You know that feeling when you finally get home after a long day of hiking in the sun and harvesting beans and you can rest by yourself in your hammock with a cup of coffee. I do, and let me tell you, its wonderful. As much as I have enjoyed the benefits of living with host families, its glorious to finally have my own house. I am able to cook for myself, be on my own schedule, and not be woken up multiple times in the middle of the night to simply be asked, "que hora, Melidi?". Never in my life did I think the first house i would own would be made completely of bamboo, panka leaves, rope, and have a dirt floor, but I couldn't love it anymore. And people have been stopping by, giving me housewarming gifts...which is generally green bananas, but sometimes they even bring cooked food to my house. I think many are concerned that I don;t know how to cook at all. but, I'm not complaining. free food is free food. I must still be in that college mentality.
Currently, there are lots of things going on to report. Since I've spent about 5 months in site now, and 7 in Panama, I've become more and more accoustomed to the lifestyle here and have a good grip on the community. Because of this... and the In Service Training I have coming up, I am starting to organize a few groups in the community to start latrine projects and the possibility of getting a health post in my town. So far, we're just talking about the necesities of parts of the community and creating a census, but it is great to see people putting their trust in me and stepping forward to work together to better the community. The first step to development is always the hardest...but it's coming along...one meeting, and lots of cups of coffee, at a time.
Even though I am adjusting more and more to the culture, I am still witnessing crazy cross cultural experiences everyday. I have one story I would like to share. This was probably one of the most intense days of my entire life, but very thought-provoking. So I figured this would be something to blog about.
I finally made it up the hill to my host families house. I was sweating bastante and dragging my feet through the mud after a long day of hauling bamboo for my house. I plopped down on the front porch and thought I would rest for a bit before I mustered up enough energy to walk down to the nearst stream to shower. Just then my host mom, Domitilla, came out the front door and said, "Bron Melidi!" meaning lets go. So, I got up and hiked a half hour farther into the mountains.
I had heard from various people in the community that a young woman in town, Isenia, was very sick and was staying at her mother in laws house high in the mountains. Isenia lives most of her time in Panama City, but comes to Cerro Banco every few weeks to visit. Because of this she is very open and a little more comfortable with outsiders. Isenia was one of the first people I met in the community and really made me feel like home here. She is one of those happy-go-lucky girls who will stop and talk to you and who everyone in town knows and loves. I would call her one of my best friends in Cerro Banco. So, I told my host family that I would love to pay her a visit sometime soon. And apparently, that was now. So off we went..tired, drenched in sweat, and nearing dark. When I had asked what kind of sickness she had, people hesitated to answer, but told me she was weak, couldn't walk, and having fits. I assummed it was some sort of epilepsy and urged them to take her to the doctor. They said the doctors couldn't help for something like this. It was spiritual. When I got to her house, it was surrounded by crosses made out of sticks staked into the ground and community members huddled together. I immediately realized I was completely unprepared for what I was about to experience. I was handed a banana leaf and was instructed to use it as a fan for my face, then I was motioned to enter the house. The door to house was completely barracaded by various kinds of vines, leaves and other plants that I needed to limbo through. When I made it inside, I was completely surrounded by smoke and saw a few people and 2 girls lying on the floor, unconscious. Not only was Isenia struck with this illness, but another young girl aound 15 years old was sick as well. I was told they had been sleeping for abuot 30 minutes and they were breathing slow. As I leaned over to check Isenia's pulse, I noticed she was soaking wet, had a cross made out of ashes on her forehead, and her hands were tied together. Confused and scared, I backed away. And then it started. Isenia started to scream and throw her body around, as if she was writhing in pain. The people surrounding her rushed to hold her down and tried to calm her down by talking to her, while the others threw some sort of water mixed with natural medicines on her. Just then our local pastor grabbed her forehead and started yelling in Ngabere, the local indigenous language here of which I can only speak a little. As I watched her struggle, tears immediately rolled down my eyes and I felt compltely useless. This lasted for a few minutes until she passed out again. By now it was around 9pm and my stress level was at an all time high. I asked around if there was anything I could do to help, but they all said no, just being there in solidarity was enough. But, feeling overwhelmed and in the way, I decided to step outside for some fresh air. Outside, there were probably about 30 people from my community also there in support. Many brougth tarps to sleep on and others were playing cards and drinking Cacao. Many were even laughing and looked as if they were having a good tine, like it was some sort of party. At the moment, this just enrageed me . How could anyone be smiling at a time like this? Didn't they know what was going on? A little while later, I heard 2 loud shots from inside the house. Paniced, I ran insidode thinking the worst. Fortunately, they were only fireworks, which I was told was to kill the devil. Both girls had woken up again at this time and, although were very weaked, were acting normal and being fed some rice. I stayed inside for awhile and watched as everyone interacting almost as if nothing had happened. They were making jokes and doing anything else they could to lighten the mood and wait through the night. I went back outside again and sat down next to Enrique and asked him what was going on and these two should see medical attention. He explained to me that in life, there are things out of our control that only God can handle. In the meantime, we can only pass the time. We can mourn or we can celebrate life together. That is why people are here. What was happening to Isenia was terrible, but this is what we can do. Starting to understand a little more, I calmed down a bit. Eventually, I was given a place to lie down, but first was washed with a medicine water for prevention of the illness.
