New experiences

 

October 4, 2014

One month in site

 

A list of new experiences thus far:

Moldy clothes.

Washing all my clothes by hand in a bucket.

Taking days for your clothes to dry.

Eating sardines for breakfast.

Having sore muscles in places I didn’t know I had muscles.

Rarely seeing yourself in a mirror.

Not being able to contact anyone outside of the community.

Reading about the U.S. news as international news in a Panamanian paper. In Spanish. (Ebola anyone?)

Being at least a head taller than almost everyone in my community.

Considering sleeping until 8am; “sleeping-in.”

Rarely being able to sleep past 6am.

Being itchy all the time. (my legs are torn up with bug bites and poison ivy)

Seeing starving animals and knowing there is nothing you can do about it.

Seeing animals being treated differently. (cats and dogs are not “house pets” here)

Hiking through the jungle for hours nearly every day.

Seeing conversations take place where the two people never look each other in the eye.

Hiking for an hour, piling in the back of a pickup truck with 20 plus other people to drive an hour to another community for a school cultural event. Arriving to said cultural event sopping wet because it rained the entire drive there.

Being the only white person in a crowd of people as well as clearly being the tallest person.

Eating a LOT of rice.

Having conversations in your head with all the things you need to tell certain people and then forgetting to actually tell them because you thought you already did.

School cultural event

My host sister

A view driving to my site

 

See that mountain range right-center in the clouds? That's my site

 

Host family's house

Host family's kitchen

Where I dry my clothes

My alarm clock...

Who ever said cats and dogs don't like each other?

Hiking in to my site

It can get a bit muddy

And wet

Did I mention hilly?  

Harvesting balo for compost

So many beautiful orchids grow here!

The school

October 15, 2014
Yesterday I had to go to a meeting with the ministry of agriculture and left my site at about 5:30. I thought I would be able to catch a chiva at 6:30 from my stop. There was no chiva. I then had to hike an additional two hours to another community to get one. My legs are sore. I have several blisters on my feet. I have to hike back into my site today. A bit of craziness, but the view walking on the road as the sun was coming up was worth it!!

 

One week in site

September 12, 2014

After spending one week in my site I have a better understanding of what the next two years will be like.

I have no electricity and no cell phone reception.

I have a 45 minute hike, and a two and a half hour chiva ride to get to the nearest decently sized city. (A chiva can be a type of mini-bus, but the ones going to my site are pick-up trucks with revamped beds that have a cover, two benches, and a door on the back.)

My site is absolutely beautiful.

The houses are very spread out. From my host family’s house I can only see green rolling mountains and clouds. I also can only hear the sound of birds chirping, the river down below, and the occasional giggle from my host siblings or the music on the radio. It is very peaceful here.

From sitting on my front porch I have seen toucans and what I believe to be green macaws (or some sort of marvelous green and blue parrot) fly by. And in this moment I am actually watching a sloth, hanging upside down in a tree, cleaning its face.

It is cloudy here about 90% of time and because we are up in the mountains, the temperature is nice and cool. I wear leggings and a sweatshirt at night because I’m cold. (never did I think I would say the words “I’m cold” in Panama.)

My host siblings are very curious and shy (a girl almost 9 and a boy 7). They don’t talk a lot to me yet, they mostly just stare. (They are both standing over my shoulder watching me type this...) All the people in my community are very reserved and soft spoken. They don’t speak a lot, and when they do it is very quiet.

I wake up around 6am to the wonderful (noT) alarm clock that is a rooster right outside my room. This is also about the time it gets light out. After breakfast I am led to a house in the community by either my host mother or host father (who is also my community guide). We usually sit in awkward silence while I occasionally ask questions about their family structure and what they grow on their farm. After about a week the long pauses of no one talking (which is normal here) is beginning to feel less awkward to me. We come home and eat lunch and I then usually spend my afternoon staring out at the rainforest watching the clouds dance among the treetops.

 

The view from my porch

Other side of my host family's house

a pop of yellow in a sea of green

 

Training is over!

September 5, 2014

Training is over! Training is over! Training is over!

Tomorrow I move to my site (and see it for the first time) to live for two years!!!!!

I cannot believe the last nearly three months have flown by and I am officially a PCV and about to see where I will be living and working for the next two years. I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

Here are some photos of the past three months I have not yet shared.

Moving to our host communities!

Getting our machetes!

 



Amigas

  

 

My awesome host family!

 

 

 

 

 

My awesome Spanish teachers!

The things you'll find in Albrook Mall...

Moving all of us and all of our stuff to the beach after swear in

50 people at the beach each with two years of stuff celebrating swear in

 

It really is a cruel joke, two years of stuff needing to be carried everywhere (host community - PC office - beach - Albrook - Panama City - Albrook - Santa Rita - my city. Everywhere)

 

I cooked a family dinner for the 12 or so of us that stayed in Panama City the night before everyone left for their sites.

 

AKA the last supper

The Ag teacher at the school in Santa Rita I had the pleasure of working with this week

Also, three (awesome) members of the SAS group created a ready to serve rap that is just so awesome I have to share it. However it seems I am unable to upload it as a mp3 at the moment. I will try again in the next post.

