well...this IS Panama

So, of course things didn´t go all sunshine and butterflies as I had hoped... We´ve had one more meeting with the tourism group since but nothing has changes. They say they all agree that work should begin at 9am every day, but they already know they aren´t going to be there. And someone is taking the entrance fee the tourists pay and not turning it in to the women but rather keeping it for themselves. drama drama drama. And no work has been done on my house for about three weeks now. So as you can see there are ups and downs and times when things just stand still. But I continue to play volleyball, sew, fish, and yesterday I even tried working a bit with a machete. I´m not very good. It is a long slow process when a community has lived and worked they way they have for all their lives and are accustomed to doing things the way they want. Change is hard.
Today I had lunch and a brief Ngabere language lesson with some of the other volunteers in the area and a volunteer who will be finishing here service in just two weeks. Hard to believe that day will come for me too. Time for icecream. Chao, Jessica

Three months- check!

I´ve finally passed the magical date which is three months in site. Where has the time gone? I honestly love my site! The transportation situation is a bother, but other than that (and maybe a beautiful beach) I couldn´t have asked for a better community. I´m still teaching English three times a week, doing a language exchange with one of the teachers, and now I´m finally going to get started on some real business work. As a result of the tourism seminar, the tourism group got together and had their first real meeting in months. It was decided that we will put together a business plan, which will hopefully start more great discussions and changes for the better. I´m really looking forward to it!
Yesterday was my first regional meeting. We were up in the mountains and it was cold! I also got my first warm shower in months. It was nice to finally meet all the other volunteers "near by" but a group of them is already finishing their service in a few weeks. And in less than a month a new group will start their service. I´ll be getting a couple new volunteers "near" me. Hopefully they can help me build my latrine :) Well I think I´m off to get a pizza and some icecream. Later!

ice cream and abono

Hiya! I just finished up with a three day tourism seminar with six members of my community and all of the other Peace Corps TEA volunteers from my group. The seminar was good, boring and long at times but gave some great basic ideas about what a business is and some of the planning and work that goes into starting a tourism business. As usual I had fun joking around with my community and the topic of choice was abono aka poop. I am really hoping to do a composting latrine project as right now the only latrines are at the school. I´ve been spreading the idea around whenever I can and it always creates a smile as collecting your poo in a large concrete box and waiting for six months before scooping it out and putting it on your crops to help them grow is somewhat of an awkward conversation. But it made for some good times this weekend and showed me that there really is interest in the project. It has also been great to see the friends I made during training. Strange being together everyday for three months and then not seeing eachother. It has also been a good time as there is a fair here. I went the last two nights and ate some traditional fair food like cotton candy as well as some not so traditional (MN that is) fair food like fried noodles with chicken. I´ll be heading back to site in about 30 min, but it was, as always, a good break. Ti ni gira/ya me voy/I´m off. Later!

transportation shmantzportation

In need of a break I sat at the port yesterday morning hoping a boat would pass by heading to the main island. I finally hitched a ride to some nearby restaurants on another island then waited there until a boat hauling cargo passed by. It took about 4 hours total but ended up being free! After a little rest and relax and good conversation with some other peace corps friends hanging out at the regional leaders house I am attempting to head back to my site today. Easier said than done. I was planning to meet my ex-host family at 1pm and have been waiting ever since hoping they show up. Finally I got through on my cell phone and found out we are atleast in the same city so hopefully I can get back with them. OK, they just called, gotta go! BYE! PS things are still good :)

Buenos Dias! Ñontoro Dego! Finally another day of electricity and internet! Unfortunately I didn’t prepare appropriately for the rough sea and got here completely soaking wet as if I had jumped in the water- and when it’s salt water that’s really uncomfortable. So the first thing I did was buy a new skirt to wear for the day.

I feel extremely busy lately. There has been lots of work on my house- we cut the palm last Friday and I got to go with. Now I understand why nobody wanted to do it. They climb the tree and chop down huge palms and then carry them through the jungle- mud and water and all- to load them in the boat. There was lots of laughing though whenever anyone fell in the water and got wet. Then, a feast of 10 pounds of rice and 15 pounds of fish with boiled bananas. They have also worked two days putting up the palm to form the roof of my house. We’ll need to cut some more palm to finish, as well as cut the wood for the walls and floor, but we get a couple weeks of rest until the moon is right again.

Last week I got to participate in a volleyball tournament with 5 other women from the community. Sadly, we were the only women’s team to show up. We played with some men that where there but they clearly had never played volleyball before in their lives, so we won! We even got a trophy. We had a lot of fun- I enjoyed wearing the team uniform.

