Soggy Naguas

In march I had a visit from my cousin Preston (Pesto) and my best friend Lauren (Lorena). So I am going to mix things up and share their stories and pictures of panama.

Preston:

Vamos a la Playa

I can remember one interaction with a Panamanian that was less than cordial. And that guy wasn’t even mean or nasty – he was just curt. That’s it. Every other person that we interacted with, on buses, in restaurants, while hanging from a rock wall, was exceedingly nice, and happy to help a group of gringos. Of course, it helped to have a de facto local leading our motley crew, but we were still clearly outsiders in this world. And we were treated as friends everywhere we went. I’m not even proficient at speaking Spanish, and our Uber driver the first morning definitely recognized that. But he didn’t think twice about quickly rerouting our trip when he realized that we needed to be taken to Albrook bus station, not Albrook airport. I would’ve forgiven him for being grumpy or laughing at us, but he smiled and charged us an obscenely low fare as a reward for our ignorance. That’s what I call service with a smile.

The people are what makes this country special. They guided us on a rock climbing expedition for free, and helped us to negotiate a hostel booking snafu during the busiest booking season of the year. They conducted a thoroughly engaging, Spanish-only Easter Sunday mass. They took us to a karaoke bar, and after we thoroughly embarrassed ourselves, they rewarded us with sympathetic applause. Most importantly, they proved to love laughter just as much as everyone else in the world. It turns out that funny things are pretty universal. Making animal sounds back and forth with a small child is always funny. Watching Erin sleep with her head cushioned against the metal frame of a bouncing chiva is absurd and hilarious, even if (especially if?) you don’t know her. And, of course, watching/listening to people bomb at karaoke is never not a good time.

 

Lauren:

Vamos a Panamá

 

I will never forget my adventure to Panamá. But really, I have the scars to prove it. This trip was one of the most enriching and challenging experiences of my life thus far – and I am so grateful for Erin joining the Peace Corps and giving me this opportunity!

While I won’t go into detail of the ten days spent in the country, I will touch on what I enjoyed most, what was the most challenging, what was the most surprising and what I have taken home with me.

One of the things that I enjoyed most was the journey into Salitre. The ride down the mountain in the chiva (back of a pick-up truck with 25 other Ngäbe people) was so much fun. It was like riding a roller coaster with a really cool view. What followed was a very challenging 2-hour hike/stumble down a mountain! The view was amazing, despite me reaching the bottom of the mountain with some extra cuts and bruises.

The two days that we spent in El Campo were the most eye-opening. It is incredible to learn how the indigenous people of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé live. The Ngäbe do almost everything that we do on a daily basis, only in a primitive manner. They choose to live secluded lives although modern societies dwell within a very short distance. All of the Ngäbe people were curious about us and interested in meeting us. They were more friendly than I had anticipated, welcoming us into their homes.

One of the most challenging aspects of this adventure was sticking out among the crowd and not knowing the language, although we rocked our Naguas – the traditional dress of the women in the Comarca. I have lived my life always surrounded by people just like me and experiencing the feeling of being different gave me a new-found respect for those who spend their lives as minorities in areas that they are not accustomed to or comfortable in.

Although our time in El Campo is something I will always cherish, my favorite place that we traveled to was Boquete. I had a wonderful time “surfing” and drinking Soggy Naguas at Playa Venao and exploring Casco Viejo/ the Canal in the City, but it was so nice to spend some time in the mountains – away from that jungle heat!

The best part of Boquete, for me, was when we went rock climbing. This is something that I have always wanted to try and I finally faced my fears and climbed to the top – It was chicha de piña! We were also able to enjoy a cold beverage, or three, at the Boquete Brewing Company.

In addition to all of the new activities that I experienced, I would be remiss if I did not mention the FOOD of Panama.  While every single thing we ate was amazing, my favorites would have to be the following:

• Manzanas – The most delicious banana I will ever eat.
• Holjadras – Panamanian fry bread and the perfect 25 cent treat after a 2.5-hour mountain hike.
• Patacones – Fried plantains, best paired with cerveza.
• Pifa – A yummy little fruit that served as the perfect bus ride snack.
• Seviche – We have this at home, but it was extra special as we enjoyed it at the Fish Market in Panama City.

