Mamá sure can throw a party.

Mi mamá was working at the secondary school where I help, but she has changed careers. (A little strange to me, since the change happened over our 1-week school vacation break, but that's how it seems to go down here.) There's apparently no promises that teachers will remain at a school until the end of the school year. For instance, my sister now has a new government teacher. Her former teacher was an attorney, but he realized he had too much work to do both. Now she has a new attorney-teacher.

(Tangent: One PCV commented that she found out a teacher was retiring in the middle of the school year and could not believe that a teacher would be willing to abandon her class in the middle, even if that is when the teacher's retirement date fell. I commented that I absolutely would believe that, and I was asked whether or not I care about the kids. Jigga whaaaa? Firstly, it's not the teacher's fault when the retirement fell - that seems like an administration problem - I don't understand why or how retirement can fall in the middle of a school year, but that teacher should never be shunned for taking it on the date it falls. Additionally, no one would say (in their right mind), oh my goodness - I cannot believe that doctor took his retirement - he still has patients! Even the Pope was allowed to take retirement. It frustrates me when people act like the fate of the world seems to be in the hands of educators. And to act like the teacher is selfish for taking retirement - I'm over that sentiment. I do understand where the PCV was coming from. It seems sad for a teacher to not finish the school year, but the reality is - teachers are replaceable. I left my school year this year right in the middle of the semester after exams. Yes, my students were surprised to learn I'd be leaving at Christmas, but by the end of January at exam time, they were given enough time to emotionally prepare for the change. Anyway. Good teachers are, of course, invaluable, but don't put the fate of the world in the hands of a group of underpaid, overworked, societally under-appreciated workers and then say it's absurd for them to desire to take retirement. Ranteth completeth.)

Back to the party. So, mom now works for MEDUCA, the school system here - oh hey, connections! :)  And she has upped the ante of her other business. In her other business, she delivers perfume, shoes, and other beauty products to people in Santiago. She keeps meticulous records and collects money. I'm not really sure what you would call this, but it seems to be a form of Avon lady, but for more stuff and without any real allegiance to one brand. Last Wednesday, there was a huge party celebrating the grand opening of her business. We visited the office in the past, so I knew something was going down - but I didn't grasp the extent of this business. I thought she had 2 partners in her business, because during the ribbon cutting ceremony - yep, there was one - two other people held the scissors with her, but it was just clarified that they are her employees. Mmm hmmm entrepreneurial mom. Take that traditional social roles! There was an awesome spread of food, a champagne toast, some soda, a Priest gave a longer than expected blessing of the building (there was a reading and reflection involved...), a drag queen gave a performance and MC'd a bit, and there was a DJ pumping the jams.

Firstly, WOW. I had visited my mom's office maybe 7 days prior, and the walls were still being painted and there were some splatters on the floor, but SHAZAM! Just like that, the office was ready for business. The party displayed many of the options you could have for your upcoming event. For instance, wedding attire, quince attire, food spreads, drinks, etc. One girl was walking around in what I presume was a Princess ball gown modeling a quince dress. Some of the teachers from the colegio (secondary school) showed up, so I was delighted to see "my people." I also spent a lot of time hanging out with Marina and her daughter. Marina is our housekeeper.

So, let's compare Panaparties to American parties. Firstly, when we arrived - no one was allowed to touch the food and there were no drinks. We were given about 1.5 hours to just look longingly at the food. (Otherwise known as socializing and paying attention during the many presentations.) Then after all the business was finished, we got in massive lines and buffeted the heck out of that food. It was demolished. I'm not saying the American way is better here, but we were pretty darn hungry by that point, so tensions were high. I would argue that people would've been a little more calm had we been able to eat the food at the start, but that's probably just my hunger talking. ha. Also, no booze except for the champagne toast. Not gonna lie, smart move, mom. Way cheaper for a party full of potential customers, plus, it was a work night. I did feel a little left out of the family stuff at times, but I get it - they were busy, but I did make an attempt to hang with Abuelo at times. He insisted I take my picture with the decorations, so I could update my Whatsapp picture. Oh, Abuelo. 

