Day 614

September 14, 2013

    (WARNING: I may come off as a little critical of Panama, but like every big sister loves her little    sister, sometimes she just really annoys the crap out of you--just kidding Sallie, but you should come to visit soon!) 

Hello to all my loyal blogpost readers, if there still are any. I would like to say that these few and far between posts are due to my busy schedule that doesn’t allow me to write—or maybe that nothing is going on, so I have nothing to write about. Really, I have no excuse. Call it laziness or getting used to the life I live here that I just don’t find my daily adventures as crazy or interesting anymore. Bug burns, well onto number three now; large lizards, still here and still green; large quantities of rice, yummm.

A new volunteer moved in to the neighboring community. It nice to have a new neighbor, though, for some reason, it makes me feel old. We are the same age, but seeing some one start the process that I’m finishing up just seems to bring out the grey hairs. As a welcome to the country, ANAM (pana-version of the EPA) invited him along with a member of his community to an environmental conference in Chiriqui, a province that borders Costa Rica. Traveling across the country is quite an adventure in Panama. For Panamanians, it is the ultimate trip. And at times it seems like an unattainable goal. I woke up at 2:30am to catch the first bus, so I could get to the City in time to meet up with the ANAM group who was traveling in there own bus. We were told we were leaving at 6am sharp. I hope that you have all picked up on the intricacies of Panamanian time management, so that you are not surprised to hear that we didn’t get on the road until 7:30am.

After 12 hours in the ANAM bus, we arrived. Just to give everyone a little perspective—Panama City to Boquete, Chiriqui just about 300 miles. But that’s okay, no worrries—the trip home was much worse.

We left late of course, and after 45 minutes of driving we stopped in the capital city of Chiriqui to buy vegetables. Instead of buying veggies from one of the many veggie stands located at every corner, we thought it would be better to collect money and buy from a specific farmer, who would meet us that morning. Well, his car broke down the morning of, and we waited 3 hours for him to get to the city. (ps. I was not a part of this veggie buying coop, I just bought my bag of vegetables from some dude on the road). Well, back on the road—until 45 minutes later when we stopped for lunch—a sit down lunch at a restaurant with a group of 50 people. 

We did eventually get back to the city, but it was too late for the folks on the other side of the canal (me included) to catch a bus to get home, so they sent us home in pick up trucks. I traveled with the new volunteer and his host mom. Their community is a bit closer than mine, so we dropped him off first. He lives about a 20 minute drive off the highway. Due to heavy rains, poor road conditions, a host mom who didn’t want to walk down her driveway, and an ANAM driver who didn’t want to listen to the gringa explaining to him that the button labeled ‘A/C’ on the dash is not the 4-wheel drive, we got stuck at midnight literally in the middle of nowhere. And since the driver did not want to get wet but was anxious to get out of there, I helped to push the truck out of the mud at 1am in the pouring rain. We weren’t successful.

We were able to contact someone else with a truck to pull us out. And the ANAM driver did not let this poor, and some would say embarrassing, example of his driving abilities stop him from taking advantage of his opportunity to hit on the wet, muddy (and not very happy) gringa. He was NOT successful, though who's to say if it was the driving or the several hours that he spent earlier talking about his wife and children. 

I made it home!!! It may have taken 17 hours, several pick up trucks, 14 bags of Doritos and all the patience in the world. But my lovely house welcomed me home at 1 in the morning. 

One of the field trips we took. They make and sell compost, a new idea in Panama
that is just starting to spread. Everyone was so surprised that what they thing of
as trash can serve and purpose and, for some, make money. 

A little bit later on the field trip. We visited a fish farm.
They are developing a new kind of fish to sell to the
US. We weren't allowed to take pictures--I don't really
know why, but it was a big deal. 

Little baby mutant fish and some of the other volunteers. 

Lunch stop on the field trip. 

Pana-version of a brown bag lunch, all wrapped up in a banana leaf. 

My new neighbor. 

Day, I've lost count

 July 30, 2013

What's been going on in Loma Bonita since the last post:

Visit from Rachel, Francie, Sariah and Lily:

Some said that it couldn't be done, that we were crazy to try. Well 'some' may have been right, but we traveled through Panama with twins. Rachel came down with her mom and her twin, baby girls for a week. 

We spent a couple of days traveling around the country seeing the beach and the rainforest. Then we came out to the east side to spend the rest of the week with the folks here in Loma Bonita. The hardest part of the trip may have been convincing the towns people that even though she has two, Rachel loves both of her daughters and is not willing to leave one here in Panama. 

Fourth of July in the USA

I flew home with Rachel to spend the next two weeks stateside. I think it rained more in the States those two weeks than it has all rainy season down here. 

