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.