news

Well, I'm in the middle of my Regional Leader duties. Visiting potential communitites for incoming volunteers and planning for the regional meeting. I'm keeping pretty busy this January. The family was just here for 10 days. We got to visit both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts and enjoy both the tropical sun and tropical rains.





Overall things continue to go well here in Panama. Wierd to think how things are winding down and how in 5 months, I'll be done here. In some ways I feel I've been here forever, but in others, like I just arrived. And certain projects are only now just getting off the ground. But, noone's really here to save the world. All we can do is give little nudges in the right directions.

For those interested, what I'm working on right now:

Painting a map of the world on a school wall
Developing future sites
Helped put on an Ecological Camp
Helping at a Leadership Seminar for Volunteers and their counterparts
Working on a tree nursery with the community group to plant trees near streams in cow pastures
Trying to bring in funding for my environmental group to put on a project like reforestation or an orchid nursery.

Being in Panama

-Where when someone jokingly insults me or does something silly, I can respond purely with “tu si eres” (translated, you sure are)
-Where I sing along with reggaeton songs on the radio in the bus…I started doing that back in the U.S. before realizing I looked insane
-Where I, the environmentalist, think the best thing development-wise that can happen for a town is to get a road. That’s right, all you hippy international development workers. Let’s go back to the 50s. Infrastructure is what is up.
-Where I can get heavy things carried for me or get rides so I don’t have to walk (chauvinism is not all bad)
-Where my blue eyes enchant and are considered super sexy
-Where when I try to leave someone’s home, they plead “no te vayas, espera la comida” (don’t leave, wait for the food), and if I decline they give me the insulted sad face or what? You don’t like my cooking?
-Where when it gets too hot, you should just go jump in the river

Holiday wishes (slightly late

I had emailed this out and posted on Facebook, but in case you don't get either of those and do check this....

I just want to send you all a quick e-mail from here in Panama wishing you all the best for Christmas and New Years. I will be spending (my second) Christmas here in Palma Real, Panama. I’m sure it will be very laid back. I’ve enjoyed this year down here immensely. I feel like I’ve had some more work, more projects coming along. My environmental group went from never meeting at all to developing project plans and starting a tree nursery (though I won’t take too much credit for either of those). I’ve also ran a recycling material collection campaign at the school as well as teaching environmental classes and computers (and a little English). This year I was also involved in a planning committee for cultural events throughout my district. And, this year I also got promoted to being the Regional Leader (for my province Chiriqui). I’m enjoying the new job and responsibilities, which include visiting and supporting the volunteers in my region, developing new communities for future volunteers, and coordinating with the government agencies. It keeps me busier, but I find it rewarding. I also even managed to make a trip back to the U.S. this year in September, and I enjoyed seeing a few of you (the week went by way too fast).
So, I wish you all the best in this holiday season and in the upcoming year of 2010. This will be the year I appear back in the States, and who knows what I’ll be doing then. As I sit here in my little home enjoying the sun, palm trees, and the 70 degree heat, I miss you all, but I don’t actually miss the “white” Christmas idea that much.
Keep in touch and let me know what you’re up to.

Poco a Poco

They have a little saying here in Peace Corps Panama about “Poco a Poco.” It translates to little by little. They often use it to refer to the slow pace of change. If you thought you were going to show up in your community and on day two be changing the world…think again. Fast paced DC life is behind, people take a laid back approach to things, and change is always slow. Think about your work as poco a poco. In some ways this is true. Now well into my second year of service, I have much more direction and work than my first year. It take a while to really know your town and for things to start happening. That’s why a Peace Corps volunteer needs 2 years.
But, after today I have a new definition for poco a poco. I’m gonna say it also means take things a little at a time, as far as amount of work. After months of showing up at school and working and nothing happening, I came upon two great ideas. First, my recycling collection is going slow, even after 3 months not many people have brought stuff in and the end of the year is upon us. Why don’t we declare a competition of the classrooms with a prize for which class brings the most? Second, why don’t we introduce Panamanians to school photos? You know, class shot, individual shot, sell them? Both these started this week, with me serving as recycling coordinator and counter, photographer (actually, basically just call me Jostens, I’m in charge of the whole thing down to printing). The principal of my school talked about the ingenious idea of taking class pictures to sell, said probably soon every school would be doing it, but that our school was the first. Just, I wish I’d only had one ingenious idea at a time.
So, this morning as I was trying to count beer cans, take pictures, and keep orders, I realized I had too much. Trying to organize first graders to take pictures while another kid throws a quarter at me saying “my mom wants to buy that picture of me” and another kid comes up with “how many points does third grade have, did you see the entire wheelbarrow of cans I brought?” I started to go crazy. It was like waiting tables at a full restaurant again. I’m sure the kids could see it. But, ultimately, enthusiasm is contagious. And getting kids excited about bringing all those beer bottles their dad has sitting around behind the house, and getting a class photo (where probably 90% of families don’t own cameras). I felt I was doing something good. Especially after a year and a half of poco a poco.