I moved in with my third (and hopefully final) host family. It is a little far away in the jungle so I have to return home earlier than usual each night because the snakes come out. Luckily I have yet to see one. I really like the family and have a giant room all to myself. There is a 22 year old woman, her 3 month old baby, a 14 year old girl, and sometimes the husband of the 22 yr old is there too when he is not working.

Adult English classes have begun! I have 8 students- small, but the same students have come back each class and many more have said they want to enter. I’m happy with the number and they are learning much faster than I expected. It’s fun because I know everyone in the class so it’s like teaching friends- we have a good time. Now I need to come up with something for the kids that keep bugging me for English classes.

I pray all is well with you who are reading this! Hasta luego from Panama!!

Update

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to update and I can’t even remember all that’s happened. Time seems to fly and stand still all at once. Somehow I fill my days with visiting houses, working with the women- sewing and making bracelets, playing volleyball, and acting as a nanny for my current host family (I’m living with a single dad so he takes advantage and I end up cooking and taking care of the kids most of the time).

Recently I had the opportunity to join two women from my community in an artisan seminar where we along with about 25 other women sewed for three days straight until our fingers were sore and thoroughly punctured with needle wounds. A famous designer in Panama was in charge of designing and we were in charge of making. I came out with a pretty sweet bag. I’m currently inventing other projects using the Ngabe design to sell at the provincial fair in September.

Every Saturday (well sort of) there is work building my house. They have finished the frame and will cut the palm for my roof hopefully sometime this coming week (while the moon is right). Unfortunately enthusiasm for giving their day to work for free has dwindled and work this weekend was cancelled. We’ll see what happens with that.

My adult English classes begin in just over a week! I’ve planned three weeks worth of lessons and hopefully have all the logistics taken care of- now all I need are the students. I’ve set up a town meeting for this Monday to discuss the details. I’m sure I’ll have a full class in the beginning and I’m hoping at least a few people will stick with it for the two years.

As my days start to become busier it’s hard to believe I’ve only got 22 months left- I have so much to do! I feel as though I’m always saying this (which is a good thing), but overall things are going great. I’m starting to feel at home and adapting well (including some bad habits such as talking with food in my mouth and peeing wherever nature calls J ) Those of you in MN, enjoy the state fair for me and eat an extra pronto pup in my honor (thanks mom and dad)! Love, Bichochi

I'm on an unexpected 3 day "vacation" from my site. I've been somewhat sick for over a week now and I finally decided today that it was worth a trip to the clinic, so 1 1/2 hours in boat and 45 min in bus later I made it to the clinic where I received an IV injection, a shot in my butt, some pills, and I get to stay for the next two days for more butt shots. But I can already tell a difference and it will be nice to be healthy again. And having internet and air conditioning for a couple days isn't so bad. Tonight I'm going to have a little me time and watch a movie on my laptop- I also bought skittles, oreos and cheetos! I'm horrible I know!

For a little more insight as to what life is like for me, I'm going to share a journal entry I wrote a few weeks back that I rather like...

I hate that:
-The nearest bathroom is a 10 min walk that involves mud, squating, and BYOTP.
-Burping is not rude.
-Babies pee and poop on the floor and it's only the second that gets rinsed with water.
-People have so much Pena.
-I'm seen as a walking dollar bill.
-I'm used for my "gringa" status.
-I can't understand what people are saying 65% of the time because of Ngabere.
-Kids don't have all the opportunities I had in school.
-There isn't an inch on my arms or legs that isn't overed in bug bites.
-I'm discovering new gigantic bugs everyday.
-There's not enough time in a day, yet half the time I'm bored.
-There are ants in my bed.
-I have to do diagnoses for Peace Corps.
-There's always a radio on when God's jungle music is so much better.
-I can't solve all their problems.
-Nothing dries.
-I'm condemned from the church for wearing pants, having short hair, wearing a watch and jewelery, listening to the radio, playing volleyball, and playing Bingo.
-Because of many things mentioned above, so many people in the community are condemned from the church (ex. my host brother-in-law likes to play baseball, my host sisters like listening to the radio)
-I have pena to pasear.
-I don't eat fish scales or heads.
-Bochinche exists.

I love:
-That I'm living on an island in Panama!!
-When I remember they're Indians and how proud and strong their culture is.
-When I realize that worlds apart dads still put on their reading glasses to read to their sons and big brothers help their little sisters with school projects.
-That I get to play volleyball.
-That I'm starting to feel at home.
-That I get to bathe naked everynight under the stars watching lightning in the distance.
-That I really am living in a house on stilts with a palm thatched roof.
-That people are so excited about English classes.
-I know I've got great friends and family back home rooting and praying for me.
-The simplicity of life.
-Hammocks.
-That I'm actually speaking Spanish all day everyday.
-The prospect of changing lives for the better.

Alrighty then, I'm going to start my movie now. Peace out for now!