mi vida :)

first of all im sorry that i havent posted anything in a long time ! i have just been in my own little panama world. thing here are great! I finaly feel like i am a part of the family:) I am learning so much everyday and there is still so much more. I really wish that i spoke spanish fluently but im working on it. little by little. I am back in school and actualy have to do things now :( but its pretty easy which is good cause its in spanish. I have many friends but my best friends are the ones that understand stand a little bit of english. haha i love my family and i feel so blessed to have such a good one ! A lot of other AFS students are having problems with their famlies :( time has been flying by and its already been 2 months! there has been a lot of fiestas and there is going to be a lot more in november ! they are like carnivals and the girls dress up in the tipical outfit . which is very pretty ! I will try and post some pictures on facebook. There was a fiesta in macaracas and also my sisters birthday. my mom made arroz con pollo and a lot of family came. she also made sopa de gloria which is a dulce : soo good ! i have learned how to make so much food. I even help´my mom with selling empanadas and bollo :) I dont like bollo but i love empanadas and tortillitas ! I will hopefully be posting more blogs but i dont know for sure. i miss you all!

School

well first of all its not called high school here is collage and you have to choose either computers or science. i chose science because its math and numbers and numbers are the same in spanish. anyways on the first day they made me and the 2 other afs people go up on stage and say our names. that was embaressing. but after that i made friends. school is very easy here, well it would be if you knew spanish. they kinda just sit around and talk and teachers teaches. No one raises their hand. There is a lot of coping what the teacher says in your notebook. Which is really hard for me becuase i cant spell in spanish and they go really fast. Oh and its really hot in the class room and the uniforms are annoying. Its nice to be involved in the community other then just the people my mom and sister knows. Everybody is super nice at the school. They all want to hear me read in spanish. A lot of boys randomly walk by and touch my hair haha. It kida fun to be the center of attention :)

Panama:)

I have arrived in panama! I have a mama and a hermana.(sister) They are super nice and dont speak english at all. It has been hard to communicate but i understand them. It is hard for me to answer or ask a question. they have a lot of family all over the town. my mama pretty much knows everyone. i have learned that when you walk into a room you say buenas. there is no hot water anywhere. so my showers consist of turning the water on jumping into the water then turning off the water then using soap then turning back on the water. they take 2 showers a day but only wash their hair once every 2 days. becuase the water is cold. I have no concept of time here. and either does anyone else. they show up when they want. the house is small. its all open and the bugs just come in and out. it has been very hard for me to sleep. at 4 am the roosters are soo loud and they dont stop tell about 7. im guessing i will get use to it. i only use bug stray at night in my room. it has worked so far. I am obsessed with the fireflys here !!!! they are so pretty and they sound awesome!!! the weather is nice. i dont mind the humidity. and wearing pants is fine because every place turns the ac on full blast! i am going to school monday so i will blog about that later ! as they say in panama CIAO :)

Host Family

I have just learned about my host family ! It is a mother and a son. They live in a town of Macaracas in Los Santos. I leave in less then 20 days and there is still so much to do! The nerves and stress is setting in, but i know its all going to pay off once i step foot on Panamanian ground! :)

Hola!

Hi, my name is Hannah Lacombe and I am a junior at Poway High School. Next semester I will be studying abroad in Panama for six months through AFS. While in Panama, my goal is to learn Spanish and open my eyes to a whole new culture and country abroad. When I return from Panama in January 2012, I will just have returned from one of the most positive life changing experiences a high school student could have.

Through hard work I have earned a scholarship to cover $8,000 of my tuition. I feel so blessed to have the ability to go and to learn more about the culture. Unfortunately I am still short on money. I am working to raise the rest of the money but I need help. My goal is to raise $3,000. I have very limited time so ever dollar counts! Due to the lack of time you may not donate directly online but you can send a check to me.

Hannah Lacombe
10958 poblado rd #3131
San Diego CA 92128

thank you so much for your support