Day 108

April 27, 2012

Finally made it successfully to the Internet cafe near me! I had to wait in line behind 20 teenagers, but I'm here--online. I have some pictures that I want to share, but I'll have to consolidate then on my USB so I don't have to download them all and then delete them off the computer. 

Getting back into campo life after a weekend in the city was a little rough, having the reminder of what exists on the other side of the Canal so fresh in my mind. I was told by just about every member of my community that my future landlord (hopefully) showed up on Saturday while I was away. Of course! And he didn't leave the keys or any information with his sister, so I don't know anything new. I did get some seeds in the mail from Gaga and Granddad, so I'm going to get started on my garden, and everything else better fall into place! 

On Thursday, I went to a neighboring community with some of the kids from my school for a regional soccer tournament. I live in a Latino community, but the region I live in is home to several different indigenous groups. The community hosting the tournament is Kuna, and all the other schools present were from indigenous communities. Looking around at the other teams, I thought we might have a good chance of bringing home a trophy. Well, I have learned my lesson in judging sporting events based on stereotypes. Not everyone in Panama plays soccer, which probably means there are some white men out there who can jump. I could not stop laughing through out the whole game, which did not help me fit into a crowd where I was already the only white person. My teacher was so embarrassed, she tried to recruit teachers from other schools to help and at one point scouted players from other teams to trade shirts with her kids and play for her team. At one point, we only had three kids from Loma Bonita on the field; we still lost. 

I woke up this morning to the usual noise outside my house. But like normal, I tried not to make an appearance until 7am. I like to read a little and have a little alone time while the house is still cool enough to stay inside. I was beckoned by my host mother at 6:30 because there was someone outside looking for me. A neighbor had come by to bring me a bunch of plantains fresh from their yard. It was very nice, and I am very grateful. But there are few things I want at 6:30 in the morning, and plantains is not one of them. 

Since I was up, I decided to go ahead and get started on washing some clothes. Well, right in the middle of scrubbing some underwear, around the back of the house comes my host father telling me there is someone here looking for me. Who could this be? Just my boss from Panama City, someone from the office in DC and the head boss of the Panamanian version of the EPA! Oh the life of a PC Volunteer. They told us to always be ready for anything, but that leaves a girl very little time to wash her undies.

Things are going well here, and despite the daily, awkward events, I am really enjoying my time in Loma Bonita. Jay-Pup is doing well. He is learning not to pee inside the house which is helping with my international peace keeping mission. It is hard to defend the US Constitution and keep my puppy away from my host mother.