Check out our friend Marin's blog to see our trip *(and pilgrimage) to Christo Negro. The post is titled Walk It Out.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
UPdate for June, July and August!
Hello to all for June, July and August.
It has been a busy month or two (or three) for Brandon and I recently as we have been in movemiento the past several months. We’ve had quite a few visitors in the past several months, as well as a number of varied work-related responsibilities recently. The beginning of June had us preparing for and hosting four new Peace Corps Trainees (Volunteers-in-Training). They were towards the end of their 10 week training that is mandatory at the beginning of every volunteer experience here in Panamá, and we were to host them with a week of Caribbean coastal culture- Afro-Antillean style. Brandon and I went through the same training when we first arrived, but obviously with a different volunteer (one who turned out to be a neighbor here on the coast.) The week typically involves staying with a host family in the community that you are visiting for the week, learning about the culture through said host family and the community, and participating in different activities that are planned throughout the week. While we hosted culture week we organized a bake sale with the school kids and trainees to raise funds to buy paint and supplies for a world map that we would be painting on the exterior wall of the school. We also worked in the school garden, preparing the beds for planting, and held sessions on cultural exchange and gender inequities in the region.
We also tried to have a Congo dance demonstration by community members; unfortunately there is a very strong religious presence in town that has taught our community members that it is unholy to dance outside of church. Thus they don’t practice, and have lost, many of their beautiful cultural traditions such as the Congo dance. (We will make sure to put up a specific blog entry on the Congo dance, as well as some photos or even video of some of the dances here in the area- as not every town has lost their cultural means of expression.) So, pretty much, the week went off without a hitch (thank goodness) and the trainees were sent off to finish their training- not to be seen again until one of them (Marin!) became our neighbor in the middle of July.
Then came our 2nd (!) wedding anniversary (the first three will all be in Panamá if you can believe it,) and Ashley’s family visit. On June 15th four of the Horn clan - Ashley’s Mom, and sisters Meggan, Morgan, and Hillary all came down for a two-week visit. It had been only 6 months since Ashley’s mom had first been to Panamá, but it was the first time that we had seen my sisters since before we had left for our Peace Corps service in April of 2008! Most of their time here was spent just relaxing (aka: trying not to roast, or fry) in our little town, going for swim-breaks in the Caribbean, and doing some small craft projects with sea shells they collected. The girls made friends with some townspeople, and everyone here thought that they were giants for being only 15yrs old (beautiful ones though!) Towards the end of their visit we headed back into Panamá City where we stayed in a hotel (yippee!!) and saw some of the ‘big’ city. Meggan and Morgan turned 15 (!) while they were here, so Brandon, Mom and I tried to surprise them by taking them out on a Panama Canal boat tour through Lago Gatún (the lake that feeds the Panama Canal) and its surrounding areas.
The morning of their birthday we woke up early and headed out on a covered fishing boat (with birthday cake hidden, but in-hand) to cruise around Lago Gatún looking for monkeys (we saw Howlers as well as Capuchins), lizards (we saw a small variety of alligator) as well as sloths (a 3-Toed sloth was spotted) and various types of exotic birds. After about an hour or two out on the water, tooling past large container ships that dwarfed our boat, we arrived at our afternoon destination- a very Swiss-Family-Robinson-esque floating house boat where we had a beautiful (and delicious) Panamanian lunch and the (by then discovered) birthday cake. After lunch the twins went off to go fishing (of course) with Brandon and some other folks on the tour, and Mom, Hillary and I decided to go kayaking to a remote waterfall and swimming hole. It had been a beautiful day until about 2pm when it started to downpour (which is typical this time of year in the city,) leaving the waterfall full of debris and more muddy than swimmable; so we took some photos and turned back around before our non-tied-up kayaks decided to float away without us in the rising creek water. Needless to say we were all soaking wet (fishermen/women included) from the torrential downpour by the time we arrived back at the houseboat. The Girls and Brandon decided then that they might as well go for a swim, diving off the houseboat’s 2nd story balcony, made especially for creative jumps into the lake. After several cannon balls and mid-air jumping-jacks, we all dried off as best we could from the rain or the swim, gathered our things together, and hopped back into the covered fishing boat to be returned back to our hotel for some warm showers and a hot dinner.