Isenia was forced to stay up in that house in a small cage for 2 months without once leaving while she recovered. The curer she was seeing said it was a necessary process for healing. I tried to make it up there once a week to visit and pass the time with her. She told me she wanted to leave, but she was in danger of hurting the others around her if she did so.
Isenia is much better now. In fact, she surprised me the other day by visiting me at my house and brining over some rice. She is still that same smiling girl. I still don't understand why she was given an exorcism, forced to stay up there so long, and frankly, anything that happened up there that night. But it did make me think about spirits, diseases, and the freedoms and opportunities we have in the states.
More blogs to come soon...
Love,
Kayla
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Nantore Dere! Or Good afternoon, in Ngabere. I'm very slowly picking up the native dialect here, which has been halpful to integrate more into the community.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season! For Christmas, my host family was travelling to another community about 4 hours away on foot. As luck would have it, another volunteer, Aleah, who is a year into her service, lives right on the way. So I went to her community to celebrate Christmas. Although there is very little that goes on for Christmas in the Comarca, especially in my community because of the lack of money, a few families in Aleah's community organized a lunch celebration. So Aleah and |I spent Christmas eve and Christmas day baking cakes and carmel corn for the kids. Of course at the celebration both Aleah and I were asked to stand and say a few words about Christmas. We ended up singing a few Christmas carols in English- which gave us tons of blank stares, but a loud round of applause. We finished off Christmas day by cracking open coconuts that were gifted to us with our machetes. A step up from egg nog, I think...if only we had some rum to go with it.
For New Years I stayed in Cerro Banco to celebrate with my community. In Panama, it's typical to make a "muñeco" which is basically a scarecrow that they call "the viejo," or the old. Then at midnight on New Years Eve, they burn it to signify burning the old and bringing in the new. So my host family and I made a viejo, I helped stuff the doll and drew the face. On New Years Eve, I spent the evening lying in a hammok, drinking coffee, eating bananas, and gossiping with two of my better friends in the community. We had a great time. Once midnight hit, we light a firecracker...which scared me half to death, and burned the viejo. Then, naturally, I passed out because my usual bed time in site is somewhere between 8:30 and 9.
It was really great to be apart of the holiday celebrations here, but this time does make me think a lot about life here in general. Living up in the mountains is beautiful. Most the time I think anyone would be so lucky to experience life up here- working in the beautiful atmoshpere, eating naturally off the land. And then i think the exact opposite. The lack of opportunities and poverty here hits outsiders hard. Since there is currently no acueduct in my site, we drink water from the river, which is full of bacteria. This is fine for the adults, because they have developed immunity and grown accostumed to this. However, it makes the kids extremely sick. Many children here have extended stomachs full of amebos or worms and are sick with diarrhea. Unfortunately it is common for families to have lost a child due to this. This for me is the hardest thing about being here and witnessing first hand. But what I do love is that many people in my community are generally concerned with the health of their children here. In fact, the most functional committee in my community is the PTA and health comittee in the school.
There are many times I feel like I should just donate all the money I have here and then leave because that would be the most helpful. However doing that would not provide any type of sustainable development and probably benefit only a few families, and not an entire community. Also the cultural exchange aspect and most importantly the education factor would be lost. Now that I have spent two and a half months in site, people have been getting to know me and more and more, and are getting comfortable with the gringa who lives here. Soon, I will be starting work in projects including health lessons, latrine building, and possibly having a muchachas guias group (girl scouts). But for now, I'm still enjoying time with people, making friends in the community, (which I love to do), and avoiding the snakes.
Thnaks for reading
Be well,
Melidi
I hope everyone had a great holiday season! For Christmas, my host family was travelling to another community about 4 hours away on foot. As luck would have it, another volunteer, Aleah, who is a year into her service, lives right on the way. So I went to her community to celebrate Christmas. Although there is very little that goes on for Christmas in the Comarca, especially in my community because of the lack of money, a few families in Aleah's community organized a lunch celebration. So Aleah and |I spent Christmas eve and Christmas day baking cakes and carmel corn for the kids. Of course at the celebration both Aleah and I were asked to stand and say a few words about Christmas. We ended up singing a few Christmas carols in English- which gave us tons of blank stares, but a loud round of applause. We finished off Christmas day by cracking open coconuts that were gifted to us with our machetes. A step up from egg nog, I think...if only we had some rum to go with it.