Needless to say, I will forever remember this trip and the wonderful memories that were made. Thank you Erin for hosting me and showing me what Panama is all about.

Chao pesca’o!

 

The Soccer Camp “Weekly Top Ten”

During the first week of February I held a young girls soccer and development camp in my regional capital. With the help of 9 other female Peace Corps volunteers and the spirited participation of 30, 10-14 year old girls from all around the Ngäbe Buglé reservation we had a successful pilot camp. With several Panamanian invitees including, the governmental health agency, the mayoress, Association for women Ngäbe Buglé, and Peace Corps Panama’s youth development coordinator, the girls learned many topics both in the classroom and on the field. This camp was the first of hopefully many program sponsored by Let Girls Learn in Panama, a Michelle Obama initiative to expand access to education for girls around the world. So here is the Sports Center Top 10 from the week!

10. Busting open the door on the dead bolted and pad locked dormitories so we would have somewhere to sleep the first night. Still weren’t enough beds so it lead to extra quick bonding!

9. Nutrition charla: seeing the reaction of some of the girls when we demonstrated how much sugar is in soda, cookies, etc. and how it adds up in a day! Hopefully that stuck a bit…

Itzela, in her traditional dress, giving me a learning smirk during the lecture.

8. Presentation from the Association for Women Ngäbe Bugle on women’s rights, abuse, and violence. The facilitator had all the participants divide into groups and present on each of these topics. The girls did an excellent job and provoked some good questions.

Senora Raiza from ASMUNG being a boss and inspiring things young girls!

7. Wonderful cooking crew! We had some awesome locals helping out with cooking and security.  All the meals were wonderful and on time.  Kept the girls active and in high spirits all week! Nun bule kri (we had big bellies, or in other words were full all week 🙂 )

Men in the kitchen, girls on the soccer field! Defying gender norms!

6. One World Play Project: we did a campaign to fund-raise a special type of soccer ball designed to last on rugged terrain. An average ball only lasts a few weeks here! The excitement on their faces when they found out they each got to take a ball home was unforgettable!

Carmen in a dribbling relay race with her very own One World Play soccer ball.

5. Circle of Support: this is an activity we did to build trust and promote teamwork. Each team formed a circle, holding hands and then laid down on their backs. A circle was drawn on the ground just inside their heels and then a stick was laid above each of their heads. Then they all got up and had to stay inside the circle and reach their own stick. It is impossible to do on your own and you need your teammates to help lift you. It was super cool seeing each team problem solve and little by little trust their teammates not to drop them to reach their goal. Lots of laughter and smiles!

4. Spirit of the game. At the end of the day, we would form a circle and each girl had to say something nice about the girl on their left. The first day was very challenging but by the last day they were congratulating and supporting each other and the facilitators on their own!

3. During the final game one of the girls got hit in the face and her teammates, took her in their arms and walked her off the field. Learning sportsmanship!

Host sister, Yaqueline running away with the ball, water bottle in hand!

2. Gusanito: this is an interactive song about a little worm. Here is how it would go in English:
I am walking, I see a worm, I grab the worm, I lift up the worm, I throw the worm, I step in the worm, I grab the worm, I eat the worm, I vomit the worm, I feel relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. Complete with gestures and in fast and slow motion. Always gets everyone energized!

1. Openness and participation:it was awesome seeing how much all the girls opened up during the week. Answering and asking questions during the lectures, throwing away the shyness on the soccer field and passing to their teammates (well a few times at least), and all the new friendships formed!

What an excellent week! Hope to be able to do a follow up camp and will be seeking your support. In the mean time if you wan to learn more about Let Girls Learn or would like to donate to the program, follow this link! Panama is new Let Girls Learn country, so the Panama bio is not yet up on the website.

https://letgirlslearn.peacecorps.gov/countries.html

 

All smiles and laughs!

The facilitators getting in on the action too!

Attentively watching the defense demonstration!

