This Panamanian Life

Sailing in Paradise

2009-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

So it is a new year... 2009, and I have high hopes for this year and so far it has started out very well. We have had an amazing influx of Oregonians in the past month or so... some of my favorite people! Hopi was able to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's with us... which was amazing, then Kelsy came down just in time for the New Year's party bus, then Katie came down in time for our sail, and Meagan and Mary were here when we got back! What awesome friends we have... making us feel like we aren't so far from home. So after New Year's Kelsy, Hopi, Katie, Adam, Dain and I went on a 3 days sailing trip through the San Blas islands... which I have to say is the most beautiful place I have ever been... hands down. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Arriving at our private island

Arriving at Caye Hollandeses right at sunset

The sunken ship right by our private island

Enjoying the sunset before swimming to the island

Look at all these beautiful people!

One of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen.

Chillin on deck between islands

Our dinner freshly caught... lobster and langostinos... mmmmm

Me and my 3 favorite people

So there it is... our trip in paradise. My first sailing trip... and it just made me want to buy a boat and sail the Caribbean forever! Then staying on our own private island was amazing as well. This trip was nice because it reminded me of why I love Panama as much as I do... even though I forget sometimes living in the city.

Luna's Castle Adventures

2008-06-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

So life at the Castle is as exciting as ever... literally never a dull moment (unless I seek it out). The last couple months have been a whirlwind of adventure, change, loss and excitement that has left me loving Panama, but also missing home to a degree I have never experienced. We have had several more of our friends from home come through and we have steadily increased our ranks of long term and return guests that make the Castle feel that much more like home.

It seems that the happy is always mixed with the sad... se la vi. Dain gave me a ring made of tagwa and asked me to marry him, so after 7 years we are officially engaged to be married! Very exciting! I have never been happier about anything in my life.
Two weeks later we found out that one of our best friends from home, David Minor, was struck by a car while riding his bike and died shortly after. Dain, Meredith and I all flew home after we found out as we soon realized that this was not something that we could cope with from afar. Being home and being around all of our wonderful friends was exactly what I needed... and going through that process with everyone who knew and loved him was the only way I could have gotten through this. The outpouring of support and love was overwhelming, and even back in Panama we are still processing the loss. You are deeply missed David!

We are slowly working back into the routine of things, and we have an awesome group of people here that are incredibly supportive of us. I love my Luna's Family!

So many friends have come to visit in the past couple months, which helps me feel like I am not too far from home. It was very exciting to see Shauna and the Joshs', who came down from Honduras for a quick vacation. We had some fun adventures, some tasty food and many good laughs... I can't wait to see you guys again at Fair! Then Todd, Justin and Mike came down from Oregon... and proved all the doubters wrong. We got to stay on our own private island in the San Blas archipelago for my birthday and I even got in a few days in Bocas del Toro before having to resume my duties here in the city. Then my friend Heather, who I hadn't seen in about 4 years, arrived last night from Oregon for a couple weeks here in Panama. We had a wickedly debaucherous night at the music festival that was going on here in Casco Viejo. There were 7 different stages with live music ranging from Reggaetone and Rock to Classical and Jazz... all within a couple blocks of the hostel. Awesome!

Luna's is doing fabulously... and keeps me thoroughly entertained. I have met some of the coolest people, some of whom I will hopefully keep in contact with for a long time. We have been having way too much fun... we have been having a lot of BBQ's, with the biggest feeding 71 people, 10 of us piled in a van and went to a World Cup qualifying fubol game, El Salvador vs. Panama (Panama won!), we rocked Casco Viejo for the music festival this weekend... even got to see DJ Black (chucha tu madre), watched some horse races, and many nights of clubbing and other debaucherous activities. We have been very full lately with the busiest time being last week... almost all week we were over full with several people sleeping in our movie theater (73 people was our max), so the energy here has been very busy and fun filled. I love my Castle!!

Luna's Castle Hostel is Rocking my World!