It ended up an excellent night, and it was definitely a night of immersion, since we only spoke Spanish and I learned tons about yeye Pana-party customs. Really impressed with mi mamá for taking this leap in her business. Pretty darn brave if you ask me. 

   

                     The Legendary Abuelo!                                                                    Y Marina!

My potential new Whatsapp pictures. Thanks for the suggestion, Abuelo.

To See Waters: Ver Aguas.

Torio Beach

                       
Firstly, I'm not sure what Veraguas really means. But it is the only province that touches both the Pacific & Atlantic, so I'm gonna go ahead and say it is literal "Ver" To See, "Aguas" Waters.

Friday we had our regional meeting, which I had been very excited about, since it meant I got to meet the mysterious other PCVs in my province of Veraguas (to be said in a whispered parsel-tongue like tone as you elongate the "as" sound at the end.)  Ver-ahhh-guaaassssssss.

So, I made it on time - much to my relief with all my stuff and waited outside for the meeting room to open up. My first observation was that when I approached the group of people, they did not seem very warm and did not introduce themselves. Hmm weird, I says to myself. I waited for a good time to be the initiator, but it just did not happen. The country director, Pete, and the assistant country director, Sue, were both there in the circle, and I was able to chat with Sue a bit.

Finally, more people arrived and I chatted with those folks. It was initially a little off-putting to think that my region did not seem very inviting. Ouch. But then the doors opened, and we entered the gloriously a/c'd room, and I went out of my way to introduce myself to people and try to remind them of how normal social situations go down at home in the states. Maybe they've been too far removed living in the Panamanian Campo. Ha. People seemed very friendly upon introductions.

It seems that a normal regional meeting consists of signing some papers, getting shots when required, listening to Pete and Sue, listening to the Regional Leader, and hearing from representatives from different parts of the Peace Corps program, also my current RL Bridget likes to include something silly in the mix, which I appreciate. I'm going to miss having her as my RL. This meeting we had a haiku contest, and I got 3rd place! You will find my award winning haiku at the end of my post. So in terms of groups, Veraguas has CEC, SAS, and TE in the region, but soon it will only have SAS and TE. (If these terms don't make sense to you, you have failed at keeping up with my blog. For shame!)
I was especially excited to meet the non-TE folks, since I hadn't met anyone from the other sectors other than CEC 76. No one lives super close to me, but there are some interesting folks that live off the grid. I'd love to go see their sites and maybe learn how to do some stuff. The major plus could be that while I go visit, I could return to my own site and ya know, have electricity and showers, and easy access to a washing machine again. :)

Also, I really like how the other sectors have some other people that are my age! Hurray!

1/2 priced ritas on Thurs!

I really love some of my TE and CEC folks, and after teaching HS and connecting with so many students, I do know that age is just a number - BUT - I am grateful that there are some people that will understand my movie/tv references more readily. It's painful (comically, of course) when a joke falls flat because people don't understand the allusion. (For example: While sipping margaritas one night in Santiago, Varsity Blues came on the tv in the restaurant, so we're kind of watching and talking, since it's just video, no audio. I'm not proud to have seen this movie. I can't help but assume I watched it because of my brothers, but who knows. Anyway - the coach (Jon Voight) is flipping out about how the team refuses to play for him anymore, and he gets so red and he's yelling. So I say, this is when he rips his face off and we realize it's Tom Cruise. No one knew what I was talking about. Are you telling me a Mission Impossible reference is too old for people? Double ouch.) I know - I'm hilarious.

After the regional meetings, people tend to get together to go on some sort of trip to celebrate the beauty that is their province. We went to Torio beach, which is to the south - so it's the Pacific Ocean. There were 12 of us total that stayed in the hostel together. After hitting up the grocery store for hostel supplies, we headed back to the terminal for the bus departure. The 2 hour or so bus trip was unbearably hot, but there were some beautiful sights along the way.