 

 

 

 

 

Swear in

September 4, 2014

On August 28, 2014 we were officially sworn in as volunteers of the United States Peace Corps!! I had the honor of representing the agriculture sector by giving a speech during the ceremony (entirely in Spanish!). A few weeks ago each sector (SAS and EH) had to decide who would give the speech during the ceremony. I volunteered for our group, I’m not entirely sure why I wanted to do it, but no one else had a burning desire to potentially humiliate themselves on a very important day in front of some very important people. I thought being able to represent my group during such an important event as well as having a specific presentation of how far my Spanish had come would be a good solidifying moment. And that it was. Granted I was pretty darn nervous once the day actually came and I am very glad there was a podium so no one could see how badly my hands were shaking during the entire speech. BUT I think it’s safe to say I rocked it. After the ceremony was over many people made a point to tell me how well I did. I am very proud of this accomplishment (the speech and swearing in). Below is a link to the article on the embassy’s website as well as a copy of my speech and photos from the day.

http://panama.usembassy.gov/pr082814.html

Panama G75 SAS PCVs

 

We are special...

Mis mejores amigas

Spanish Teacher

Speech Buddy

 

 

We're volunteers!!

 

Quiero empezar con expresiónes de agradecimientos para todas las personas quienes nos ayudaron durante las 10 semanas de capacitación. Gracias a Melisa Meno, Aimeé, Cat, a los maestros de español, a nuestras familias anfitrionas, y a todo el personal de Cuerpo de Paz, a nuestras familias y amigos en los Estados Unidos, y especialmente a cada uno de los miembros del grupo de Sistemas Agrícolas Sostenibles. Gracias por el trabajo duro, la dedicación, el aliento, y las innumerables horas que ustedes tuvieron para ayudarnos a prepararnos para el servicio como voluntarios de Cuerpo de Paz.

Yo reconozco que nosotros estamos esperando con ansias los próximos 2 años, pero quiero meditar un momento sobre las cosas que ya tenemos y ya hemos logrado. Todos nosotros durante el entrenamiento hemos trabajado muy duro durante la capacitación, ya que tambien aprendimos un nuevo idioma, obtuvimos nuevos conocimientos en la tecnologia de la agricultura, en la adaptación de un nuevo país y una nueva cultura. Supimos arreglárnosla en muchas casos con la falta de comodidad, e incluso teniendo una limitacion de communicacion con nuestras familias en los Estados Unidos. ¡Todo esto lo hemos logrado en 10 semanas! Una parte de mi sentía que las 10 semanas pasarían a toda velocidad y otra parte de mi sentía como si ya hubiera vivido en Panamá por un año. Pero antes de la capacitación y antes que llegaramos a Panamá, piensen todo el trabajo que hicimos. En el processo de aplicación, algunas personas meditamos casi por 2 años. Fuimos a una Universidad para estudiar una licencitura o una maestria. Nos preparamos para vivir en otro país por 2 años. Nosotros les explicamos a nuestras familias y amigos sobre la opción de servir en Cuerpo de Paz.

Porque eso es lo que Cuerpo de Paz es: una opción.

Nosotros continuamos escuchando de muchas personas que nuestras experiencias como voluntarios seran diferentes. Nosotros estaremos viviendo en partes diferentes de Panamá. Todos nuestros sitios serán diferentes. Nosotros estaremos trabajando con productos diferentes y proyectos diferentes. Ademas batallaremos con diferentes desafios personales y desafios profesionales.

Pero, todos nostros tomamos la opción de servir. La opción servir no solamente a nuestro país, pero tambien serviremos al maravilloso país de Panamá. Cada persona en este grupo tomamos la opción de dedicar los proximos 2 años a servir a partir de hoy a Cuerpo de Paz.

Yo siento un gran honor de formar parte de este grupo. Y yo pienso que en nuestro grupo somos apacionados, trabajamos duro, y tenemos buen sentido de humor. También nosotros somos el grupo de Sistemas Agrícolas Sostenibles más grande que ha venido a Panamá. Yo pienso que eso nos muestra 2 cosas. Primero; que la importancia del desarrollo de la agricultura esta incrementando en la conciencia de los Panameños. Segundo; que hay un incremento de interés entre las personas de los Estados Unidos acerca del desarrollo de la agricultura internacionalmente.

Yo reconozco que este grupo de aspirantes a voluntarios de Sistemas Agrícolas Sostenibles de Cuerpo de Paz no queremos esperar para empezar nuestros servicios. Nosotros estamos muy felices y nos comprometemos a mejorar la calidad de vida de nuestras comunidades, también de las personas de Panamá. Nosotros esperamos con ansias compartir nuestras habilidades y aprender nuevas, también ganar nuevas experiencias ya que estas mostrarán un cambio permanente en nuestras vidas.

Gracias.

Site Placement

August 10, 2014

August? When did it become August?

Last week was site announcement. The entire group found out where they will be spending there next two years! My site is in the province of Panama Oeste, it is a Latino site and I will be the first volunteer there. There are only about two hundred people in this community and they mainly work with coffee and culantro production. There is no electricity and very limited cell phone reception. They have an aqueduct, but I will have to treat the water for consumption. It will only take me about three hours to get to my site from Panama City. I take a bus to La Chorerra, then a chiva, and then I have a 30 minute hike up into the mountains to my site. I am pretty close to several other volunteers, one of them being my very good friend in the SAS group. We are both very excited our sites are close, being able to see each other often will most definitely lessen the chances of me losing my sanity.

This past week was site visitation, however myself and another volunteer stayed behind in the city to receive (much needed) extra Spanish tutoring. I was a little bummed I didn’t get to see my site, however in just three short weeks I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer and move to my site to live for the next two years! Yikes!

Finding out where my site is!!

 

 

 

 

We were a little excited.....