2008-03-04T08:01:00.001-08:00

View from Luna's Castle balcony

So we have almost been in Panama for two months, and the time is really flying by. In the past month we have seen some of our favorite people from home come and go, we opened the hostel, we celebrated Carnaval and Dain’s birthday, we’ve spent time at the beach and we have explored the city…all in all it has been a good month! So let me break it down for you…

So first things first…we have officially opened! It has been very exciting meeting people from all over the world and hearing how much they love our place. We have had many friends, new and old, from home and abroad, that have been a tremendous help in this process and I want to take a quick second to thank all of them!! Our artist Corrina has been amazing, and has turned our white walls in our common area into a funky, fun place to kick it. Our friend Strom from Costa Rica (originally from Oregon – representing!!) was amazing in his motivation to build us our massive dining room table, front desk, computer desks and the beginning of our stadium seating in our theater. Peter and Brandon picked up where Storm left off and added their own touch to our three story stadium seating (including blood and sweat!), and other projects around the house. Adam has become a semi-permanent member of the Luna family and I have to say it wouldn’t be the same without him, his crazy personality, great attitude and Panamanian work ethic have been of irreplaceable assistance. Harmony and Nate joined us for a brief period of time and brought a little of home to Panama for us. Kelsy teased us with a couple weeks of her presence in Panama, and her absence has been felt ever since…I have never felt too much at home if she wasn’t around, I guess that is what best friends are for…you are truly missed! Heather came for an action packed vacation of Carnavales all around, Kuna beads and beaches…her spunky fun brightened our days. Elke rolled through and completed the package of Oregon craziness…and then she was off for more south of the border fun…que le vaya bien! And now with most of them off on their own adventures once again, the Luna team has daily made new friends yet we can’t hope that the rest of you fools will come keep us company.

We have now had time with each of the owners, and it has been exciting and fun getting to know each one on an individual basis. I have a new found love for all of them, each in their own special way. I love Bean like a big brother, we always seemed to be on the same wavelength, like we had known each other for years. Sme is Sme and there isn’t much more you can say…his crazy style, his love of Jack Daniels and his expertise in the kitchen made him a shoe-in for my list of favorite people. Dan is new in our lives but I can already tell que nos callemos bien. I love it when he plays guitar and sings for us, his rational, organized way of thinking is so in line with my own and he never fails to provide for good conversation. I love you guys and am so happy to be a part of the family!

Dain has been enjoying himself more and more, learning more Spanish, playing basketball with Adam and the local kids, working his butt off and making me happy everyday. It has been amazing having so many people from home here, to make it seem less like we are so far away. We are expecting some friends of his soon, a change from all our Oregon girls, which will be a nice taste of home for him.

Meredith has been rocking it as my trusty partner in crime…aka. Ms. Luna Moonbeam, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying her time in Panama. I stand by my original statement of what an amazing team we all make. I feel blessed.

So Carnaval was a whole new experience filled with confetti, reggaetone, crowds, beers, rain and an amazing amount of fun. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

I got brief beach time with Kelsy and Heather, and a recent trip to Bocas fulfilled my need for sunshine and warm ocean waters. We got to work a little at Mondo which was fun and different, and just being out of the city was a nice change. I hope that we can make this a frequent escape/work exchange.

All in all, life in the big city is amazing and I have loved every exciting minute of it. I have realized that Oregonians travel more than anyone else…so I hope you can all help support that theory. I have also realized that although Canadians might sound like us…they are not American and would prefer that you didn’t confuse that. Sorry guys…at least I now know about the Pig War…we are all learning! Hope all is well at home and never forget to stay in touch!

