Life is calling...

Wildcats Craddle

2011-02-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

I'm no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer, now I'm an MBA student. Yay!

FREEDOM

2009-10-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

Well its official folks, I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer! Its exciting, satisfying and scary all at the same time. In retrospect I do not think I could have asked for a better Peace Corps experience. My town was full of amazing people and the relationships I made with my fellow volunteers will last a lifetime. I feel like I accomplished a good amount in my role as a Business Development Specialist and hopefully the follow up volunteer in my site will keep moving my projects along - and start some of her own!

In the last two months of 2009 I'll be bouncing around a bit, including a holiday visit to the true center of the world - BROOKLYN. Come January though I will be living and working in Panama full time. I just couldn't tear myself away from this amazing country and the job situation in the states made my decision a lot easier. I'll be living in Panama City so I probably won't be having as many campo adventures, but as we all know the urban jungle can be a ferocious beast as well. Business-wise there is a lot going on down here, so if you don't know, check out some of the links to the right. Or better yet - come visit and see for yourself!

Montando

2009-09-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe, but I now have less than two months left until I officially finish my Peace Corps service on October 29th, 2009! I am excited about the idea of completing my time as a volunteer, but also quite anxious about the thought of what to do next. But before we get into that…

I finished my last post mentioning that my bike had been stolen from outside of the internet café in my town. I quickly tired of literally EVERY person I spoke to asking me about the bike, but the fact that so many people were concerned about it worked in my favor. Just about 3 weeks after having my bike stolen it was returned to the local authorities with a different color of paint, but in otherwise the same condition I’d left it. Needless to say I was thrilled. The person who returned the bike, a local bad boy, insisted that he did not steal the bike but since he was being accused of doing so he decided to track down the guilty party as a favor to me (even though I’d never even met him before). Although I’m pretty sure he did not physically steal the bike, I’m almost positive he was involved in having it re-painted and sold. Regardless I have the bike back, along with a great respect for the people of my town, whose civic pride would not allow such an affront to occur to their gringo friend. I was quite touched that the Pariteños liked yours truly enough to use their collective persuasive powers to pressure the culprit into returning the bike. This incident convinced me that I’m about as integrated into my community as a volunteer can possibly be.

In addition to being sick of people asking me about the bike, as our patronales festival approached people began to remind me of the incident at last year’s patronales where I was head butted by a bull and wound up on TV saying I didn’t want to be on TV. After all the people of Parita had done for me I couldn’t leave them with the legend of the gringo who got hit by a bull and couldn’t even come up with something funny to say when the cameras were in front of his face. The teenage boys in my Junior Achievement classes made fun of me the worst and so it was really their approval I was seeking when I decided that at this year’s patronales I would actually ride a bull. Even at the age of 25 peer pressures a bitch.

Saddling Up

To celebrate the patron saint of Parita, Santo Domingo de Guzman, there are nine days of mass followed by about nine days of straight partying. I picked the second to last day of the festival for my bull ride so no one could say I rode one of the smaller bulls that appear in the first few days. I arrived to the plaza with a number of volunteer friends who had come for the festivities and quickly set to work about achieving my goal so I could enjoy the rest of my day in peace. After a little liquid courage and a “good” friend prodding me along I approached the chute where the bulls come out of, found some people I knew and told them I wanted to ride. I tried to observe the technique of the few guys who went ahead of me and passed on one bull that was supposedly especially bravo, but soon enough it was my turn. As I prepared to mount my buddy suggested I wait for another bull, but I knew putting it off again would only make it more difficult in the long run. Now these are real bulls, 1000 pound animals that can seriously hurt you, but they’re not exactly Spanish matador killers, nor Texas rodeo caliber, and they don’t cinch its balls. My bull was brown with small, not so sharp, fairly symmetrical horns. I was glad it had horns so no one could say I was skirting danger. With my heart pounding I finally sat on the bull as the guys attached the strap I would hold on to. After some brief instructions on hand and foot placement the chute opened and I was off. I don’t really remember much about the 6-8 seconds I was mounted but my friends said the crowd of 300+ spectators immediately erupted in applause and the play by play guy on the loudspeaker announced that “Robert Dawson, the gringo is riding the bull.”

A picture is worth a thousand words

From what I was later told I took the first few bucks in stride but then the bull slipped in the mud and I fell to the ground on its right flank. Some friends distracted the bull away from me while others helped me up and congratulated me. I had done it, and who knew, but that shit was fun! However, I paid for my fun, and 8 seconds of glory with two full days of soreness afterwards. My lower back, inner thighs and shoulders all felt the effort of doing my damndest to stay atop an animal that did not want me there. But most importantly, I had no more questions about the stolen bike or about “no quiero salir en television”, just “hey good mount” and a firm handshake.

Basking in the glory of it all

Besides riding bulls and bikes I’m trying to bring closure to my service in a positive way. I finished the Junior Achievement classes I’d been doing in the school and I used the last of the paint from my world map and Panama map projects to paint maps of the Province of Herrera and the District of Parita where I live. I thoroughly enjoyed working on all these maps and the school director was grateful for my contributions to the aesthetics of the school.

The Cooperativa Parita Avanza unfortunately has not fared so well recently. Shorty before the patronales festival they began knocking down the house next door to the co-op and in the process knocked down our adjacent mud-brick wall! Luckily we had moved everything to the opposite side of the office anticipating such a disaster, but the entire co-op was still filled with dirt and dust. Since it’s a government building we will likely wait for the municipality to pay to rebuild the wall, which could take a while. In the meantime we’ve been operating out of the manager’s house, but will soon likely setup operations in the student center that is on the same block as the co-op. Getting the co-op up and running again will be the only volunteer work I’ll be doing in the last two months as I focus on my post-service plans. I’m also preparing to receive the new volunteer who will replace me when I leave to follow up with the Savings and Loans Co-op, the Youth Co-op in the school and a few of the entrepreneurs I’ve been working with.

All iguanas should have to wear Easter bonnets

So what comes next for el joven Roberto you ask? I’ll then on vacation with my mom in Panama City for a week but when she flies back to NYC on NOV 9th I’ll fly to meet my friends in Colombia. We’ll be in Cartagena for their Independence Day celebrations and the Miss Colombia pageant which they hold there every year. We then head to the Santa Marta beach area a few hours up the coast for a week before flying back to Bogota where my friend Adam has some Colombian friends he knows from the states. Finally, we’ll go to Medellin for a long weekend and a few days later my 3-week excursion will come to an end in the first week of December.