Cows impeding our road to the beach.

Once we got to Torio, we made our way to the hostel and dropped off our stuff, changed for the beach, and headed down to check it out.  It was really beautiful. The sand was only okay, but in terms of the view - wow. It felt like I was on my own private beach.
 I swam for a while Friday, and then we had some beers and a fish dinner at the restaurant/bar on the beach. Delicious. I really had a great time getting to know some of the Veraguas folks. That night I finally slept on my Therm-a-rest because the hostel only had 8 beds. I slept well and saved $4 for the hostel. :) Woot! I decided to sleep outside of the dorm room, which was awesome. I got to see so many stars and wasn't eaten alive by mosquitoes, believe it or not! Saturday I woke up to rain, which I loved (because I had a roof overhead), and I got to watch the rain fall on the beautiful landscape. It was like comfort camping. And the hostel even had hot water in the shower, which was beyond luxurious. Saturday, I sort of just hung out and read, and later, we all headed to the beach. That night I splurged on a $8 dinner of lobster pasta. The sauce was so rich; it was yummy. Definitely made me wish I lived closer to the coast. That night we sat around the hostel telling some tales before heading to bed. And the next day we all headed back to Santiago before going our own ways. We lucked out and were able to fit into a busito together. So, my assessment is that Veraguas may have been a little prickly at first, but overall - it's a good group that I think I will fit in with just fine! 

 Needed a change of

Scenery in life. Ready

To see what comes next.

Muchisimas Gracias y Chao Santa Rita!

There was a giant despedida for Santa Rita and our awesome families before we headed to our new sites.

We dressed in polleras and other fantastic indigenous outfits. We served food, we sang and danced, and we had a good time.

My family arrived a little late, but since Yessi had been in the hospital after the C-section - I was just happy they could come!

My house is there with Jose y Miriam. You can kind of get a feel for how we were out in the boonies.

Kenia lent me a giant beautiful pollera and trembleques for my hair. And so began the festivities. I helped dish out the food, and I also helped sing the National Anthem (with a group) and "It's a Grand Ole' Flag." See video:

I just wanted to highlight some of the best photos and moments of Santa Rita now that it's time to say adios.

Osito! My pretend dog and actual buddy.





Here's my awesome Spanish class. We made some deliciosa comida on the last class day. My view in class is on the right. Good ole Nat and Dillon. I think Randee had left already.


Kenia is our teacher here with me as we cook our meal. Here we are again. Hanging out in the dorms before we headed to site.






 These guys: awesome bug eating lizards.

Erin and I pose in our costumes.    Here I am on one of my final loma walks with friends. Funny enough, I really wanted to go with just a few people, and then more came - and now I consider it a pretty special memory.

"It's not the Destination. It's the Journey."

-"Self Reliance" Thoreau.

 

 

Beisbol - Who let the dogsout?

Friday I went to the doctor's office. It was in Chitre, so Grace and I packed our stuff to stay over another volunteer's house and ventured to Chitre to find the dr. Prior to Chitre - I went to the primary school with Grace. SO MUCH FUN. The teacher there killed it. She taught heaps in English and had excellent songs and games to play with the "Kinder" class. Those kids are animals. It's like Lord of the Flies whenever the teacher even slightly turned her back.

They were hilarious. When seated at desks they kept playing this game that I forget what you call but one person has their hand flat on the desk and the other hits it with their fist. It's not mercy.... Bloody knuckles? Ugh I can't remember, but I know it's a game people played at school back home too. Obviously, it's hilarious because guess what? sometimes it really hurts! So it was like a sociological experiment watching the kiddos play and be surprised by the result.
And I wish I had on video this one thing I saw because I just can't portray it as well as I could with a video.