This is the James Bond movie set here in Casco Viejo...they changed the Casa Cultural into this hotel...so keep you eyes peeled in the movie!~

Gettng Settled

2008-01-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Luna's Castle Hostel Panama

My first two weeks in Panama have felt a lot like coming home after a long trip abroad… and I am often struck with how easily I have slipped into my daily routines without questioning the normalicy of it all. My first night in our new house I was amazed by the beautiful views of Panama City and the crazy hustle and bustle of the city around us, but after a week here it seems as if I have been looking upon that view for years and the city is as familiar as an old friend. I have to remind myself to recognize the beauty of my surroundings, and to appreciate how different this life is from my last. The one major difference that has been obvious and easy to appreciate has been the company of Dain, Meredith and Dave. I have been impressed by how well we are able to smoothly work as a team, how much we have been able to accomplish together in our short time here, and how much fun we have together. It has been awesome having Dain here with me, and definitely makes being so far away from home that much easier. I am stoked for us to be working on this project together…and so nice to know neither of us has to get up early to head off to work. I have not had the opportunity to see many of my PeaceCorps friends yet, so it still hasn’t quite seemed like Panama yet…especially because I still need to get to the beach!

Our house is absolutely amazing, and it has been really fun living in it with just the four of us, and our own personal security guards, who we have affectionately named Yogi and Bubu. It feels something like the movie BIG, where he has the huge loft with a few toys here and there. We have an abundance of open space which we have utilized by moving our “bedrooms” around several times to aprovechar el espacio. We currently are housed on the third floor, each with our personal balcony offering the best views of the bay, Panama City and the church steeples in Casco Viejo. The ocean breezes blow almost all day and do an amazing job at keeping the house cool. Our neighborhood is unique and quirky, but I think that is why I like it so much. Overlooking our patio in the back are several rundown apartments that house the more humble side of our neighborhood. We are often greeted with smiling children and friendly housewives when we walk onto our breezeway, and are often bombarded by reggaetone and tipico being played from the communal boombox at incredible volumes. We have heard one specific song about 100 times in the past two weeks…often played back-to-back…which is slowly driving me crazy. I can only hope a new song comes out soon so we can appreciate some diversity. To our front is a completely different side to our neighborhood, with our balconies overlooking one of the grandest houses in Casco Viejo. Owned by one of the richest families in Panama, the house takes up almost an entire city block and is gaurded by several security gaurds 24 hours a day even though the owners are rarely there. Being that we are not in the best area, it is reassuring to have such good security right out front and combined with the presidential gaurds on the corner, our front street seems very secure. Meredith and I have been using our sweet gringa skills to make friends with all the police in the area, and have been bringing coffee and brownies to our local gaurds to ensure that we are on their good side…and we have had an amazing reception. Good to be a cute gringa sometimes! The presidential palace is only a block south of us, the plaza de independencia is two blocks southeast and our favorite bar is only three blocks to the east…great location huh? There is a national jazz festival next week and we will be able to hear it all from our balcony!

So what have we been working on you might ask? Well these last couple weeks have been filled with making contacts, scheduling inspections, buying supplies and finding the best painters, security firms, contractors, fumigators, plumbers etc. We are working on getting the second floor ready to open before we have our inspections next week, which includes getting the kitchen ready, getting bunkbeds made, painting, buying computers and other necessary items…and then we are ready to open on a small scale while the rest of the renovations are taking place. I will keep you updated as we move forward and I look forward to sharing the amazing transformation this building is going to undergo in the next couple months. I hope many of you get a chance to come visit me, but if not feel free to live vicariously through my blog! Pura Vida, wakan

2007-07-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

My New Home

Luna's Castle Hostel

Casco Viejo, Panama City

View from the 3rd story balcony

Map of Panama City: #9 Casco Viejo

Rear Patio

Kitchen

Looking down to the entrance

Looking down stair from third story

So this is my future home! These pictures are just to give you all an idea of what we are looking at here. With an estimated 100-150 beds, it is the largest hostel in Panama, and possibly even Costa Rica. I have been offered the job of being one of the live-in managers, along with my really good friend Meredith. I will be moving back to Panama in the beginning of January, along with my boyfriend Dain, to get things started. We are still working out the details of what kinds of services we will be able to offer, and how much we will be charging...but I do not hesitate to say that before long we will truly have the best hostel in Panama! I am looking foward to this experience as an opportunity to meet people from all around the world and assist them in finding ways to give back to the community that they are visiting. I would love any comments, ideas or feedback regarding this upcoming feat... your input is welcomed and needed! And I expect that you will all be visiting me....

