New Blog Title, New Attitude

I had to change things up a bit. I thought changing the title of this blog would be a good idea for several reasons. I don´t think the Peace Corps would be cool with me including their organization´s name in my blog title. And now I realize that I only called this blog my Peace Corps journey because I couldn´t think of anything else to call it. Now I think experience has led me to something more meaningful.

I´m closing in on six months in Panamá, and my time here has been filled with ups and downs. Unfortunately, I´ve gotten frustrated because of things I cannot change. Even after writing posts about lessons I´ve learned, it has taken longer than that for them to sink in. Slowly, I´m learning that I should simply do the best I can within the limitations of my surroundings. I can still hope for the best, set lofty goals, and work to make them a reality. However, if something isn´t meant to be, there´s nothing that getting worked up can do about it. I still plan to dream, but I am now more rooted in the potential of my community, and the country in general. I´m trying to be more pragmatic about my goals. So I´ve got my feet on the ground, but I´m still looking to the sky.

The Hidden Treasure

See those big rocks in the background of this first picture? You can jump off those into the pool seen in the next picture. Turns out my site isn´t as boring as I thought!


After around three months of sweating like a pig, a few neighbor friends finally invited me to the river, known as El negrito, to cool off. On one hand, I was very appreciative that they finally invited me to go. I knew about the place for a while and really wanted to see what it was like. On the other hand, I was a bit upset. I don´t know why it took so long for this to happen, as I always thought I was a pretty nice guy. Who knows? Anyway, a small group of us went to what I thought was a standard river and found the most beautiful little swimming hole. I kept wondering how a place out here in the middle of nowhere with nothing but fields and hills could host a tropical paradise. So, after a few months of thinking my site had nothing to offer, friends have changed my whole perspective of the place.


(A 50 by 50 yard pool of clear water. According to my friends, now, during the rainy season, the pool is "dirty." In the dry season, it sparkles a luminous turquoise. In the far corner of the picture you can see a small waterfall. One, the rocks are quite smooth, so it´s actually a nice waterslide. Also, the path back there leads to a cave. So cool! And as this picture is sort of white-washed by the light of the sun, so it doesn´t even do the place justice!)

The School´s 44th Anniversary

(The coronation, complete with dancing. Those faces really tell the story...of cattiness at age 5 and beyond.)

Every year the school I work at celebrates the anniversary of its founding. As is customary for celebrations, the school erected a rancho, under which the festitivies took place. On Monday, May 28 (the actual day of its founding), the school had a Catholic mass to thank God for their successes and pray for good fortune in their future endeavors. The priest showed up Panamanian time (later than expected) and was requested by the principal to bless the newly constructed bathrooms before saying mass, but aside from that, everything went off without a hitch.


(So odd to me...)

Thursday, May 31, was the real celebration. The school invited dignitaries like the mayor, the district representative, and the Regional Supervisor of the Ministry of Education, as well as other school from the area. The first half was a very formal ceremony to honor certain special people given certificates for their service to the school. Then the Regional Supervisor and the principal each gave a speech. It was all fine and good, but one thing about speeches here annoys me. They have a very strict structure and everyone is essentially required to do the following:
-welcome all important people by name and title
-thank all those people again at the end of the speech

However, once that was all over, the fun began, known as the acto cultural. I, along with two other teachers, served as the Master of Ceremonies. I suppose because of the rural location of the school and the connection to farming and horses and all that, the anniversary always has a cowboy theme. And of course, with all celebrations, there was a coronation of one of the elementary school girls. So, little chicas from Kindergarten to 6th grade got dressed up in cowgirl outfits and full makeup. The coronation of the queen is determined by a fundraising contest. Whichever girl raises the most money wins, and ALL contestants´ parents get to keep half the money they raise. Crazy concept to me. But it was so cute. Then other small groups came up and danced, recited poetry, and acted out short stories. One little boy even dressed up and performed a routine to a Michael Jackson mix. It proved that the kids like to dance, which I might take advantage of in the form of some side project. When all that was over they turned on the music and some of the adults (myself included) danced. They served food and had a friendly soccer game with a team from a neighboring community.


(Preparing the señoritas)


(The queen/winner of the fundraising contest with her two escorts. This could be a weird ad campaign for kids, couldn´t it? Those faces are so...unique.)


(In this picture, upper Elementary school kids are dancing in a group they call the Bomberos, the Firemen. What a coincidence! They set off fireworks that lit streamers on the rancho up in flames. Nearly burned down the whole darn thing.)


(Hey y´all! Never thought I´d ever wear a cowboy hat, but there it is.)

The Grand Tour

Although I have been in site now for nearly three months, I still get the standard questions from friends and family like, "What are your living arrangements like?" or "What are you eating?" Instead of telling you, I thought I could show you, now that I can upload pictures without too much trouble. This, friends, is where I live.

A view of the street from my host family house. There is but one main road, unpaved. In that direction are the representative´s office/library, the church, the few corner stores that sell the bare essentials, and an open field where kids play.

The front of my host family´s house. To the left you can see flowers, which are always pleasant when I walk back from school.

The front porch. I spend lots of time here reading, preparing English activities for the elementary school teachers, and brushing the sleeping cat off my lap.

The house itself has only a few rooms. This mostly outdoor area is covered by tin corrugated roof and is quite spacious, but has only dirt floor. This serves as the dining room and living room, where friends and family come to visit and chat. Only one chicken is visible in this picture, but my host family keeps dozens of them. So any scraps of food either go to the dog, the cat, or the chickens. It´s actually quite convenient when my host mom serves me heaping mounds of rice that I couldn´t possibly eat...

The kitchen. My host mother uses an old-fashioned wood stove and burns firewood to cook every meal. Although it´s an interesting site, it lets off a lot of smoke.

When the water comes, my host parents store it in buckets. And this, friends, is what heaven looks like. Around the house, my three favorite words are "Llegó el agua," or "The water has arrived."

Where I spend my time watching La rosa de Guadalupe, an episodic telenovela that involves Mexicans in "real-life" situations who request the help of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Although the TV gets only a few channels, it serves as a good distraction. In the past few weeks, I´ve been able to watch the three Lord of the Rings movies, Quantum of Solace, and Pan´s Labyrinth, a few gems among the horrible American movies they tend to show on Panamanian channels.

My bedroom during this time with my host family. There are two beds in the room, one a bit smaller than twin, and the other a standard full with a flattened mattress. That smaller bed is the site of the Falling Kitten Catastrophe during my site visit in mid-March. Since then, I have slept under my mosquito net in order to protect myself from the insects and critters (read: bats) that can enter through the open window.

My bed, with mosquito net in place, to protect me from harm.

The backyard, filled with banana and other fruit trees, unkempt and wild. If you look carefully in the center of the picture, you can see the latrine in the background about 25 yards behind the house, my toilet/shower combo.

Cariño, the family parrot. Her wings are clipped, so she walks around and climbs the wiring using her beak and claws. She´s not too bad, except when she won´t shut up, or when she tries to bite my feet. Admittedly, that only happened a few times. It´s funny, though. Whenever someone walks into the house, she´s usually there to say "Buenas," which is a common greeting around here.

So, all in all, it´s not as bad as it seemed at first. I´ve been browsing other volunteers´ blogs, and I realize I should never complain about living conditions. I might be in a rural site, but I am a lot better off than some of my friends here in Panama.

Flowers that grow right outside the host family house. My host mother occasionally cuts them and puts them in my room. How nice. So, things aren´t so bad. Right now, everything´s coming up roses. Or, in this case, orchids.