Los Locos Somos +

I ended my last blog post saying I couldn’t wait for Carnival, an event that remains a fuzzy memory still fresh in my mind. Needless to say it was a great time, definitely the MOST fun I’ve had in my ENTIRE life. I won’t go into the details here but by Fat Tuesday I had slept about 12 hours over 5 days, and didn’t want any of it to end. Everything went as planned and there were no major incidents. My New York crew and Peace Corps crew hit it off wonderfully; love was in the air. Check out my “Agua y Guaro” album on Facebook for a taste of what you missed…. Oh and CARNIVAL 2010: Feb 13-16. See ya there!!!!

After a week of recuperation I was back to work on my map of the world, which I had almost finished before Carnival. With my neighbor, her cousins, and some other ambitious students helping me to paint the map I was able to complete my 20 ft long, 10 ft high masterpiece pretty quickly. It came out beautiful and soon afterward I completed the map of Panama that went next to the World Map. To check out more photos click the World Map link to the right.

In March I began studying in earnest for the GMAT exam, which is necessary to apply to MBA programs. That occupied my afternoons while my mornings were spent preparing the cooperatives books and other materials for our yearly General Assembly. The Assembly was supposed to happen before the end of March, but looks like it’ll now be happening the first week of June. This year we actually have an excuse for our tardiness, which is that we were knee deep in “la politica”. Presidential, Mayoral and Senate elections took place in the beginning of May, so the months leading up to that were quite hectic. The President of my COOP, after organizing everything for his daughter to be Queen of Carnival (no small task with expenses upwards of $50,000) was now running for Vice-Mayor, so he was pretty busy. On Sunday, May 3rd, Ricardo Martinell a self made businessman and owner of one of the largest supermarket chains in Panama was elected President. He beat Balbina Herrera of the incumbent PRD party by a margin of about 2:1. He is a Center-Right Conservative politician who is very business friendly and campaigned on a platform of change. With daily stories of failed or rigged elections everywhere from Iraq to Venezuela it was very encouraging to see the Democratic process in action producing the results the people of Panama asked for.

This guys got my vote

In April we had our annual “All Volunteer Conference” at a nice hotel just 20 minutes from my town. The theme of the three day conference was “La Cultura Cuenta y se Cuenta” (Culture Tells Stories and is Important). We had guest speakers, roundtables about volunteer life and post-Peace Corps life and a whole bunch of other meetings that took place in air-conditioned rooms. One evening we had a talent show which I helped kick off by performing with a group of dancers from my town. It was my first time dancing with them and was good practice as I will be performing the same dance at the Corpus Christi festival in my town in early June.
Most recently I was back in the states for a week for my cousin Alison’s wedding. Ali looked beautiful and didn’t stop dancing the whole time. The wedding hall was gorgeous, the food was exquisite and plentiful and the booze was flowing; a great success in my opinion. BIG thanks to Aunt Sue and Uncle Dennis, and best of luck to Ali and Matty!

Panamanian Pimp My Ride: Note the mini screen in front, there´s a full size monitor for the drivers viewing and those speakers seriously bump.

I also took the GMAT exam while I was in New York and did pretty well. My plan as of now is to apply to grad school for a Masters of Business Administration, probably starting classes in July 2010. I finish Peace Corps at the end of October and biz school apps are due Novemeber 1st . Once I get all that cleared away I plan to travel around Colombia with some friends for 4-6 weeks and then be home in time for Christmas. In Colombia we’ll be stopping in Cartagena, Bogota, Medellin and Cali so if anyone has experience or tips on traveling in Colombia please let me know... RPDAWSON@GMAIL.COM

GRACIAS Y CUIDENSE!

Murderer to Midwife

The current four month lag since my last blog update is the longest yet. So, once again apologies to my faithful readers shirking work at their desks. I think part of the reason I haven’t felt the need to write more is that many of the things that seemed so novel and new when I first arrived in Panama over a year and half ago are now old hat. However, since returning from the states after Christmas and New Years a few things have happened to welcome me back to life at 9.8° degrees from the equator.

