Although most of the people in my site thought I was either lost or in the United States, I was not forgotten upon my return, being bombarded by big hugs from little Panamaniacs. The school is still chaotic, and there are a bunch of distractions from MEDUCA (ministry of ed.). the school, and elsewhere that continue to put my co-teachers in a frenzy. That said, I am being super patient and positive, keeping the boat steady while encouraging the teachers to come to me for planning support. Little wins, one class at a time.
Meanwhile, I am in the library working on miscellaneous PC reports, camp applications, seminar preparations, general TEFL research, watching TED Talks, fantasy football management, etc., praying that members of the English squad come in for some help or a good old- fashioned chat. Little by little, they are coming, and more, students are hanging out and asking for help. And I am recruiting my little librarians and Book Club members who will help me organize the library, create a super groovy reading corner/area/space, and start the reading revolution in Panamá. I have sent my host brother Abdiel to school with a frisbee in order to start planting seeds with the muchachos and -chas for my Ultimate Frisbee team. Rolling right along like a stone.
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| my new pal Minio the minnow |
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| chiquitos acting out some English emotions at a MEDUCA event |
I am constantly adapting and re-envisioning everything about my project, my role, what Peace Corps is, what development is, etc. I am really trying to step back and check myself after every speedbumb, frustration, or potential change or breakthrough. This is frustrating, but there is good reason for this experience being a minimum of 2 years. Integration and relationship-building is a long process, and being in a huge site with tons of kids, teachers, and community members is overwhelming. Taking my time, still looking to find my place in that river current, the space where I fit in the pace, the culture, the community; and still send some ripples.
So, here are some things that make me smile in Tortí/The East of Panamá:
1. La Familia Valdéz
They are hilariously wild, genuine and gentle campesinos. Santeños at heart. They are always joking and laughing, and even though a lot of times it at my expense, (like when I was running around with filthy piglets, transporting them to their new cement block abode, squeeling coming from everywhere and sounding more like dinosaur screams than anything, as my host mom Demita screams at me Spanish instructions that I don't understand) I appreciate the hell out of them because they take care of me, almost to the point of overworrying. I can talk to José about anything, and often vent to different members of the family about my school frustrations. They are incredible storytellers, especially Abuelo Germán. I especially enjoy Germán's stories of pre-interamericana times out here in the East, when there was a little single-engine airplane that would make trips to and from Tortí, bringing goods or carrying pregnant women or sick people to the city. They were convinced that plane would go down every time.
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| Pigs on the wing |
Another funny moment was when I came home from a long day of school and reminisced on childhood and cartoons with José and Jackie. José was going on about some 80s cartoon called "Los Picapiedras," and after he began singing the theme song I realized it was the Spanish version of the Flintstones. All the characters are the same, but Fred and Barney were changed to Pedro and Pablo. We were rolling with laughter.
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| Tío José |
2. Philosophizing with Aristoteles, Claudio, and other Kuna gentleman.
Aristoteles is one of the most motivated Panamanians I encounter on a daily basis in regards to learning English, and he's a high school math teacher. Shortly after returning to Tortí, he convinced me to stop by a local cantina, share a few pints and listen to Bob Marley and ABBA. He genuinely expressed in broken English that he appreciated our friendship and thinks that what I am doing is very special and rare. His kind words were very well-timed,and really lifted my spirits (because the watery Central American lager sure wasn't).
Another night, there was word that the Kuna Madugandi people would shut down the Inter-Americana at multiple points here on the east side due to their discovery that there were Latinos who had cut trees and built within their Comarca limits. This land conflict is on-going in different regions in Panamá, especially with the Kuna, who are very serious about their relationship with and rules about preserving the natural environment.
Anyway, that night I went to visit my English-teaching counterpart Claudio to get the deets on the protest, and he took me to the congreso that was happening. There were 50+ men sitting on benches around the casa comunal, made of a penca-thatched roof, bamboo walls, and a dirt floor. I didn't understand a lick of the conversation spoken in the Kuna dialect, but according to Claudio, several leaders spoke of the succesful workday where 150 men from all over the Kuna Madugandi Comarca went to limits to clean-up a.k.a. throw some machete. It was there where they discovered the intrusion onto their land.