The rest of their visit was spent relaxing in the city, doing a little shopping and visiting the Panamá Canal Museum before they took off, headed back to the States. (Just for the record- Meggan, Morgan and Brandon caught about 20 fish between the three of them within an hour’s time!) So at the end of the month, the whole bunch of them left, to leave us with just two weeks of actual work before Brandon’s family came to visit in the middle of July.
The Gries family arrived on the 15th (just in time for my birthday!) and made a quick trip out to visit our community. Robert (Brandon’s dad) was able to practice his Spanish while he and Linda were meeting everyone (a tradition we have is that we take every visitor around to each community member’s house to introduce them to everyone in town… Peace Corps volunteers excluded, as they are able to introduce themselves and usually feel more comfortable just wandering around town on their own.) He quickly learned that even if you may be able to speak Spanish in the States, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to understand it as spoken here, especially in our thick-accented community, (as many other American-taught Spanish speakers find out.) After the family/community introductions Linda and I got down to business making ice cream cone cupcakes to hand out to community members for my birthday. After the birthday wishes and Spanish-speaking intents, we headed back out of town to stay over in Panama City before making our way to Chiriquí.
The next morning we headed out to Boquete (in Chiriquí). Boquete is famous in Panamá for great white water rafting, world-renowned coffee plantations and being home to lots of ‘gringos’- and with good reason. Boquete is like a perpetually beautiful, mild, spring day in lush, mountainous Colorado. Plus, for the relatively small size of the town, there are a plethora of small, intimate restaurants with authentic, diverse, and very tasty menus. We were able to try a good number of them while we were in town; from an amazing authentic Sicilian restaurant that served enormous calzones (see photo) and jumbo shrimp to a hole-in-the-wall local Panamanian fresh strawberry stand that served freshly made, delicious, strawberry shakes. They were all very, very delicious- and now greatly missed!
First up on our list of things to do in Boquete (other than eat really good food) was to go to a coffee finca or farm. Brandon’s father has an affinity for good coffee so we took a tour of one of the most ecologically friendly and highest-quality coffee farms in Boquete: Café Ruíz. There we had a Panamanian tour guide who walked us through fields of coffee as well as the processing plants, teaching us the different stages of coffee growth, different varietals, and the various stages of coffee production- from bean to bag. At the end of the tour we enjoyed a great coffee tasting and received a free bag of beans. Next up on the list of activities was horseback riding. So the next morning we rode out of town in an uncovered 4x4 Jeep that took us to a small town outside of Boquete to the east. There we encountered our horses and took off for a several hour horseback ride through parts of the town as well as its surrounding areas. It was a beautiful day and we were able to see a lot of the surrounding countryside from a vista point we stopped at for a snack break. On the way back to the ‘stables’ Brandon’s horse had decided it had had enough of taking it easy, and walking slowly in line with the rest of the horses, so it took off and the two of them (Brandon and the horse) made it back a good 5-10 minutes before the rest of us.
Then, as if that weren’t enough the next day we went on a zip-line canopy tour, high up in the mountains above Boquete. Transportation to the zip-line was on a private, mostly mud and gravel trail with potholes the size of a small vehicle, which lasted about ½ and hour (to get 2kms mind you.) Once we arrived at the top we were given a debriefing and safety talk and signed our lives away to fate, hopped back into the vehicles and continued onward and upward (as we were not at the top as we had thought!) Another 15 minutes in the vehicles brought us to the first part of our zip-line ride, very high up in the mountains. Fully geared up, we walked anxiously to the first part of the line and one by one were clipped on and sent on our way over tree tops and streams, and probably a number of unknown dangerous animals that would have gladly eaten us if we had by chance fallen. But, luckily, none of us fell and we all arrived happy and safe (if not a bit more exhilarated) back at the debriefing point. There we all enjoyed a cold drink and took some more photos of the view before heading back to Boquete.
