I've been in country for nearly three weeks, and have had an amazing time thus far. The Peace Corps has thrown a lot on our plate, teaching us about why the Peace Corps is in Panama, how we can protect ourselves from illness, attack, or cultural faux pas, how to teach English (a little), and so on. As I mentioned before, our schedule is mostly fixed, with Spanish classes in the morning and tech/ Teaching English classes in the afternoon. However, they continue to switch things up. On Fridays, we go back to our original stomping ground, the former military base closer to the capital known as Ciudad del Saber, for full-group tech sessions about this or that. Only then do we Teaching English volunteers get to see the other group, Community Environment Conservation. In addition to that, we have occasional outings to various places. We've gone to a place called La Chorrera, a larger city in the province, for a fun adventure day where groups of us had maps and had to arrive at various spots, ask directions, and figure out how to manage ourselves using Spanish, and how to have our wits about us at every moment.
We had a similar day in the capital city of Panamá, and there's a funny story there. At that point, I had not been able to get a cell phone. The Peace Corps had suggested that we all get cell phones to keep in touch both with each other and the Peace Corps. So on the day we were all in the massive Albrook Mall, hoards of trainees bombarded the Digicel kiosks and stores. I, unfortunately, did not get one. So on this Panamá adventure day, I was without cell phone. This is an important detail. Our group's plan was to meet at 8 in the morning...somewhere. And therein lay the conflict. I thought we were meeting in front of the school where our tech classes take place. Evidently, that was not the case. It turned out they were about 200 meters down the road at the bus stop. So, since I never met up with my group, they left me behind. It was a bit terrifying in the moment. I called the emergency number for the Peace Corps, known as the Duty Officer, and she suggested I just go myself and...BAM! The pay phone cut off. I went to a small hub for getting buses ten minutes down the road, called the Duty Officer again, and she said my group would most likely be waiting for me when I...dial tone again. Stupid pay phone. But I made it to Panamá without any problem. I believe I got there at around the same time as some of the groups, considering that I was only one person, as opposed to a group. So it all worked out in the end.
However, I since a bit of antagonism from Panamanians to gringos. It's pretty standard for the men on the buses to try to pull a fast one on us and charge more for a ride than they would charge natives. And when the groups of trainees went to the cell phone kiosks, they occasionally tried to claim that they were closed. On an individual basis, it's a bit better. People stop themselves and ask, Does it offend you that I'm calling you gringo? Considering the rocky past with Americans and how many people in the countryside have no exposure to foreigners, I suppose it comes with the territory, so I shouldn't complain.
This weekend, Peace Corps sent us out to visit current volunteers to see how their life is, ask them a million questions and all that. However, as it's summer vacation, there isn't too much to do. Although I've enjoyed my time here, I have realized something very important: I need to keep myself busy to avoid going insane. La pereza me saca de quicio...and that's fa sho. Thus far, homesickness hasn't hit me too hard, but it does come creeping up when I have nothing else to focus my thoughts on. On a free Saturday last week, for example, we had nothing going on. It was an especially difficult day, since the roads near my house were being repaired, and thus there was no running water. It was hot and sticky. My clothes were dirty, but I couldn't wash them. Small things can build up, and by the time dinner rolled around and no one was sitting with me to eat, a frog got lodged in my throat and I missed home. To avoid that, I have to take advantage of everything I have. I need to read the books I brought. I should go visit the volunteers, who, thankfully, are still right around the corner. I should make the effort to not only absorb knowledge by reading and listening, but be active in my learning of Spanish and talk, talk, talk. But it takes a while to get over the pena.
I believe I've realized an important truth for having effective service: keep myself busy. Now I just need to implement it into daily life. So on my daily checklist, at the very top I will undoubtedly see: do something.
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