I suppose it's time for me to update my loyal audience. Although, I don't know why you guys remain loyal. I'm probably the worst blogger in the short and varied history of blogging. Ah, well. I don't expect to be good at everything, and I more than achieve that low bar, I should say. Let's all celebrate mediocrity!So, since arriving back in Panama from the holiday jaunt in the States (of which I've included the traditional family photo with the addition of Jeepers, on my lap, my parent's new dog), I've begun my health seminar, had increased interest is basket selling (of which I posted some new, beautiful photos), and finally met with my water committee again. Although, that was really on the sly. They happened to be meeting, and I happened upon them and invited myself. Gotta work with what I get. I did get them to invite me to a meeting with the community next week. So that's something.
The health charlas have been going well. This week we were going to do nutrition, but a woman from my community passed away last week, and the service is all weekend. Instead of trying to compete with that, I postponed it until next weekend. I have to notify people of that, but I'm pretty sure they've already figured it out. I'm getting really into the charlas. They're fun for me because I get to engage them in a different way. Surprisingly, the part of the class where they talk the most is at the end. They come up to me and ask all the questions that they were too embarrassed to ask during the class. So, I've added that as part of the class. It's "sit and talk" time, where we drink our juice or coffee and eat our chips or cookies and discuss the class. We'll see how it goes when I give the nutrition charla next week. This seminar has sparked my interest in medicine, in an interesting turn of events. I don't know how I got from theater to medicine. Life is an interesting, winding road...
Alright, for the baskets that I promised. The first is by a woman n
amed Tereza. It has the big, bright flowers on it. It's about a ten inch diameter, really solid workmanship. Gorgeous piece. I swear, if I had the money, I'd live in a house made of baskets. Every time I see a new one, I want to buy it!The next one is by a woman name Laira. It's beautiful, and it's OVAL shaped, which is very uncommon. The work is
also really exquisite. Once again, a basket I'd love to buy. 
This next basket is by a woman named Lulu. She's actually named Ubelia, but everyone calls her Lulu. It's smaller, but nice quality with an interesting jungle pattern to it. I like it a lot. Nice natural colors, too.
Alright, and the following are a different kind a basket, made from a material called nahuala (pronounced nah-wall-uh) that they use for more utilitarian purposes. I requested a few for friends that were interested in having them for their homes, but they've started gifting me baskets, so some of these were gifts to me that are just beautiful! They're a sturdier material, and the colors are all made from roots, fruits, or mud. The women that made these are named Laira (same as above), Elvira and Diesila.
And that's all I have for now. I'll post again in February when I'm further through my health charla with some more photos. Thanks for returning to read, especially when I neglect you. I've got some interesting stuff going on right now, so it'll more fun to blog, I think.
Oh, if you're interested in any of these baskets, email me (mpetersen84@gmail.com) and I'll let you know the price. I'll in the States again the first week of March, so I'm going to bring stuff back with me. Thanks for all your support!