Dirty Devils

2009-07-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Since returning to Panama after a visit to the states in Mid-May for my cousin Ali’s wedding time has been moving quite quickly even though nothing terribly interesting has been happening. I now have less than 4 months left with the Peace Corps! Pretty crazy. At my bosses suggestion I’ve decided to “extend” my service into the 1^st week of November to help the volunteer that is replacing me get situated and show him or her the different projects they will be working on. So if all goes as planned I will finish my Peace Corps service on November 9^th, however where exactly I will be headed on that date is still to be determined.

Varela Hermanos make delicious rum and seco

So what am I doing in my last few months as a volunteer you ask? I’m just about finishing up the Junior Achievement classes I began in the school the 1^st week of June. I’m working with two 8^th grade classes and two 9^th grade classes on the “Nuestro Mundo” (Our World) module. The material focuses on explaining vocabulary like imports, exports, goods & services, competitive advantage, trade balance, etc… The Junior Achievement organization provides lesson plans, workbooks for the students and materials for classroom activities that the kids seem to enjoy. I only have to worry about figuring out the most effective way to explain the material and trying to get the kids to listen to me when I’m doing my explaining.

Posing in front of thrashed sugar cane with our hard hats at the rum factory tour.

I’m also working with a new youth cooperative in the high school that is supposedly run by the students with guidance from professors. A few of my volunteer friends work with youth co-ops as well and have had varying degrees of success. The problem is that the government organization in charge of supporting and helping the co-ops is making a big push to form youth co-ops. So I don’t think the students really came up with the idea to start a cooperative, they were more or less told that’s what they were going to do. The idea though is they will learn how to maintain inventory, keep records and more or less manage a small business. They used a donation to purchase a photocopier which they’ve set up in a small office and they’re charging 4 cents a copy to students and professors. They hope to expand the small business to include selling school/office supplies like pens, paper, white-out, tape, etc. Currently I’m organizing a trip to take some of the students involved to visit a more established youth co-op that another volunteer works with in a town about an hour away from me at the end of August. Hopefully the students will get a better idea of what it means to be involved with the cooperative and get excited about moving their little business forward.

The other savings and loans cooperative that is my primary project is moving along slowly but surely. We had our annual assembly in early June which went well, and we actually made a profit of about $150 last year from interest on loans and our bank deposits. We got a resolution approved by the municipal council extending our contract to use the building we moved into last year for another 3 years free of rent. We used part of the $1,500 donation we received to change the zinc on our leaky roof and install outlets and light sockets. We’re currently doing the paperwork to get electricity hooked up so we can finally get a fucking fan, yet why it takes a month to setup an electricity contract is still beyond me. Someone broke into the co-op a few weeks ago but since we don’t keep any money there and don’t really have anything of value it wasn’t a big deal, just had to buy a new lock. We’re getting estimates to install iron gates for our front and back doors so someday soon we can try and get a computer in there. We got our logo and a description of the services we offer painted on the outside of the building so hopefully we’ll get some new associates looking to join. I’m pretty happy with the way things are going and I think the members are as well.

As you may know from previous blog posts my life here is not all work, and my town likes to party quite a bit. I recently participated in the Corpus Cristi festival we celebrate here which involves 5 different groups of dancers that travel from house to house doing their presentations for a small donation from the homeowner. From what I’ve gathered the dances stem from the Spaniards trying to teach Christianity to the illiterate indigenous people they found in Panama when they arrived. Each group has different costumes and most are formed by members of the same family who’ve decided to do their part in helping maintain traditions. My host family does the “Diablico Sucio” (Dirty Devil) dance which involves wearing a long-sleeved jumpsuit with a piece of cloth and a big mask on your head and sweating profusely. There is a guitar player and support team that travels with the group carrying water, but mostly booze to feed the dancers in between houses. It was a whole lot of fun and won me a lot of street cred in town, although I never want to be that sweaty for that long ever again.

They call me Roberto "Manos Blancos" Dawson

I have now been outside of the USA for the 4^th of July four of the last five years. I’m kind of proud of that for some reason, but also quite bitter that the only year I was in the states Corey decided to skip having his epic and storied 4^th of July party. Anyway, this year my friend Max Kraman came to visit during a two month tour he’s doing of Panama and Costa Rica. For the 4^th of July we went to my favorite beach in Panama, Playa Las Lajas to meet up with a group of about 12 other Peace Corps volunteers. I love it because you and whoever you’re with are the only people you can see on the beach for miles in each direction. The water is rough and good for body surfing and we bought about $40 worth of fireworks to celebrate the birth of our great nation. Max then came to stay in my town for four days and on Thursday we went to Panama City for a little nightlife. On Saturday he got on a bus for the 14 hour ride back to Costa Rica and I headed with my girlfriend to one of the few touristy places I’d yet to make it to in this country.

The San Blas Archipelago is a chain of 365 islands that stretch along the Northeast coast (Caribbean side) of Panama all the way to Colombia where the Kuna indigenous group live. The trip involves a 2 hour car ride on a windy dirt road across some small mountains in a 4x4 vehicle driven at high speeds by a chatty Panamanian. We then got on a small boat with a ridiculously small motor to make the almost 2 hour trip to the island where we would be staying. Our island was about the size of a baseball field with 5 cabins, no electricity or running water and 3 Kuna Indians who prepared some barely tolerable food. We shared the island with a few other couples that we ate with, but for the most we lounged around our cabin and occasionally made the 10 foot trek from our front door to the ocean for a swim.

Our 5-Star Accomodations

On a sad note I got my bike stolen two weeks ago in broad daylight right here in my quaint little town of Parita. I left it unlocked outside of the internet place like I always do with two other bikes that were outside. I used the internet for a half hour but when I left the bike was gone. I immediately went to the police station and we did a quick drive around town to no avail. Since then I made an official complaint with the corregidora (literally the “corrector” of small problems) and have followed up on leads with the police. Everyone in town knows my bike was stolen and they’re doing their part to find it, although most people just accuse one of the two local “bad boys”. As the days pass I’m beginning to lose hope, but I’m not losing any sleep over it either.

The rum and fresh coconut drinks helped me forget about my missing bike

That brings us just about up to date. We have our “Close of Service” conference the first week of August at which point it will really start to hit home that this little adventure is coming to an end. Some people are counting the days until we leave, having already bought their plane tickets home, but I’m just gonna let it run its course and see where I end up.

Los Locos Somos +

2009-05-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

GRACIAS Y CUIDENSE!

Murderer to Midwife

2009-01-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-09-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

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!

