I am looking forward to moving to a place with reliable power. I tried plugging my computer in at home last night since my host family wasn’t there when I returned, but it just kept turning off. I couldn’t figure out what was up, so I unplugged it from my surge protector. Then when my host dad was taking a shower, all the power in the house kept going off. So that explains it… I’m hanging out at Sally’s Café in Chorrera right now, which is like a little slice of America.
The eco-fair was a success! I’d be lying to say I wasn’t stressed out the week before with all the planning, but I was so happy to see it go well. We were very organized with the flow of the classes. The kids loved the activities, even the ones that didn’t quite work out how the aspirantes wanted them to. The teachers at the school were impressed and picked up some ideas that they can bring back to their classes. Carlos is even thinking about continuing it for next year. I’m so glad I brought my environmental ed guides, as many of the aspirantes thumbed through them to pick out their activities.
Following the fair, we had our community analysis presentation. That too went well. We had interviewed our families prior to learn more about the history of the community, environment, and problems they saw. Then we took their most pressing problem (water) and worked with them to find a solution to it (form a water committee to bring more of a voice to their problems). We’ll all be responsible for doing a similar analysis in our communities which we have the first three months to work on.
I love my community! It is on the base of Volcan Baru and looks out over Boquete, David, and the Pacific Ocean. The houses are separated by sugar cane or tomato fields, creating a very spread out town. I like to think of my town as a lollipop with the majority of the houses in the middle of the left side of the pop. During my first three months I plan to live with three different families: one above the center of town, one below, and another on the right side of the lollipop. Then I’ll be free to live on my own in probably either a bloque (cement) house on the lefthand base of the loop, or in a wooden house more toward the center. Both only have latrines a ways from the house, but they are closer to town or offer more privacy from neighbors than the two other options.
In town there are a ton of groups. I hope to work closely with the conservation group in town that has a vivero for their reforestation project and has made five trails up in the park of about 7km each. One of the trails has five waterfalls on it, which I can’t wait to see. They are also waiting on a $30,000 Biological Corridor grant to build an eco-cabana at a lookout along one of the trails as well as expand their vivero. They already received a grant from ANCON and built a little house to hold their meetings in next to the vivero. I’d love to decorate it with lots of pictures of Volcan Baru and all the flora and fauna found up there like Quetzals, Harpy Eagles, monkeys, sloths, and orchids. I’ll also be helping them map their trails so tourists can use them too.
There is also an abono organico group that makes compost, an association of the farmers in the area who the current volunteer, Kirsten, helped make an aqueduct with, and Padres de la Familia (Panamanian PTA) that she just started up a chicken project with. Each group also has a lot of big ideas, like building greenhouses for their tomatoes so they can harvest year-round, expand the aqueduct to the other side of town, etc etc. The community has potential for a women’s group, and youth groups like Panama Verde (Peace Corps started eco-group), Muchachas Guias (Girl Scouts), and Boy Scouts. In the center of town there is also a basketball court that would make a great meeting place, but the roof was never completed. Perhaps that might also happen with a little support.
Needless to say, I won’t be without things to do. One of the teachers at the school (there are only two) wants me to be the sole English teacher for the kids. That is not going to happen. I’ll have enough on my plate without taking on that job. I will probably continue Sunday classes with the adults, like Kirsten is doing. I won’t be following in her footsteps with the rest of it like she did her first year.
I paseared (visited) all the houses in town over my first two days there. A word on pasearing… Panamanian culture is such that you can hardly ever stop to say hi at someone’s house without being offered something to eat or drink. Perhaps chicha, maybe coffee, even soda will be served. One family in town makes plum wine which was delicious. Another offered Kirsten and I a whole bunch of bananas. Now each offer taken separately is surely appreciated. Even taken all together, I appreciated the hospitality of my community. I sure was stuffed though! We each ate 8 of those bananas before we made it to the next house! And then we went back to my community guide’s house for lunch. Hehe On Father’s day we were offered lunch at one of the houses. After negotiating, we were only served a half plate of rice, beans, and meat. However, when I got back to Ada’s house for real lunch, I was served more rice, roasted chicken, and fried plantains in one bowl. …And I was also served another bowl the size of a dinner plate filled to the brim with sancocho, a Panamanian soup that contained yucca, name, two chicken legs, a chicken breast, and what tasted like chicken liver too! Boy was I stuffed!