For New Years I stayed in Cerro Banco to celebrate with my community. In Panama, it's typical to make a "muñeco" which is basically a scarecrow that they call "the viejo," or the old. Then at midnight on New Years Eve, they burn it to signify burning the old and bringing in the new. So my host family and I made a viejo, I helped stuff the doll and drew the face. On New Years Eve, I spent the evening lying in a hammok, drinking coffee, eating bananas, and gossiping with two of my better friends in the community. We had a great time. Once midnight hit, we light a firecracker...which scared me half to death, and burned the viejo. Then, naturally, I passed out because my usual bed time in site is somewhere between 8:30 and 9.
It was really great to be apart of the holiday celebrations here, but this time does make me think a lot about life here in general. Living up in the mountains is beautiful. Most the time I think anyone would be so lucky to experience life up here- working in the beautiful atmoshpere, eating naturally off the land. And then i think the exact opposite. The lack of opportunities and poverty here hits outsiders hard. Since there is currently no acueduct in my site, we drink water from the river, which is full of bacteria. This is fine for the adults, because they have developed immunity and grown accostumed to this. However, it makes the kids extremely sick. Many children here have extended stomachs full of amebos or worms and are sick with diarrhea. Unfortunately it is common for families to have lost a child due to this. This for me is the hardest thing about being here and witnessing first hand. But what I do love is that many people in my community are generally concerned with the health of their children here. In fact, the most functional committee in my community is the PTA and health comittee in the school.
There are many times I feel like I should just donate all the money I have here and then leave because that would be the most helpful. However doing that would not provide any type of sustainable development and probably benefit only a few families, and not an entire community. Also the cultural exchange aspect and most importantly the education factor would be lost. Now that I have spent two and a half months in site, people have been getting to know me and more and more, and are getting comfortable with the gringa who lives here. Soon, I will be starting work in projects including health lessons, latrine building, and possibly having a muchachas guias group (girl scouts). But for now, I'm still enjoying time with people, making friends in the community, (which I love to do), and avoiding the snakes.
Thnaks for reading
Be well,
Melidi
Thursday, December 16, 2010
COWS
Coming from a high school where I was constantly ridiculed by for being known as a "hick" and holding events like cow pie bingo, and then continueing at UC Davis, where I lived closer to the cows pen then my classes...you would think i would have had my fill of cows.
Clearly not. Throughout the mountains where I live, there are various cows that roam the land. But these aren't just ordinary cows, they're Panamanian gigante cows. Some are with horns, some have big humps on their back, and all constantly look angry. Naturally, they freak me out, considering I used to be scared that the chickens we're going to attack me all the time. Recently, I've had some great encounters with these cows.
#1 Awhile back I was going on a long hike to another community by myself to meet new people. During the hike I passed a Ngabe woman who I stopped to greet and talk to. After discussing the weather and getting asked the usual questions (mostly: why aren't you married?, where are your kids?, how come you're so tall?, and why are they're brown speckled dots all over your face and arms?) She asked me if i was scared of cows. Trying to be tough and not wanting to seem like a sissy gringa, I lied. "no, no me molesta," I say. She replies, "oh good...because there is a HUGE herd of them blocking the path up ahead...and you're wearing red, which makes them angry." As she turned to leave I interrupted her and shouted, "I lied!" I'm actually terrified of cows. She laughed and then ran into the forest with her machete. A few minutes later she returned with a freshly made spear (because everyone can make spears out of machetes)and said here, take this to protect you, you'll be fine. And she went on her way. So there I was, alone in the middle of a mountain range walking on a path holding a spear out in front of me waiting for something to charge. As I turned the corner a few minutes later I indeed came across about 15 to 20 cows just hanging out. With no way to pass them and no better idea of what to do I just started waving the spear around crazily and yelling. Right then, the campesino who owned all the cows popped up from the other side and asked what i was doing. I'm sure my face immediately matched the color of my bright red shirt. I said, oh you know...just dancing." Confused, he moved the cows for me and I awkwardly thanked him and continued up the mountian laughing at myself. However, I still walked holding the spear straight out in front of me for the rest of the hike.
