I cannot believe it hasn't even been a week since I arrived in Panamá. It has been a crazy, hectic, full, tiresome, incredible, and AWESOME 6 days. Panama is a beautiful country full of amazing and kind people. I am only beginning to understand my small role here, and it has been very interesting learning about the role of PC here. Last thursday and friday my fellow aspirantes (trainees) and I had all day training sessions regarding health, safety, a history and explanation of Peace Corps Panama, and our project overview. I will discuss the Teaching English program of the Peace Corps very often as I learn more during these first couple months of training.
Saturday we were able to escape the training compound and venture out to the site of a current volunteer a few hours away. She lives in a mid-size community in a sweet furnished house with screens, a toilet, and running water. We met the teachers she works with at the secondary and primary schools, and also her old host family. They were super nice and there place was awesome! They had avocado, banana, orange, cashew, and mango trees in their yard, as well as tons of chickens running around. This, as well as tons of wandering dogs, is a common scene in el campo de Panama.
Also, Saturday night there was a big concert in Ciudad de Saber (the place where we were staying is an old U.S. military base that is currently the home of diplomats, ex-pats, Panamanian government workers and wealthier folks, as well students who attend the international school? or a campus abroad of Florida State). Some friends and I got super lucky and were given wristbands by a couple Americans for entry in to concert, which was more like a music festival with many booths and activites, for ten bucks as opposed to 35 (note: the dollar is the official currency of Panamá, very convenient.) We saw a band called Astro de Chile and very popular band called Cafe Tacuba de Mexico. It was an awesome show and the Panamanian crowd, mostly city folk i presume (and also quite a few gringos), was pretty wild. It was a blast and definitely an environment that we will rarely be apart of during our service.
I am currently in the living room of my new host family in Santa Rita where about half of the voluntarios are living during training. The majority of the houses are concrete structures with metal roofs and hard stone floors. Mi casa has 2 bedrooms, a shower room, and living room. They have running water most times and it is potable. Development in the present day is a strange phenomenon, for they lack some basic amenities and yet most in this pueblo have cable and smart phones. Other volunteers have more comfortable setups with screens, toilets, and showers in their houses, but I am one of the only lucky souls that lives with a family who has wifi! ...still blowing my mind a little.. Thus far the food has been very good, little veggies though. Mostly rice, chicken, and fried corn tortillas. My family is awesome. I live with Dilsa and her boyfriend Andres, and her 3 kids--Carlos (19), Alan(10), and Alanis (8). They also have a dog out back names Suzy, and 3 pericos (3 little birds, literally a la the Bob Marley tune...I made sure to play the song for them last night with mi guitarra). I have been here less than 24 hrs and I already feel like a member of the family. Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the river down the road, swimming and swinging into the water on rope swings. A fellow volunteer and I also taught Alanis and Alan how to play ultimate frisbee and they were naturals. Carlos is a cool dude, he studies finance an hour away at the university in this region, and his helping me improve my rusty Spanish immensely. I am so excited to spend the next 2 months here, and am already a little sad that I will have to leave them.
We are going to be super busy every day for the next 8 weeks. 4 hours of formal spanish class in small groups 4 days a week, tech and project training in the afternoon, and many excursions planned in the next to weeks to Panama City, back to PC headquarters, and to a few sites of current volunteers.
Other than that, it's hot as hell every day and i get to wake up to screaming gallos every morning. Going for a run before sunrise. More updates to follow, but until then don't worry bout a thing cause every little thing, is gunna be be alright. Especialmente en esta vida Panameña.
I am currently in the living room of my new host family in Santa Rita where about half of the voluntarios are living during training. The majority of the houses are concrete structures with metal roofs and hard stone floors. Mi casa has 2 bedrooms, a shower room, and living room. They have running water most times and it is potable. Development in the present day is a strange phenomenon, for they lack some basic amenities and yet most in this pueblo have cable and smart phones. Other volunteers have more comfortable setups with screens, toilets, and showers in their houses, but I am one of the only lucky souls that lives with a family who has wifi! ...still blowing my mind a little.. Thus far the food has been very good, little veggies though. Mostly rice, chicken, and fried corn tortillas. My family is awesome. I live with Dilsa and her boyfriend Andres, and her 3 kids--Carlos (19), Alan(10), and Alanis (8). They also have a dog out back names Suzy, and 3 pericos (3 little birds, literally a la the Bob Marley tune...I made sure to play the song for them last night with mi guitarra). I have been here less than 24 hrs and I already feel like a member of the family. Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the river down the road, swimming and swinging into the water on rope swings. A fellow volunteer and I also taught Alanis and Alan how to play ultimate frisbee and they were naturals. Carlos is a cool dude, he studies finance an hour away at the university in this region, and his helping me improve my rusty Spanish immensely. I am so excited to spend the next 2 months here, and am already a little sad that I will have to leave them.
We are going to be super busy every day for the next 8 weeks. 4 hours of formal spanish class in small groups 4 days a week, tech and project training in the afternoon, and many excursions planned in the next to weeks to Panama City, back to PC headquarters, and to a few sites of current volunteers.
Other than that, it's hot as hell every day and i get to wake up to screaming gallos every morning. Going for a run before sunrise. More updates to follow, but until then don't worry bout a thing cause every little thing, is gunna be be alright. Especialmente en esta vida Panameña.