The Kuna are goofy, intelligent, and very serious about preserving their culture and autonomy. I spent the rest of the night sharing a few refrescos and talking with Claudio, Aristoteles, Boris (the saila/chief of Wacuco) about everything. As they dropped Galileo and Copernicus quotes, we discussed science, philosophy, indigenous culture and connection with mother nature, war, the atomic bomb, the nature of man, and a lot about history and conquest in the U.S. and Panama--all in the context of a new (or not?) and rapidly changing world. These dudes are fascinating and brilliant, I mean, seriously wise, and I really look forward to learning and sharing with my Kuna pals and other community members in this area.
3. Students, especially 1-3 graders.
Limitless energy and wet, slobbery hugs. So many stares and smiles from those big, dark chocolate eyes, kids with shades of brown skin and mixed ethnic features that trace the complex, secret tale of Latinoamerica.. though you see it, hear it, everywhere. Hearing Dani! and Teacher! throughout the day. Such innocent, genuine love and positivity can lift anybody.
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| Milagros y Abrán |
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| Tortí Seniors |
4. Spending multiple afternoons singing "Let It Be", "Imagine", and other tunes with students and teachers for the approaching First-Annual English Sing-Along in Tortí. We are hosting 7 schools, it's gunna be rad.
This MEDUCA mandated regional English event has caused way too much stress and headaches, mostly due to the huge lack of communication between teachers and administrators. However, in the midst of chaos, I have been enjoying Panamanian renditions of Beatles members and ABBA all week, talking English music with Claudio and others. Claudio used to listen to the Beatles on a radio his family had in the 70s while growing up on an island in San Blas.
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| English Teachers Milvia and Claudio at Puente Bayano |
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| Elige Tu Vida youth seminar in Rachel´s school |
5. Seminars (might regret this one)
IST introduced and inspired us to get involved with giving seminars. They are very effective in sharing methods and strategies with large groups of teachers in a setting that they are accustomed to (in the pseudo-official-ness formal kind of way). Also, being in the school trying to get teachers to co-plan and co-teach with us can definitely be a drag, so seminars are a good way for TE volunteers to feel productive. Aja did some serious butt-kicking and organized 2 seminars in Darién for multigrado teachers (teachers in small schools with multi-level classes, where they often have to teach English with few resources and without really knowing the language), so I helped out with those and they turned out great. We hope to replicate these seminars in Panamá Este. We just had a meeting with out MEDUCA rep. Teresa and are hashing out some details for summer seminars and some other events, including a panel discussion at the university in Metetí.
6. Dude got a bike. It's a seemingly-legit brand new Huffy mountain bike and it was reasonably cheap. Some screws are loose and it definitely needs some maintenance, but I have been whipping around Tortí, getting to school in record time, gaining street cred from the muchachos and impressing my estudents.
7. Daype Pizza right down the road
Despite being in a slower-paced world, weeks are disappearing like chicken bones around Panadogs. There have been some cool opportunities to collaborate with other eastsiders; I just got back from a solid weekend in Rachel's site for an Elige Tu Vida youth workshop and a super fun night cooking and watching the Panamá v. Mexico fútbol match. I am meeting a bunch of volunteers in the city Tuesday for the Panamá v. USA game, which will be awesome. (UPDATE: That was a very strange, fun, yet terribly tragic night. I feel for my paisanos : /)
Also, a few weeks ago a group of us hiked almost 2 hours from Ipetí to surprise our pal Andrew in his beautiful jungle valley refuge for one last weekend despedida. He's moving to Darién to live with the Emberá for the remainder of his service because that gnarly hike destroyed his knees and body. Godspeed, Jenkins!
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| Jenks and his pal Simba |
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| Katy and Chano |
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| Jenkins´ Jungle Fortress |
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| River crossing |
I am getting pretty busy and there are few actual weeks of school left this year, especially because in November there are a ton of national holidays, independence days, etc., so class apparently will be very irregular or non-existent. It's crazy how my calender is actually filling up with adventures, GAD camps, seminars, Thanksgiving and other events. Like today, a group of fellas invited me to play on their softball team next week, stoked. There will be cold beer to drink out of dried calabaza shells. Lastly, I am getting a very special visitor in November for my birthday, um, month. The lovely Kristin Eberts is coming down to the isthmus and we are going to have some pretty epic adventures. Stay tuned!
Abrazos
