Un Año!?!

 It’s been another month in Barranquilla. I spent the beginning of September in Panama City for a training event and a bunch of doctor appointments. Good news: no parasites or cavities for me!! My group (G79) stayed in the City to celebrate our ONE YEAR mark. We’ve all made it an entire year in our communities and we had a great time in Panama City! It’s hard to believe that an entire year has passed so quickly, yet I struggled to get through my fair share of slow days in site. PCVs like to say, “slow days, fast weeks” and I think that describes it perfectly. I am surprised (and a little impressed) at how much I’ve learned and managed to overcome in the last year. Living in the campo isn’t always easy, but I have a great community that supports me (even more than I support them, I suspect).

Sometimes I look nice

Then: From my first week in site

Now: Just a few days ago

In the last few weeks, I visited a neighboring Volunteer, attended a series of funerals, and weathered my second hurricane in Panamá. I hiked three hours to a nearby Volunteer’s community to help her facilitate a seminar for her Water Committee. It’s a beautiful hike during which I have to cross: 3 rivers, 2 cow pastures, several streams, countless rickety log bridges, and one bamboo grove. It was great to visit another Volunteer and see the beautiful areas around my community.

Pretty countryside 

Not another uphill...

Halfway there!!

Sadly, two of my community members died on the same day: September 16. One was Nanda, an old abuela who taught me to make kras (traditional Ngabe craft) and always gifted me oranges. She was like the abuela to the entire community. I attended her velorio (an overnight vigil of the body that is similar to a wake) and funeral with the rest of my community members. The other was a one-year-old girl, the daughter of my neighbor. Despite going to the hospital, Ortencia was already too sick and the doctors could not help her. These deaths have certainly been trying for me as well as my entire community. We essentially spent two weeks in mourning, attending many nights of velorio and both funerals.

I also had the opportunity to spend a day with some of my minions at a presentation of traditional Panamanian dances. The kids have been practicing every day after school for months to prepare. School come from all over the area, but my school was the only one from a very rural and "out there" community. They did a fantastic job and are continuing to practice for a big parade in November to celebrate Panama's Independence Day!

They're ready to dance!

¡Muy cool!

Love the polleras (traditional skirt)

Just as I was preparing to attend a regional meeting for my province (after spending a month straight in Barranquilla), a hurricane was passing north of Panamá through Nicaragua and Honduras, heading for the US. It turns out the storm came close enough to the Caribbean side of Panamá that it was causing torrential rains, mudslides, and high wind. In Barranquilla, we only suffered from the high winds. It was 24 hours straight of huge wind gusts. My gente said that they hadn’t seen this kind of wind in 20 years. It was so strong that zinc roofs were blowing off houses, trees were blown over, my shower got blown down, and the gusts would shake my entire house. Luckily, there was no major damage to my house or in my community, although we did spend some time chasing down sheets of zinc and parts of my shower.

Taking selfies as I wait for my chiva...

Coming up in October, I have a visit from one of my bosses to meet with my community and set up a work plan for my last year in Barranquilla. Then it’s November, aka the party month. The ferias start and won’t really end until New Year’s. And, I’m excited to say that I’ll be coming to visit the USA for a couple of weeks in December!

Selling oranges to the construction guys 

My youngest host sis is almost 1!

Nap time at Buchi's

My host family got 2 new bunnies!

Just bringing supplies to the tienda (store)

       

Training and Tías

The beginning of July was rather slow. I spent a lot of time in Barranquilla and worked with my Water Committee to continue organizing the group. Since then, the time has flown by: I helped train the new group of WASH Volunteers, had one of them visit my site, received specials visitors from the US, and have nearly completed one year in my site!

At the end of July, I traveled to Panama City to help train G81, the newest group of Volunteers who arrived in Panamá in early July. I spent a few days co-facilitating their training on identifying leaders in the community and working with counterparts to plan and facilitate activities. It was a great opportunity to meet the new Volunteers, especially because some of them will become my new neighbors. I got to visit their training community and abuse the electricity and refrigeration for a few days!!

Jacob and I on a hike

Checking out the water source with my counterpart 

Jacob lost his boot in the mud!

The trainees each spent 4 days visiting a Volunteer from my group to get a feel for an actual Peace Corps community. It was their first time in the campo! I had one the trainees, Jacob, visit my site. We met my host family, teachers, and spent a lot of time pasearing at all the houses in Barranquilla. Jacob met my gente and got to practice his Spanish and learn some Ngabere. We hiked to my site neighbor and toured a cacao farm. The owner even let us eat the fruit covering the inside of the cacao pod. We also hiked to see the stream source that provides water for my community's aqueduct. And we saw the tank that stores water for the community. It was a lot of fun to hack our way through the jungle with machetes and the help of my counterparts. we climbed down the stream-bed and then had to create our own path to the tank...clearly my gente don't visit the tank very often...

On our way leaving my site, we waited for a chiva and the car didn't pick us up. We waited at the usual spot, and for some reason the car didn't stop at my community. Jacob and I had to run after the chiva as it was leaving us, but we didn't catch it! Luckily, after we hiked for an hour, we got a ride out and Jacob made it back to his training community.