Summer days at the river

Its currently summer in Panama which means no more rain and a beautiful, constantly blowing breeze. This also means that everything dries out and the once lush greenery turns a yellowish-brown color. Around this same time last year I awoke one morning to find a frog seeking refreshment in the water of my toilet bowl. Lo and behold this year I found another froggy friend in my bowl. I only caught a glimpse of him swimming away from the light as I opened the lid. I took a leak outside and left the bowl opened hoping he would hop out and find his way to my backyard. When I checked a little while later he was nowhere to be found so I flushed a couple times and went to bed. I haven’t seen my friend again although I sat quite gingerly on the toilet for the next few days afraid he would choose an inopportune moment to make his escape. As far as I can tell he saw the light and went the other way swimming down the drain to a watery demise. RIP Kermit

The Saint that travels from house to house in my neighborhood visited my humble abode for a week

Since moving into my house last January I’ve only had one mouse who eluded me for weeks, stealing the bait from my snap traps until finally getting stuck in a glue trap. So I was surprised to watch a mouse saunter across my kitchen floor one afternoon as I was cooking lunch. I’m not sure if this mouse was blind (if so I never found his two friends), mentally challenged, or just incredibly arrogant. He may as well have been whistling dixie as he strolled through the middle of my kitchen in plain sight. I stomped on the floor and shouted at him but he took none of the evasive actions you normally expect from a mouse. As he headed towards my room I decided I had to take a shot at him if he was going to let me. I grabbed my machete, still in its sheath so as not to make a mess, and got him with one swift strike. I put him out of his misery with another and swept him into my yard for some other critter to take care of. Bob 2 – Mice 0.

My neighbors high school graduation

For one reason or another the beginning of summer seems to bring out mosquitoes in full force. One night while lying in bed looking for the little punks I took a swat at my curtain and was surprised to find a thumb sized scorpion on the wall less than two feet from my face. He was just chillin there, maybe having been affected by the RAID I sprayed earlier hoping to kill some mosquitoes. Nevertheless, I got my machete and took care of him with a few stabs and swipes. So for whoever asked me if I’d killed anything with my machete the answer is now a resounding yes.

More dead things

So basically since I got back from the states I’ve just been killing anything that crosses my path. With all this taking of life weighing heavy on my conscious I was glad to recently witness the act of giving life. I was summoned by my neighbors one morning, them telling me to come quick and bring my camera. I arrived next door to see a cat in labor, struggling to bring a slimy little creature out of her belly and into the world. People don’t really keep house pets of any kind down here but they’re content to let stray cats hang around the porch and pick up table scraps here and there. This soon to be mom had chosen my neighbors porch as her maternity ward. The first kitten popped out and we all looked on as she munched down on the placenta. Mmmm, yummy. A short while later another palm sized kitten emerged, both of them now crawling all over mom searching for the teat. It’s always good to start a day experiencing something new.

When I was home I was frequently asked what kind of work I’m doing down here, so here is a little update on that front. The first week I was back I helped as a translator for a unit of United States Air Force Reservists from a base near San Diego. There were about 35 of them in Panama to help provide medical services as part of their annual two week tour of duty. There were pediatric doctors, dentists pulling teeth and filling cavities, and a fully stocked pharmacy distributing medicine all free of charge. I helped the optometrists who were diagnosing patients and giving out glasses. It was a lot of fun, and I gained a new respect and appreciation for the Reserve Units of the US Armed Forces.

The United States Air Force helps people

My cooperative recently received a $1,500 donation from the government institution that is in charge of co-ops nationwide. I helped write the proposal before I left for Christmas and so we’ll now use the money to buy new zinc for our leaky roof, install electricity, and make some other necessary improvements to our office building. I’m helping get estimates for materials and labor, and generally trying to move the project along so that construction is finished before the rainy season begins again.

CO-OP members getting ready to march in the independence day parade

I’m also in the middle of a project to paint a map of the world in my town’s school. It’s a project Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide do and is far more technical than artistic. The easy to follow manual provides you with a map that has grid lines drawn over it and a guide to color in the countries. You then make a grid on the wall you’ve chosen to paint and draw square by square the borders of all the countries in the world using the maps from the manual as your guide. Finally, you color in all the countries according to the guide provided in the manual. I obviously searched for the biggest wall in the school and decided that was the one I wanted to paint. My friend and I spent the last three mornings setting up the grid, making sure all our lines are straight and level, and all our squares the same size so as not to create distortions in the map. It’s a tedious task when the grid is 56 squares wide by 28 squares tall and the wall is 20 ft wide and wall 10 ft tall. I’ll begin drawing and painting with some local students and other volunteers this week. I’m confident it will look really good when it’s finished and I’ll be sure to post photos.

