Al Fin de Mayo

Wrapping up another month in Panamá, it is difficult to conceptualize the time I have spent here. I have been in site one month, and in Panama for more than three. It's like paddling out to sea, not really noticing too much progress, but the shores of February are fading in the distance.

So for the the last month, i have been spending time observing teachers in the primary school. It's a frustrating experience because I would like to be more involved, but first i have a lot to learn about the Panamanian school system, assess the needs of the school/community, and perhaps most importantly build camaraderie with the teachers before I start planning and get my hands dirty. That said, there are some tough problems/realities in the Panamanian classroom, which my compañera Katy lays out wonderfully in her blog.

So moving on from that, I'd like to recap my month!

I am wrapping up my week of "vacation" (no school for the niños, as first trimester has just ended, but I was pretty busy) before I head off to the depths of the Darién to visit some of meet some of my new Peace Corps brethren of the East, and do manstuff in the jungle...

some random things i have been doing:

-dodging beetles and swatting bats (killed my first little marcielago last night, I didn't want to because I thought he would be a great defense against mosquitos, but he was out of control and flying way too close to my head while I was trying to help my host-sister with her English homework. She laughed at my indecision (and fear), until my blue jeans knocked him out cold. RIP. There are enough creatures that are trying to suck my blood ). Rainy season has arrived to Panama Esté, and with the lights on in my open bedroom, I am a prime target for rainforest bicho (bug) drones.

-"Thriller" dance with 3rd greaters (we will see if it can be pulled off for english week)

-Gira Médica with US army- I was fortunate to be able to help out on the final day of a medical trip the U.S. Army did in the neighboring town, Platanilla. About 30 army members, a diverse group of medics, reserves, active officers, and otherwise, are doing medical trips to many communities out here in eastern Panamá. Last week they saw hundreds of patients, dividing into stations for Optemetry, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Vaccinations, etc. Mi compañeras Aja, Margaret, and Beth helped out translating as well. It was a super neat experience to share with another U.S. organization, especially the military. It was a cool experience and opportunity for sharing, as many of them (some more honestly curious and interested than others) wanted to know what we were up to and what the always ambiguous Peace Corps was all about. It was especially cool to here one of the officers tell us that he is encouraging his son to look into Peace Corps rather than join the military like his older brother. After talking to some of the soldiers and sharing experiences (especially from guys who had served in Iraq, where sometimes the duration of their deployment would be spent within the confines of a military base), I really appreciate the freedom we are able to enjoy as Peace Corps volunteers (and especially in Panamá). One of the most important aspects of this job is that we live with the native people we are serving; integration is integral to our success. I am definitely looking forward to translating for other medical missions.
**I just found out that the Southern Command will be in Tortí next week, so the kiddies get another week of no school (ay la vida), and unfortunately I will be out of town until next wednesday due to regional meeting in the city.

-Trying to be a cocinero.... So I have been cooking a little bit in the restaurant kitchen, in order to diversify my diet, get some veggies in my system, and share some grub/prove myself to my Panafamily. Guacamole was quite the hit, and it was funny because they had never heard of it and wanted to know what it meant in Spanish (ya es en Español!). I also made homemade tortilla chips (which almost got ruined because Aunt Jackie thought I was making ohaldres, their delicious fried bread. Their tortillas are little fried corn tortillas, nothing like Mexican tortillas). Anyway, the guac was a huge hit and it was hilarious watching my tipsy host-uncle stumble over the pronunciation. Last week I got really adventurous and threw some fresh mangos in from the mango tree, fresh aguacate, freshly picked limes from the lime tree, etc., etc. heavenly goodness. Then, last weekend I decided to make some fat, juicy American cheesburgers for the fam. (with the mango guac), and they loved it! This is also good training for when I open up that brewery/restaurant somewhere in Latin America. So many amazing natural ingredients (mmm mango-pinapple wheat beer I can already taste it).

