More Weekend Adventures: A Rodeo and a Cumpleaño

So Luis and Lupe invited me to go back to their grandparents' finca, this time for a whole weekend because there was going to be a bull-riding and a fiesta at night. It was definitely an interesting cultural experience - I learned how Panamanians do local bull riding, I learned how to dance tipico, and I was the token gringa at the fiesta - for all of the good and bad that the label brings. But it was a fun weekend. here are some photos:

Here come some of the bulls!

Bull Riding - they also rode the backwards (basically laying on the bull's neck with their head on the animal's back, feet around it's neck) - it was pretty entertaining and thankfully not as intense as I was anticipating, so I only got really scared for a rider once or twice. 

Lupe and Luis, the brother & sister who invited me. And yes, I have crazy blue make-up on. Lupe's cousin did it and I didn't have a good mirror haha

The first night there were about 75 people there, I would guess and it was a "discoteca" meaning that it was a DJ, but it was still mostly tipico music. Luis taught me how to dance the tipico Panamanian dance. Then the next night, a lot more people came - probably close to 200 - and that was when I really felt like the token white person. I've felt the stares before, and been called "gringa", and been told my eyes are really pretty, but this was different. One man told me that my eyes just weren't for looking at anything. I responded with - they are for looking at whatever I want. 

Also, that night there was a cantadera - which is a typical panamanian style of singing that is pitchy and culturally-themed - which was really interesting to hear. Then there was a tipico band - guitars, drums and singing. This was when I really became the focus of the party. Luis and I danced once, and then I could hardly sit down without being asked to dance by someone else. And hey - I like dancing, so I really didn't have a reason to say no. I danced with guys who were probably 20 all the way up to men who were probably 50+. It wasn't until it was 1 am, I had been dancing since 9 (almost straight), and I was starting to get creeped out by a few of the men, that I finally decided to go home. Lupe walked me back to the house, but she was going to stay to the end. They sure do know how to party! Overall, it was fun, and I was glad that they invited me.

The next weekend I went into Chitre to go to the Gran Azuero Féria Internacional! It was a pretty big affair with dog shows, cattle shows, cattle you could walk around and see, a lot of plants, rides, artisans selling things, and food vendors. Pretty interesting! I ended up buying a hammock!! Which I'm super siked about. For my birthday gift to myself, I bought some rope and hung it up at the house :) Then Sunday, Steve and Heather invited me up to Chepo again! Their host family is so sweet. It was a weekend similar to the last one (so I didn't take too many photos). We went to the river/swimming hole on Sunday right when I got there. Good thing we went when we did b/c it rained a TON later that afternoon, which made it almost cold! I actually had to borrow a fleece for the evening, which was nice. We just hung out, did a crossword, helped make dinner, and watched a movie. Monday (we didn't have school - an ex-president died) we walked down the road for about an hour and a half, then back - so I got my exercise in! But it was another relaxing weekend up there.

The next weekend was.... my 23rd birthday! It was actually a pretty momentous weekend; the 11th marked 4 months in-country, the 12th was my 23rd birthday, and the 13th was a year-to-date that I graduated college. Where does the time go? Suffice it to say, it definitely got me thinking about a lot of things and missing friends and Vandy. But I had some great PCV friends here who made my birthday special!

The lovely PCVs who came and visited me on my birthday!

Tempest, Miranda, Heather, Steve, Lindsey, and Graycie. It was so nice of them to come. They brought me some lovely surprises including a birthday hat (see below), a bag of mixed chocolates (Snickers, Twix, Milky Way etc), some Ferraro Rocher chocolates, and mango salsa! It was all delicious. I also made some guacamole for us to munch on for the afternoon.

Bruni and our neighbors and some other friends gave me a party that night too - Bruni cooked arroz con pollo, potato salad, meatballs - typical panamanian birthday fare, but it was all very good. And then we went next door and they surprised me with this big cake! It was great and very sweet - but can you see how they spelled my name? My name isn't understood very well here haha. But I was just appreciative for the thought! Several other people stopped by throughout the day and gave me a few gifts - a mug, some lotion/candy, 2 bottles of wine. It made me feel like I'm really integrating here! People actually do like me :)

Then one of the better surprises - I got 2 packages! One from my mom and another from one of my best friends, Liz. all of the baking stuff, and 2 of the cards are from my parents, and the candy/book etc on the left and 4 cards are from Liz. It definitely made my day!!

But if I'm being honest, the best part of my birthday was when I went to school the following Monday. Kids apparently found out that it was my birthday, and when I walked up to the teachers, they all sang Happy Birthday to me and all of the kids in the area ran up to me and gave me hugs! Then one of the other English teachers gave me a gift of body wash and candy. Throughout the day tons of kids gave me hugs and wished me happy birthday. One class even pulled me in their classroom spur-of-the-moment and sang happy birthday to me :) It was really sweet. 

I'll post in the next day or two about the last few weeks of teaching. But I wanted to get these up first!

Besos de Panama and thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday from abroad!