The Endless Summer

2008-03-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lag since my last post. While lots of things have been happening, I felt I needed some time to put everything in perspective and be able to write about it in a coherent manner. I’ve been busy with various things including moving into my own house in mid-January shortly after my birthday. This also may have something to do with the delay in updating this blog since I’m now free to do whatever I please on my own schedule. Anyway, my house (see above) has three bedrooms, a living room and another room that I haven’t quite figured out how to use yet. My bathroom includes an indoor shower and toilet, and my kitchen is complete with a sink, ample counter space and cabinets. I have a big back porch with room for my hammocks, and my yard has banana and papaya trees. My rent, plus water and electricity comes to just about $70 a month. I love my house. I am also fortunate enough to have the world’s best neighbors. Since my birthday coincided with my big move I received dishes, silverware and a really nice hammock as gifts, not to mention the awesome party they threw me (see below). The house I chose to rent happened to be directly across the street from my last host family’s house, which made the move easy since I could move my stuff bit by bit. The manager of my coop is my neighbor to the left and she has also been a tremendous help. Since I already knew my future neighbors quite well before moving they were very willing to help me get setup in my new house that was completely unfurnished when I moved in. My living room set, bed, bedside table, desk, guest beds, curtains, and a variety of other necessary stuff was all donated or lent to me by my neighbors. I only had to buy my mini-refrigerator, a two burner stove and propane tank, and a few other small things. It took a little while, but I’m now very comfortably settled into my home for the next two years.

My neighbor Maria (the manager of my coop) is probably the person I’m closest to in the community since we’ve spent lots of time hanging out together in the coop. She is also the Aunt of the Vice President of the coop who Peace Corps selected as my “community counterpart.” Basically I’ve spent lots of time with that extended family celebrating various holidays, birthdays, and just hanging out with them. The sons and cousins in the family are around my age as well so it’s been nice to have some friends to kick back a few beers with. They are kind of my adopted family here in town so it was quite a blow when Maria’s 52 year old husband passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm on Jan 19^th. I had spoken to him just the night before to introduce him to a friend staying over at my house and he seemed fine, but the next morning he was gone. "Gracias a Dios" I haven’t had anyone close to me pass away in quite a while so I was quite struck by his passing and I didn’t really know how to react. I felt terrible for Maria and her family, but wasn’t really sure of my role in the entire situation. Although these were the people I’m closest to in town, and they’ve really taken me in and made me feel comfortable here, I’ve only known them 3 months. So, I basically did what I could, attending the wake and funeral, and offering to help anyway I could. Here in Panama they hold a one day wake in the family’s house and then have prayers at the house for the next 9 days. The prayers are mostly attended by women and family members who say Hail Mary’s and come to comfort the family. This was my first experience with death here in Panama, and an unfortunate tragedy for a family that has welcomed me into their lives with open arms.

Sunday soccer game at the Social Club

In a crazy coincidence Maria’s house had been scheduled months before to be torn down and rebuilt by the government. Her husband died only 2 weeks before his new house was scheduled to be built. Many of the houses in my area of town, including my own were originally subsidized by the government, but were apparently built below current standards. When I first moved into my house my landlady repaired a wall that literally shook, and since the previous owner made additions to the house it is in fine condition. My neighbors to the left, right, and behind however were all eligible to have their houses rebuilt free of charge. So as soon as the 9 days of prayer were over Maria (and the other neighbors) began moving their furniture and belongings out of their houses. I had offered to hold onto a number of her things during construction so she didn’t have to worry about moving it to relative’s houses that live in other parts of town. We moved her three beds, living room set, kitchen table and chairs, a few boxes and other random items into my house and patio. This worked out well for me because I would now have plenty of beds for my friends who were coming to visit during Carnival. Once everything was out of her house, we got down to the business of tearing it down. This was the first chance I’d gotten to do physical labor since I’d been here and was excited. Working with her sons and others I helped take down and store the clay roof tiles, take down and store the bricks from the walls (to build additions to the house at a later point), and bang around some nails and stuff. I was glad to help and get a taste of hard work but by the 3^rd day when we began swinging a sledgehammer to tear up the concrete floor I had had just about enough. Luckily, this was the first day of Carnival and as my first Peace Corps friends arrived I eagerly traded in my sledgehammer for a cold beer. Maria’s new house is now about a month away from being complete. While losing a family member is never easy I think the process of rebuilding her house is serving to be quite therapeutic for her and her children. They will obviously never forget their father but keeping their minds busy on this major task has got to help in getting through the first few difficult months.

Panamanians know how to party, and even in the wake of a tragedy the extended family was ready to throw down for Carnival. Carnival is the same as Mardi Gras in New Orleans or the famous Carnivals in Brazil. “Carne” means meat or flesh in Spanish, so carnival is literally the festival of the flesh. That is, the four days leading up to Ash Wednesday are devoted to corporeal diversions and fulfillment of vices since all the fun will have to be suspended when lent begins. Here in Panama carnival is celebrated most passionately in the Azuero Peninsula where I live. Folks come from Panama City and throughout the country to my region to partake in the festivities which this year started at night on Friday Feb 1^st and continued non-stop until the wee hours of the morning Tuesday Feb 5^th. There are 5 or 6 towns/cities in the Azuero that hold carnival celebrations and each one has a queen from Calle Abajo (Low Street or Downtown) and another queen from Calle Arriba (High Street or Uptown). Each Queen has a committee that is responsible for helping her raise money throughout the year to build her floats, make her costumes, buy fireworks, and pay the band that accompanies her float. (See below).

There is an aspect of competition between Calle Abajo and Calle Arriba to build the most extravagant and lavish floats and costumes, while at the same time hurling insults at the opposing group’s queen. During the day everyone goes to the main plaza where huge gas tank type trucks filled with water spray the crowd while the queens do laps around the plaza and the band follows behind her getting everyone amped and jumping around. It gets pretty crowded and intense at some points but there are also tons of food vendors to be found everywhere day or night so if the beers start catching up with you, you can always take a break for some fried yucca or a shish-kabob to keep you going. The daytime getting wet festivities last from around noon until 5pm at which time everyone goes home to rest up for a while and get ready for the night time discoteca. Each town that celebrates carnival holds a nightly discoteca, the larger ones are huge outdoor clubs that hold thousands of people and have popular performers every night. The queens come out again at night in new costumes to parade through the town as fireworks rain down in massive quantities.

As far as my personal carnival experience, it was pretty much the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life, and I’ve done some pretty cool stuff if I don’t say so myself. I had a rotating cast of Peace Corps friends staying at my house throughout the five days. My town has their own carnival celebrations and is only 20 minutes down the road from the bigger provincial capital where the serious daytime fiesta and club is. Five days of straight partying is intense and not something to be taken lightly. I needed two full days afterwards to recover and catch up on sleep but once I’d done so I was already thinking about how great Carnival 2009 was going to be. Whoever wants to come down here and experience it for themselves is more than welcome, just gimmie a holler.