Soon there will be a beautiful map on that wall

The Map Project manual also comes with suggested activities to do with students once it’s complete that focus on geography, the environment, and basically appreciating the world we live in. I also plan to use the map to complement the Junior Achievement classes I’ll be doing when school starts again in March. The Junior Achievement organization provides lesson plans, workbooks for the students and activities materials. I’ll be working with 8^th and 9^th graders doing the same “Nuestro Mundo” (Our World) classes I did last year. The module aims to provide a basic understanding of imports/exports, comparative advantage, trade agreements and how the global economy functions in general.

Watched this guy bring in and clean his catch of small sharks one morning on a beach down here (see above photo)

The real thing that’s on everyone’s mind though is Carnival, which is now less than 3 weeks away. I have five friends from Brooklyn and another twelve or so Peace Corps buddies coming to stay with me. And I have a sneaky suspicion a few more stragglers will show up at the last minute. We’ve decided to rent my neighbors vacant house to have some more space, but it will still be four days of magnificent madness. Can’t wait.

Hate

At the finish line of the Panama Marathon / Half Marathon

I just recently had my first incredibly frustrating "I HATE Panama" moment. Here's what happened: Our cooperativa keeps most of our cash in a larger bank so when someone wants to make a large withdrawal we have to go take it out first. Although this is definitely not part of my job I went to get the money out because the associate needed it in a hurry and our treasurer was busy. I arrived perspiring slightly from the normal 80° degree weather and was greeted by a fresh burst of air conditioning. I was immediately stopped by the security guard who told me I could not enter because I was wearing shorts. Panama in general is fairly formal and I usually wear pants when I have any official business to do but I'd never heard of not being able to enter a building because of my attire. Besides the sign out front said to avoid wearing shorts, sandals, etc, not that it was completely prohibited.

Me and my crew about to storm the bank

Slightly perturbed I explained that it was my first time coming to the bank but that I needed to make a withdrawal and would not be able to go home and put on pants. He got a teller to come meet me at the door who reiterated that I could not enter with shorts and motioned me to come outside. Standing outside the door now I gave him the deposit slip, my ID and he went back inside. To be honest it wasn't the hottest day so I stood patiently hoping he would return quickly with the cash. After a few minutes he came back saying he needed 2 signatures on the withdrawal slip even though the COOP treasurer had assured me that only one of the signatures on the account was necessary. I told him that and he went back in to see what he could do. Getting hotter and more annoyed now I considered asking if I could wait inside but decided to wait it out. When he came back outside again telling me there was nothing he could do because the manager wasn't there I really almost blew it. I told him I wanted to speak to whoever was in charge, and I wanted to wait inside because it was hot. He said I couldn't because I was wearing shorts but asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee, I said I didn't want any coffee I wanted to wait inside, that I was a client and wanted to speak to whoever was in charge. At this point he deferred to the security guard who is apparently his superior at the bank who said I couldn't come in. At this point I could feel the cool air tantalizing me from inside through the half open door and considered just going in, but I could tell by the security guards face the confrontation would have gotten physical.

Me and the boys about to pop bottles at the club

That was about the climax of the confrontation, the guy came back out without letting me speak to the manager saying I needed two signatures and I walked away cursing them in English. When I got back to town I let my COOP members know that I was pissed, that I would not be going back to that bank, and that the treasurer would have to deal with deposits and withdrawals from now on (as it should be). I suppose I should be glad that I've been here for over a year now and this is the first incident that got me truly angry. Also I'll be heading here (see below) in a few weeks so I guess I have plenty of things to be happy about.

July & August

July and August were good months in Parita and in Panama in general. My mom and Aunt Judy arrived in Panama City in mid-July excited for their 1^st Central American experience. We visited the canal and other touristy sites in Panama City, ate at some delicious restaurants, and fought with taxi drivers trying to rip of the gringo tourists.

The most authentic adventure we had was going to visit my friend Jake’s town about an hour outside of the city. They are an indigenous community who earn extra income giving tours and presentations for the increasing number of tourists in Panama. First, we took a quick boat ride in a dugout canoe to visit a nearby waterfall. The “short” hike to the waterfall turned out to be a 30 minute trek through the jungle complete with mud, knee high river crossings and a few small boulders to climb over.