The “Junta”

Ya viene la lluvia: nu kite tibien: The rain is coming

 

 

 

It is now the heart of rice harvesting. The rainy season is nearing its end. The three month rice has been harvested and the five and six month are in progress. My community members are all hard at work to get it all done, being they are subsistence farmers. My gente have a very special way of planting and harvesting in large numbers. It’s called the junta.

 

Junta literally means meeting or council, but to them it’s much more. The premise is that if someone comes to your work event then you must return the favor, all based on the honor system. You don’t want your neighbors and family to think badly upon you! They call this pagar el peón or paying the laborer. If four members of one household come to my work day then I better send 4 of my household to their work day! Juntas can be a lot of fun but are hard work.

The host family shows up to the farm nice and early and makes sure everything is ready to go. The workers slowly trickle in around 9 or 10 o’clock. For harvesting rice each person bring their own little ax to cut the rice stalks. Once all have arrived, the row is complete as everyone works forward cutting down the rice until it’s done, gets to dark, or rains to hard for too long! Throughout the day the patrón or boss bring around a 5 gallon container filled with chicha de maíz or corn juice, with two large cups for everyone to chug out of! This way it’s food and drink in one and they can work all the way through without lunch. (It’s takes me more time to drink a half glass then they do a full one 🙈) Throughout the day, in Ngäbere (their native language) everyone shares gossip, stories, and laughter. Me only understanding bits and pieces, but getting a lot of a smiles and laughter when I make an occasional joke in Ngäbere or get stuck in some weeds. Even when I only understand half of what is going on, it’s a welcoming feeling working side by side with my people. I had a special moment when I dropped my little ax in the rice and once everyone realized what had happened, immediately 6 people around me start looking for my tool until it was found! No questions asked.

When the day comes to an end most everyone leaves with a smile and some yell/yodels of joy. Time for some free food! How else could you get people to work hard all day…? Back to the house of the boss, where food is ready (generally cooked all day by the woman of the house 😞). What I find so funny is there is a traditional after junta meal. First you get a really brothy soup flavored with something from a cheap packet and a root vegetable. You will normally find a little bit of chicken, killed from the patio that morning. Then each person gets a giant leaf filled with cooked rice to take home with them, known as a lonche. I know my cat loves these days because he also gets a little bit of chicken and a bunch of rice (due to their HUGE rice portions)🐈⬅️😃. This completes a junta but a lot of work lies ahead for the host family as they have to go through all the steps of preparing the rice! But that is basically a blog in its self!

Meet Xenia. She doesnt like to speak Spanish but she will sure talk your ear off! She never is without her machete either.

This is the take home rice wrapped in a leaf that everyone gets after helping out!

Harvesting rice with views of Cerro Patena and Cerro Madera in the near distance

This is the little axe used to harvest the rice

A rice tower bigger than all the people!

My friend insisted that I needed a picture with me in it to show everyone at home. So here is Eti harvesting rice too!

Just Another Day at Work

5:30 am I wake up and roll out of my hammock. I put some water on the stove to boil for my coffee. Drink some coffee, make some oatmeal, feed my cat and chickens, lock the house, and hit the path out of site. 1 hour 12 minutes later and 1500 vertical ft I make it up to my road. Time to wait for the chiva, a caged in pick up truck, that takes me to town. Today’s a little different tho, when the chiva comes it’s filled with a women’s soccer team. Doesn’t look like your average soccer team, they all have brightly colored dresses on and hair brushed hanging all the way down their backs. Ohh and the mayoress is sitting shot gun, dressed the same as well. When we get to town the rest of the team meets us there, we pile in and head to the field. Half the girls have to be commanded (by the mayoress nonetheless) to take off their naguas and put on some shorts and a t shirt. Not the average pre-game talk.

It was an incredible day.  To see these young women break out of their shells and transform into soccer players beneath my eyes was astonishing.  Almost, as if they become different people on the soccer field.  Now they didn’t have all the talent in the world but you could not fault them for their aggressiveness and drive on the soccer field.  I was playing forward with them and was fortunate enough to be playing along side the two most talented players on the field.  It was a tournament of four teams.  We dominated our first game against another Ngabe team from a different region and we were quickly through to the championship.  Now talk about a well competed and intense soccer match. I still can’t believe what a game it was. 1-1, halftime, 2-1, 2-2…. With one minute left in the game my teammate slide tackled the ball into the goal for a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL and the win.  We were presented with a trophy and some great memories. Oh and a sore body from the triple teaming haha…I was one of the tallest players on the field, which lead to some good header goals (being tall is fun!)