Nuggets

2008-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Amazing shoes I got for $20 bucks

Random observations and thoughts I’m too lazy to link together in a coherent paragraph.

In Panama there are two volume levels music can be played at. This goes for in the home, in the car, and at the bar. Whether you are with teenagers or grandparents the options are:

1) LOUD

2) Unbearably FUCKING LOUD

All boxing matches that are usually On-Demand or HBO/Showtime events in the states are broadcast on public television here completely free. La Liga, Serie A, and Premier League games are also on basic TV.

Five things I miss about the states in no particular order:

Law & Order
25¢ buffalo chicken wings
Cold weather
Hot showers
VH1 programming

Pork rinds in package or pure form are a delicious yet relatively under appreciated snack.

It is evident that Panama is still a developing country because their razors only have three blades; I imagine we are up to eight or nine by now in the states.

I am getting way too good at FreeCell Solitaire.

Panamanians have hit on something with their use of Jello because although boring by itself it’s quite a good compliment to cake and/or ice cream.

My Birthday Party

Arroz con pollo with potato salad is standard fare for any large gathering including birthday’s (see above), Mothers Day, Christmas, New Years, and even wakes. I’m not sure if we have an equivalent in the states.

The Rod Carew National Stadium is named after the Panamanian Hall of Famer who played for the Minnesota Twins and is one of only two players (Ty Cobb being the other) to lead the Major Leagues in batting average three years in a row.

Roberto Duran "Manos de Piedra" (Hands of Stone) a born in the Azuero Peninsula of Panama (where I live) is considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time holding titles in the Lightweight, Welterweight, Jr. Middleweight and Middleweight classes throughout his career.

My host family and neighbors have been amazingly supportive and helpful

Dos Mil Ocho!

2008-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Above is the homemade eggnog or "ron ponche" as its called down here that I helped make. I thought it turned out pretty well, others disagreed but its the thought that counts right? Anyway, I was going to post an update earlier in December to wish everyone happy holidays, but I figured it would be more interesting if I actually had something to write about instead of just speculation. Regardless, I hope all my faithful readers had a wonderful holiday season full of family, love, and warmth. It was certainly warm down here, which definitely was a change from how I'm used to feeling (physically) around Christmas time. Summer is just starting down here, which actually means its been a bit cooler lately because its less humid and there's been a nice breeze blowing all day long. My town had a pretty cute Christmas parade and the bands played carols which got me in the spirit of things even if the weather wasn't doing it.
The day before I left for our Christmas gathering I attended a "running of the bulls" in a town nearby. Its kind of a mix between what you think of as a traditional bullfight in Spain and an American rodeo except the bull doesn't die and everyone can participate. The best of both worlds right?!? Basically they build a ring in the center plaza of town and let bulls out one at a time, sometimes a guy is mounted, sometimes not, some of the people have capes, some have cattle prods, most have been drinking and anyone can jump in the mix whenever they want. Its pretty much a free for all with no rules, but make no mistake the bulls are big and can definitely cause serious damage. I stayed out of the ring at this festival but when it comes to the corrida in my own town next August I may have to participate in the madness.
I celebrated Christmas with some fellow Peace Corps Volunteers at a house we rented in a mountainous and cool area called El Valle de Anton. There were 10 of us in the house and another 8 staying at a nearby hotel. We all chipped in to buy groceries and cook a big delicious Christmas dinner. We made lasagna, chicken, potatoes, squash, salads, and various desserts. The location was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the spirits were flowing. We did a round robin kind of gift exchange and I wound up with a Cuban cigar. I've never smoked a cigar before so I couldn't really appreciate the quality, but my throat certainly hurt the next few days making a smooth transition into the annual quitting of cigarettes. We'll see how it goes this year!

(The house we rented, in El Valle de Anton is known for birdwatching although we didn't see anything too special from the porch.)

I almost forgot the problem we had transporting our mass of groceries and ourselves from the big supermarket in the capital to our little house up in the mountains. Since it was Christmas Eve the buses were running infrequently and those that were running were full. After waiting for a while on the side of the road and asking a few taxis if they would take us (they wanted too much) we found a man with a covered pickup truck who had come to shop with his family. After consulting with his wife he agreed to drive the six of us and our food in the back of his truck the 2 hrs to our destination for $40. We hopped in and hit the road. These fun little adventurous become more common in both frequency and novelty the longer I'm here.

I'm serious about my onions.

Panamanians celebrate New Years a little differently than we do in the states and I think I rather like their style. Mass at 10 o'clock is followed by a few drinks as you ring in the new year, and then a big meal at midnight. Arroz con pollo and potato salad are staples at any party in Panama, but for new years my host mom went all out with glazed ham, spaghetti, shrimp, lentils (eat 12 spoonfuls for good luck she says), ham/cheese/olive combination things in roll up form and on skewers which reminded me of the appetizer presentation at Aunt Judy's, and various sweets. I made the mistake of filling myself at my host family's house because I was then obliged to visit the various houses of family and neighbors who gave me more food. So I had more food and a few drinks with the family who I've come to feel most at home with and hit the sack around 3:00AM. Calm night overall with none of the obligatory searching for the best club, and party hopping that goes on in New York.
Not quite as big as the Christmas tree I'm used to, nor the same cast of characters, but a wonderful holiday season nonetheless. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. Check out more pictures by clicking the "My Photos" link on the right hand side of the page.

10 Hours of Sleep

2007-11-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say that I’m currently getting at least 9 hours of sleep a night. I’m pretty sure this is more than the recommended amount but who’s counting? I’m in bed by 10:00pm the latest and wake around 7:00am to a leisurely breakfast. I usually read a few chapters of whatever book I’m working on before bed and upon waking, or flip through one of the many Newsweek’s provided to us by the Peace Corps office. I’ve also been studying Spanish a fair amount using a workbook they provided us in training, and reading the newspaper to learn new words. This will be my first blog update after a month in site because well, not much has been happening. During training every minute of our lives was planned, whereas once we arrive in site it’s all up to us. This is liberating but daunting at the same time because every action must be completely self motivated.

This guy was playing the campesino (peasant) at a parade in my neighboring town where there is another Peace Corps Volunteer. Please note his cow foot flask.