#2 So I just recently moved to a new host familly. For my first 3 months I'm living in 3 different host families in order to get to know more people. My new family is incredibley sweet and welcomed me into their house by having a midnight meet and greet/induction ceromony with all the neighbors (which consisted of 20 Ngabes in a dark room sitting on a bench and staring at the the white girl sitting in front of them). This family lives on a compound a good 30 to 40 minute hike away from the center of town and has quite possibly the best sunsets I have ever seen. I love it. I sleep in a bed that they made for me in their kitchen, which has no doors, which is somewhat common for Ngabe houses. On my first night there, I went to bed and fell asleep immediately, exhausted from all the commotion of the induction. A few hours later I woke up to some sort of crunching noise. Because we live in the mountains with no electricity for miles, it is pitch black at night, to a point where you cant see your hand in front of your face. Just thinking it was a chicken, I turned over and went back to sleep. Then the noise got louder. So I fumbled for my head lamp, sat up, and flashed on the light to find 2 massive white cows standing right in front of me chewing on my mosquito net! Thankfully my high-pitched girlish scream scared them just as much as they scared me, so they ran from the house...breaking part of the panka roof on their way out. Of course word that Melidi is scared of cows spread like rapid fire around the compound and it has been a running joke for the past week.
Often times I just feel that I'm in the Peace Corps simply to provide comic relief to the people in Cerro Banco. I love it. If I can make someone laugh or smile during the day, I feel like thats a success.
In other news, as promised to many, here is my address in David where I can get mail.
Kayla Howard-Anderson
Cuerpo de Paz
Entrega General David- 0426
Provincia de Chiriqui
Republica de Panama
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far and singing lots of Christmas carols. I am currently teaching the 6th grade class how to sing jingle bells for Christmas. It's still a work in progress. Until next time...
Paz,
Kayla/Melidi
Clearly not. Throughout the mountains where I live, there are various cows that roam the land. But these aren't just ordinary cows, they're Panamanian gigante cows. Some are with horns, some have big humps on their back, and all constantly look angry. Naturally, they freak me out, considering I used to be scared that the chickens we're going to attack me all the time. Recently, I've had some great encounters with these cows.
#1 Awhile back I was going on a long hike to another community by myself to meet new people. During the hike I passed a Ngabe woman who I stopped to greet and talk to. After discussing the weather and getting asked the usual questions (mostly: why aren't you married?, where are your kids?, how come you're so tall?, and why are they're brown speckled dots all over your face and arms?) She asked me if i was scared of cows. Trying to be tough and not wanting to seem like a sissy gringa, I lied. "no, no me molesta," I say. She replies, "oh good...because there is a HUGE herd of them blocking the path up ahead...and you're wearing red, which makes them angry." As she turned to leave I interrupted her and shouted, "I lied!" I'm actually terrified of cows. She laughed and then ran into the forest with her machete. A few minutes later she returned with a freshly made spear (because everyone can make spears out of machetes)and said here, take this to protect you, you'll be fine. And she went on her way. So there I was, alone in the middle of a mountain range walking on a path holding a spear out in front of me waiting for something to charge. As I turned the corner a few minutes later I indeed came across about 15 to 20 cows just hanging out. With no way to pass them and no better idea of what to do I just started waving the spear around crazily and yelling. Right then, the campesino who owned all the cows popped up from the other side and asked what i was doing. I'm sure my face immediately matched the color of my bright red shirt. I said, oh you know...just dancing." Confused, he moved the cows for me and I awkwardly thanked him and continued up the mountian laughing at myself. However, I still walked holding the spear straight out in front of me for the rest of the hike.
#2 So I just recently moved to a new host familly. For my first 3 months I'm living in 3 different host families in order to get to know more people. My new family is incredibley sweet and welcomed me into their house by having a midnight meet and greet/induction ceromony with all the neighbors (which consisted of 20 Ngabes in a dark room sitting on a bench and staring at the the white girl sitting in front of them). This family lives on a compound a good 30 to 40 minute hike away from the center of town and has quite possibly the best sunsets I have ever seen. I love it. I sleep in a bed that they made for me in their kitchen, which has no doors, which is somewhat common for Ngabe houses. On my first night there, I went to bed and fell asleep immediately, exhausted from all the commotion of the induction. A few hours later I woke up to some sort of crunching noise. Because we live in the mountains with no electricity for miles, it is pitch black at night, to a point where you cant see your hand in front of your face. Just thinking it was a chicken, I turned over and went back to sleep. Then the noise got louder. So I fumbled for my head lamp, sat up, and flashed on the light to find 2 massive white cows standing right in front of me chewing on my mosquito net! Thankfully my high-pitched girlish scream scared them just as much as they scared me, so they ran from the house...breaking part of the panka roof on their way out. Of course word that Melidi is scared of cows spread like rapid fire around the compound and it has been a running joke for the past week.
Often times I just feel that I'm in the Peace Corps simply to provide comic relief to the people in Cerro Banco. I love it. If I can make someone laugh or smile during the day, I feel like thats a success.
In other news, as promised to many, here is my address in David where I can get mail.