So you are probably a little curious about the title of this blog. How was this just another day at work? Seems like a day of play? Maybe a vacation day? This actually falls under my peace corps goals and is just as much considered work as building a latrine in my community.  The second goal of Peace Corps is the host country (Panama) understanding Americans and the third goal is teaching Americans about Panama.  By me showing my confidence playing soccer, in shorts and a t-shirt nonetheless, and that it is okay to express yourself and take leadership as a women, I am sharing my culture with my people.  Not only am I demonstrating this to my teammates but also to the fans, especially the men. Now goal three, I am doing that right now. I am teaching ya’ll about Panamanians.

Tourney champs!

The forwards 🙂

The mayor and me

A Life in the Weeek of Eti

Here is a little video blog to get a better visual of my daily activities.  Sorry the video quality is so bad, something went wrong uploading but its the best I have right now. I hope to have another blog coming out shortly. Enjoy!

Panamisms and the “campo” life

A few “Panamisms” and the idiosyncrasies that are now seemly normal

Panama loves their English and some of this has even made it out to the campo
-Que prity : How pretty, que nice: how nice
-All baseball words: ow: out, fow: foul
– Casey Casom was on the local radio…
-cheecay: cheesecake, cu lai: kook aid
-tuperware: Tupperware (one of my favorites due to the accent
-The list could go on!

There is a Chuckie Cheese in Panama City?
Why does everyone have a US ARMY hat or t shirt?

Crazies of the Campo:
– Today I was sitting talking to my host mom at her house, I hear a horse coming so I look up and followed by that horse was a muchacho (young man) wearing a Santa Claus hat…. Also it was at least 95 degrees 🎅
-Man bags are so in
– Chickens are like squirrels
– Babied sleep and get carried (on women’s heads) in large woven bags
– Pigs rule the paths 🐷🐽
– Snake hanging out in the window sill of your house…🐍
– Always being stared at (I always beat them at their own game 😜)
-Picking avocados from my yard!
-Staying up past 9 is increasingly hard
– Cats are not for pets, they kill creatures intruding in your house🐱🐭
– Learning to be really good at doing everything in a dress 👗or more like a mumu
– Sitting with a group of people and having no idea what they are saying but it not even bother you
– HAMMOCKS
– two year olds playing with knives, three year olds using machetes 😁
– There are so many ways to eat and cool with a banana! 🍌
– Solar power!☀️
-High schoolers have to hike 2 hours to school, one way!
– I get to go hiking everyday! At least if I leave my house 🚶

Brief update on Eti:
I had a wonderful time back in America for my brothers wedding. Thanks for all the support from friends and family. Being back in site has been great. I had a really great meeting with my community about the importance of latrines and the community’s contribution to the latrine project. Little by little they are becoming organized.
Last week was the championship of the soccer league I am in. After the game the people drank for 4 days…
I have started a garden and everything is sprouting this time, a little bit of composting pays off. I also have three new friends Unchi (butt), chuchu ( breasts), and tuklo (belly button). Those are my 3 month old chickens that should be giving me eggs in about 3 more months!🐤🐥

With my program director, regional leader, and nearby volunteer developing a new site for a volunteer to come in September. There is a small shelf built by the community where you can get cellphone signal.

Happy host siblings after receiving the soccer ball I gave them for watching my house and cat while I was in America. Thanks for the ball mom!

My new friends,
Chuchu, unchi, and tuklo (boobs,butt, and bellybutton). Should be getting some eggs from them in 3 short months!

Just hanging out with the ladies watching the championship soccer game, my team already got knocked out.

The new spring box I built with my host family to help protect our water source! Just a little dirty…

Cuties!

Adventure Time: Panama

I decided to try something a little different this time! Hope ya”ll enjoy it!