November Oregon Visit

2006-12-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

It was so good to see all of you again! Here are the pictures I promised...finally:) I hope you all had a great Thankgiving together, and hopefully we will see you again sometime soon. There are a few more photos that Darshan and Missy have, I will try to get them from them soon. Enjoy the warm weather in California and Florida, cause it is cold here! Happy Holidays!

Lots of Love, Wakan

Uncle Keith and the kids

Haven after we made gingerbread house

Noah the superstar (and future quarter back)

Uncle Rick with some added weight

Grandpa and Gramdma with Haven and Noah

We have such a great family! Thanks for being a part of it!

The Family

2006-11-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hey yall! Here are some pics from your last visit to Oregon for the wedding. I will be including some pics from this visit so save this address so you can check later. I have also included a pic or two from the last time we saw Keith...his 18th birthday dinner. It was so great to see you all again, and I look forward to the next time we get a chance to see one another. East coast next time...

2006-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

2006-02-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

!Pura Vida¡

2006-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well the last couple weeks have been great! Dain took off for Costa Rica for a couple weeks, so for the first week I spent the time in my community and my neighboring community where my friend Casey lives. We are currently working on writing a grant for a fish tank project in our two communities. The idea being supplying the people with tubing and seminars on implementation and maintenance of the tanks we can help people supply themselves with a constant source of protein, something they completely lack in their diet. We are both very excited about the project, which I will know more about in about a month. I will keep you posted.

So last week our group had a conference in the province of Cocle where each person brought a person from their communites and everyone learned how to design and implement projects within their communities. This conference was in hopes that each person at the conference could take these ideas back to their communities so the people could learn how to become more independant on themselves for soliciting projects. So besides being very educational (and long) the conference also gave people a chance to meet people from all parts of Panama, and it gave our group a chance to catch up on what everyone is doing. The beach was real close by so we spent alot of free time there. Some of the people had never been to the ocean before, pretty amazing.

So after the conference I came up to Costa Rica to meet up with Dain and a couple friends of ours; Leland (who has a dope house in San Jose and works for Tico Times), Alex C., Josiah and Mikah. All people from the same high school, what a random crew of people to all be meeting up in Costa Rica, thousands of miles from our native home in Eugene. So we only stayed one night in San Jose with Leland before taking off to the Carribean coast to hit the beach before my vacation runs out on the 3rd. The first place we stopped was called Cahuita, and now we are currently in Puerto Viejo right in between Cahuita and the border with Panama. Both places are just little beach towns with high tourist populations. In Cahuita we went for a hike in the park, the trail went along the beach for awhile before jutting into the peninsula jungle. We saw a ton of monkeys and one of them was very used to people, it just walked right up to us and took a banana out of Josiahs hand. Got tons of pictures (will post later) so beautiful. We saw lots of other wildlife too, a bright yellow viper, butterflies, monkeys (3 kinds), and 3 raccoons that ran right up to me and stole the bag I had in my hand that had my camera case with my money and stuff in it. We got it back before the thief before he got too far into the woods. I also got eaten alive by mosquitos and currently look like a mutant. I think I have cured my romanticism of the jungle for a little while. Then it has been raining for the last 24 hours or so...wish it would stop. Well I gotta run but just know I am having a great time and I love you all!~

2006-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Love hate relationship with my life