It was a great two weeks, which flew by too quickly--a couple of days in Atlanta, a few in Florida and a couple more in New Orleans with my dad and then back to Panama. I was home long enough to put on several pounds from delicious food that does not include rice or beans. 

Along with driving around the southern US, I, with the help of family and friends, was able to pick up a donation of hats from the Atlanta Braves and several suitcase worth of baseball equipment to donate to the community. 

Mom and Jimmy's visit 

Mom and Jimmy flew back down with me to Panama. They stayed 10 days, all of which we spent in Loma Bonita. Jimmy led a baseball camp in the school, which everyone is still talking about. We also had a community movie night, showing a great American classic, Air Bud. 

Jimmy got to see the iguanas, a pana-softball game and the wonders of outdoor bathrooms. He did really enjoy pana-food. It was actually frightening the amount of pana-food he could put down. He set records that are still being talked about. 

Horseback riding through the fincas. 

Baseball donations from Jimmy's teammates, Coach A and the Braves. Thanks to everyone, it was a huge hit!

Just a little iguana lesson 

No words

Fresh coconut

Had to get through the class before they could go out and play with Jimmy. I'm not sure anyone is paying attention 

This is the before shot of the library, now just waiting for the after

Jimmy enjoying a little interneting at the Avicar 

Movie night in Loma Bonita, Air Bud 

Day 494

May 17, 2013

(Sorry for the delay. A lightning bolt hit the Internet tower, so we've been with out Internet for a bit)

Avocados are here!!!

All of the fruit trees in my yard have been behind schedule. The rainy season, which should have started over a month ago, has just started up a couple of days ago. I would say that we lucked out, that the breezy days of 'summer' lasted longer than we could have hoped for. But, on top of the late fruit season, the large lake near where I live has just about dried up. This lake was created several decades ago to as a hydroelectric plant that provide the electricity for the city and surrounding areas. No water, no electricity. They have canceled schools (even those that don't run on the lake's power) and closed government agencies. In some areas of the country, rivers have dried up leaving communities with limited water--I heard that lots of cows are dying of thirst and hunger from dried up fields.

Other than the water shortage in what should be a very wet country, things are going good down here! The library project is coming along. I got the money from the grant I applied for, so I will be heading with a couple of community members into the city to buy some supplies, books are on there way down, and I have received donations from all over the place. I just started giving library talks to the kids in the school. They've never seen a library, so I'm trying to get them ready for the library when it comes. The student government will be in charge of maintaining the library, making sure it has what it needs and managing the small library fund. They have already started selling banana bread to raise money to buy ink or paper, or whatever the library might need in the future.

The iguanas are still here. They have also been delayed. They should have hatched from their eggs now, but they are taking their time. I went one evening with a community member to check the eggs to see if we could see what was inside the eggs with a flashlight. Iguanas, like chickens, lay eggs whether or not they are fertilized, so we were starting to think that maybe we had some dud nests. Well, in the process, I broke one of the eggs. They are fertilized and coming along. Unfortunately, little Johnny had to die to let us know that there are iguanitas. I was/still am pretty crushed that I killed the baby iguana, but my community thinks that the gringa is acting crazy, again. They find it hilarious and bring it up daily saying that they're going to tell the EPA to fine me.

We made our first eco-stove in Loma Bonita. Traditionally, the people of Panama have cooked they're food outside on what they call 'three rock' stoves. They put three rocks close to eachother, stick a pot on top and build a fire underneath (duh). Well, most people in my community have gas stoves, but they still like to cook certain things outside over the fire--like us and our backyard grills. Well, the three rock stoves are not efficient. They use a lot of wood, which leads to lost time looking for wood and deforestation (a huge problem in Panama, this is why areas of the country are drying up). The stoves also lose heat and produce a lot of smoke, which has led to respiratory issues in some of the women and children who are always around the fires.  The new stoves we are making are much more efficient. They burn wood hotter, which speeds up the cooking process and created less need for fire wood. Also, since they burn hotter, there is less smoke, almost none. Plus they are just so stylish--this is actually why most families want them. They are also free. We make them out of mud bricks that we can make here in the community. 

I also want to say happy birthday to my mom, along with a happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, my mom, Gaga, Rachel, and the list goes on. Also, congrats to the grads, Conner, Abby, John, Jason, Jerrod!! 

Day 472

 April 25, 2013

It's been a little while since the last post, so I'll try to get everyone caught up on the very interesting and exciting life of a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Early in March, I was visited by a new volunteer. She came out for a couple of days to get to know 'the life of a volunteer.' I lucked out and got a great visitor. We spent the time drinking box wine and getting to know each other. We even saw an alligator! We set out to see the howler monkeys and instead ran into a gator. I think she had a pretty good time. She has since been given her community and sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, Congrats and good luck!