-Hanging out with Kuna Indigenous: The last few Saturdays I went to Wacuco to visit  Aristoteles and Claudio. Aristoteles teaches math and Claudio English in pre-media (7-9th grade). They are both of the Kuna Yala indigenous group, which is the autonomous comarca up north along the Caribbean Sea (and the hundreds of islands around the coast). Aristoteles' dad was a diputado of Kuna Yala back in the day, which is equivalent to a U.S. senator. Claudio received a scholarship to study English in Ukraine. They are both badasses. It is interesting hanging out with the Kuna people. They have a very deep connection to the land and are totally against deforestation by means of logging or cattle grazing. There is some ill-feelings toward the latino population because there were land conflicts when the interiores migrated east, and the Kuna percieve them as intruders who moved out here to destroy more forests after they depleted nearly 90 per cent of the rainforest that existed in the Azuero Peninsula, where many migrated from. I lived a ten minute bus ride down the rode from another Kuna comarca, the Kuna Madugandi. These Kuna have more tension over land rights because in reality their lands were taken from them, and many were pushed off their land t make way for the hydroelectric damn at Lago Bayano. That said, there is no violent conflict, and it's mostly just a cultural separation. The Kuna Yala are a little more open minded because there is a booming tourist industry up north in the islands of San Blas, and many travel often to Panama City to sell art and jewelry. The Madugandi are more communal and don't venture out much.

 

Saturday, I went to visit Aristoteles to practice English with him and pasear. His mom made us fish and patacones, we watched American 80s music videos on a dvd he has to practice, then we headed to Ipedi to visit the Kuna Madugandi. There, we ran into a bunch o Kuna men campaigning for a man name Aiban, who is running for diputada of Kuna Yala. It was really cool talking to the Kuna men about politics. A Kuna teacher named Claviano shared a few beverages with Aristotle and me, and we had some great chats about history, politics, and education from the persepctive of Kuna culture. He told me that the mindset of many Kuna is changing and becoming more open. A few years ago, a North American married a Kuna Yala woman and they live happily up in the comarce. The white man speaks perfect Kuna and is accepted as one of their own. This is a sign of some progression, because the Kuna people usually do not mingle with anyone outside of the Kuna population, but things are changing. I made some great connections for when I get a chance to go visit the islands of San Blas, and Claviano and Aiban said they would take me in their motorboats to some of the pristine, tourist-free islands! I capped off the day by bathing with a group of Kuna Men in the Ipedi river. Some were bare-ass naked and invited me to do the same, but children were present, so I kept my skivvies on to cover the remaining whiteness. They got a kick out of it, and joked that I was more Kuna than Aristoteles (and not afraid of crocodiles) because he didn't get in. Also, the Kuna language is fascinating and I am going to try to learn it! Newedi!

The Respect for Diversity also is Peace

-This past Sunday, my family hosted a matanza for political campaign. They don't necessarily support the dude, but they have a restaurant and a big lot out front, plus they enjoy matanzas, so they agreed to host. The campaign people brought over 2 dead cows, and my family and others spend hours Saturady night and Sunday morning cutting, chopping, seasoning, smoking, and boiling la vaka into gloriousness. Spent the beautiful sunny Sunday eating smoked beef and sharing a few balboas with my host tío and primo. It was a solid day. I am excited for family matanzas, where the men work all afternoon (usually harvesting corn or rice) and then eat, drink, and dance merrily through the eve.

      Dude brought a moonbounce, how can he lose?

Earlier this week, I went to Chepo to help with the regional Spelling Be, and the following day for the Zárate Concurso, a regional cultural competition, and I got to spend both days with mis compañeras, fellow east siders and rubias, Rachel and Katy! I'll put some vids and pics up from the cultural event in my next post, it was really cool!


Finally, my new animal pals:

Colibrí

Christian, his pops, and a pato that ran waddled into my room one night

Mono Titi!

Balto, my trusty jungle sidekick

Paco, moody loro

late night tree frog visitor

I also saw a little crocodile, (or alligator, or caiman, ah i dunno) during a morning jog by a creek. Panamanians referred to the lizard as a lagarto babillo. I'll snap a pick next time.

Paz y abrazos!

p.s. if I don't blog in the next coupe weeks it's because I decided to don a loin-cloth and live with the Emberá deep in the Darien rainforest.

                                   