I was very impressed with mom and Aunt Judy who took everything in stride and made it to the through with only a few small slips. I think they thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially when we got to cool off after our hike in the waterfall.

After a few days in Panama City we packed up our rental car and headed to the interior to see the other side of Panama. A few wrong turns and pit stops later we arrived in Parita and began the daunting task of visiting all the good people in town who help take care of me. In typical fashion, mom and Aunt Judy came bearing gifts which my townspeople were very gracious for.

We went to church, saw some cows, and of course ate at various friends’ houses. One neighbor even killed one of her chickens and made us a scrumptious sancocho (chicken soup) lunch.

Plaza of Parita from the Church belltower

Having seen the authentic Panama we were soon on the road again to the last stop on our trip – The Royal Decameron Resort is all-inclusive, huge, and amazing. We spent 5 days drinking Piña Coladas by the beach and soaking in the fierce Panamanian sun. Good times.

Less than two weeks after my vacation with mom and Aunt Judy ended, the celebrations for the patron saint of Parita (Santo Domingo de Guzman) were getting started. Everyone in town touched up the paint on their houses and proudly hung their “¡Viva Santo Domingo!” banners.

My coop even got it together to move to our new building that has been donated to us by the municipality. We’ve got a one-year renewable permission to operate there. It is a huge improvement over our last location, which was simply a room, attached to one of the members’ houses. Now we are more centrally located and have painted our name and logo on the outside. All these factors should give us more credibility within the community; we already got one new member signed up since we moved.

I had heard a lot about our patronales celebrations from people in town and it was the only big event I had yet to witness. What happens is they put up barricades all around our massive central plaza and have something resembling a rodeo. In this kind of rodeo though the audience gets to participate!

All the guys just chill out in the middle of the plaza drinking as they let bulls out one at a time sometimes with someone riding, sometimes not. I didn’t get the appeal of this particular activity until I was in the plaza chasing around and getting chased by a huge animal with horns. It’s kind of like hanging out at a nice afternoon BBQ except every once and a while you have to flee for your life! Needless to say it’s a ton of fun; and this went on for four days!

On the last day I actually got hit by a bull. Luckily he didn’t have any horns and just gave me a head butt that knocked the wind out of me before practically the whole town came running to my rescue. This event was captured by a film crew from the weekly show “Hecho en Panama” that travels to different festivals throughout the country. Yours truly was on national TV getting hit by a bull. This story will certainly solidify my place in the pop culture history of Parita for at least the next 10 years.

Besides the bulls there are stands selling crap that kids beg their parents to buy them, discotecas at night, and of course lots of fireworks. My favorite part though is the street food. Vendors of various tasty fried foods peddle their goods inside and outside the plaza risking life and limb for a qwata. (See below)

Thin sliced fried platanos, Mmmm.

A week of partying is probably not the best preparation to run a half marathon but that’s how I chose to do it. On Sun. Aug 10^th I finished the half-marathon in Panama City along with three other friends and four friends who ran the entire marathon. It was quite different from the NYC and Boston marathons I’m used to seeing. There were only about 600 people running, virtually no spectators, and no distance markers. They had a ton of people handing out water, which was very necessary in this climate, but only one traffic lane was closed so exhaust spewing buses zoomed by every once in a while. Overall it was a really fun experience and I plan to continue running and possibly have a go at the NYC marathon next year.

Back in Parita the parties were getting started again, this time to celebrate the 450^th Anniversary of the founding of the town. We are the oldest town in the Azuero Peninsula and are very proud of that fact. I marched with members of my coop in the Foundation Day parade and attended various folkloric presentations throughout the week.

The last day there was another tipico (traditional) parade and a concert by Samy & Sandra, a brother and sister group that are probably the most famous artists here in Panama at the moment.

The most exciting thing to happen in Panama in the month of August didn’t even take place here. Panama won its first medal in 60 years and its first gold medal ever at the Olympics in Beijing. Irving Saladino took gold in the men’s long jump, instantly becoming a national hero. The day he returned to Panama was declared a national holiday and he was greeted by hundreds of people including President Torrijos. Congratulations Irving!