Kayla Howard-Anderson
Cuerpo de Paz
Entrega General David- 0426
Provincia de Chiriqui
Republica de Panama
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far and singing lots of Christmas carols. I am currently teaching the 6th grade class how to sing jingle bells for Christmas. It's still a work in progress. Until next time...
Paz,
Kayla/Melidi
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A Whole New World...
Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to all! I am so thankful for all of you who are taking the time out of your day to read this. It´s so refreshing to know that people are interested in what I´m doing here in Panama. Since I´ve last posted, I´ve finished training, met the president of Panama, swore-in, and have been living in Cerro Banco for the past month.
I live with a family of 13 kids for now, which is at times insane, but it´s been great learning the Ngabe family dynamics. The women, who are typically extremely shy, finally started talking to me a few weeks in and now we can laugh at how terrible I am at weaving chacaras (traditional woven bags), pilaring rice, or using my machete. For the next 2 months, I´ll be living with 2 different host families and then moving into my own house, which I am currently in the process of starting to build. Yes, I am building my own house...who would have thought that would even be possible?
I´ve done so much, and sometimes it feels like so little, in the past month, it´s hard to sum things up. But here are a few things I´ve learned while living in The Bank
1. I LOVE BANANAS
-Ok, I always knew that. But little did I know that if you boil them while they are unripe and green you can eat like 9 or 10 of them for a meal, which I eat at least every other day flavored with Salt or Tang. Also, banana tree leave are used for everything! paper towels, toilet paper, plates, bowls, tops to pans, and they make excellent make-shift umbrellas.
2.You can pretty much do anything you want, as long as you have your machete.
-This includes- making spears, digging holes, planting anything, killing snakes and other unwanted insects, mowing the lawn, and much more. I never thought I would be a proud owner of a machete, but it definitely comes in handy.
3. Silence is Golden.
-Other than librarians, I think ngabes follow this rule more than anyone else. It´s extremely common here to pass the day going to another persons house to visit with them. However, for about 80% of the time no one says anything, which is considered polite. The other day I ate dinner with 8 men after a work party, and for a half hour no one said a word. For someone who loves to talk, this has been quite the adjustment. But I´m definitely coming to enjoy just passing the time with someone in silence. I think it means your comfortable with them.
4. "When a women thinks too much, she dies"
-My host dad told me this the other day and I thought it was kinda funny. At first the feminist in me was initially offended, and I protested. Then I thought about it for a while and realized, yeah, when I think too much, I go crazy.
5. You can kill 2 birds with one stone if you wash your clothes the same time you shower.
-Since there is currently no running water in my site, I bath in the nearest stream. Although it´s refreshing, it´s not very private. So generally I wash the clothes that I´m wearing the same time I wash myself- it´s genious.
6.Skin infections, giardia, blisters, and barbed wire hurt.
-Enough said.
7. It´s totally acceptable to have 7 cups of coffee a day.
-If not coffee, then some sort of juice...possibly made from corn, banana, or pifa. When people go visit friends around town, it is culturally appropriate to give them either something to eat or drink. Although the people do not have much to give, they are very generous with that they do have. This is something I respect lots about this culture.
Although I have TONS more to say, I´ll keep this blog short and sweet as I will be blogging again in a few weeks. Alsol I ´ve posted a few pictures on Facebook...so check it out.
As always, thanks again for reading!
Paz,
Melidi
I live with a family of 13 kids for now, which is at times insane, but it´s been great learning the Ngabe family dynamics. The women, who are typically extremely shy, finally started talking to me a few weeks in and now we can laugh at how terrible I am at weaving chacaras (traditional woven bags), pilaring rice, or using my machete. For the next 2 months, I´ll be living with 2 different host families and then moving into my own house, which I am currently in the process of starting to build. Yes, I am building my own house...who would have thought that would even be possible?
I´ve done so much, and sometimes it feels like so little, in the past month, it´s hard to sum things up. But here are a few things I´ve learned while living in The Bank
1. I LOVE BANANAS
-Ok, I always knew that. But little did I know that if you boil them while they are unripe and green you can eat like 9 or 10 of them for a meal, which I eat at least every other day flavored with Salt or Tang. Also, banana tree leave are used for everything! paper towels, toilet paper, plates, bowls, tops to pans, and they make excellent make-shift umbrellas.
2.You can pretty much do anything you want, as long as you have your machete.
-This includes- making spears, digging holes, planting anything, killing snakes and other unwanted insects, mowing the lawn, and much more. I never thought I would be a proud owner of a machete, but it definitely comes in handy.
3. Silence is Golden.
-Other than librarians, I think ngabes follow this rule more than anyone else. It´s extremely common here to pass the day going to another persons house to visit with them. However, for about 80% of the time no one says anything, which is considered polite. The other day I ate dinner with 8 men after a work party, and for a half hour no one said a word. For someone who loves to talk, this has been quite the adjustment. But I´m definitely coming to enjoy just passing the time with someone in silence. I think it means your comfortable with them.