All in all, I was very satisfied with my site visit and can’t wait to get back there on June 29th. (They’re having a big fiesta that day too, which I like to think it is for my homecoming. Hehe)
The eco-fair was a success! I’d be lying to say I wasn’t stressed out the week before with all the planning, but I was so happy to see it go well. We were very organized with the flow of the classes. The kids loved the activities, even the ones that didn’t quite work out how the aspirantes wanted them to. The teachers at the school were impressed and picked up some ideas that they can bring back to their classes. Carlos is even thinking about continuing it for next year. I’m so glad I brought my environmental ed guides, as many of the aspirantes thumbed through them to pick out their activities.
Following the fair, we had our community analysis presentation. That too went well. We had interviewed our families prior to learn more about the history of the community, environment, and problems they saw. Then we took their most pressing problem (water) and worked with them to find a solution to it (form a water committee to bring more of a voice to their problems). We’ll all be responsible for doing a similar analysis in our communities which we have the first three months to work on.
I love my community! It is on the base of Volcan Baru and looks out over Boquete, David, and the Pacific Ocean. The houses are separated by sugar cane or tomato fields, creating a very spread out town. I like to think of my town as a lollipop with the majority of the houses in the middle of the left side of the pop. During my first three months I plan to live with three different families: one above the center of town, one below, and another on the right side of the lollipop. Then I’ll be free to live on my own in probably either a bloque (cement) house on the lefthand base of the loop, or in a wooden house more toward the center. Both only have latrines a ways from the house, but they are closer to town or offer more privacy from neighbors than the two other options.In town there are a ton of groups. I hope to work closely with the conservation group in town that has a vivero for their reforestation project and has made five trails up in the park of about 7km each. One of the trails has five waterfalls on it, which I can’t wait to see. They are also waiting on a $30,000 Biological Corridor grant to build an eco-cabana at a lookout along one of the trails as well as expand their vivero. They already received a grant from ANCON and built a little house to hold their meetings in next to the vivero. I’d love to decorate it with lots of pictures of Volcan Baru and all the flora and fauna found up there like Quetzals, Harpy Eagles, monkeys, sloths, and orchids. I’ll also be helping them map their trails so tourists can use them too.
There is also an abono organico group that makes compost, an association of the farmers in the area who the current volunteer, Kirsten, helped make an aqueduct with, and Padres de la Familia (Panamanian PTA) that she just started up a chicken project with. Each group also has a lot of big ideas, like building greenhouses for their tomatoes so they can harvest year-round, expand the aqueduct to the other side of town, etc etc. The community has potential for a women’s group, and youth groups like Panama Verde (Peace Corps started eco-group), Muchachas Guias (Girl Scouts), and Boy Scouts. In the center of town there is also a basketball court that would make a great meeting place, but the roof was never completed. Perhaps that might also happen with a little support.Needless to say, I won’t be without things to do. One of the teachers at the school (there are only two) wants me to be the sole English teacher for the kids. That is not going to happen. I’ll have enough on my plate without taking on that job. I will probably continue Sunday classes with the adults, like Kirsten is doing. I won’t be following in her footsteps with the rest of it like she did her first year.
I paseared (visited) all the houses in town over my first two days there. A word on pasearing… Panamanian culture is such that you can hardly ever stop to say hi at someone’s house without being offered something to eat or drink. Perhaps chicha, maybe coffee, even soda will be served. One family in town makes plum wine which was delicious. Another offered Kirsten and I a whole bunch of bananas. Now each offer taken separately is surely appreciated. Even taken all together, I appreciated the hospitality of my community. I sure was stuffed though! We each ate 8 of those bananas before we made it to the next house! And then we went back to my community guide’s house for lunch. Hehe On Father’s day we were offered lunch at one of the houses. After negotiating, we were only served a half plate of rice, beans, and meat. However, when I got back to Ada’s house for real lunch, I was served more rice, roasted chicken, and fried plantains in one bowl. …And I was also served another bowl the size of a dinner plate filled to the brim with sancocho, a Panamanian soup that contained yucca, name, two chicken legs, a chicken breast, and what tasted like chicken liver too! Boy was I stuffed!All in all, I was very satisfied with my site visit and can’t wait to get back there on June 29th. (They’re having a big fiesta that day too, which I like to think it is for my homecoming. Hehe)
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