This link will take you to my video on youtube

Also here are some pictures from the Kuna Yala

Kuna Yala women in traditional dress

Some of my group during the hike out to the Kuna Yala

Kuna father daughter

Celebrating the independence of the Kuna Yala. Showing our respect by wearing red

Panama and Kuna Yala flag

Kuna Yala war reenactments

The Light of Panama

Team orange! Fuegos explosivos!

Team orange! Fuegos explosivos!

Teaching them about the dangers of HIV through hands-on activities

Egg babies! How cute

Esteban showing off his egg baby!

A girl from my community actually smiling!

Tattoos!

Ngabere kids teaching their indigenous dance!

Peace Corps Ngabere language teacher sharing her story with the kids

Drawing their values

Right here and now I am swaying in the cool night breeze. Hammock rocking back and forth, flannel on, and a sleepy cat purring on the afghan in my lap. The stars are brilliant nothing washing out their brightness, down in this valley. In the distance I can hear a dog barking and some “gente salimando” (men do the Panamanian yell greeting). I am feeling content and appreciating the wonders my new home brings me…

This past week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be a facilitator at a Peace Corps run gender and development camp. There are four camps across Panama and all Peace Corps volunteers in Panama have the opportunity to send at least two get from their community. The camp I helped facilitate was in a neighboring province, Veraguas. This alone turned out to be a unique experience because this created a mixture of Latino and indigenous youth, two very different culture. The goal of this camp is to educate the youth on values, goal setting, sexual education, premature pregnancy, and the opportunities that education can bring.

What I didn’t expect was to get so much out of it myself. One of the most rewarding parts of my service up until this point. Watching the kids transform from not even looking at each other to giving hugs on the last day (even more amazing because the Ngabe culture does not show much affection, even hugging normally) was a truly heart warming experience for me. Some of my favorite moments came during their evening free time. After the first day of seasons a pair of facilitators were teaching salsa to whomever wanted to learn. This eventually turned into a couple indigenous kids teach the others one of the local dances, Jegi (pronounced Hegi), and of course I joined in. The next day the indigenous girls were giving the Latinos Ngabe names, I just couldn’t believe the exchange of culture!

The week wrapped up with team Olympics, bringing out the competitive side and an evening talent show. The talent show basically turned into a “school dance” which is something they don’t get the opportunity to have.
In addition, I could not be more proud of the two kids I brought, arguable two of the most shy kids there, as they speak only Ngäbere in their houses. However, when hiking back into our community they went on the whole away talking about what they learned! They want to give presentations to the community about what they learned and start on a community project, an artesian group. I feel almost like a proud mother right now. Every adventure here has it’s surprises One of my favorite parts about Peace Corps is “It’s like a box of chocolate, you never know whats you gonna get.”
I should have more blogs to come, off to visit another indigenous group on the other side of the country, the Kuna Yala.

So what am I doing here?

So what am I doing in my community? What is my work as a Peace Corps volunteer?
What is the daily life of Eti (my indigenous name)?

I have realized that in my recent blogs I have not been posting much about my site work or what projects I am hoping to do with my community in the future. Although I guess I really have not had any recent posts either…I was thinking how most people back at home have no idea what I do on a regular basis or what my goals are in my community for the next two years. So here comes a little summary of what my community wants while I am here, some goals I have, and also what is realistic!

So you gotta take a poo, where do you go. I’m assuming you walk to the next room in your house or down the hall to the bathroom at work. What would you do if there was no bathroom, no toilet…. What if no one had told you that poop is dirty and that you can get sick from it being in your water or on your hands when you go to cook for your whole family….

My “gente” are river poopers, they practice aqua dumping. So based on the request from them my first big project in site is going to be latrine construction! After talking with the “gente” about what they need in the community and then having a official meeting we decided on this project. Doesn’t mean it’s the only thing I can help them with. The first step is giving them sanitation presentations. Teaching them poop is dirty and can not be left out in the open or floating down the river! Also teaching them how and when to wash their hands and with soap! The next step is organization, forming a specialist group and teaching everyone about all that’s involved. So latrines is our first goal.