Finally, while Parita was celebrating its 450^th Anniversary I celebrated a personal anniversary of having lived in Panama for a full year as of Aug 15^th. The time has gone by much quicker than I imagined and from what other volunteers say, the second year goes even faster. I’m quite accustomed to the lifestyle here, but I’m already looking forward to my 1^st visit home for Christmas and New Years. Hope to see YOU then.

Vacation Daze

Apologies for the extended absence without an update to this blog. I’ve been sans computer for about 3 months now due to a broken power cord situation. This climate seems to devour electronics as many of my fellow volunteers can contest, so I consider myself lucky to have had only to replace a cord. Since my last update I’ve had visitors, taken vacations, partied in Parita, and managed to get a lot of work done amidst everything else.

"Diablicos Sucios" at the Corpus Cristi Festival in Parita. The dance depicts the battle between the Archangel Michael and the Devil.

In Mid-May Heather arrived and our favorite Scottish-Boricua was immediately put to shame by the almost fluent Spanish of her fairer skinned friend. We spent a night at an all inclusive resort here, dancing salsa at the discoteca and getting a workout (and slight sunburn) at the swim-up bar. We then returned to my town where Heather met my friends and neighbors, and hung around in my hammock while I worked with my coop members and tourist group. Heather also cooked some delicious meals for us and introduced me to some new culinary possibilities. Finally, we did touristy stuff in Panama City getting particularly lucky during our visit to the canal where we saw a U.S. submarine pass through, followed by a Disney cruise complete with Captain Mickey waving to us from the deck.

In the last week of May Peace Corps hosted a Business Planning Seminar with the help of some Panamanian government institutions that help develop small businesses. About 6 volunteers attended, each of us accompanying someone from our community who was interested in starting or expanding their own business. I brought my neighbor and friend Maria who has been working with me on the tourism project. Her potential business would be a small artisan store to sell masks, pottery, postcards, and other souvenirs to the tourists who pass through Parita. The seminar helped her put together a written business plan outlining her products, market, and five-year sales projections. In the coming months we’ll continue to develop her project while looking for prospective funding sources for start-up costs.

After 10 months in Panama I decided I needed a vacation, so in June I hit the road to Nicaragua in a tortuous 20+ hour bus ride. Once I arrived though it was all worth it. I visited the beautiful colonial cities of Granada and Leon, taking day trips to the beach and Laguna de Apoyo, which is a lake in the crater of an extinct volcano.

Nicaragua is full of volcanoes and since it seemed to be the thing to do I hiked the extinct Volcano Maderas, which along with Volcano Concepción forms an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Interestingly, this lake is the largest in Central America and was considered alongside Panama as a potential canal site since there would be less excavation work to do. However, a Nicaraguan postage stamp depicting the still active Volcano Concepción was enough to convince American speculators that Panama was the safer choice for their canal investment. I had an amazing time in Nicaragua and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to meet some friendly people and take in the country’s incredible historical and natural sights.

Who's he stepping on?

Heading back South I spent a few days in Costa Rica which was a little more touristy, and accordingly more expensive, but no less beautiful. Between bus rides I managed to zip line through the Monteverde cloud forest and eventually arrived at the laid back beach town of Puerto Viejo. I’ll definitely be making a return trip to Costa Rica when I have more time and money to play around with. Back in Panama I visited my good buddy Mike at his house in Bocas del Toro (near Costa Rica border on the Caribbean side). He had some friends from the states visiting and we all got it poppin’ at his house (see below) and the main island.

I was happy to return to my site after two weeks of living out of a backpack, and sleeping in hostels crowded with smelly people.

Out and About

Since my last update I’ve been pretty busy traveling around Panama working on one thing or another and living it as much as possible while doing so. Our “All Volunteer Conference” in Chitre was more enjoyable than I originally expected. The breakfast buffet at our hotel included eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit and a variety of other delicacies we don’t normally enjoy. During the day we had seminars, workshops, and discussion groups on different topics relevant to volunteer life. The highlight for me was going to the Herrera (my province) vs. Los Santos baseball game with about 20 other volunteers. Think Yankees-Red Sox rivalry if Boston was only an hour from New York and you can imagine the atmosphere.