On March 13, 2013, on my year anniversary of swearing in as a Volunteer, Loma Bonita got electricity!!! I totally forgot what I was missing. Life is good! I'm trying to get a fridge now. I have coordinated transportation to bring the fridge back from Torti, only problem is now that 4 new communities have electricity, there aren't any fridges--all sold out. I'm still working on it. I think I found some one who will bring me one from the city. Cold beer!!

I went to the yearly fair in Torti later in the month. I went with a couple of other Volunteers. We were the only gringos at the fair, which actually did surprise us. We also didn't get to sit down; we danced to just about every song until 3am. It was a good time! As Americans, the Panamanians think that we enjoy Miller. They are very excited to buy the gringas miller lite. We were bought so many beers, we had to start filling Sara's bag with the ones we couldn't drink.


Celebrated my 2nd birthday in Loma Bonita. It wasn't quite as extravagant as the first. I tried not to remind anyone, but of course some people still knew. All the kids sang happy birthday to me, and a couple of Volunteers came over to my house for the night.

Holy Week is a time of travel for Panama. Everyone leaves to visit family. Now that I have a pana-dad, I have a pana-fam to visit. I traveled with Manolo and 25 family members in the back of a cattle truck to the province of Herrerra to visit family. We left Loma Bonita at 5pm Wednesday evening and arrived at 8am at which time we cracked open the beers. It wasn't a good night, but it was a pretty good morning. It was an amazing experience (trying not to sound too sappy). Many people in my community, including Manolo's family, left the interior of the country to move out East to find land to farm leaving behind family. This was the first time Manolo's family had been back in 35 years. The older generation greeted us with tears, excited to see adults they had only known as children and new generations they knew little of. Everyone was curious to know who the gringa was and what she was doing with the Panamanians in the back of a truck, and with out stopping to think Manolo would just introduce me as "Sara, my daughter."

The community we were visiting ended up being a Volunteer's site, so I got to hang out a bit with another gringa. It was an exhausting but way fun 5 days. We went to the cantina, killed a pig, watched baseball, had an impromptu evangelical service, paseared  out of the back of a truck, fixed a flat tire. We left Sunday morning and traveled all day in the pana-heat and finally got home at 9pm. Long day, but worth it.

In early April, I along with a couple of volunteers went back up to visit our water source. We are going to put a sand filter on our water tank. Our water comes out dirty sometimes, and some people have complained that they are getting sick from the water. I put up some pictures from the hike. This hike we went up higher than we did with my dad. It was the dry season this time around, so we were able to get around easier. Everyone fell on the hike, there are no trails, but I fell the most. Manolo found this to be quite funny. He had to stop each time to laugh at me. Karma did show up at one point. Manolo started to talk crap about my lack of gracefulness and ended up falling down the hill.

Day 419

March 3, 2013

Hello All,

We are starting a library in Loma Bonita!! There are no parks or public areas, no soccer fields or playgrounds in the community. Kids drive their parents and the teachers crazy after school looking for stuff to do. There have even been incidents in the past with kids getting hit by cars or causing accidents playing too close to the highway, so I want to start a library/after school play space.

We are all very excited about the coming library. After much discussion, we have decided to put the library in the school, where it can be used by teachers and students during the day, and hopefully by the rest of the community in the afternoons and evenings. We're looking for help everywhere, local elected officials, the Ministry of Education, libraries in Dekalb County; we've been pretty lucking so far. We are hoping to put books, games, art supplies, computers, a TV and DVD player in the library. I want this space to be a place for kids to play and also a place where we can have community activities for everyone; movie nights, technology classes, homework help, resource center.

When I first started talking about starting a library, no one showed too much interest. I realized nobody knew what I was talking about; there are no libraries in the area. So, I brought some books and board games that I bought at the thrift store back down with me after New Years. I opened up a 'mini' library on my front porch and invited all the kids to play. Well, the idea has since taken off. I have between 5- 15 kids at my house everyday playing memory, jenga, uno and putting together puzzles. I had to put open and closing times on the library, and all the kids show up running everyday at 3pm. One day, I was 20 minutes late. I had gone to the Regional Office of the Ministry of Education to talk with the Regional Director, and the bus dropped me off at the bus stop at 3:23. The kids spotted me from the top of the hill and came running, "Beth is here!" I didn't make it to my house before I was trailed by a cloud of library patrons. The 'mini' library has provided me with a good opportunity to teach the kids how to use a library. How to turn the pages of a book; to wash one's hands before playing; to put one game up before starting the next. They have also learned that the Gringa can kick some butt in jenga.