4. "When a women thinks too much, she dies"
-My host dad told me this the other day and I thought it was kinda funny. At first the feminist in me was initially offended, and I protested. Then I thought about it for a while and realized, yeah, when I think too much, I go crazy.
5. You can kill 2 birds with one stone if you wash your clothes the same time you shower.
-Since there is currently no running water in my site, I bath in the nearest stream. Although it´s refreshing, it´s not very private. So generally I wash the clothes that I´m wearing the same time I wash myself- it´s genious.
6.Skin infections, giardia, blisters, and barbed wire hurt.
-Enough said.
7. It´s totally acceptable to have 7 cups of coffee a day.
-If not coffee, then some sort of juice...possibly made from corn, banana, or pifa. When people go visit friends around town, it is culturally appropriate to give them either something to eat or drink. Although the people do not have much to give, they are very generous with that they do have. This is something I respect lots about this culture.
Although I have TONS more to say, I´ll keep this blog short and sweet as I will be blogging again in a few weeks. Alsol I ´ve posted a few pictures on Facebook...so check it out.
As always, thanks again for reading!
Paz,
Melidi
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Cerro Banco- Comarca Ngäbe Bugle
I´ve know this for quite some time now and trained for it, but now that swear-in is arriving, it all seems surreal. But I´m so excited and anxious to begin.
I just got back from my first site visit to Cerro Banco and things got off to a shaky start. All us trainees went to a conference and a community guide from each of our sites was supposed to come and meet us there so we could have a mini seminar and then each go our separate ways with our guide. However, due to many reasons, my guide could not come, along with 2 other trainees.
Due to the change of plans, my super-awsome PC training director, Juan, drove the 3 of us personally out to our sites to meet our guides. Foustino, my community guide, met me in Oma, which is half an hour North of San Felix of the Pan-American highway. From Oma, Cerro Banco is about an hour and a half hike into the mountains (or 2 hours with a heavy pack). Hiking through these green mountains was incredible. We got to a clearing and I was literally surrounded my mountains on all sides. I felt like the Latina or Indigenous Fraulein Maria and wanted to burst out singing the hills are alive with the sound of music, but I figured I should probably tone my enthusiasum a bit down before I scare the ngäbes.
Once I got to my site I was overwhelmed with emotions. In general, the Environmental Health sector in Panama has the most poor and rural sites in all of Latin America. The Comarca definitely falls under this category. Before going to my site, I was informed that Cerro Banco has no running water, (except for one faucet at the school that works approx 2 days a week) no electricity, and no sanitation facilities (so no latrines orother places to go the bathroom). I totally understood this and was definitely ready to experience it. However, going there and actually seeing and living in it was completely different than I expected. The poverty there is almost unbelievable and it is crazy to think that is how life has always been here. But what was even more incredible was that I was graciously accepted into a community members home to live there for the first month of my service, even though most people are still very confused why there is a Gringa living here.
The moment I got there, I was given a big bowl of rice, beans, and cafe -all staples in the Comarca. One great thing about this place is that even though there is extreme poverty, there seems to be plenty of food to go around, at least in this season. Everyone owns land and works on the farm to harvest and sell food. Also, sharing, especially food, is a huge deal in the ngabe culture. During my fist few days in the community when I went around to each house to introduce myself, I was either given a plate of food, coffee, cacao, or a fresh coconut to drink out of. Another great resource is that Cerro Banco is surrounded my little streams, springs, and rivers. So there is lots of water available right now.
But this leads me to my main source of work. Due to lack of education, money, and other resources lots of people are sick with colds and many children have intestonal problems. This is because soap is a luxury that they do not see or know to be very important. Even worse, it is culturally common to use the same stream where they get there drinking water to use the bathroom. This leads to many illnesses, especially with the children. So there are tons of opportunities for work here, first starting with education. Fortunately there is a governmental agency currently bringing in latrines to Cerro Banco, so I will be working with them and my community to teach them proper usage. This is just one of the many things I will be doing in my community ontop of making friendships and fully integrating into the culture. Although right now I am overwhelemed with everything and realizing that this isn´t going to be an easy adjustment, I´m so excited to start my journey. I´m defintely reminded of my favorite poem, Ithaka. It seems to suit me right now.
¨When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you...
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you...
