School's Out!

It's winter vacation. Two months at your parent's hut on a picturesque island in the San Blas Archipelago in Panama. You sleep in a hammock at night, help your dad hunt fish, lobster, and conch during the week, and sometimes take a boat over to the next island where he farms coconuts, bananas, mamey fruit, and avocados. Then you spend the rest of your time helping your mother cook fish with rice and playing with your puppy "Negra." Sound nice?

This was the life of Elliot, a fourteen-year old eighth grader who we met today. Elliot is a member of the Kuna tribe, a group of indigenous people who inhabit the San Blas islands. The Kuna are famous for having been able to preserve their lifestyle, culture, and language in the face of the changes of the 20th century. Elliot speaks Kuna at home with his parents, and during his winter vacation he lives on a secluded island much as his ancestors have lived for the past few centuries.

The 8th of March, however, is the beginning of a new ten month-long school year. Elliot will move back to Rio Diablo, another island where a small town and school are located. Elliot was looking forward to returning to town to catch up with his friends and continue his studies. In addition to mathematics and social sciences, he studies Spanish and English at school; he is well on his way to his goal of being trilingual. Elliot is also a proud computer science student and already has a Facebook profile!

After school, Elliot enjoys playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball with his friends and sometimes watches movies in English to practice his language skills. We had a very nice time meeting and sharing lunch with Elliot and his hospitable parents at their island home. We wish him the best of luck with his future studies. Teki malo!

SOT