Two weeks later we had our “Project Management Leadership Conference” where each volunteer from my group brought a local leader from their community with whom they work. The conference was centered on building leadership and organizational skills for our work counterparts. The counterparts received day planners and portfolio folders which we then learned how to use in sessions on time and information management. Other topics included how to effectively run community meetings, writing formal letters, interacting with government agencies, and marketing projects within the community. Mind you one or two of the counterparts could not read or write and many had never traveled more than 2 hours from their home towns. So coming to a conference halfway across the country was a big deal. I think they all enjoyed themselves and hopefully learned a thing or two. We even took the guys out to the casino one night and bought them a few beers while they marveled at the big screen TV’s and flashy lights of the slot machines.

The following weekend I decided to go visit two of my friends that live in the same province as me and often come stay at my house when they come into civilization. Although we live in the same province our worlds and daily lives are drastically different. First I took a 2 hour bus ride to the closest real town to them and then transferred to the vehicle that would take me to their sites. Transportation deep into the campo is served by pickup trucks outfitted with 2 rows of benches facing each other and a tarp covering a metal frame over the bed of truck. These “comfortably” fit around 15 people or so including the driver and a few people up front but have been known to pack in 20 or more people including kids. Then whatever people came into town to buy goes down the middle of the truck including 25 lb. bags of rice, chicken feed, propane tanks, toilet paper, and pretty much whatever else you can imagine. Since its still summertime here the dirt road is in good enough condition to travel on so after an hour ride I arrived at my friend Pete’s town. When the rains come soon he’ll likely have to hike about an hour from where the road starts to deteriorate. After lunch at his former host family’s house we hiked to a nearby waterfall and took a dip. In the evening we cooked up some pasta at his house and went to visit some families in his town. Pete’s current house is made of bamboo siding for the walls, a thatched roof, and dirt floor although he is in the process of building a more permanent structure.

The next day we woke up early and started the hour long hike to my friend Franco’s site where no road reaches. He always has at least an hour walk to his town and it’s no stroll either. We were going up and down hills, skipping on stones across creeks, and generally sweating a lot. The rest of they day we helped him lay down the concrete floor of his house which like Pete’s future house will also have a zinc roof and wood board walls. This style housing is average if not a bit fancy for the people in his area who often only have zinc and concrete flooring for part of their house. First we packed down the dirt floor and made sure it was level, then mixed the cement and laid it down. This took all day with 5 or 6 guys working and we only finished putting down the cement on half of his house. They guys from his town he enlisted to help him received nothing more than lunch Franco provided (cooked by his host family) and the implied guarantee that he will help them in the fields or on whatever project they have one day.

My trip to the campo was a fun experience and made me realize not how lucky I am to have a more comfortable living situation but how easily it is to adapt to more trying conditions. Taking a shower outdoors, using a latrine, and not having electricity may sound unbearable but after a while it becomes normal. I mean I was only there for two days, and I’m not rushing back anytime soon, but ya’ know, I mean... I’d like to think I could hack it up there.

The following weekend a group of us decided to take a trip into Panama City to enjoy the sights, comforts, food, and nightlife of a metropolitan city. We got lunch at “NY Bagels” which is owned by a former Peace Corps and has surprisingly good bagels, strolled around the mall, saw a movie, ate Indian food, went out to the club and breathed in the big buildings and hustle and bustle of a city of a million people. While in Panama I also met with the government agencies for tourism and culture regarding my tourism project. The results were neither terribly positive nor negative but helped put in perspective what will be required of my tourism group and what can realistically be accomplished.

While in site I’ve started doing Junior Achievement classes once a week with a 9^th Grade class and an 8^th Grade class. Junior Achievement is an organization that began in the states in the early 1900’s and has now spread to many countries throughout the globe. They provide all the lesson plans and material and I simply have to teach the course. The 9^th Grade course is called “Discovering Our World” which focuses mainly on international trade and economic relations between countries. The 8^th Grade course is called “Our Nation” and focuses on how businesses work, how to write a résumé and choosing a profession. I’m enjoying working with the kids and I think once I finish these first two groups I’ll expand to work with 2 or more 9^th Grade classes and 2 or more 8^th Grade classes at the same time. It gives me something to do and makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something while other projects are coming along at a slower pace.

Thats all for now folks... oh, except I forgot to mention the Miss Reef surf and bikini contest I went to one of those weekends. That was definitely a keeper.

