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!
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 8th and 9th 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 9th graders and the “Our Nation” module with the 8th 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 17th 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 450th 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!
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!
My friend CoCo and the awesome shirt she found in the Peace Corps office
1 comment:
Don’t believe one optimistic word from any public figure about the economy or humanity in general. They are all part of the problem. Its like a game of Monopoly. In America, the richest 1% now hold 1/2 OF ALL UNITED STATES WEALTH. Unlike ‘lesser’ estimates, this includes all stocks, bonds, cash, and material assets held by America’s richest 1%. Even that filthy pig Oprah acknowledged that it was at about 50% in 2006. Naturally, she put her own ‘humanitarian’ spin on it. Calling attention to her own ‘good will’. WHAT A DISGUSTING HYPOCRITE SLOB. THE RICHEST 1% HAVE LITERALLY MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. Don’t fall for any of their ‘humanitarian’ CRAP. ITS A SHAM. THESE PEOPLE ARE CAUSING THE SAME PROBLEMS THEY PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT. Ask any professor of economics. Money does not grow on trees. The government can’t just print up more on a whim. At any given time, there is a relative limit to the wealth within ANY economy of ANY size. So when too much wealth accumulates at the top, the middle class slip further into debt and the lower class further into poverty. A similar rule applies worldwide. The world’s richest 1% now own over 40% of ALL WORLD WEALTH. This is EVEN AFTER you account for all of this ‘good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS from celebrities and executives. ITS A SHAM. As they get richer and richer, less wealth is left circulating beneath them. This is the single greatest underlying cause for the current US recession. The middle class can no longer afford to sustain their share of the economy. Their wealth has been gradually transfered to the richest 1%. One way or another, we suffer because of their incredible greed. We are talking about TRILLIONS of dollars. Transfered FROM US TO THEM. Over a period of about 27 years. Thats Reaganomics for you. The wealth does not ‘trickle down’ as we were told it would. It just accumulates at the top. Shrinking the middle class and expanding the lower class. Causing a domino effect of socio-economic problems. But the rich will never stop. They will never settle for a reasonable share of ANYTHING. They will do whatever it takes to get even richer. Leaving even less of the pie for the other 99% of us to share. At the same time, they throw back a few tax deductable crumbs and call themselves ‘humanitarians’. Cashing in on the PR and getting even richer the following year. IT CAN’T WORK THIS WAY. Their bogus efforts to make the world a better place can not possibly succeed. Any 'humanitarian' progress made in one area will be lost in another. EVERY SINGLE TIME. IT ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WORK THIS WAY. This is going to end just like a game of Monopoly. The current US recession will drag on for years and lead into the worst US depression of all time. The richest 1% will live like royalty while the rest of us fight over jobs, food, and gasoline. Crime, poverty, and suicide will skyrocket. So don’t fall for all of this PR CRAP from Hollywood, Pro Sports, and Wall Street PIGS. ITS A SHAM. Remember: They are filthy rich EVEN AFTER their tax deductable contributions. Greedy pigs. Now, we are headed for the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time. SEND A “THANK YOU” NOTE TO YOUR FAVORITE MILLIONAIRE. ITS THEIR FAULT. I’m not discounting other factors like China, sub-prime, or gas prices. But all of those factors combined still pale in comparison to that HUGE transfer of wealth to the rich. Anyway, those other factors are all related and further aggrivated because of GREED. If it weren’t for the OBSCENE distribution of wealth within our country, there never would have been such a market for sub-prime to begin with. Which by the way, was another trick whipped up by greedy bankers and executives. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. The credit industry has been ENDORSED by people like Oprah, Ellen, Dr Phil, and many other celebrities. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. Now, there are commercial ties between nearly every industry and every public figure. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for their ‘good will’ BS. ITS A LIE. If you fall for it, then you’re a fool. If you see any real difference between the moral character of a celebrity, politician, attorney, or executive, then you’re a fool. WAKE UP PEOPLE. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. The 1% club will always say or do whatever it takes to get as rich as possible. Without the slightest regard for anything or anyone but themselves. Vioxx. Their idea. Sub-prime. Their idea. NAFTA. Their idea. Outsourcing. Their idea. The commercial lobbyist. Their idea. The multi-million dollar lawsuit. Their idea. $200 cell phone bills. Their idea. $200 basketball shoes. Their idea. $30 late fees. Their idea. $30 NSF fees. Their idea. $20 DVDs. Their idea. Subliminal advertising. Their idea. The MASSIVE campaign to turn every American into a brainwashed credit card, pharmaceutical, love-sick, celebrity junkie. Their idea. All of which concentrate the world’s wealth and resources and wreak havok on society. All of which have been CREATED AND ENDORSED by celebrities, athletes, and executives. IT MAKES THEM RICHER. So don’t fall for their ‘ good will’ ‘humanitarian’ BS. ITS A SHAM. NOTHING BUT TAX DEDUCTABLE PR CRAP. Bottom line: The richest 1% will soon tank the largest economy in the world. It will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before. and thats just the beginning. Greed will eventually tank every major economy in the world. Causing millions to suffer and die. Oprah, Angelina, Brad, Bono, and Bill are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem. EXTREME WEALTH HAS MADE WORLD PROSPERITY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT WORLD PROSPERITY, THERE WILL NEVER BE WORLD PEACE OR ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE. GREED KILLS. IT WILL BE OUR DOWNFALL. Of course, the rich will throw a fit and call me a madman. Of course, their ignorant fans will do the same. You have to expect that. But I speak the truth. If you don’t believe me, then copy this entry and run it by any professor of economics or socio-economics. Then tell a friend. Call the local radio station. Re-post this entry or put it in your own words. Be one of the first to predict the worst economic and cultural crisis of all time and explain its cause. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE.
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