So I just wanted to lay out in a very organized way what I love and hate about my life here in Panama...lets start with hate: 1)Bugs...any and all of them. Cockroaches crawling up my pants in in my food box, scorpions on my clothes and in the walls, spiders in the roof and in my boots, ants (see last blog), chiggers, ticks, mosquitos...I could go on forever. 2) Kids...always asking me for something, peeking through my walls, always talking in Ngobe so I don´t understand, never giving me privacy, making me feel guilty for all I have even though I have very little. 3) Lack of education and understanding of anything...they think water is bad for you, they prefer spending money on coffee even though they are poor, they don´t pay the water fee of 50 cents, they call women sick when they are pregnant and still make them work until they have the baby, they never participate in anything community oriented, they have become totally dependent on outside resources so they think I am only here to give them things, their main pastime is drinking chicha fuerte and beating the shit out of eachother and their wives and children. 4) Their sense of time...meeting at 8am....starts at noon 5) The food...chicken feet should not be eaten and plain white rice and yucca with salt does not constitute a stable diet. Well enough with hate...even though I could go on forever...love 1) I lived in a thatched hut in a little village in the beautiful mountains of Panama...what´s not to love? 2) I actually feel (even though sometimes I have to hold a knife to their neck to get anything done) that I am making a difference, that I am actually teaching them something that will help them. 3) I get to work outside...I love sharing daily work with the people -sembraring y cosecharing: yucca, rice, beans, otoe...learning to pilar, tostar and all the other things you gotta do to prepare the harvest. -tumbaring monte: I love to cut shit with my machete 4) I am learning to speak Ngobe and I have made a chakara...the looks that the old women get in their eyes when they see this...awesome! 5) Hiking (can be on hate list also...depends on how much I am carrying) it is such an amazing feeling to have to hike everywhere...and it is all beautiful. The majority of my work is about 1 hour hike away. I especially love hiking out because I know a cold beer and a piece of chicken are at the end of it. The simple pleasures of life in the campo! 5) I love teaching them about the world, showing them my national geographics, explaining maps and things that happen outside their world. Even if that means explaining for the upteenth time that yes man did land on the moon. 6) Last but not least...partying with all my PCP buddies. Some of the coolest people I have ever met or will ever meet. Well that is it folks...my life put into some lists!

Ants
OK...so I have a couple frustrations and I felt that I needed to get them out. First off...I have developed a rampant fear of ants. I know that sounds silly because they are so small and I have scorpions and other fun insects, but when I see an ant on me my heart rate automatically goes up...alot. I woke up the other night to the feel of something biting my legs. I look down with a flashlight and my bed and legs are covered with thousands of little red fuckers. I freak out, and rightfully so if you ask me...the ants have taken over my floor, stove, bed and much more. I finally kill the majority of them and go back to bed. Unfortunately my adventure does not end there...I had the worst dream about those damn things. So the dream was that ants were eating my entire house...my clothes, my dishes, my camera...everything. I could do nothing to stop them. My brother Nicasio tells me that the only way to get rid of them is to blow up the house. So I escape the slow death of being eaten by ants, and light my house on fire with lots of gasoline. Then I wake up...and think once again I am covered by ants. Anyway...I might sound like a wuss but I am deathly afraid of ants now. So if anyone is looking for a way to scare the shit out of me...there it is. Thanks for listening.

2006-01-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

2006-01-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update before I am banished once again to the uncivilized world of the comarca...ok that was a bad joke but I do have to take advantage of communication before I am out in the jungle again. So New Years was absolutely amazing...I could not have had a better time. We spent several days down at the beach near my site, which is really beautiful. Several of my Peace Corps friends joined us in a little cabin on the beach. There were plenty of fun fireworks, live shows, beach parties and other fun stuff to keep us entertained for the duration. We spent the days surfing and swimming, and the nights partying and having a grand old time. There were lots of Panmanians staying at the cabañas where we stayed, so 24 hour reggatone and lots of fireworks that are illegal in the states. We spent New Year´s Eve down the beach at a beach party that consisted of almost 100% foreigners, backpackers and what not. Almost everyone spoke English, so that was definately a change. Needless to say I feel like I sent 2005 out with a bang and am now ready to accept whatever challenges 2006 has to offer. Feliz Año Nuevo!

