid, but that's understandable - San Pablo is very different from Loma Bonita. I kept him with my parents because I had class on Sunday and wanted to make sure someone was with him since we didn't know if he was potty trained. He was in Panamá, but he was used to running around all day and going whenever he wanted, whining only at night when he was in the house. He did have a few accidents, but I'm proud to say that he is officially potty trained! He plays really well with my parents' dog, Buster, and even did well with the crowd at my church's annual picnic.

Dave is currently traveling Central America with Greg - going to be scuba diving for the next few days in Honduras. Then Dave and I will be going to DC... He'll be at a career fair and apartment hunting. I'll just be hanging out, enjoying the sites. It's been a few years since I've been there - hoping something has changed! :) Dave will be moving to DC in September, bringing Anzuelo and Monty (the snake), and starting this next chapter of life. When I'm done with school next year, I'll be following. Can't wait!

Below are some photos. On the left, under "photos," is an album entitled "Panamá July 2011" that has all of the photos from the trip.