Why Birds This Week?

Day 6 of Nine

Today, Thursday, we are preparing to move from the mountains of Boquete to the beaches of Bocas del Toro, Panama.  So no new birds today.  Just a day of rest before our big transcontinental push tomorrow.  We’ll be up and out of the house early in the morning, birding the whole way to Bocas.

So why is this week devoted to birding?  We’ve survived, even succeeded in the last 6 weeks of Spanish school.  Four hours a day, five days a week, plus homework.  The homework was easy the first 3 weeks, but it ramped up steeply in Survivor II, the second 3 weeks.  We were introduced to 3 new verb tenses in the last week, and we both felt like we were losing more than we were gaining.  In short, we were tired and feeling a bit burned out. 

All along we had been planning this 1 week vacation between the first 6 weeks in Boquete and 2 more weeks in Bocas del Toro.  Now it looks like great planning, because it couldn’t have come at a better time. 

We feel good about how much we have learned, but still find it extremely difficult to put our lessons to use in actual conversation.  But in time, that too will come, as long as we keep at it.   

So the birding this week is a little breather to refresh us before the final 2 weeks.  More studying ahead.  Life is not just about birding.  But you already knew that.