Tortí, the Wild Wild Este

Tortí, Panama Este; my new home for the next two years. Tortí lies off the Interamericana highway, just before the Darien region of Panama. You can take the highway from Canada and you will drive by my front porch, and me sitting in my hammock, a few hours before you reach the only break in the highway, the Darien gap, where the jungle is crazy thick along the Colombia-Panamá border. Tortí is a highway town that had seen a ton of rapid development in the past few years. There are supermercados, a nice hotel/restaurant owned by the husband of one of my teacher counterparts (Andres is also an entrepreneur of sorts, he also runs a microfinance credit union), fondas, repair shops, agriculture stores and other small businesses along the highway. I have heard/seen a variety of numbers for the population, but if you include of the surrounding farms and ranches it is probably around 8-10 thousand. The landscape consists of mountainous jungle in all directions, tons of cow pastures, and a few farms. A huge  percentage of the inhabitants are from Los Santos on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama Oeste, who immigrated here throughout the past 50 years or so upon the governments request to develop the land (especially from what I've seen in Platanilla, further into the Darien, it reminds me of the frontier the western U.S. back when it was up for grabs, except with rainforest..). Thus there has been a lot of forest-clearing for cattle grazing, and land tension between the Interiores and Kuna and Emberá populations that also exist throughout the region. Other than ganancia (raising cattle), another popular business is maderera (lumbering). It is unfortunate to see enormous 200+ year old trees getting hauled off down the highway on a daily basis, but this is the image of 21st century development here in Panama. There are multiple reforestation process, some ran by Swiss groups (the lumber companies are also Swiss, German, maybe Panamanian?..I will continue to investigate more of the situation), which plant new teca (teak) trees. Reforestation is an important part of the Environmental Conservation sector of Peace Corps, especially out here. It will take a lot of time and education to even begin to stop these huge lumber companies, but that's one of the reasons we are here. My friend Margaret is a CEC volunteer in Platanilla, about 30 min away from me, so hopefully I can get some of my students involved with some of her conservation projects.

Restaurante Valdez

Valdez property extended, my room is behind garage in the center

    

Mi cuarto

Where I'll be when you visit

Tío Jose and Adiel, host-hermano 

Out back

Anyway, my setup here in Tortí is pretty solid. I live with la familia Valdéz, who moved east abut 40 years ago. The family has a restaurant, a farm out back, and ton of land a little ways away in Río Congo/Platanilla where they raise cattle.  The 3 children of Edilma and Hermán live in separate houses out back and have their own children. I am excited to help out on the farm and in the restaurant and live the campo lifestyle. Chickens roam freely around back, they have over 10 pigs, dogs (Balto, Oso, and Bobby, could be more), a cat named Anastasia, Paco the parrot, and tons of cows,  This weekend I am going to help plant corn and hopefully ride one the horses on the beautiful ranch, surrounded by mountains and tropical fruit and palm trees. Behind the house there are also palm, mango, orange, papaya, and plantain trees! I also have access to the kitchen to cook my own food, and the family is used to many gringo-isms (like running, cooking/eating vegetables, etc.) because I am a follow-up to this site, and the previous volunteer, Casey, lived with the Valdez family throughout her service.

 

I am currently living in a room adjacent to the property. I have one room and a flush toilet, which is like gold to most PCVs, and a shower, but water comes and goes sporadically, so I leave the tap running to fill my shower bucket. The water is not potable, so I have to filter it or buy it at the supermercado next door (they also have Oreo's, among any other thing you'd need. tough life, right?) I have electricity and a Claro stick, which is a USB internet modem that you use to purchase internet daily or monthly. As i have mentioned before, technology these days travels fast, even (or perhaps especially) in the developing world, and cell phones and internet are widespread. My site is pretty yeye (slang for high class), especially compared to other volunteers. This is the hand we are dealt as TE volunteers. We are placed in bigger cities because part of the agreement with MEDUCA (the Ministry of Education) is that PCVs work with at least 3 English teachers in the schools. I am happy to be an access point for other PCVs who are living more in the sticks, and in turn would like to visit them to experience their lifestyles and help with their projects...Thus, my battle with technology and balancing my time rages on. I am glad to be connected with family and friends easily, and have access to tools to help me enjoy my hobbies (guitar resources, books, etc.), but I will try my best to limit my distractions and be fully present here in this way of living.

the walk home from school

the school  

The school I work in is huge, more than 1200 kids in total. Primedio (6th-9th grade) and Secondaria (10-12) school is in the morning, and Primaria (K-6) is in the afternoon. For my first couple months here, I am going to spend 2 weeks observing each of the 6 English teachers, starting with Primaria. It will be difficult at first because it is difficult to explain my complicated if not ambiguous role here and to articulate that I must take time to observe in order to integrate, understand the system, assess the needs, learn a ton, and develop a plan in order to have the greatest impact. My biggest challenge will be time allocation, because in addition to my primary project of working in the school with the English teachers, I want to develop secondary projects within and outside of the school. There are also night classes and University classes on weekends that I could get involved with. So before I get too overwhelmed, I am going to take these first couple months very slowly. I want to get to know the teachers and develop relationships so that they understand that I am a resource and here to make their jobs easier. (I am also trying to learn names of the students and staff, gunna take a while) I intend to slowly branch out into the community to understand the dynamics of the town and what they are facing in regards to development right now. I am not here to reinvent the wheel or change the education system. I have a ton to learn and hopefully I can help organize and connect people and resources and make some small changes.