back to Panama

Back to my site after visiting the U.S. Some people told me they’d been worried that I was going to stay in the U.S. and that I was missed. It actually wasn’t very weird being gone. Though, I’m sure in ten months it will be. I was super happy to see that my recycling project had gone ahead without my presence. The teachers seemed to manage it just fine despite their worries that they wouldn’t be able to do it without me. Hey, that’s the sustainability us Peace Corps volunteers go for.
I’m also going to take on a new role: Regional Leader. It’s a volunteer that helps with volunteer support and agency relations at the regional level (like, for my province). Somewhat of a promotion. I’ll see if the new responsibilities become overwhelming or not. I don’t officially start until November, so the next month is for preparing and learning the ropes.

visit to the U.S.

I am currently here in my last day for my first (and probably only) visit to the U.S. during Peace Corps Service. It wasn't as wierd coming back as I thought it was going to be. I've been enjoying my time eating delicious food, doing a little shopping, seeing friends, and playing with my parents adorable new puppy. My main reason for coming was to see my friend Michelle get married in Boston, which was really nice. Though I didn't do too much shopping because the prices are a lot higher than what I'm used to or what I can afford.

Things that were different or wierd:
Obviously, I was observing a different wealth level and standard of living, but I guess I was prepared for that so it didn't shock me too much.
Touch screen phones. When I left the U.S. the blackberry and iPhone existed, but I only knew a handful of people that had one. When I come back, everyone has these snazzy touch phones and make fun of the ones that close. I'm used to people admiring my phone because it has a color screen, so it was wierd.
Realized I'd gone a year and a half without seeing anyone drink Starbucks. Didn't miss that at all.
Mostly it surprised me how expensive stuff was. The exact same Snickers that cost $1 here costs 60 cents there. I'm used to full dinners at restaurants for $2 and sodas for 35 cents. Blowing my day's wages to split a cab with some people was hard for me.
Going to a Kings of Leon concert since they've become popular. I've been a fan of this band for like 6 years. Used to seeing them at small clubs. I came back and went to Merriweather to see them with my brother. I was not feeling to sorority girls around us that only knew like 2 songs.
And mostly, the political situation in the country. This was my first time in the country with a President Obama. I watched that Obama speech where someone yells out "Lies!" and heard all this coverage about parents refusing to send their kids to school so they wouldn't hear the president talk about studying and staying in school. As I thought about Health Care, I just felt this sinking feeling that nothing would get solved with all this petty fighting. I remember Bush and how much people disliked him, but this level of disrespect and division was really disheartening to view in my country.

Happy 4th!

People always tell me nasty things about not updating my blog. I just honestly don´t have too much to report in a public space like the internet
I have now been in my town for one year. Work goes slow, but the initial worries about people liking or hating me are long gone. I now have a small town full of family. We finished a lot of work related to community events for the provincial anniversary back in May. Now I´m spending most of my time working in a few different schools. My sister Jessica and uncle Dale (whose name means Do it! in Spanish) was just here visiting. No more visits are on the docket besides my own to the U.S. in September. Start making plans to visit me people! I know the economy is bad but a full dinner here costs $1.75!