Anyway, my main project here is to work with the savings and loans cooperative founded by members of the community two years ago. Currently our “office” is a small room attached to one of the member’s houses, which she also uses to give literacy classes in the afternoon. Our office hours are Mon-Wed-Fri from 2-4pm and Sat 9-12am. As you can see this leaves many free hours for me to fill throughout the day. I’ll talk about that later, but since I didn’t know how a cooperative worked until I got here I will explain a little how our particular coop works. Currently we have around 50 members who are supposed to save $5 a month in the coop. This money is theirs but they cannot take it out at any time like you would with a normal checking account. The members can take all their money out if they resign from the coop; otherwise they actually have to borrow their own money at 4% interest rate. The idea of borrowing ones own money is basically that you are making a promise to yourself to maintain a certain level of savings. Members must be up to date with their $5 monthly savings payments (aportaciones) to be able to borrow, but only about 10 of our members have the proper amounts in their accounts. According to a provision put in to add stability in the early phases of the coop members cannot currently borrow more than they have saved. Hopefully members will soon be able to access credit, which could be a real impetus for growth within the coop. (This could also lead to catastrophe if people default on their loans, which happens all too often). People can also open what is basically a checking account separate from their $5 aportaciones and take that money out as they please. We also offer Ahorro de Navidad accounts which encourage people to save a small amount each week which they then get back around Christmas time. We will be promoting this aggressively in the coming weeks for Christmas 2008. My coop, like most in Panama has quite a few problems, but since mine is so new I feel it has lots of room to grow. I’ve already had two meetings with the Board of Directors, and I succeeded in getting IPACOOP (the governing body of all coop’s in Panama) to come give a seminar to my members. I have a big meeting planned for December where I really hope to kick start things as far as motivating the members and promoting the coop in general. We’ll see what happens.

What else have I been doing with my time you ask? One week I went to the school everyday and introduced myself to all the classes before they go on their summer break in mid-December. When the new school year starts in March I plan to give Junior Achievement classes starting with the 6th grade and working my way down. Junior Achievement here in Panama provides volunteers with materials and lessons plans for hour long classes, once a week, for 6 weeks. Each grade has its own curriculum and the kids get diplomas at the end of the course
6th graders “Our World’,
5th graders “Our Country”
4th graders “Our City”
3rd graders “Our Community”
2nd graders “Our Families”
1st graders “Ourselves.”
All this is done in Spanish, but I may help with English classes in the school as well. Meeting the kids really helped me integrate into the community because now whenever I walk around town they scream my name. It’s a nice feeling and helps me start talking to their parents as well.
In the afternoons (like now) I usually go to FADEPA (Fundacion para la Ayuda de Estudiantes Pariteños). It’s a state funded organization thats basically an after school center for students in my town. They have encyclopedias, a small library, a copy machine, computers (some with internet and some without) and an attendant to help the kids. The internet is high speed and costs 50 cents an hour. Most of the kids come to play games, and watch videos on youtube, but a fair amount come to type papers and research things for homework. I’ll eventually be working there basically as an attendant, charging for internet, etc so that they can increase their hours of operation. I also have an idea to get the kids to write or contribute to wikipedia articles on subjects they are interested in, starting with one about their town.

My final project that I’ve identified will be to work with a local artisan here in town. He makes beautiful paper-mache devil masks for the festival of corpus cristi (like the one in the above photo). He’s got good demand for his product, but seems to be selling his masks for entirely too little. I hope to help him make his business more profitable and learn how to make some cool masks at the same time.

So basically I have alot of free time at the moment. Things are done at a more leisurely pace in general in this country, which is one of the reasons I came here, so I'm definitely not complaining. But please feel free to write a me snail mail letter, send some interesting articles, or give me a ring. Contact info is on the right hand side of this page, under my picture somewhere. Also check out the Peace Corps Panama Friends link for info about contributing to volunteer projects, etc. Other links have more info about Panama for the truly adventurous. Thats all folks, for now. Ciao!

Panamanian Patriotism

2007-11-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

I’m now officially a proud member of the 60^th group of Peace Corps volunteers to serve in Panama since the program began in 1963. We had our swearing in ceremony last week at the Canal Museum in the old part of Panama City. The US ambassador and a few Panamanian officials attended the short ceremony. We celebrated that night in Panama City and headed off for our two day beach vacation the next morning. Our group of about 30 people went to a playa two hours from the capital and enjoyed each others company for the last time in at least a month. We had a little Halloween party, swam in the ocean, and prepared ourselves for our upcoming solo adventures. Good times all around. I lost my flip flops.

So now here I am in my site and thoroughly enjoying myself. The celebrations of the dias patrios of Panama were this weekend, which is the equivalent of the 4^th of July in the states. In honor of the foundation of the Republic of Panama, November 3, 1903 I’d like to present a brief history of the country I now call home. The photo below is me shortly after marching with members of my cooperativa in the parade in my town.

Before Europeans came and discovered the new world the current territory of Panama was inhabited by various indigenous groups, some of whom still exist to this day. Exploration of the isthmus began in the early 1500’s principally by the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez De Balboa. He discovered the South Sea (the Pacific Ocean) in 1513 and claimed it as part of the Spanish empire. Panamanians refer to their currency which is the US dollar, as balboas because the conquistador’s image appears on coins minted here in Panama. Another famous explorer who figures into Panama’s history is Captain Henry Morgan, who most know for the spiced rum bearing his name. Captain Morgan was not a pirate but rather a “privateer” who waged war for England against the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Morgan made various forays onto the isthmus in the late 1600’s including the sacking of Panama City in which he massacred most of the population and burned the city to the ground. Panama however remained a Spanish colony for over 300 years until Simon Bolivar’s independence movements in South America began to make their way north. On November 10^th, 1821 El Grito de La Villa de Los Santos occurred leading to Panama’s separation from Spain. La villa de Los Santos is a town about half hour from my site and I’ll be traveling there for the celebrations of el grito this weekend. Following Panama’s official separation from Spain on November 28, 1821 the territory became part of Simon Bolivar’s newly founded Republic of Colombia.

Relations between Panama and the government in Colombia remained tenuous with various civil wars and separatist movements emerging over the years. In 1855 the United States completed the Panama Railway, the world’s first transcontinental railroad. The treaty that allowed the US to build the railway was the beginning of a complicated history of US political and military interventions in Panama. The railroad however was a vital link in bringing adventurers west during the gold rush years, and increased speculation about the idea of a canal. The French were the first to tackle the grand project led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had recently become famous for successfully completing the Suez Canal. France’s plan for a sea level canal was never realistic from an engineering point of view and was essentially doomed from the start in 1880. Tropical disease, financial problems, and constant floods were the primary causes for the failure of the French effort, which was finally suspended in 1896.