Christmas Vacation

2005-12-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well I just returned after a grueling 3 days in site...hahaha. So Dain is here to visit and we spent almost the whole first week in Panama City enjoying what development can offer...like good food, hot showers, pools, clubs (with expensive drinks) and all that other good stuff. We got to stay in a fancy hotel with an amazing view of the city, it was hard to convince me to leave the room. Then we spent a night in Santiago visiting a friend of mine, checking out her stomping ground before heading back toward mine. We decided to spend Christmas in my site...mostly out of guilt for being gone so much. And I have to say it was probably the most uneventful Christmas of my life. They really don't celebrate many holidays because "no hay plata"...there is no money. So we basically hung out in the hammocks all day and visited with the gente, rough life huh? Dain had brought them a soccer ball as a Christmas present and to say they were stoked would be an understatement...so there was alot of soccer going on. This morning we left again to head out to some beaches, seeing that I have a week of vacation to spend in whatever way I choose...I could't do any better than on a beach with my boy. So to sum up I have been very happy lately... not alot of work this time of year because it is too hot so I get to spend it chilling. I want to wish you all a Happy Holidays and a Prospero Año Nuevo!! All my love for the holidays, wakan

This is my group kicking it at the beach...PCP 55

Lots of fun!

2005-11-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well alot has happened since the last entry, so let me catch you up...So Thanksgiving was a complete blast, more than 70 volunteers met in Cerro Punta for a huge dinner that a few of us spent two days cooking. I have to say the cooking was almost the funnest part, I love group cooking! So anyway we ate more than we could fit in our bellies and then we hiked up to our cabins in the jungle....amazingly beautiful! The cabins were in the middle of parque de amistad which is shared with Costa Rica. It was so cold up there that we all wore sweaters the entire time, a nice break from sweating 24 hours a day! So yes Thanksgiving was amazing...then we all went back up to our sites for a couple weeks before coming back out again for a week of in-service training. It was so much fun to see everyone again, or at least those that didn´t come to Thanksgiving. We always have a ton of good times when we are together, and it is nice to be able to talk about our sites with someone who understands. So the week was alot of classes and alot of beach time...it was only a 10 minute walk so everyday after class we went down and splashed around. By some random accident we met up with some guy who knew our boss and let us use his villa...so we had free sea kayaks, pool access, beach access and free drinks...what kind of luck do we have? So the whole week I was really excited because Dain was coming on Thursday...technically we were not done with training until Friday but I convinced my boss to let me cut out early so I could make it to the city to meet up with him. So he arrived late Thursday night and we have just been chilling in the city, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the hotel pool! I have two weeks off so we are making plans to head to the beach for Christmas, visit a few other volunteers sites and hit up the islands before New Years. Lots of grand plans, and I could not be happier to be spending this time with Dain...it has been 7 months since I have seen him but it seems like yesterday, wierd how time is. So anyway to sum it all up things in Panama are as good as I could ask for, it will be a litte strange not being in my site for so long but when I get back I have several projects lined up so it will be easy to just jump back in, especially since Dain will be there to help me. Well I hope all your Thanksgivings were happy and full of family fun, and that you all enjoy the upcoming holidays. Let me know how they all go and don´t forget to drop me a line anytime you want...I couldn´t live without them! Feliz Navidad y prospero Año Nuevo! Un abrazo y beso para todos! Wakan

2005-11-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

So like I told you all...I finally got my Nagwa made and it is hot! So the Nagwa is the traditional dress of the Ngobe women, they are most equivelant to a mumu. They were always asking my why I wore pants because around this part of the country absolutely no women wear pants. A funny story about the last volunteer in my site...she also finally got a nagwa and the first time she put it on her little brother looked at her in disbelief and said "you're a girl?!!". Oh yes this is the world we live in!
With my panama hat and my nagwa

Finally on my own!

2005-11-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

My hut is finally done and I could not be happier! It was supposed to be done in September, but as with all construction or home improvment projects it took a little longer than expected...us now being in November!

So I cant write much now but I wanted to post a few photos and say hey...but I gotta run to start the big project of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 100 malnourished volunteers! My friend Adam and I are the two main cooks so we gotta get busy!

So the house was a process but 4 days ago I spent my first night in the hut...and it was awesome. My friend Jon came down from his community an hour up the hill from me, to help me celebrate the big move. We drank wine and cooked dinner over a fogon which is what the Ngobe always use. The great part for us was that we did not have to get out of the hammocks to do the cooking! Really convenient if you ask me!