Anyway - one little guy was playing that game with another littlun' :) And then one pulled the finger back of the other one. And then kid two starting weeping quietly at his desk. Big ole crocodile tears. And kid one was just ignoring him and acting like nothing happened. So the teacher kept teaching and periodically the little nuggets in the class would come over and cradle boy two's hand in theirs and put their head on his shoulder and kind of caress his shoulder and emulate the motion over and over again, like they're trying to sort out how this could've ever happened. AND THEN - best part - they would look over to boy one together and point and kind of shake their heads, although they didn't actually shake their heads. It was more of a "you monster! how could you?" sort of look. I loved it. Boy one played it cool. But he knew he was in the wrong - you could tell. Definitely pre-face paint "mask" if we go back to the Lord of the Flies analogy. So this happened over and over again. And each one did the same sort of thing. It was sweet, but also horrible? I liked how the teacher kept teaching, since it's Kindergarten - I mean people are going to cry all the time I imagine. One kid cried because he didn't get called on. I really loved being in that classroom. So much energy, but so much fun! And the upside is that since she's essentially a specialty teacher - she travels and doesn't stay with the same class all day, which of course can be a blessing and a curse, but I liked it because you can use the same lesson over and over again.

Then we went to the doctor. It was kind of hilarious how it went down because I was told where to go but I didn't have any other idea of how to do this, and Grace had never been sick! So, I walked up to the front and said - Soy de Cuerpo de Paz. And she sort of stared at me, and then I said because I didn't know what else to say.."Estoy enferma." ahhaha classic. So then she told me where to go. We sort of had the waiting room to ourselves and eventually the nurse came for me and took my blood pressure and asked me if I'd rather wait in waiting room or the exam room, but I had no idea what she said, so I said si. And then she turned the a/c on the in the exam room, so I was like ohhh I get it.
And after like 20 minutes, in walked the telenovela version of a doctor. Now I want to call him Dr. Drake Remore', but he was better looking than Joey from Friends (Matt LeBlanc?) but you get the idea. Too bad I'm not gonna live in Herrera! ha! But that was comical because when you're sick you barely speak your first language, much less a second! I definitely have new empathy for immigrants.Then we went and filled the Rx and it was interesting because they literally tell you what each pill costs before you buy it, and it's way faster than at home. Then after some time we went to a pizza place and then to a baseball game. Baseball game was just like home. Tons of fun. Good food. Good baseball! Maybe only major difference - we're likely to end up on the TV here. hahaha.

Then we stayed over a different girl's house and it was cramped but fun. Not ideal when not feeling well, but it's tricky because buses stop after a certain point, and taxis are surprisingly more expensive than you'd think. Each area has different prices for taxis - it's weird. We visited another volunteer Saturday and I headed back to Santa Rita Sunday. I went to Saturday night mass (7PM) in Los Pozos. Interesante. Lots of praise and worship music. It was different. I wasn't sure it was mass at first since the priest wasn't around, and I was like, ohhh I'm not trying to attend some singing event - but eventually the priest was there and mass started. I'm gonna need to learn some new phrases! That's for sure. But it was nice.

I may have peaked?

Reasons why today is the greatest of days: 

      1.     Slept in. Heck yes.

      2.     Breakfast was fruit salad: papaya and cantaloupe. I’m not sure mi Mama understands the depth of love I have for papaya, but I’ve attempted to convey it, and today she gave it to me and I wanted to cry with joy. Café con leche, fruit salad, and eating at my slow pace. (There’s a little neighbor girl that Miriam (mi Mama) watches on the week days, and she always thinks it’s so funny that I eat so slow. She tells me I lost all the time, which I can def appreciate, since I too am competitive.  :)

3.     I cleaned my room. Perhaps a bit stupid, but I do like that I know my floors are mostly dirt free. To have concrete totally dirt free is unlikely, but mostly is achievable!