By 1899 the United States had established its own commission to investigate the possibility of building a canal through Central America. Initially the popular plan was for a Nicaraguan canal because although it is wider than Panama, it has a large natural lake in the middle of the country. After much deliberation Panama was chosen as the more feasible option and the US paid France $40 million dollars for the rights to the route they had begun, leftover machinery and detailed land surveys. The US now had to deal with the dicey task of obtaining rights from Columbia to build the canal. Having determined the Columbian asking price too high and not wanting to deal with the Columbians in general the US encouraged Panama to declare its independence. On November 3, 1903, with US Naval ships waiting offshore to deter any interference from Columbia, Panama officially declared its independence as a nation. In the controversial treaty that followed Panama granted the US the rights to build its canal as thanks for supporting its independence movement and a payment of $10 million dollars. The US began work on the canal in 1904 and the first ship passed through slightly ahead of schedule in 1914. The majority of the laborers used in both the French and American efforts were of Afro-Caribbean decent but a significant amount of Chinese, Italian, Irish, and of course Americans workers contributed to the success. The US triumphed where the French had failed because we’re better than them. Also helping our cause were major improvements in disease prevention, engineering technology, and infrastructure systems. In September of this year the Panama Canal Authority began a large scale, project to expand the canal by adding new sets off parallel locks to accommodate larger ships. The project is expected to be completed by 2014 and will cost an estimated $5 billion dollars.

According to the initial treaty that brought Panama its independence the US was granted control over the Canal Zone in perpetuity. The Canal Zone was ten miles wide on either side and ran the entire length of the canal. The US maintained a strong military presence in this area where the large majority of American soldiers, canal workers, businessmen and politicians lived with their families. In 1977 the Carter-Torrijos treaty set January 1, 2000 as the official date for the elimination of the Canal Zone and turnover of canal operations to Panama. Between the signing of the treaty and the actual handover the US did stage one military incursion into Panama in 1989. The controversial attack by US troops on parts of Panama City was allegedly in response to the killing of an American soldier and election fraud by then President General Manual Noriega. The military strike lasted only 7 days and resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of General Manual Noriega. There were also an estimated 500 Panamanian casualties, many citizens who were victims of fire in the poor neighborhood of El Chorillo. Since 2000, however the canal has been very successfully operated by the Autoridad de Canal de Panama and relations between the US and Panama are excellent. On a side note Manual Noriega recently completed his prison term in the United States and is expected to be extradited to France to serve trial there, although Panama also wants to try him for various crimes.

Well that just about brings things up to date. Currently Panama’s real estate market continues to boom, although many say a good amount of construction is funded by Columbian drug cartel money. Corruption is still rampant with a handful of established families controlling the majority of business and political decisions. But that’s another topic for another day. For more information on Panama please see the link to the Wikipedia article on the right hand column of this blog. Also please check out the Peace Corps Panama Friends link for information on supporting volunteer programs. Viva Panama!

Sappy Nonsense

2007-10-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thats a picture of my extended host family above. I had a great time staying with them, and they even got me a hammock as a going away present. I´m definitely going to come back and visit... Now that our ten-week training session has come to an end I thought I’d reflect on some of those very 1^st experiences that I didn’t have time to write about at the moment. Training was intense, but lots of fun. At times it seemed like it would never end, but now it’s over and I feel like I just got here. After one of the very first days of classes we all went to play soccer with some of the locals. I’m not the best futbolisto but I hope to improve while I’m down here and was happy to hit the ground running (literally). As the sun was setting over the green field in hues of pink, purple, and blue I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be. The very next day we went down to a nearby waterfall and swimming hole. It’s surrounded by jungle, small rocks to dive from, and you can go sit under the 6 foot falls. Just knowing that beautiful little places like this exist all over the country confirmed my decision to be here. One of my favorite local snacks I discovered in the early days of training is a small fruit called pifa. It’s kind of shaped like an acorn, but about the size of a lime, and has a pit in the middle. They’re boiled with lots of salt in the water and come out tasting like a very salty sweet potato. I think they’re delicious and they’re sold on the side of the road 5 for a cuata (quarter).

Once a week during training we would take a chartered bus to the nearby city of Chorrera for all day sessions on medical and safety issues. We saw slide shows on bugs, burns, rip tides, rapists and other dangers to avoid. Generally we looked forward to these days because the conference room was wonderfully air conditioned, the food included green vegetables, and coffee was available all day long. The only downside were the sometimes painful vaccinations we received, but it was worth it in the end. (I hear yellow fever isn’t too much fun).

One very memorable experience from training was learning how to kill and cook a chicken. I simply watched all the activities as I hear these tasks are usually the women’s job. This is how it’s done: 1^st you must catch said chicken and tie him upside down by his feet to a tree branch or something similar. This is so the blood goes to his head, making the cleaning process much easier later. Then you slit his throat, let the blood drain out, and finally lop off his head. When you do that last part he’ll start flapping and moving around (like a chicken with its head cut off) as the last nerve and spinal cord connections are severed. The 3^rd step is to briefly dip the whole chicken into boiling water to open his pores so the feathers can be removed. Once that’s done he’s ready to cook. That day we made sancocho which is basically just like chicken soup with lots of cilantro, and ñame (a root crop). I expect similarly prepared sancocho to become one of my mom’s new signature soups upon my return.

Our first chance to explore more of the country during training was our visit to current volunteer sites for a weekend. I traveled with a few other trainees to a town more or less on the Panama-Costa Rica border. We got to learn more about the everyday lives of volunteers, the co-ops they worked with, and the local friends they made. We went to a talent show at the elementary school and received our first exposure to a typical Panamanian social event. It’s probably not that different from what you’d experience in the states; just imagine everything five times more hectic. The hora panameña dictates that everything starts later than expected, usually a half-hour to an hour. The noise-level was off the charts with kids screaming, music constantly blaring, and the MC’s trying to get everyone’s attention to announce the next act. It was fun though and good practice for all the parties I’ll be attending over the next two years.

The best part of the weekend was a beach bash the volunteers organized for us. We got to meet even more of our fellow volunteers, jump in the ocean for the first time, and see how PC Panama parties. The place we stayed at had dorm beds for $5 and a chalkboard where you put tally marks for every 50 cent beer you took from the fridge. I was honest as far as I can remember.

The last thing I wanted to mention was that one day we got to meet the U.S Ambassador here in Panama, William Eaton. He is a great supporter of Peace Corps Panama and extended an open invitation to us all to celebrate Thanksgiving at his house. Overall, training was enjoyable because it gave us a chance to get to know each other better, and ease into life here in Panama as a group. Some people didn’t find the adjustments as simple and so our original group of 42 people has been reduced significantly. Two girls missed their boyfriends, one guy wasn’t into the work, and two more guys were “medically evacuated” under controversial circumstances. We’re hoping the last two will make it back here, but right now we are 37 strong and ready for war (or peace).