I gotta run but I just want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you all are spending good time with the familia. I wish I could be there too! Feliz Dia de Gracias! I am grateful that I have so many cool people in my life!

Un abrazo grande,
Wakan

Back from Bocas...life in a yeye site

2005-11-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well I have just returned from a week long trip to the amazingly beautiful region of Bocas del Toro, which is the picturesque Panama that I look down upon from my mountain top village. We had four long days of Ngobe classes, to apollar our development in the language of the Ngobe. I learned so much this week, I am excited to return to my community and show off how much Ngobe I now speak! So I thought I would share a few important frases with you all to spread the wealth of knowledge...and just in case you happen to run into a Ngobe you will know what to say:
Ñantoro dega: good morning Ñantoro dere: good afternoon
Ja twaita mare: see you later Ja twaita jetebe: see you tomorrow
Ti ta baran kwete: I am eating bananas Ti ta ja totike ngobere: I am learning ngobe
Ti ka bailey bogaibo: my name is bailey from Lajero
Ti nune Oregonte: I am from Oregon

Well there are a couple frases that will probably keep you all puzzled for awhile, as they do with me when I am trying to understand what people are saying to me. They never had a written language until after the Spanish came to Panama, so they are written to be read with a Spanish pronunciation. All of you that are planning on visiting me you better be prepared to bust some of these out for the gente, it would make their day!

OK so back to my trip...I want to explain something about life here in PeaceCorps Panama and how different life can be between on volunteer and another. So there are sites that us volunteers refer to as yeye, which doesn´t really have a translation but it is most commonly used in reference to rich people, in reference to sites, ¨plush¨is probably the best translation. For example, our class was held in the community of a girl from my group named Sarah. Her site is right on the main road (no hiking involved: yeye), all the houses are made of wood and have beautiful wood or cement floors (no dirt floors and ant infestations: yeye), she has water right at her house and has a private shower (no bathing in rivers or public plumas: yeye), she has delivery trucks that bring propane and fresh vegetables right to her front door (no open fires and hiking with heavy chakaras of fresh veggies: yeye), and she has access to electricity so she can charge her cell phone and even watch tv at night if she wanted....definately yeye. So I am guessing that you all get the point...and probably have also guessed that I do not live in a yeye site, but I love it none the less. Sometimes life is better appreciated without all the things that make it easier. So within Panama there are many people that have very yeye communities, electricity, cement houses, cars, beaches, tourism...and the list goes on. And then there are those of us that live so far away from civilization, there is no such thing as a day trip out of site. We hike just to go home, our communities are much poorer than the others in Panama, we definately have no electricity and often times no running water, but the good thing is there are several of us so we stick together so we don´t get too jealous of our yeye counterparts.

Well they have their benefits and sometimes I am a little jealous, especially when she tells me that she can hop on a bus and visit another volunteer in 15 minutes! She can also hop on a bus and be on an island in 30 minutes! Wow, what a different world I live in! Anywho...just wanted to let you know all volunteers do not live the hard life like me! But I am hard core!

So I am heading back into my site for just a couple days before hiking back out for our grand Thanksgiving celebration in Cerro Punta, where the weather is like Oregon and the food is even better! We are doing a big group dinner with like 100 volunteers, which should be a total blast. I gotta run but I will try to post some new pics next time! Lots of love from Panama! Ja twaita!

6 months in Panama

2005-11-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

Can you believe I have actually been gone 6 months already...it has flown by like I never thought possible! And the holidays are here which makes the times very festive...Panama has two Independence Days...one from Spain and one from Columbia...and they are both in November. So as one would probably guess this month is one of pure celebration...and us Americans have Thanksgiving to add to the pile. All of the volunteers in Panama are getting together for a big Thanksgiving celebration, so just know I wont be alone!