However, I am understanding my role here, and the role of Peace Corps in general, more and more every day. It is a much deeper experience than accomplishing projects. For me, what determines success is relationship building; sharing ideas, culture, and friendship. I have already been connected with different families in the community who have invited me to their homes to eat and chat. It will be frustrating and overwhelming at times, but I can always pasear (visit) around town to meet people and explain why I am here, and I am always greeted with incredible generosity and appreciation. Or just hanging out with the kids at school would pick anyone up, especially the younger ones. I just finished my first week, and I have already been bombarded with hugs and kisses everyday, pictures, candy food, and even fresh mangos, all from the students! I am super lucky and excited for this opportunity, and by building relationships, learning and assisting in local activities like farming, milking cows, etc., and developing my skills and hobbies (guitar, yoga/exercise, reading), I will have an incredibly rich and successful experience. Also, traveling and visiting other PCVs in this awesome country will be a constant thrill!

Recap, Godspeed gringos

Quick recap of some fun times with my incredible PC compañeros over the last couple weeks:

 A group of us went to to Lago Gatún to fish a few sundays ago. (Adam, his host-bro Ronál, Dana (Dante Villa Lobos) Katie, Cesár, Benjamin, y yo). When Adam invited me to go fishing with his host brother and him, I was super pumped. I love lakes. I come from a family who has spent generations at el Lago Clark in Michigan. It's our paradise. Let me tell you, lake life in Panama is still cool and tranquilo, but it was quite a wild experience.

Benjesus walking on water
 

 Lago Gatun was formed in the early 1900s during the canal building efforts. It's one of if not the biggest man-made  lakes in the world and was created by blowing up some mountains and rivers with a ton of dynamite, creating an enormous lake. The lake literally sits on mountain tops, and you can see tons of huge trees sticking out of the water and near the surface. imagine whipping around in a pontoon trying to dodge stumps, or better yet, wakeboarding. At one point, we literally got stuck on a tree and had to jump in and shift the fishing boat off of the tree, que locura.. The water is super clean and warm, and there are various types of fish (the majority of the fish we caught is an invasive species). There are also piranhas and lagartos in the lake, which I didn't find out until I was swimming around for a while. Lagarto= alligator, not sure if it's crocodiles or gators that live there, but either way, the prospect scared the shit out of me..kind of.. Our panamanian compadres assured us that they didn't hang out in that particular part of the lake. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we didn't see any modern day dinosaurs. We did catch a piranha though! (Again, we were assured that this kind doesn't normally attack humans.. I love Panamanian optimism, the "it will all work out just go with it" attitude). We also saw an old summer crib of Manny Noriega on the lake, and we met a really cool dude from Quebec, who definitely epitomized the lake life I know and love.

When all was said and done: Panameños: 23 fish ; Gringos 4

*For the record, there was one fishing pole and it was in the hand of the jefe, the rest of us used pop bottles with fishing twine and a hooked sardine for bait. I snagged 3.

We cleaned and gutted the fish, and that night, Adam's host madre y hermano fried up all the fish, made patacones (fried planatins), and we had quite the feast. One of the best days in Panamá thus far.

 Then, we returned to Ciudad de Saber to finish up training at PC HQ...and to climb the coolest f#^*ing tree everrrr!

BenJA y Dana La Rana (Dante Villa Lobos)

me and bejamón

Officially Peace Corps Volunteers!

Finally, the gringos went to Mailbu Beach Hostel in Gorgona to celebrate our swearing in! Needless to say we needed some time to, well, be free and party (a little). The beach was beautiful, the waves were pretty gnarly, the stars were incredible, and it was a very special weekend with nearly the whole group.

The last night there, we cooked quite the feast, complete with a fresh caught red snapper?, which Nico and I filleted and Benja fried up real nice.

Chillin under my mosquito net in my new home in Tortí, I have to admit that despite the frustrations with training and having a rigid schedule for the first two months, the connections made and the support shared between Group 72 was incredible. It was a special, necessary time for development and the friendship between volunteers truly adds to the richness of this Peace Corps experience.