-planted corn
-carried 2.5 gallons of rocks on my head for and hour uphill...4x
-harvested and pelared rice
-showered in the river, everyday
-collected and dried plants for weaving bags
-had a scorpion on my leg (thankfully it did not sting me)
Thanks for reading as always and keep sending emails! I love hearing from you.
love,
Kayla or Melidi (my Ngabe name)
Friday, September 10, 2010
My first visit to the Comarca
All the volunteers recently had their first site visit to test the waters for 4 days. We were all paired up with a current volunteer to experience life in Peace Corps. I was sent to the Comarca Noge bugle in a small pueblo called Cerro Puerco. Luckily a few other volunteers were sent to nearby areas and we were able to start off traveling together. My journey started when I took a bus from Panama city to David and the bus driver almost missed my stop….so the driver proceeded to back up on the Pan-American highway (only the busiest highway in Panama- no big deal). I was standing up at this point, and due to my extreme clumsiness, I fell down onto the lap a Panamanian woman and we both started laughing. So…I was off to a great start!
Here I met my volunteer that I was to visit. We then needed to take 20 min ride in a pickup truck and then hike for 3 hours down and straight up a mountain. Now, this was quite the adventure. 3 hours of hiking in the rain, dark, copious amounts of mud, and my massive pack (of course I overpacked) To make matters worse, there was a big storm a few days earlier and a tree was covering the usual path, so we got a little lost down by the river trying to find the bridge. It was definitely one of the hardest hikes I’ve done in a while-but it was well worth it! We finally made it safe and sound to my volunteer’s house that she built a few months prior. It is pretty common for an Environmental Health volunteer to build their own house, which is so crazy cool. Hers was made out of bamboo walls, Plancha roof, and a wood floor (which is very uncommon in this area, most locals have dirt floors).
Here are some brief points and highlights of my visit:
- The Comarca Noge bugle is an indigenous group in Panama that live very simple lives up in the mountains. I found them to be pretty shy but extremely generous individuals, as I was given tons of food and drinks from them. I could potentially be placed in one of these indigenous communities and am so excited to learn more about this group of people.
- Aleah, the volunteer I visited is working on providing running water to all her community and adding more latrines. Some of her community has running water, but many people do not. This is a long process of teaching them about water/health safety, and coming up with a plan to make this happen. She showed me her community’s spring, current aqueduct, and water tank.
- We walked through the entire town, meeting and chatting with people of the community. Aleah gave me one of her Naguas to wear, which is the traditional Nobere dress women wear. But of course, it was a little small since I am a bit taller than the average Nobe woman. So naturally every Nobe thought it was hilarious that the dress didn´t fit. I guess so far I´m doing my part as a PCV to provide comic relief to a community.
- One day Aleah and I met up with a few other volunteers that live an hour or 2 hike away and went to this beautiful waterfall that we got to jump through and swim in- totally Last of the Mohicans like. Panama is beautiful. I was literally surrounded by rolling green mountains and rivers. The views are incredible! (And yes, Dad. I’ve seen numerous “sunsets of the week”)
I’m beginning to see what my 2 years could be like, it’s been said (and I’m beginning to understand) that Enivronmental Health volunteers in Peace Corps are sent to the most underdeveloped places, as we are working with these communities to develop the most simple and vital needs- water and sanitation. Because of this, it´s most likely that I will be sent to a place with little access to clean water. Needless to say I wasn’t exactly sure I knew what I was getting myself into before I left. I think its going to be much harder than expected, but SO exciting and necessary. How amazing is it to provide a whole community with better health through clean water and places to use the bathroom! This is going to be quite the adventure that I’m so thrilled to embark on and I feel so blessed to be here.
Thanks for reading…pictures will be coming soon!
Here I met my volunteer that I was to visit. We then needed to take 20 min ride in a pickup truck and then hike for 3 hours down and straight up a mountain. Now, this was quite the adventure. 3 hours of hiking in the rain, dark, copious amounts of mud, and my massive pack (of course I overpacked) To make matters worse, there was a big storm a few days earlier and a tree was covering the usual path, so we got a little lost down by the river trying to find the bridge. It was definitely one of the hardest hikes I’ve done in a while-but it was well worth it! We finally made it safe and sound to my volunteer’s house that she built a few months prior. It is pretty common for an Environmental Health volunteer to build their own house, which is so crazy cool. Hers was made out of bamboo walls, Plancha roof, and a wood floor (which is very uncommon in this area, most locals have dirt floors).
Here are some brief points and highlights of my visit:
- The Comarca Noge bugle is an indigenous group in Panama that live very simple lives up in the mountains. I found them to be pretty shy but extremely generous individuals, as I was given tons of food and drinks from them. I could potentially be placed in one of these indigenous communities and am so excited to learn more about this group of people.
- Aleah, the volunteer I visited is working on providing running water to all her community and adding more latrines. Some of her community has running water, but many people do not. This is a long process of teaching them about water/health safety, and coming up with a plan to make this happen. She showed me her community’s spring, current aqueduct, and water tank.