More to follow, but no time to write so you’ll have to wait until the next installment… the End of July and August!
Love you all!
Ashley and Brandon
It has been a busy month or two (or three) for Brandon and I recently as we have been in movemiento the past several months. We’ve had quite a few visitors in the past several months, as well as a number of varied work-related responsibilities recently. The beginning of June had us preparing for and hosting four new Peace Corps Trainees (Volunteers-in-Training). They were towards the end of their 10 week training that is mandatory at the beginning of every volunteer experience here in Panamá, and we were to host them with a week of Caribbean coastal culture- Afro-Antillean style. Brandon and I went through the same training when we first arrived, but obviously with a different volunteer (one who turned out to be a neighbor here on the coast.) The week typically involves staying with a host family in the community that you are visiting for the week, learning about the culture through said host family and the community, and participating in different activities that are planned throughout the week. While we hosted culture week we organized a bake sale with the school kids and trainees to raise funds to buy paint and supplies for a world map that we would be painting on the exterior wall of the school. We also worked in the school garden, preparing the beds for planting, and held sessions on cultural exchange and gender inequities in the region.
We also tried to have a Congo dance demonstration by community members; unfortunately there is a very strong religious presence in town that has taught our community members that it is unholy to dance outside of church. Thus they don’t practice, and have lost, many of their beautiful cultural traditions such as the Congo dance. (We will make sure to put up a specific blog entry on the Congo dance, as well as some photos or even video of some of the dances here in the area- as not every town has lost their cultural means of expression.) So, pretty much, the week went off without a hitch (thank goodness) and the trainees were sent off to finish their training- not to be seen again until one of them (Marin!) became our neighbor in the middle of July.
Then came our 2nd (!) wedding anniversary (the first three will all be in Panamá if you can believe it,) and Ashley’s family visit. On June 15th four of the Horn clan - Ashley’s Mom, and sisters Meggan, Morgan, and Hillary all came down for a two-week visit. It had been only 6 months since Ashley’s mom had first been to Panamá, but it was the first time that we had seen my sisters since before we had left for our Peace Corps service in April of 2008! Most of their time here was spent just relaxing (aka: trying not to roast, or fry) in our little town, going for swim-breaks in the Caribbean, and doing some small craft projects with sea shells they collected. The girls made friends with some townspeople, and everyone here thought that they were giants for being only 15yrs old (beautiful ones though!) Towards the end of their visit we headed back into Panamá City where we stayed in a hotel (yippee!!) and saw some of the ‘big’ city. Meggan and Morgan turned 15 (!) while they were here, so Brandon, Mom and I tried to surprise them by taking them out on a Panama Canal boat tour through Lago Gatún (the lake that feeds the Panama Canal) and its surrounding areas.
The morning of their birthday we woke up early and headed out on a covered fishing boat (with birthday cake hidden, but in-hand) to cruise around Lago Gatún looking for monkeys (we saw Howlers as well as Capuchins), lizards (we saw a small variety of alligator) as well as sloths (a 3-Toed sloth was spotted) and various types of exotic birds. After about an hour or two out on the water, tooling past large container ships that dwarfed our boat, we arrived at our afternoon destination- a very Swiss-Family-Robinson-esque floating house boat where we had a beautiful (and delicious) Panamanian lunch and the (by then discovered) birthday cake. After lunch the twins went off to go fishing (of course) with Brandon and some other folks on the tour, and Mom, Hillary and I decided to go kayaking to a remote waterfall and swimming hole. It had been a beautiful day until about 2pm when it started to downpour (which is typical this time of year in the city,) leaving the waterfall full of debris and more muddy than swimmable; so we took some photos and turned back around before our non-tied-up kayaks decided to float away without us in the rising creek water. Needless to say we were all soaking wet (fishermen/women included) from the torrential downpour by the time we arrived back at the houseboat. The Girls and Brandon decided then that they might as well go for a swim, diving off the houseboat’s 2nd story balcony, made especially for creative jumps into the lake. After several cannon balls and mid-air jumping-jacks, we all dried off as best we could from the rain or the swim, gathered our things together, and hopped back into the covered fishing boat to be returned back to our hotel for some warm showers and a hot dinner.