I Lied

2007-10-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Making sweeping generalizations about an entire country based on limited experience is never a good idea. Hence, I feel I should clarify a few statements I’ve made based on more recent observations since visiting my site this past weekend.

1) Forks and knives are not just for restaurants. I was served every meal with a complete set of utensils and at one meal I even got a separate salad fork. The fact that I got a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion is incredible in the first place. I think the vegetarians in my group kind of hate me. I also saw my Panamanian host mom using a fork so I know I wasn’t just getting the special gringo treatment. Ultimately though, I found myself longing for my trusty old tablespoon as it allows me to shovel rice in my mouth faster and in greater quantities.

2) Some of the streets in my town have names and since there is regular garbage collection it’s actually illegal to burn trash there. My town has over 6,000 people in it which is huge by Peace Corps standards. Its also unique I think in that the population is very concentrated. It reminds me of an old west town where on the main streets the houses are all connected and people sit in rocking chairs on their porches a few steps up off the ground. My site also has multiple 2 story houses and the only church in Panama with its steeple directly over the central nave.

So basically my site is pretty ye ye, which is Panamanian slang for fancy and Peace Corps slang for pretty much anything relatively nicer than what the next person has. Its not that my site is that much nicer than other places we’ve been (it is), but because it’s only a half hour from the provincial capital the mindset seems to be more metropolitan in general. My community counterpart for example is a mother of three, but is also the Vice President of the co-op, and the Chief of the volunteer fire department in town. The guys in the station come to attention and salute her when she walks in. The second day I was in town we made a human chain link along the side of the road to promote breast cancer awareness complete with a sign and pink ribbons. In church on Sunday the women from the health center passed out pamphlets describing how to perform a self breast exam. This is in comparison to Environmental Health volunteers teaching indigenous peoples in the comarcas (reservations) not to shit in the same stream they draw their drinking water from. My town is also very big on festivals and promoting time-honored Panamanian dance, music, and traditional ways of life. There is a party planning committee with its own office in town that maintains a website about on goings in the community. While I was visiting a well known figure in the community, who was a big supporter of these cultural festivals passed away. The very next day the website was updated with a memorial to this man complete with photos and stories about his life. Pretty impressive stuff relative to the conditions some of my companions will be working in.

So you ask, what will I actually be doing? My primary job will be to work with the savings and loans co-op in town. It is only 2 yrs old and has only about 30 active members. My goals will be to help them organize their accounting, encourage people to deposit monthly savings, and increase membership in the co-op. I will also have the opportunity to work with other organizations in town on secondary projects. There is a computer center with internet where I can teach classes, a Panama Verde environmental youth group looking for support, and I'd also like to promote tourism through the community website I mentioned. My town is in most of the tour books on Panama and one of the highlights is a local artisan who makes devil masks for dances at the festival of corpus christi. I'd like to help him with his business in any way possible and he said he'd teach me how to make some sweet masks.

While visiting my site I attended a birthday party and shared some Seco Herrerano with the guys on the porch. Herrerano is the most popular of all brands of the sugarcane liquor seco and is considered the national alcoholic beverage of Panama. Another source of regional pride is the Herrera baseball team which has won the national title 3 years running. While conversing with my new amigos I also discovered that not all Panamanians love Mariano Rivera as I previously stated. He no longer keeps a house in Panama, rarely comes to visit and refuses to play for the national team because he says they aren’t competitive. I can definitely see why this could create a sour feeling and makes me feel comfortable in once again hating the Yankees. Baseball is definitely the most popular sport in Panama and last weekend we organized a softball tournament in our training town. We had 3 Peace Corps volunteer teams, one staff team, and 4 Panamanian teams including one all women’s team. I umpired some of the games and had to make some controversial calls, but overall the tournament was a great success. We had trophies for the winners, and raised about $300 for the town library through team sign-up fees, food sales, and a raffle we held. All in a days work.

Chuleta!!!

2007-10-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

Ahh… sitting down to my computer just out of a cold refreshing shower has never felt better. Add to that the tranquil sound of rain falling on my zinc roof, and the power being out, I somehow feel inspired. I now understand why my señora said the last volunteer she hosted enjoyed when the electricity went out. It’s wonderfully quiet right now without the novellas blaring from our TV, or the neighbor’s radios blasting reggaeton. (Please note: I LOVE reggaeton, just not 24/7.) Anyway, the rain hitting our tin roof acts as a natural white noise maker that’s just as soothing as the ones you can buy from Sharper Image for a hundred dollars… and it means it’s getting cooler. It’s a gentle hum I thoroughly enjoy.

For those who have traveled in underdeveloped countries some of these observations may seem quaint or slightly naïve. Since however, this is my first time in such a place please bear with me. I just received a package from my mom. It arrived to the post office in Panama City and was picked up by Peace Corps staff. This got me to thinking about the mail system in general. Outside of Panama City and maybe the provincial capitals there really aren’t street names in this country, let alone addresses on the houses. So for the next two years, like most Panamanians I will travel once a month to the nearest big city with a post office, present my cedula, (social security ID card type thing) and hope mail has arrived. (Hint Hint). Also, in case anyone was wondering Panamanians eat all meals using only a tablespoon. Knives and forks are reserved for restaurants. I’m not really sure why but I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that Panamanians eat proportionally more rice than any other Latin American country. I saw a statistic that said the average panameño eats about 13lbs of rice a month. I'm approaching that number, and I bought my machete today so I think I'm assimilating well.

I’ve recently discovered that our training town is extra hot and humid compared to most other parts of the country. We just returned from a two week adventure that took us across Panama
and back (albeit the country is not that big). We began with a “Technical Training Week” at a volunteer’s site to get more hands on experience working with coops. The people in her town were intimidated by the thought of a horde of gringos invading their homes so we got to stay in a hotel for a full week. Swimming pool, AC, and cable TV made for a great time. We also managed to party hard and get yelled at by hotel management, but what can you expect when you put a bunch of pent up Americans in a hotel? We did actually get some work done including giving a charla (presentation) in Spanish on HIV/AIDS to a group of 9^th graders. We met an amazing guy who was basically the cooperativa king in this particular region. He only had a 6^th grade education like many older people here in Panama, but was an incredible speaker and a great inspiration. After tech week we traveled up into the mountains of Chiriqui for a CED sector conference. It was legitimately cold enough up there to wear a long sleeve shirt which was a wonderful feeling. We also got to meet the other business volunteers and learn about their projects. This area is where most of the volunteers will go for Thanksgiving and it sounds like a great time. We rent out a very cozy lodge complete with fireplaces and take over the kitchen to prepare dinner. Hopefully someone will make me an apple pie, but I’m guessing it won’t compete with Aunt Sue’s.