Well news from in site...I have been really busy doing site development for a new volunteer and working very closely with one of the Agriculture agencies here in Panama. I spent the last week straight hiking back and forth between my site and a new site that we have been developing about 1 1/2 hike away, preparing the community for the arrival of the new volunteer...and then spending a few days getting her and all her stuff up the hill to her new site. Needless to say this has been a week of way too much hiking. As an example...last monday I had to hike over there just to drop off a note saying we would be a day late arriving. There are no other forms of communication here...so I literally hike over 3 hours just to hand a note to a women that spoke no spanish and turn around and hike right back. At least the scenery is beautiful...and I have a new neighbor!

The other thing that has been taking up most of my time has been working with this agency called MIDA, who the tecnico that I have been working with just kind of took a shine to me so I have been going to their meetings and representing PeaceCorps in the planning and design of new sites for their proyecto. This is a little nerve-racking but has been very important in forming a relationship between our program and theirs...but it means being professional. I have to dress up real nice and try to speak my best spanish while I give presentations to representatives from all over Panama. I am not sure how I was appointed this position, but it feels nice to be doing something so productive. MIDA brings well funded ag. projects to communities all over Panama, and due to my involvement with them they are going to bring a project to my community...so we can build lots of rice/fish tanks and do tons of other fun stuff that would otherwise be imposible due to funding.

Other than these bits of fun, my life has consisted of lots of hanging out with the women....due to the fact that almost all the men left for the coffee harvest. I now have a nagwa...the traditional dress of the Ngobe women and my hut is done. I will be moving in next week when I get a lock for the door. I will be sure to take lots of pics and send them with the next update.

That is all for now but I hope all is well back in the states...and I will be seeing you all in July!

Just to start

2005-11-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well I have started this blog as a way to share my experience here in Panama with all of you. Hopefully this will make it easier for me to update you all on my life, and share my pictures with you. To start I should probably explain what I am up to for those of you who dont know, just a brief summary...

I am in the PeaceCorps. I live in the mountains of Panama with an indigenous group called the Ngobe, who live in thatched huts and wear a traditional dress called a Nagwa, with the beautiful dientes of different colors. I work in sustainable agriculture, helping them move away from slash-and-burn or the worse option of over abundant chemical use...and toward a future of organic agriculture. I work in soil conservation, organic fertilizers, fish/rice tanks and lots of other fun ag. tecniques that might not be so easily explained. I spend most of my days hiking to fincas and working with farmers while explaining what I mean by organic...a term most of them have never heard of.

I live the life that they live...for three months now I have been living with a family. My family is huge, and I like it that way. I have like 9 brothers and sisters, too many cousins to count and we all live happily in a one room house. This will be changing soon due to the fact that my little hut is now complete. No more than 10ft by 10ft, but all of it mine and that is what counts! It is really cute, or quaint is probably a better word. A thatched roof with tabla (wood) walls it cost me all of $100 to build and worth every penny for the increase in privacy. Due this soon to come change in residency my diet will soon be making a much needed change in direction. Up until now I have been eating what the family eats...which isn't much. We eat plain yucca and plain rice....and not much else. I am excited and at the same time feeling a little guilty that I will be eating better than them. I am hoping to produce much of my own vegetables from my little huerto I have growing in front of my new house. So far I have beans, corn, squash, tomato, pepper, basil, lemongrass, cucumber and hopefully lots more to come.

Every two weeks or so I take a much needed trip into the nearest city, my regional capital...David. In order to do this I have to hike out 2 hours and hop a bus for another two hours, but all this travel is so worth it to be able to check my email, eat real food, drink a beer, sleep in a bed, take a hot shower and enjoy air conditioning. This is my time to spend with my fellow volunteers, we meet up for some much needed conversation in English and just plain fun. The people I have met here in PeaceCorps are some of the coolest people I have ever met (could I expect any different from PeaceCorps?), and without them I don't know if I could ever survive this experience. There are a few that I know will be friends for life...and if nothing else, that has made this experience well worth the struggles.

Well that is my life in short. I hope that fills you all in and I will try to keep you posted on a semi-regular basis! I hope to have some pictures up here soon to share with you all the beauty of Panama!

Un abrazo, (A hug)
Wakan