Santa Rita

Quite a few things have happened since I last posted on my blog! I’ve been living with my host family in my training community for nearly two weeks. All of the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) trainees live in Santa Rita. It’s a small town about an hour outside of Panama City. My host family has been really welcoming and has already taught me plenty of things about Panama and its culture. I am the 15^th trainee my family has hosted, so they know all the “weird” things Americans do. Within my first hour in Santa Rita, I was bluntly instructed that I had to shower at least two to three times per day. I really appreciate all the advice because I make plenty of cultural screw-ups on a daily basis.

My host parents, Ana and Epifanio, are butchers and own a farm a little bit outside of Santa Rita. My host sisters, Zugeira (20) and Ruth (8), are also pretty awesome. Nearly the whole family lives in Santa Rita: Ana, her three siblings, and their parents all live within a block of each other and all host PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees). This works out well for me because there’s almost always something going on at someone’s house. I even got to go to a birthday party last week, although I’m still not sure whose birthday it was. But it’s OK because my host mom wasn’t sure which kid it was either! All I know for sure is that there were lots of people, a piñata, and cake.

A unique component of my training is that is it primarily community based. In the mornings, I go to Mabel’s house to have Spanish class. Mabel is a community member who is hosting a PCT and lets us have class at her house. My Spanish class is pretty fun because my group is allowed to do a lot of self-directed projects and determine the topics we want to cover. We also get to plan and lead many cultural activities for the entire group. The first one we did was a trip to Chorrera, a nearby town that is much larger than Santa Rita. It was very nerve-racking because it was the first time anybody used public transportation in Panama. When I was in Barcelona, I developed a true love for the metro, but Panama’s transportation is a whole different story. I think I will make public transportation the topic for its whole own blog post later on J. As a group leader, I was in charge of knowing the transportation options and navigating the city. If you are familiar with my sense of direction, then you might understand why I was slightly apprehensive. Luckily, my group didn’t know about my sense of direction, or lack thereof. It all worked out and all the groups had a good time and made it back to Santa Rita. This weekend, the group went to Panama City for a day. We had to go around and visit several places: markets, a hospital, a hotel, and an ice cream place. After the activity, we wandered around the casco viejo (old town). I think Panama City reflects the dichotomy of the entire country. At one extreme there are huge, modern skyscrapers and a few blocks over are old, quaint, neighborhoods. Simply put, Panama is a country of extremes.

In the afternoons, I have technical class. This is when we learn actual WASH information, like how to conduct a community analysis and proper water treatment methods. I’m already two weeks in to my training, which is only 10 weeks total. Next week, I am going to visit a current WASH volunteer. I will spend the week in the Comarca Ngöbe Buglé (an indigenous region) getting a sneak peak at what life as a volunteer is really like!

Arrival in Panama

Today I, along with most of my cohort, arrived in Panama City!! After two full days of Staging, training in the Let Girls Learn initiative (sadly, there was not a surprise visit by Michele Obama), and group bonding, we set off for Panama. A missed flight, frantic efforts from the Peace Corps and our group leaders, visa troubles, and 24 hours later nearly all 48 trainees are in Panama. I spent two days in Alexandria, VA for training and orientation. It was a great opportunity to explore Old Town Alexandria and DC. I even watched the fireworks from the National Mall on what should have been my last night in America for a while. Despite some cloudy weather, the show was spectacular!! The next morning (July 5) we flew from DC to Atlanta and missed our connection to Panama City because of a 3+ hour delay leaving DC. The fun began around 7:30pm and we scrambled to rebook 48 people to Panama as soon as possible. By 1:30am, almost everyone had been rebooked in smaller groups and we headed for a hotel. A mere 3 hours later, my group was back at the airport ready for round two. We were flying to Orlando and then to Panama City. Luckily, we had smooth flights and got to Panama City by 4pm on July 6. Other groups flying through New York, El Salvador, and Mexico City ran into more problems and, as I write this post, they are still en route. It was an interesting start to our Peace Corps training! Our cohort is staying in Ciudad de Saber (City of Knowledge) until Sunday to do more training and finalize paperwork. On Sunday, I will meet my host family that I will spend the next 10 weeks living with. It has been an exciting and eventful few days!

Peace Corps Panama G79