It's been a hectic last couple weeks of training, and with swear-in approaching
this friday, I'd like to reflect on the transformation that has taken place as
I look forward to officially starting my service. Training has equipped me with
solid strategies for teaching and planning with Panamanian teachers. The week I
spent working in a high school in
Penonomé for tech week was awesome experience for what it will be like in the
Panamanian classroom. Finally, the much anticipated friday arrived where we
found out our sites, one by one, and our photos were posted on a huge map of Panamá
(blog post about site to follow).
These past few months were frustrating at times, especially with little freedom and a rigid schedule, but I feel that they were necessary. The time was needed to integrate into Panamanian culture with our spectacular host families while at the same time having daily connections with other PC trainees, our Panamanian Spanish teachers, and our trainers/other volunteers who facilitated our training sessions.
Our time in Santa Rita flew by, and by the end it truly felt like home, especially after coming back from our tech week and volunteer visits or trips to the city, and I feel like I am a member of the Delgado family. In that sense, with time passing rapidly and things becoming so normal and habitual, adapting to a new place or culture or life is astounding. This adaptation one reason love to travel and experience new people and culture; it's the natural human way to assimilate, and it's a beautiful thing when everyone in a new culture is so accepting and giving... Bucket baths, noisy chickens and dogs, crazy chiva rides (crammed in a bus with luggage, ten+ people over capacity in little buses), rice with fried everything and no veggies--all this is part of the standard Panaday.
These past few months were frustrating at times, especially with little freedom and a rigid schedule, but I feel that they were necessary. The time was needed to integrate into Panamanian culture with our spectacular host families while at the same time having daily connections with other PC trainees, our Panamanian Spanish teachers, and our trainers/other volunteers who facilitated our training sessions.
Our time in Santa Rita flew by, and by the end it truly felt like home, especially after coming back from our tech week and volunteer visits or trips to the city, and I feel like I am a member of the Delgado family. In that sense, with time passing rapidly and things becoming so normal and habitual, adapting to a new place or culture or life is astounding. This adaptation one reason love to travel and experience new people and culture; it's the natural human way to assimilate, and it's a beautiful thing when everyone in a new culture is so accepting and giving... Bucket baths, noisy chickens and dogs, crazy chiva rides (crammed in a bus with luggage, ten+ people over capacity in little buses), rice with fried everything and no veggies--all this is part of the standard Panaday.
Last friday, we celebrated the time spent in Santa Rita at a Despedida, where we cooked Panamanian style cuisine (arroz con pollo, ensalada, chicha de piña) for our families, wore Panamanian-style clothes, and basically had a big culture-sharing fiesta. This included: Markia singing our national anthem, some Irish dancing thanks to Michael's redic. fiddle skills, and some gringo renditions of Wagon Wheel and Lean on Me. We also watched and participated in some Panamanian dances, had a rice pounding competition, and then, the Salomar (the traditional yelp of Panamanians, adapted from the indigenous i believe, that can be heard in the campo (or the cantina) all over Panama). The celebration ended with a nice slide show of pics from the last few months, a piñata (with flour inside for effect, a Panamanian tradition, and some gift-giving and receiving. (Side note: it poured allllll dayyy during our good-bye party, perhaps signifying the start of rainy season, or maybe the impending doom we face in our sites, but either way, the thunder storms here are awesome, and I will spend many days reading in a hammock during thunderstorms. future thunderpanablogposts will occur.)
10 Things I will miss from Santa Rita:
1. My lovely host family; their constant generosity, help and support with Spanish and all things Panamanian, constant laughter from the family and their cousins next door at my gringo-ness
2. Alan y Alanis singing Panamanian love ballads, típico, reggaetón, and due to some of my influence, bits from Bob Marley's "Is This Love" and "The Weight" by The Band
3. My host-fam's almost 2 year old primita, Edeymis!
4. Sunset yoga sessions with Benja and the gringos
5. Soga swinging in the río with the Carlos, Alan, y Alanis, gringos and other Panapals
6. Jamming under the gazebo in the iglesia
7. Hikes up to the hill to watch sundown
8. Coming home to my host-family blaring Panama tunes (reminds me of the Vetter household)
9. the Santa Rita children's machete militia
10. "Hola" y "Buenas" and a smile from the townsfolk upon every encounter, every day (so apparently we haven't driven them too crazy, or weirded them out with our americanisms)
10 Things I will miss from Santa Rita:
1. My lovely host family; their constant generosity, help and support with Spanish and all things Panamanian, constant laughter from the family and their cousins next door at my gringo-ness
2. Alan y Alanis singing Panamanian love ballads, típico, reggaetón, and due to some of my influence, bits from Bob Marley's "Is This Love" and "The Weight" by The Band
3. My host-fam's almost 2 year old primita, Edeymis!
4. Sunset yoga sessions with Benja and the gringos
5. Soga swinging in the río with the Carlos, Alan, y Alanis, gringos and other Panapals
6. Jamming under the gazebo in the iglesia
7. Hikes up to the hill to watch sundown
8. Coming home to my host-family blaring Panama tunes (reminds me of the Vetter household)
9. the Santa Rita children's machete militia
10. "Hola" y "Buenas" and a smile from the townsfolk upon every encounter, every day (so apparently we haven't driven them too crazy, or weirded them out with our americanisms)
I have already learned so much about living in Panama and will miss
mi familia and the other aspirantes a ton when we depart. Nonetheless, I am
ready to be on my own in Tortí; to embrace the challenge I was preparing for,
to assimilate, embrace my school and community, learn, and build friendships.
This is how I hope to have an impact during my PC service.
....but first we gotta swear to defend that ol' Constitution and head to la playa for a celebratory fin de semana!
....but first we gotta swear to defend that ol' Constitution and head to la playa for a celebratory fin de semana!