The rest of their visit was spent relaxing in the city, doing a little shopping and visiting the Panamá Canal Museum before they took off, headed back to the States. (Just for the record- Meggan, Morgan and Brandon caught about 20 fish between the three of them within an hour’s time!) So at the end of the month, the whole bunch of them left, to leave us with just two weeks of actual work before Brandon’s family came to visit in the middle of July.
The Gries family arrived on the 15th (just in time for my birthday!) and made a quick trip out to visit our community. Robert (Brandon’s dad) was able to practice his Spanish while he and Linda were meeting everyone (a tradition we have is that we take every visitor around to each community member’s house to introduce them to everyone in town… Peace Corps volunteers excluded, as they are able to introduce themselves and usually feel more comfortable just wandering around town on their own.) He quickly learned that even if you may be able to speak Spanish in the States, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to understand it as spoken here, especially in our thick-accented community, (as many other American-taught Spanish speakers find out.) After the family/community introductions Linda and I got down to business making ice cream cone cupcakes to hand out to community members for my birthday. After the birthday wishes and Spanish-speaking intents, we headed back out of town to stay over in Panama City before making our way to Chiriquí.
The next morning we headed out to Boquete (in Chiriquí). Boquete is famous in Panamá for great white water rafting, world-renowned coffee plantations and being home to lots of ‘gringos’- and with good reason. Boquete is like a perpetually beautiful, mild, spring day in lush, mountainous Colorado. Plus, for the relatively small size of the town, there are a plethora of small, intimate restaurants with authentic, diverse, and very tasty menus. We were able to try a good number of them while we were in town; from an amazing authentic Sicilian restaurant that served enormous calzones (see photo) and jumbo shrimp to a hole-in-the-wall local Panamanian fresh strawberry stand that served freshly made, delicious, strawberry shakes. They were all very, very delicious- and now greatly missed!
First up on our list of things to do in Boquete (other than eat really good food) was to go to a coffee finca or farm. Brandon’s father has an affinity for good coffee so we took a tour of one of the most ecologically friendly and highest-quality coffee farms in Boquete: Café Ruíz. There we had a Panamanian tour guide who walked us through fields of coffee as well as the processing plants, teaching us the different stages of coffee growth, different varietals, and the various stages of coffee production- from bean to bag. At the end of the tour we enjoyed a great coffee tasting and received a free bag of beans. Next up on the list of activities was horseback riding. So the next morning we rode out of town in an uncovered 4x4 Jeep that took us to a small town outside of Boquete to the east. There we encountered our horses and took off for a several hour horseback ride through parts of the town as well as its surrounding areas. It was a beautiful day and we were able to see a lot of the surrounding countryside from a vista point we stopped at for a snack break. On the way back to the ‘stables’ Brandon’s horse had decided it had had enough of taking it easy, and walking slowly in line with the rest of the horses, so it took off and the two of them (Brandon and the horse) made it back a good 5-10 minutes before the rest of us.
Then, as if that weren’t enough the next day we went on a zip-line canopy tour, high up in the mountains above Boquete. Transportation to the zip-line was on a private, mostly mud and gravel trail with potholes the size of a small vehicle, which lasted about ½ and hour (to get 2kms mind you.) Once we arrived at the top we were given a debriefing and safety talk and signed our lives away to fate, hopped back into the vehicles and continued onward and upward (as we were not at the top as we had thought!) Another 15 minutes in the vehicles brought us to the first part of our zip-line ride, very high up in the mountains. Fully geared up, we walked anxiously to the first part of the line and one by one were clipped on and sent on our way over tree tops and streams, and probably a number of unknown dangerous animals that would have gladly eaten us if we had by chance fallen. But, luckily, none of us fell and we all arrived happy and safe (if not a bit more exhilarated) back at the debriefing point. There we all enjoyed a cold drink and took some more photos of the view before heading back to Boquete.