Taking Care of Business

Note: Please also see the post below this one as it is a recent update longer than this one with lots of good stories and pictures. Enjoy!

This past week we had our “Re-Connect In-Service Training” (IST) that all Peace Corps Volunteers go through after they’ve been in their sites for the first three months. It was a chance to see everyone from our group and talk about our experiences so far. We had a day of Spanish classes and a day of group seminars with more experienced volunteers on specific topics such as accounting, marketing, grant writing, etc. The most useful activity for me was getting to speak one-on-one with 2 former volunteers to get their input on a tourism project I am attempting to start in my site. The facility where we had the conference is just down the road from one of the larger resorts here in Panama so we also got to go to the beach one day and hit the casino at night to unwind. It was fun to see everyone but by the last day I was ready to head back to the comforts of my own home, my own cooking, and my own schedule.

March will be a busy month. In the coming week we’ll be having our “All Volunteer Conference” (AVC) which as you might guess brings together all the volunteers for a few days to get to know each other, exchange information and stories, and talk about what’s going on in Peace Corps Panama. This year it’s being held in the provincial capital of Chitré just 20 minutes down the road from me at a very nice hotel. I should be more excited but since I just saw most of my friends only a week ago I would have preferred it sometime later in the year. Then in last week of March we’ll also be having our “Project Design & Leadership Conference.” This is a three day seminar at the same facility where we had our IST conference except this time we are required to bring a community counterpart that we work with. I think this should be a useful seminar because my counterpart is a bright lady and should get a lot out of it that will help our cooperative move forward. We also have our Cooperative’s General Assembly at the end of the month which we’ll have to prepare for somewhere in the middle of all this. Making everything even more complicated is the fact that school is starting next week which means all the professors will be going back to work as well. Four of the five members of our COOP’s board of directors are teachers and one of them is the principal so everyone is busy. I’m sure everything will get down at the last minute with lots of running around and unnecessary stress but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My friend CoCo and the awesome shirt she found in the Peace Corps office

This morning I went to the teachers’ scheduling meeting to talk to them about me giving Junior Achievement classes to the 8^th and 9^th graders. The Junior Achievement organization was founded in the US in 1919 to help build students self-esteem, instill in them the idea that they are in charge of their own destiny, and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. I’ll be doing the “Our World” module with the 9^th graders and the “Our Nation” module with the 8^th graders. The courses teach students how national and international economies function and where they fit into the picture with activities such as how to write a resume. The organization provides us with lesson plans and activity books for the students so it should be an easy and fun way to work with the kids.

My other big project that I just kicked off is the formation of the “Comité Pro-Turismo de Parita” with the goal to promote and improve tourist services in my town. My town (Parita) is mentioned in all the Panama guidebooks as a well-preserved Spanish colonial village with a beautiful church that dates from the 17^th Century (see top of post). They also mention the mask maker artisan (see above) and the numerous traditional folkloric festivals that are celebrated here. The town is also on the main road that travels down the Azuero Peninsula so anyone going to the beaches or cities further south has to pass through it. What I’ve observed in my four months here is that tourists do come through my town from time to time, but unfortunately since we have nothing really tangible to offer them nobody here is making any money from them. There is no store selling tourist kitsch, postcards, hammocks, etc. and the mask maker doesn’t even have a sign in front of his house. At some point years ago the church maintained a small museum of religious artifacts, but apparently some things were stolen and the museum eventually shut down. The entrance to one of the more important national parks in Panama is also at one end of my town and to cap it all off this year is the 450^th anniversary of the founding of Parita. There’s even more aspects and attractions to the project but I think you get the idea. With a little bit of effort to improve marketing and services my town could be making significant income from the tourists. My suspicions were recently confirmed when, as I walked to my first tourism committee meeting I ran into three very lost gringos looking for the mask makers house. They were here in Parita, completely on their own not with a tour group, trying to inject money into the local economy but were having a hard time doing so because of the lack of infrastructure. Thankfully my first meeting went really well. The community members who showed up are very into the idea and we have another meeting scheduled for this week to begin our analysis of the project. I'm optimistic so as they say here we'll take it poco a poco and see what happens. By the way you're all invited to come visit my beautiful town and help kick off the tourist influx!