I am teaching beginning Spanish, composition, and Latin American cultures at Juniata, and we are both curious to know how the other is doing. But, I had never been farther south than Panama. I would be remiss in not recognizing the wonderful support that we have received from Gustavo and his wife Fanny, who decided to stay home to tend the house and teach. She has made us feel very welcome and has offered lots of useful advice about how to get around and where to go. My two former classmates from the University of Texas have also been extremely helpful, and people in general have treated us well.
Colleagues are friendly, and students work hard.
I knew decades ago. There is trust among people, a meticulous respect for the rights of others, and an honesty that unfortunately has disappeared from most of the modern world. It is clear that people work hard and hold dear those principles that make a nation great. They have been a very good group to work with - open, willing to wrestle with poetry, fairly responsible about preparing assignments and presentations, and articulate. I myself haven't worked with most of the poets that we are studying since my undergraduate days almost 20 years ago, so we are all learning a great deal in this course.