More to follow, but no time to write so you’ll have to wait until the next installment… the End of July and August!
Love you all!
Ashley and Brandon
Friday, May 29, 2009
"Free Time"
Just thought I would give an update of some of my (Ashley's) hobbies here in Panama- the things that are currently keeping me sane! 
A 'typical' Panamanian day is never like the next except in that you probably have at least a good 6 -15 hours during the morning/day/evening that you have nothing- absolutely nothing planned. This is a great time to start working towards your next (or current) 'in-site' or community project(s), doing research, finding out what kind of interest around town there might be, or making materials for your project. However, it is very difficult to fill weeks or months upon end of 6-15 hour days of researching, gauging interest, or making materials for a particular project. Don't get me wrong- I'm sure some people do- but I would like to think that I am a very efficient researcher (because I love it), interest gauger (also helps that I live in a tiny community with my husband), and materials maker (thanks ID/Graphic Arts training!) SO, I am left with a plethora of time on my hands.
Many volunteers will spend their free time pasearing or walking around town visiting people all day, maybe taking in a couple movies or doing a half-day marathon of watching telenovelas (soap operas). Others may sit and talk with families, one-by-one, working their way around town (possibly looking for a free home-cooked Panamanian meal) until they get too tired to go to the next house (especially the case if you live in the mountains), and decide to move on home after one, last, cup, of sugar-laced coffee. But, because I just so happen to live in a very tranquilo (laid-back) town, that just so happens to house no more than 20 lived-in homes, that just so happen to be smack up against each other and built on a very flat beach, it usually doesn't take much more than a couple of hours walking around town to get to everybody's house to hear the bochinche or our version of the news (aka: gossip). (We also happen to live in THE MOST centrally located house in town and have almost every single community member walk by our house more than once a day, saludaring us or just saying 'hi'.
SO, while I am suprisingly busy these days (in and outside of the community), I still happen to find time for my current hobbies: Crocheting and Gardening.
I learned to crochet here in Panama from a girlfriend of mine that I met while in our Peace Corps 'de-briefing' in Miami before flying to Panama. I spent a good week in her community a while back, and during one of our 6-15 hour, no-plans-days she taught me how to crochet, and I immediately announced that I would make a blanket. So, 3 or so months later (and many nights of sore, callused & blistered fingers), I have now crocheted the sq. ft. equivalent of a 'body-blanket'.
Here you can see it being tested out on my loyal test subject.
Yes, that's right- I only have a 1/4 of it finished! My fingers are dying- but I can't stop now, I only have 3/4 of the thing to go. (I'll post a photo of the finished project... hopefully before we leave the country next June.)
My other hobby- gardening, also happens to be a lead-in to a community project that I am trying to drum-up interest for in right now, and I'm sure you'll never guess what it is... That's right, you guessed it! Its growing your own fruits and vegetables in a town that doesn't, ever, sell them! I know it is a crazy idea, but I think it just might work.
So far I am growing spinach (a great vining kind that gets as large as a 10' Christmas tree... I think I might actually put lights on it at Christmas.)
Arugula (Which neither Panamanians or ants like, which means it's all mine... and maybe Brandon's)
Tomatoes (this one happens to love where I planted it)
Cucumbers (you can't see it now because he is just a little guy, but it will be ama-zing! I might even get ambitious and make pickles. You like the homemade campo trellis don't you- another by-product of ingenuity... or an extra 6-15 hour day to kill.)
And, last but not least, Green Beans. Can you spot the green bean in this photo?
Most of the plants have taken really well (with the help of a little horse-poo) and hopefully within no-time we will all be eating home grown veggies (given that it starts raining someday soon!)
So- that's my current hobby list- check back for more updates, but don't expect an update all that soon on the blanket thing... its going to be a while.