For the 3^rd leg of the trip we headed to the respective regions where our sites will be for a “Culture Week”. This town was also in the mountains so it was nice and cool. I shat in a latrine and took an outdoor shower for the 1^st time since I’ve been in Panama. It wasn’t that bad actually, but certainly not something I want to have to get used to. We took some hikes, planted rice, shoveled cow shit to make fertilizer, and generally got a little dirtier than usual. The last night the town threw a little party for us where we learned how to dance the “tipica” and ate guess what? More arroz con pollo! Good times.

PS: chuleta means porkchop, but is usually said in place of a swear word that refers to female anatomy starting with the "chu" sound. Kind of like how we say "fudge". Hence, when something noteworthy happens you can expect to hear "chuuuuuuuuuleta" accompanied by a finger snapping noise. Its may favorite. Below is a picture of one of the "Diablos Rojos" I mentioned before.

Yankees en Diablos Rojos

2007-09-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Right now I am a trainee, but today was the day we’ve all been waiting for; site assignments. After I am officially sworn in on October 25, I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Herrera province. I'll be in a big town of about 8,000 people, near the provincial capital of Chitre and 4 hours from Panama city. I'll have all the comforts I asked for and its less than a half hour from the ocean. The best carnaval celebrations take place in the nearby area of Las Tablas, and the Azuero peninsula is supposed to be rich with culture in general. I don't think I could have asked for a better placement.

A little more about the feel of Panama. It’s hot… and humid. I don’t think I’ve stopped sweating since I got here. This however means cold showers are a welcome relief, rather than a painful necessity. It cools down at night enough to sleep comfortably and the rains that come almost every afternoon help. The dry season, which runs from January to April is less humid, but without the rain to cool things down. We’ll see which is the lesser of two evils. The air here is also often tainted with the smell of burning trash. I don’t think I’ve seen a garbage can in this country and hence no regular collection. Most Panamanians simply torch their waste in a pile in their backyards. Hmmm, what else? There are lots of stray dogs, or that’s to say few people keep their dogs indoors and well fed. I think they’re in heat because lately there have been packs of dogs rolling through the streets trying to hump each other. Yesterday I saw two dogs attack and practically tear a smaller dog in two before someone broke it up. My señora’s daughter and son-in-law however have two beautiful & healthy black labs they keep fenced in their yard as guard dogs.

On Sunday I got the chance to go into Panama City and watch American football at the sportsbook in Casino Veneto. It’s the nicest hotel/casino in the city and was a fun escape. The buses in and around Panama City are called “Diablos Rojos” (Red Devils). They are old yellow school buses from the USA that are just as uncomfortable as when I rode them in elementary school. They are usually painted inside and out with various air-brush designs of lions, scantily clad women, bible scenes, or cartoon characters like Yosemite Sam and the Tasmanian Devil. Many have big speakers systems, feather boas, pom-poms, and various other tacky yet amazing pieces of flair. Dorsal fins on top, black or red lights inside they look like party buses, but are usually crowded with tired Panamanians heading to or from work. There is a competition every year for the most pimped out bus, which would definitely be a site to see.

Being a Mets fan it’s tough to admit that the New York Yankees really are America and overall the worlds most popular team. Here in Panama every game is broadcast on public television because Mariano Rivera, one of the best closers in baseball is Panamanian. Almedo Sainz of the Dodgers and Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros are also big leaguers from Panama but no one gets as much love down here as Mariano.

1st Impressions

2007-09-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Panama on August 15th after a two day “staging event” in Washington, DC. Our group of 42 people has already been reduced to 40 people after two girls left within the first two weeks for personal reasons. Our group is half Community Economic Development (CED), and half Environmental Health (EH) volunteers. There are four married couples in our group (which I hear is a lot), as well as two older retired guys. Everyone else is between 22 and 30 years old, and all are college graduates. Our training is taking place in a small community of about 2,500 people an hour from Panama City. We are living with host families all of whom have electricity and running water. I have an indoor shower and toilet, but some people have bucket showers and latrines. My host señora is a 60 year old retired widow. Her two sons and daughter live with their families on all three sides of our house. Her kids and grandkids are always stopping by so there is never a dull moment. She is very friendly, cooks good food, and does my laundry. What more could I ask for?

I love Panamanian food so far. For lunch or dinner I get a heaping plate of rice, potatoes, or spaghetti accompanied by beans or lentils and chicken or meat. Some people in our group complain, especially the vegetarians but I find it all delicious. Panameños fry almost everything they eat. “Hojaldres” which are basically just fried dough are scrumptious and can be eaten at any time of the day. Panameños also eat a lot of hot dogs, I think mostly because it’s cheap meat. I got two hot dogs served to me for breakfast the other day. I also tried cow tongue recently and it was pretty good, better than a hot dog at least. If I ever get a craving for something familiar I only have to travel to one of the larger cities where you can find most American fast food chains including McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Pizza Hut. There are also Chinese restaurants everywhere and most corner stores even in small towns are owned by “chinos”.

From The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough: “Days and nights were made a living hell by bichos, the local designation for ticks, chiggers, spiders, ants, mosquitos, flies or any other crawling, buzzing, stinging form of insect life for which no one had a name.” Thankfully I have a mosquito net (and a fan) that keeps me cool and bug free at night, but the workers who built the Panama Canal in the late 1800’s were not as lucky. On a recent trip to the beach sans mosquitero I got at least 100 chigger bites on my legs and arms. Chiggers actually go into your skin and live there but die quickly and are relatively harmless. Bot fly’s on the other hand lay their eggs in your skin and eventually grow into fingernail sized larvae that have to be suffocated and squeezed out. I’m hoping to avoid those, youtube it and you’ll see why.

Most Panameños keep gallinas de patio (porch chickens) that they kill occasionally for celebrations. Since they control what the chickens eat they say the meat is tastier. My señora has about five roosters that all start crowing promptly at 3:30am, but I’m already getting used to it. Our front and back doors are always open to keep the house cool and so we get a lot of visitors. A hairy tarantula strolled into my house the other night startling my señora. She said she hadn’t seen anything like it in years and called over her son who took care of it with a few machete swipes. Bats fly in at least once every evening but usually find their way out after a few circles around the room. These are fruit bats, but there are also vampire bats here in Panama. According to my señora they live in caves and usually bite cattle, horses, and other livestock. They also bite humans (we met a volunteer who got bit) and aim for the spots where blood lets out the quickest such as fingers, toes, and nose. Geckos are limpias de la casa because they take care of a lot of the bugs, but their droppings look a lot like mouse turds. I was happy to discover that the shit next to my pillow wasn’t from a rodent but a friendly gecko. I really like my mosquito net.