happy birthday! happy 4th! happy medical exams??

It´s official. I´ve now been in site for over a year so the countdown begins.
I had a wonderful 23rd birthday last week. Sooo much better than last year. Last year I had been in the community for only four days and didn´t know anyone so it was a lonely day. This year I was traveling and saw a lot of friends. Thanks for making my day great!! Then I made the long trip to Panama City with another volunteer, Joanna. After one year in site we are required to do medical exams and because I live in an indigenous community we had to stay in the city for three days. It included lots of poking, pooping in a cup and six hours in the dentist´s office. Unfortunately the appointments took longer than I had hoped for (surprise surprise in Panama) so I didn´t have as much free time as I would have liked. But I still fit in a movie, shopping at the malls, a pedicure and lots of good eating out! Good thing I had been saving up my money for a while... Yesterday started the long haul back to Bocas with a night in David and now I´m just waiting for my boat. It was nice to have a break but I can´t afford to do it too often. I´m looking forward to getting back. While I was away I got a call from my best friend in the community saying her dog had puppies so I´m excited to see them.