I have been helping them “officialize” their water committee as well. I would love for everyone to have running water during my service but this is more of a far out there goal. I have slowly accepted the fact that everything takes at least 3 times longer out here than back in the states. If all I do is organize and capacity build then I’ll consider this journey an accomplishment.

Other fun side project ideas:
-women’s soccer league
– English class (in progress)
– “Eco” stoves
– artisan group
– kids camp
– youth reading program

Oh I have a cat now too! His name is Messi, yes like the futboler but it is also an indigenous name! It’s easy for my community to say and trust me everyone is always asking about him! He is a little over 3 months now.

Can’t give photos proper caption because I am posting on my phone. But pictures of my people, them with their doll they burned on New Year’s Eve (burning the old year), my cat, view watching the people playing baseball in my community, and some girls watching the baseball game!

The New Crib

I left off my last blog waiting for the arrival of my cousin and one of my best friends. She showed up with a surplus of s’mores supplies. It is quite the toss up who enjoyed it more, my host family or me. We had plenty of fixins so we let them eat as much as they wanted and my youngest host brother crushed at least 6, fairly impressive. Although as my host mom told me, “we [ngäbes] never get full”. My stoke level was super high since the host family essentially cooks on a campfire everyday, naturally all I could think about everyday was roasting some smellows and eating s’mores. Zoe dressed in a Nagua and did a pretty killer job of introducing herself in the indigenous language. I think she is going to need to return for a longer stay because my people want to know when she is coming back.

As Zoe was leaving I had some other visitors come who are sure to come visit again, parasites. This is something that would have been quite frightening in the past but now is just a bond between the other Peace Corps volunteers. Hiked out of sight to come to the doctors for a few days to take care of that and then off to Ngäbere language training. Had several days of language training with other other volunteers at another volunteer’s site in the Comarca, taught by language professors of Peace Corps. Great experience to not only have a better grasp on the language but also to hang out with other volunteers.

Back in site I have been busy hunting down the wood guy with the chainsaw to build my house. He doesn’t live in my community so it has been interesting getting him to commit to do it. However, once this guy started working he cruised right through it. It is a pretty special experience getting to being a part of building your house from square one. I got to watch him cut down the trees, and then saw the wood into boards. We then gathered a bunch of community members to carry the wood on our shoulders to my plot. I got to pick how big my pith was and where the windows go and how many benches to build. The whole process has been tough but is now so rewarding, I have my first house! To me it’s the most perfect little peace corps house. I have stayed in my house just one night because I had to leave site to do some post thanksgiving food gorging with my fellow peace corps volunteers. However, my first night already had a surprise.

I am all cuddled up in my sleeping bag liner and fuzzy blanket in my canopy of mosquito netting. It is 5 am and I hear thump, thump. I shine my light in that direction and see nothing. I crawl out of my mosquito net and place my soap and chloro back on the shelf. I crawl back into bed again and hear another thump. This time I know it’s got to be an animal. So this time I investigate a bit more before leaving the comfort of my “princess tent”. I am scanning with my light and make it to the roof where the crossbeam is right below the zinc. Who do I find there? My new friend Ratatouille is staring at me with glowing eyes not moving a muscle. I grab my broom and stand up on my bed and try to swat her out of the house. That couldn’t have backfired more and she crawled down into the house and his behind and extra board I had. I finally chase her back up with my broom but she then turns and runs along the cross beam into my room! I open my door in case she chooses that route. I swatting her with my broom and she come falling down nearly on the top of my head! I yell probably waking up my neighbors and run her out onto my porch. I have a feeling that’s not the last I have seen of Ratatouille. I then left sight the next day for several days so I think Ratatouille has been throwing a fiesta in my house for several days. I want to give a thanks to the McBees who smuggled baby rats on an airplane from Seattle, WA to Columbus,OH for my 6th birthday. I then had 7 pet female rights over the course of about the next ten years. I think I would have had a lot more fear without of my pet rat background and was also able to tell that Ratatouille was a girl. I am bringing a kitty back into site with me tomorrow so this could be the last we see of Ratatouille….