Volunteer visit

At the first year mark, volunteer life starts to speed up. And it's fan-FRICKIN-tastic! I've been busier than I've ever been with both teaching in the school and other Peace Corps-related activities, one of which is helping to train the next group of volunteers. At this point in our service, a new group comes and we have the opportunity to host a current trainee. One of the most fulfilling things about being an "older, more experienced" volunteer is being able to pass down knowledge to new volunteers. It's a great way to really see how life comes full circle. If you remember, I visited a volunteer around the end of January last year. It was early in my service and I was still quite nervous and unsure about the program. Now that I've endured all those hardships and have emerged stronger and wiser, I see new trainees and want to do the best I can to alleviate their stress, the way I would have wanted someone to do for me. So when I knew I was going to receive a trainee visitor, I wanted to make sure it was a good experience.

The only problem is that there's very little to do in my site. Other people have beaches or rainforest or mountains or tourist destinations near their sites. Mine has always seemed rather boring. However, Ben, the trainee who came to visit, seemed to really enjoy his time here and offered a new perspective on what I used to think was a boring place to live. He stayed Thursday night through Monday. He experienced a relaxed weekend and then a Monday morning at a Panamanian school. Not too eventful, but a great time nonetheless.


On Friday we went to Los negritos, the amazing swimming hole I've raved about in previous posts.


As it's the dry season, no rain falls and no water runs, and so the swimming hole gets full of leaves. It wasn't the prettiest site to see, but once we jumped in, we got a unusual mixture of cool and warm pockets of water, from the stagnant water and the water that received direct sunlight. Very interesting.

Ben really enjoyed the swimming hole and said, "There aren't many places on Earth like this." That made my appreciation for my site go way up.


One of the benefits of the dry season is that the cave portion of the swimming hole is now more accessible, as the waterfalls are weaker and the current is no longer overpowering. Oh man, the pictures simply cannot do it justice.


On Saturday, we went for another morning adventure. Here you see horses and modern cars, just worlds colliding at the culture epicenter of my site.


On our way down the hill to unknown territory. At the time, I thought I knew the way. It turns out that since I went exploring that way (last March, actually, when I first got to site), they had bulldozed a path. So what used to be a leisurely 20-minute walk down a winding path became a steep 5-minute sprint down a gravel path. My plans fell through, but a few kids, who were following us, decided to take us on another path to another swimming hole. They never took me by myself, but as soon as another American comes, they're suddenly tour guides for all the coolest stuff in my site... And kids, even teenagers who NEVER hang out at my house, were suddenly stopping by to have a nice chat. I mean, honestly, I don't always want them there, but when they suddenly start to show up when a visitor comes, I start to get upset and think I'm not good enough for them. Peace Corps problems.


A massive tree


On the way to La pedregosa, the other swimming hole.


On our way back we took a different path and ended up at a man's small farmhouse, where he was about to give a cow some medicine. Such a beautiful, gentle, and delicious creature.


I spend a year giving out candy and trying to make English relevant and engaging for kids. But Ben lifts the two kids up on his shoulders and carries them around on our walk. Now everyone in site is asking, "When's he coming back? We want to hang out with Ben 10 again!" (Ben 10 is a big cartoon series down here, so kids slipped up a lot and called him Ben Diez.)


My humble abode was a welcome change from the training community. And after a few weeks of nothing but Panamanian food, banana bread, black bean burgers, and fruits and vegetables (OH MY GOSH!) all suddenly seem like luxuries.

On Sunday we went to visit my closest volunteer, who's a 45-minute walk from my site. It was great to show Ben the range of Peace Corps sites. My site might be humble, but at least I have electricity and my water comes more often. And hearing my friend Jeremy's perspective offered more insight into the life of a volunteer.

We went to school on Monday. I introduced Ben at the Monday morning assembly. He also got to sit in on some classes and see my counterpart and me work a bit. It was great for him to see a Monday, since Fridays are filled with chaos and activity. Just to give you an example, they canceled school on Friday for a teacher's meeting that popped up out of nowhere.

It was a great weekend! And now that the new group is here, I know it's only a few short weeks before Veraguas, my province, gets new volunteers. I'll get new neighbors!