1 week in La Pena (Initial Site Visit)

Initial Site Visit.

Rodrigo (my main counterpart) and I met in Cuidad del Saber and we spent almost the whole day together. It was intense. Mostly, because you’ve been wed to this person for the next 2 years. (Read: not literally.) But as arranged marriages often do, this one worked out! He and I were able to chat comfortably in English (woot!) and I learned about his lovely family and actual wife of 22 years, who is a teacher at the elementary school in my city of La Peña. 

We then headed the next morning to my dear La Peña. We drove in his car (luxury!) while the other chumps had to bus with their counterparts. My voyage was 3-4 hours with him, and we chatted the whole time. We even stopped at a fonda for a snack and tour a slight detour to see La Chica, a beautiful mountainous site that he warned me is absolutely unlike my site. Damn Steph! (There is a girl in the CEC group who is located in La Chica now.) So, we continued our happy journey and we finally arrived in Santiago. We had time to kill, so we grabbed lunch and did a driving tour of Santiago. 

As we finally approached La Peña, I became really frustrated at the looks of my new home. It is not the beautiful tropical paradise of my dreams. And I tried to “lock it up” and hold myself together, but it was a struggle at first. I mean, I was cranky and tired, and just wanted to go to my new home for that week for a nap. But then I was carted to the school and was shown off in a few classrooms before settling in a different classroom.

Rodrigo had left me at this point and I was in the care of Dannet, another counterpart. I have 7. We sat in a teacher’s classroom watching videos about the effects of abortion, and I just thought, uhhh – where am I? Then finally – like 1.5 hours later – Dannet and this other teacher and I all got into a car. And we drove to my future home… BUT I hadn’t realized that this teacher I had been in the classroom with was my new mom! Wonder of Wonders! I don’t know if I wasn’t told or if I hadn’t understood. A lot of times things are not communicated well, so it really could be either. I found myself in a house with Dannet and Arlenis (my new Panamom). And out came the guabanana chicha. Mmmm. What a perfect treat. (Like a nice fruit juice.)

And then I met my family: Abuelo (gpa); Joselyn (17); & Josmel (14). We have another brother, Joseph, but he wasn't at home. There's a housekeeper: Marina, and her son Elvin (10) comes over every day after school. (Marina now likes to try to scare me everyday. No seriously. It's kind of awesome, but yet, I do jump on a regular basis! She's sneaky!) She also has another son, Jose who goes to my colegio, and a daughter too there. I haven’t met the daughter yet.  And I learned through my dear pal Elvin that Joseph works in the city (Panama) in the airport or something like that.  I thought something tragic had happened to the father, or they had divorced, but come late Thursday night, someone opened my door abruptly and turned on the light and then turned it off super fast. His eye contact said – AHH!, so I felt comforted by that reaction. I thought it was my little brother and that I’d have to speak to him the next day, but then the next day at breakfast, I see a new man. Hmm – we do have a dad! Again – was I told? Who knows. He works as a teacher in the Conmarca (read: indigenous type reservation) Teachers do not get to choose where they are placed in Panama. It’s a bizarre, bizarre situation. So, my sister is a beauty queen –no seriously – and my brother loves the rodeo. Genetically, it’s unclear how this happened, but it’s pretty great. Josmel dreams of going to Texas for vacation to see rodeos… Joselyn dreams of going to Disney. They’ve been many places in the US already, and Abuelo is very well traveled. 

On my first or second full day, I got up and ready to go according to the schedule, and was taking my time eating because I knew I had time, and Marina said, "Kelly, they're outside for you!" And I freaked because I was not ready at all. So I popped my head outside and requested 5 minutes. They (2 of my 7 counterparts) said that was fine. I have no idea why they were so early. So 2 men and I squeeeezed in to the front of a pimped out truck. (And I mean squeezed.) Talk about first impressions. I've literally just met these two men, and now I'm sandwiched between them as we headed to the colegio (secondary school). Thankfully, it was a short ride, but man - short but awkward. It seems that all cars here are stick shift, so my leg had become a part of the shifting process. Classic first day. 

Later that day, we squeezed into the back seat of another counterpart's car, because she uses the front seat for her school bags. We went to Santiago and did more touring. It was very nice how they took time to introduce me to things. We went to the Panamanian history museum and they just watched me looking at things. That was strange, but I realized that they wanted to ensure I was having a good time and that I would choose La Peña as my site. They seemed scared I would want to have a different site. (Ha! As if I got to choose!) I was asked about my religious beliefs, my political beliefs (ex. did you vote for President Obama? Why or why not?), and my stance on the recent Summit of the Americas. I laughed and told my counterpart who inquired that he was asking quite personal questions, but I answered. I figured, what the heck! Another counterpart inquired if I was "free to marry a Panamanian." I laughed and said, I guess so. He seemed impressed. Maybe he thought I had a family back home? I'm not sure. But another counterpart responded just then- oh you're single, that's why you're so relaxed. I found that hilarious. In case someone out there thinks that was inappropriate - I'm asked ALL THE TIME about my marital status. It's just a question here. My host dad was shocked I didn't have any children. I was shocked he thought I would leave my children to join the PC. 

During the visit I was able to meet Nico (Nick) who was the volunteer in La Peña before me. It was cool to meet him and his gf. They are apparently DC bound, so that’s just kind of a small world reality, even though I do realize it’s not that crazy for RPCV (Returned Volunteers) to be in DC.

I got to see my future home – needs some work… and I bought some of his stuff off of him. He threw out a number and I just said yes. Honestly, not even sure what I bought. Ha. I trusted him though? He did show me around some parts of Santiago, and I met up with Ben at this youth center, and that was fun to see what Ben is up to, because he lives in Santiago, which is close to where I live.

And then there was a Despedida for Nico at the school, which was really special to experience. A girl sang a song – hilariously it was Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You”, but the point was that she was singing in English, not that Nico had actually destroyed her self esteem like the song suggests. My counterparts gave me a key chain and adorable handmaid earrings that look like a macaw. Counterparts below (L to R) Rodrigo, Alipio, Nilvia, Dannet, me, Nico, Amarilis, Evaristo, y Rafael.  

And finally, during the weekend - I was fortunate enough to go with Nico (PCV), Dannet (counterpart) and her daughter, Amarilis (counterpart) and her son, and Rodrigo (counterpart) and his wife, son, and daughter to LA PONDEROSA! It was fun. We swam, ate a great meal, played volleyball, and looked at the animals. It's essentially a strange zoo place, but there's a nice big pavilion with hammocks and there's a bar. It's a chill place for great family fun. You do have to pay more to use the pool, unfortunately, but other than that - it's pretty sweet. Honestly, I had a blast. I felt wined and dined by my counterparts, and it was really special for me to meet some of the family members of these great folks. And it was great to have another day hanging out with Nico before he jetted off.

So, after reflecting on my new home I realized at first I was disappointed and upset. It was hot and wasn’t that pretty. BUT the people were nice. They were so nice! So, I concluded that La Peña is my new Ohio. Let me explain. I LOVE going to Ohio to see my family. I find it relaxing, stimulating, and just good ole fun. I always feel cherished and accepted. I eat good food and often get spoiled. Not everyone in the states would love to visit Ohio. There’s no beaches, it looks like other states in the midwest, and the weather is pretty miserable in the winter. But man – there’s some great festivals, some great food & drink, and some great people. 
I am counting on La Peña being my new Ohio. 

Much love to my real Ohio family.