4.     Mi Mama took me to the neighbor’s house to meet their monkey. Yes. True life-pet monkey. And I got to pet it. The guy didn’t realize just how crap my Spanish skills are, so he talked his face off about the monkey’s likes and dislikes, and I THINK he said that the monkey was attacked by their dog, but that the other dog and she are friends. I think the bad dog is actually a pit bull, so I guess I’m not so shocked, but I am a little sad about it. And my heart broke that he had a leash on, but they seem to love the monkey and give it space to do her thing. Mixed feelings: 1. I love that I got to pet a monkey. 2. Should I be able to pet a monkey? Also, if monkeys ever take over – I hope she remembers I was nice to her…

5.     No school. No class. No nada. Please and thank you. I’m wondering if mass is on the agenda today? How funny would it be that the one Catholic girl (I think at least – idk) in my group gets a family that doesn’t go to mass.

6.     As I sat down to type on my computer, mi mama brought me a delicious smoothie type thing. Literally after typing, “why today is the greatest day,” she delivers me a delicious fruit smoothie thing. Probably has some icecream or something unhealthy in it, but still – cold and delicious? Mmm hmm. Today's lunch is below. It's only 2:30, so fingers crossed this day just keeps getting better!  :)

I'm an Aunt! (again!)

So, Connor is here! I am so excited to have my little nephew! What a little cutie pie he is. Apparently they induced and it just took forever. So, like his aunt, he's a little late - but cute as can be. Ha! I already love him so much. And of course, I'm homesick to hold the chiquito. I'm excited for Danny & Christie. Yay!

Today I went to la loma (hill) with Victoria (14 yr old host sister). I was supposed to meet the group, but they left without me. Lost in communication... again. But it was fun with Victoria. The walk was incredible and beautiful. Victoria had never seen the view, so it was special that she joined us. I just love her. Then once we got there, the other Aspirantes were there, so that was nice. I want Victoria to ask for help with her English, but I definitely don't want to force it. Today she said she does want to learn, so she can visit the US one day, and I was like, great! You'll have to stay with me!

My mama is excited about Connor, too. What a great host family. 

Day 3 - Mosquito Nets for Everyone!

Ciudad del Saber.
PCVT continues. Today we had heaps of training at the office regarding security and some specifics to our sectors. I'm TE aka English teaching sector. We learned about how we will be working with teachers in conjunction with the Panamanian teaching standards to help promote better English understanding. We also had our first language class, and I like my other 3 TE classmates - especially since these 3 folks weren't people I felt I had connected with too much yet thus far, so now I think this will help integrate me even more. Two of my classmates were even English teachers! We talked about ourselves today and the girls seemed shocked that I've taught for 8.5 years, so hurray that they thought I was younger. 😊
I loved my teacher today - Kenia. So nice. We had really long sessions today, so everyone was definitely antsy sitting down for so long. It's tough going from total freedom in the real world to where I am now. We received our swag bag today. It has mosquito net, 1 bottle sun block, 1 can bug spray, malaria pills, & a notebook. I weirdly want to break out the net early for a test run.
Tomorrow we go to a site to check out a school and real community. I'm excited to see a school here. The biggest thing in teacher training (from what I hear AND what I know from my own experiences) is the importance of gaining a positive relationship with those who you will be around. Humility is key, and I hope to bring that to my new school, so that teachers will never feel inadequate, but will always feel capable. I also realize - on a totally different note - how amazing it is to be here and receive training and language classes, and I'm getting paid for it! Qué incredible! I'm grateful for this experience.

Day One! - Cuidad de Saber

PANAMA - PANAMA-AAAAH 

City of Knowledge.
We arrived with our group from the airport to the CITY OF KNOWLEDGE! (insert dramatic music) Before arriving we had to cross over a bridge with a troll and answer his riddles three. Luckily we passed and now we're sort of in this luxury area with a/c, free meals, decent showers, parks to run/walk in, and free wifi! It's a former military base area, so it is pretty sweet. I'm definitely being spoiled with the meals being made and cleaned up for me. This is the life! We are only here til Sunday - then we head to our training host families.  I'm not sure reality has hit me just yet, but I'm glad to be here in this place as it gets sorted in my mind. They really are operating efficiently with everything, and everyone I've met has been very encouraging and helpful. It's kind of an awesome group of diverse folks in our group. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I need my beauty sleep because it's also picture day. Buenas Noches, Panama!