We're just starting the project, getting the community excited, looking for support, applying for grant money. I am really excited about this project. I hope that it will be something that the community can use for years and years. I'll keep everyone posted!

Other updates:
Another Iguana laid her eggs: 27 eggs this time. Still waiting on 6 others.

I passed the firefighter inspection and have been told that people will start connecting the houses this week (what's that saying about fool me once, fool me twice? I don't know if i'm being hopefully or just pathetic).

The new volunteer group is here, and a volunteer will be coming out to stay with my for a couple of days to see how volunteer life is.

There was a roadblock today (3/4/13). This is Panamanians' main way of protesting. They block off a road, the Interamerican highway in this case, and wait for a government official to come out and chat. My community wasn't running this block, but it was in the community. The highway, only road on this side of the country, was completely blocked for 6ish hours. You an see some of the traffic in the pictures.

Day 401

February 13, 2013 

Happy Ash Wednesday!!

I just got back from Catholic Mass, where I got ashed by a Father in Spanish. Who would have thought that Peace Corps would broaden my horizons in so many ways? The Priest also invited me to come with him and the nuns to a vigil very far away. I have no idea what I just got myself into, but I'll let you all know.

Now for the Iguana Update:

It is egg laying season for Iguana, like you all know (of course). Iguanas lay once a year. They can lay anywhere between 10 and 70+ eggs, but they're kinda like chickens in that, they lay the eggs whether they're fertilized or not. The lady Iguana keeps the iguanas inside her for a couple of months until they get so big that she can't fit any food inside her (we know to put them in the egg laying chamber when they stop eating). Then she will come down from the trees and look for a good spot to dig a hole on a sandy river bank, sometimes digging several fake holes to throw off the other lady iguanas, who will look for nest, kill the eggs and lay her own in that same hole.

In Loma Bonita, our first iguana has laid her eggs!!! We are all so proud. She laid 26 eggs, but 2 were broken. So, we moved 24 eggs to the incubator. The incubator is a buck half filled with sand, layer of eggs, and topped off with more sand and then put in a hole in the ground and protected from pests (chickens, ants, dog, hungry panamanians).

Now, we wait 70-75 days for the eggs to hatch (if they are fertilized). Plus we have 7 other ladies getting ready to lay. Keep an eye out for an egg count, and in a couple of months, a baby count! I told the iguana group that they would soon be parents to 200 baby iguanas--that did not please them. I am very excited!!!

When the babies come, they will need to be handled daily (so they will be accustomed to people) and measured to make sure they are growing.

I'll put the pictures up on Facebook 

Day 391

February 3, 2013

The last two weeks have flown by, but still it seems like forever since I was in the States.  I've talked about it with some other volunteers; we call it the Peace Corps time warp. Weeks fly, days drag, lives in the states stand still, while everything seems to change so quickly.

Anyway... I went to the river with Sr Jose to get sand to make the Iguana egg laying chamber last week. While Jose didn't let me use a shovel, he did let me hold the bag while he shoveled in the sand, can anyone say progress (hint of sarcasm)! He also listened to my Iguana pointers. Nobody has laid yet, but they still have till the end of February until we get worried.

I went with a friend, who lives in an indigenous community (Woonaan), to what we were told was a cultural event--everyone would be dancing and singing and what not. We got out of the back of a pick-up only to realize that we had been told wrong (not unusual). It was the 'Congreso'. Congresos are held every 3 years. A representative from all the Woonaan communities in the Darien get together to bring up issues and discuss solutions and laws and community stuff. Pretty cool! Except...Sara and I were asked to get up in front of the 200+ people and introduce ourselves and explain what we are doing in Panama, wonderful--nothing like spur of the moment, public speaking in a foreign language to get the day going.

We had another regional meeting. We have these meetings with all the volunteers in the area every trimester, and this was my third (one year, just about, done). After the meeting we had a talent show. I can't tell you how dangerous too much spare time can be! These people are weird, you guys are just lucky that I have been able to find productive uses for my time (Harry Potter, here we go again!).

After the meeting, I headed home with a close volunteer to her lake front community. We had a good time eating good food, chatting, and exploring the caves near her site.

Last, but not least, Loma Bonita hosted their first cock fight last night. Interesting... The majority of the people at the fight were not from the community, and I don't know that the people here really knew what to do with themselves. I don't know how the fights went, I didn't stay and watch, but the partying lasted until 5am. And people were still in the bus stops waiting for the bus this morning when I was on my way to church. Community members must have joined in at some point because just about no one came to church this morning. Just my luck, I was giving a presentation to solicit help with my library project, and there were only about 25 people--at least those 25 seemed interested.

Pictures will be on Facebook