- We walked through the entire town, meeting and chatting with people of the community. Aleah gave me one of her Naguas to wear, which is the traditional Nobere dress women wear. But of course, it was a little small since I am a bit taller than the average Nobe woman. So naturally every Nobe thought it was hilarious that the dress didn´t fit. I guess so far I´m doing my part as a PCV to provide comic relief to a community.
- One day Aleah and I met up with a few other volunteers that live an hour or 2 hike away and went to this beautiful waterfall that we got to jump through and swim in- totally Last of the Mohicans like. Panama is beautiful. I was literally surrounded by rolling green mountains and rivers. The views are incredible! (And yes, Dad. I’ve seen numerous “sunsets of the week”)
I’m beginning to see what my 2 years could be like, it’s been said (and I’m beginning to understand) that Enivronmental Health volunteers in Peace Corps are sent to the most underdeveloped places, as we are working with these communities to develop the most simple and vital needs- water and sanitation. Because of this, it´s most likely that I will be sent to a place with little access to clean water. Needless to say I wasn’t exactly sure I knew what I was getting myself into before I left. I think its going to be much harder than expected, but SO exciting and necessary. How amazing is it to provide a whole community with better health through clean water and places to use the bathroom! This is going to be quite the adventure that I’m so thrilled to embark on and I feel so blessed to be here.
Thanks for reading…pictures will be coming soon!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Panamania!
Hi friends!
I´ve been in Panama for 11 days now and I´ve already done so much! It´s crazy, but I´m definitely loving my time here. This has been my first time with intenet acess since I´ve left the Peace Corps office in Panama City- so sorry for the delay in updating. Currently, myself and the other 20 environmental volunteers are living in Rio Congo. It's such a cute little town where everyone seems to know each other about an hour outside Panama City. Here we are doing our technical training and language training basically from 8-5 everyday. I´m so pumped to improve in my spanish and start learning about what we will be doing on our sites. Right now we have mostly been learning the type of sustainable and grassroots development practices that we will be doing for the next 2 years. Everything I´ve learned so far has been great and really applicable. During the first few days in Panama all the Trainees went to visit a current PCV at her site and we got to experience a little what her life is like in her town. This coming Thursday all the trainees are going to a current PCV´s site by themselves for a 4 days. I´m going to the Muna district in the Camarca Ngöbe-Buglé region- I can´t wait.
My host family is really great! I have 2 brothers and 1 sister who I share a room with, and they are so sweet. My mom and Dad are also so nice and patient with my spanish. We have a great front and backyard full of chickens and tropical trees. My parents have told me there have 2 little monleys living out there too! I have about a 10 minute walk into town everyday-which is really nice. I'm learning to love cold bucket showers, especially on the hot panamanian days,and getting myself used to the daily hot dog for breakfast.
I´m running out of time, so I should go. If you need to contact me, feel free to send emails and for the next 9 weeksmy address will be¨
Cuerpo de Paz, Edificio 104 1er
Kayla Howard-Anderson
Piso, Avenida Vicente Bonilla
Ciudad del Saber, Clayton
Panama Rep. de Panama
Miss you all!
I´ve been in Panama for 11 days now and I´ve already done so much! It´s crazy, but I´m definitely loving my time here. This has been my first time with intenet acess since I´ve left the Peace Corps office in Panama City- so sorry for the delay in updating. Currently, myself and the other 20 environmental volunteers are living in Rio Congo. It's such a cute little town where everyone seems to know each other about an hour outside Panama City. Here we are doing our technical training and language training basically from 8-5 everyday. I´m so pumped to improve in my spanish and start learning about what we will be doing on our sites. Right now we have mostly been learning the type of sustainable and grassroots development practices that we will be doing for the next 2 years. Everything I´ve learned so far has been great and really applicable. During the first few days in Panama all the Trainees went to visit a current PCV at her site and we got to experience a little what her life is like in her town. This coming Thursday all the trainees are going to a current PCV´s site by themselves for a 4 days. I´m going to the Muna district in the Camarca Ngöbe-Buglé region- I can´t wait.
My host family is really great! I have 2 brothers and 1 sister who I share a room with, and they are so sweet. My mom and Dad are also so nice and patient with my spanish. We have a great front and backyard full of chickens and tropical trees. My parents have told me there have 2 little monleys living out there too! I have about a 10 minute walk into town everyday-which is really nice. I'm learning to love cold bucket showers, especially on the hot panamanian days,and getting myself used to the daily hot dog for breakfast.
I´m running out of time, so I should go. If you need to contact me, feel free to send emails and for the next 9 weeksmy address will be¨
Cuerpo de Paz, Edificio 104 1er
Kayla Howard-Anderson
Piso, Avenida Vicente Bonilla
Ciudad del Saber, Clayton
Panama Rep. de Panama
Miss you all!
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