After Jacob's visit, my stream of visitors continued when Aunt Jean and Aunt Cheryl came to visit Panamá!! We had an amazing week together traveling all over the country. I met them in David and early the next morning, we traveled to Barranquilla. After a 2 hour bus ride and my 1 hour chiva, we made it to my house. They were amazing travelers and put up with all my insane transportation. We relaxed at my house, met the gente, and visited the stream where I wash my clothes. At the stream, we almost got attacked by a loose cow and then decided to head back to my house. We made brownies made of pure cacao and spent a lot of time chatting with my host family and playing with the kids at my house. We got to drink fresh coconut water and pifá, an orange fruit that is something like a mix between a squash and a potato. The consensus about many Panamanian foods (yuca, pifá) was that they are essentially shitty potatoes.

My host sister offered to take us to see the river and a cacao farm. We saw some women washing clothes, kids swimming, and took in the gorgeous views as the sun started to set. We cooked food at my house and relaxed on my porch. It was tight fitting everybody in my house, but we made it work!! The next morning, we grabbed a chiva out and headed to Boquete. By late afternoon, we made it to our hotel in Boquete and finally were able to take hot showers! We walked into town for dinner and

then slept in our adorable bunk bed room.

Sorting coffee beans by hand

The next day, after our 3 course breakfast, we went ziplining through the jungle canopy. It was a great time and the views were beautiful. In the afternoon, we went on a waterfall hike...but it started to rain just a few minutes into our hike. We saw one waterfall, but didn't make it through the entire 3 hour hike. As we waited, soaking wet, for a bus, a nice old man pulled up in his truck and offered us a ride into town. We hopped in and had a very interesting ride; the man explained the history of Pamamá to me and was familiar with Peace Corps because his daughter worked with a Volunteer. He is a descendant of the Ngabes, and saved us from more time in the pouring rain!! We ate dinner in town and went back to warm up and shower!! It was a really fun day!!

We toured a coffee farm and got to see the plants, the processing center, and sample different types of coffee! It was delicious and really interesting to learn about because many of my community members move to Boquete from November to March to work harvesting coffee. Some of them likely even work at the very farm we toured. It was cool to learn about the jobs they do and see where and how they live when they're not in Barranquilla. We took a 1 hour flight (as opposed to the usual 8 hour bus ride) to Panama City. After a lengthly taxi ride (the driver got very lost), we made it to our hotel!

Beautiful Boquete

The next morning, we visited the Cinta Costera (along the water front) and the old part of the city. We narrowly escaped a rain storm and had margaritas for lunch! Then, we visited the Panamá Canal and got to see a ship pass through the locks. It was a really fun last day in Panamá!! I had so much fun hanging out with my aunts and showing them around Panamá!!

After having lots of visitors, I was back in Barranquilla for about 3 weeks. I spent time with my gente and continued working on WASH projects. I started teaching an English class for kids, adults, and teachers. I teach an hour of class every day and they seem to love it!! It's a lot of fun for me, even though it definitely can be frustrating. We're practicing lots of the basics and learning a few English songs!

September officially marks one year spent in Barranquilla, and just one year left. It's exciting to think about how much my gente, my site, and I have changed and grown together in the last year; and to start planning my last year with them. I am spending this week in Panamá City for Mid Service Training. It's a week when all of the G79 WASHers have a bit of technical training and lots of doctor and dentist appointments. It's a great chance to hang out with my group and make sure I haven't been unknowingly harboring parasites for months!!

Getting oranges for lunch!

Baby in a bag

Construction on the road to my site

 

Junio

It's been another fast month in Panamá! I've been traveling a lot in the last month. At the end of May I went to Panamá City for a training event. I will be facilitating a few days of training for the new group of Volunteers (G81) who arrive in July! I will spent a few days back in Santa Rita (my training community) training the new group on topics related to identifying and working with counterparts in their communities. Shortly after this training, I had a meeting in Changuinola with all the Volunteers in Bocas. We celebrated by going to Bocas Island for a couple nights and enjoying the beach. It was a bittersweet celebration because it was the last meeting for my regional leader and the G77 Volunteers who will be finishing their service in August.

I can't believe I get to live somewhere this beautiful

Matching nakwas

One of the most interesting weeks of my service happened in early June. I brought a counterpart from my community (who's also my host dad) to a seminar in Penonome about project management and leadership. My counterpart and I traveled from Barranquilla all the way to Penonome (about a 10 hour journey) to take part in the four day seminar. We were joined by the rest of the WASH Volunteers from my group and their counterparts. It was great to see my host dad meet counterparts from all over the country and learn all about managing projects in the community. The Volunteers treated our counterparts to a movie one afternoon and for all of them, it was their first time ever going to a movie theater. We watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie (chosen specifically for its high action and intensity) and all the counterparts loved it!! It was a really unique experience for everyone.

My host dad (green shirt) at our seminar

The Bocas group at the leadership seminar

My host dad and another counterpart

In site, I am working with my Water Committee, starting English classes, and hoping to begin a monthly charla series. I'll be spending most of my time in site until the end of July when I will be going to Santa Rita for the training of G81. Then I will be hosting a new Volunteer in my site for a few days so she is able to get a feel for what it is like to be a Volunteer. And then, I will have visitors from the USA!! My aunts will be coming to visit in August and I can't wait to show them my community and all around Panamá!!

A little young for that shirt...

That snake was in my house!!!

On Wednesdays, we wear nakwas!

Peace Corps polo pride

Putting zinc on my house

Helping me with my house