Love from Panama
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Lawn Mowers, or Another Wonderful Use of the Machete
The machete here in Panama is a fairly ubiquitous item. It can be found in every household, in every finca (farm), and in every Panamanian man's (or small child's) hand at one point of the day. The machete has so many uses it is ridiculous, and many an hour are passed listing the multitude of ways that machetes are useful. (We once saw a Panamanian changing a tire with the help of his machete. No joke.) But mostly machetes are used for clearing monte (the forest), killing animals (usually culebras aka snakes), or if you are us- for cutting your lawn. That's right, cutting the grass. Now don't get me wrong, we don't have an acreage. We have about 10 linear feet of grass to cut, which really doesn't sound like a lot- until you have to cut it with a machete. My heart goes out to those volunteers that actually have a yard, and have to cut the entirety of it with a machete- kudos.
(Our side yard)
(Our Back yard)
(Our side yard)
(Our Back yard)White Water Rafting
While there are a plethora of activities to do in Panama, white water rafting is one of the more popular ones around. Rafting in Panama is usually good for around the beginning of May until September/October, when the dry season starts. Many of the good rafting rivers (Chiriqui Viejo is the best, with multiple class 4 and 5 rapids and few straight-aways) can actually be found in the area around Boquete, and with many new outfitters popping up, it is getting easier to be on your way. Brandon and I went on a rafting trip at the beginning of the month with some of our Peace Corps friends, and had a fantastic time.
You can find more photos of our trip here.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Dengue, Christmas and New Year´s
We want to wish a very belated (but loving!) Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all! The holidays found us at home in our village- with Peace Corps friends at Christmas and our community members for New Years- plus Ashley’s sister in the first part of December.
While Courtney was visiting we saw some great sites in Panama City that Brandon and I had not ventured around yet (Casco Viejo, The Panamá Canal, and Casco Antigua), as well as showing her around our village- and she survived the trip to our site amazingly well for someone who has a tendency to get motion sickness. The second part of her trip we had planned on going to the west side of the country to visit some of our Peace Corps Volunteer friends and (hopefully) to climb Vulcan Baru, the only volcano in Panamá. Unfortunately, we ended up spending almost an entire week in the city of Santiago because Ashley got Dengue. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular illness (and be very grateful that you are!) we invite you to Google it. Ashley spent the entire week hobbling between the hotel and the hospital, getting injections, popping pain pills and sleeping. Towards the end of the whole ordeal, she even got to spend a night in the hospital! Thankfully, she recovered in time for us all to make it back to Panamá City to see a few more sites and to send Courtney off (who has now vowed to come again to see what she missed, and PS- Ashley pulled through like a champ!)
Several weeks then passed without incident, and Christmas was upon us before we could say “Feliz Navidad.” (Sorry we had to.) We were very lucky to have Peace Corps friends that were willing to travel two days across the country to come and spend Christmas with us. (We are sure that the lure of the beach had nothing to do with it.) We had a full Christmas meal, including a ham, mashed potatoes with gravy and an apple pie. Everyone pitched in to help, and it was almost like being at home with our families (minus the yelling and drinking—joking!). We played card games, listened to Christmas music and had a white-elephant gift exchange. (Ashley received a magnetic photo frame, and Brandon a beautiful mermaid sculpture souvenir.)
Our visitors stayed for several days, and by New Years, we were again in the company of our neighbors. We spent a quiet night inside, playing cards to pass the time and drinking a cheap bottle of sparkling wine; but with no ball drop to look forward to, we passed out early and closed up the house. However, around midnight we woke to the sounds of bottle rockets and roman candles, and opened the front door to find almost every member of the community out and about, wishing happy New Years to everyone they passed, with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Not wanting to be left out, we decided to head out and share our own well wishes, and after an hour, turned back in and fell asleep.
And so our holidays passed. Resolutions having been made, we walked into the New Year full of ideas and drive. On January 5th we officially started teaching English with an Intensive Summer English Course- 8 weeks and 24 hours of English per student. We currently have more than 40 students from the ages 3-50, in four different age group classes. Children before lunch, and youth and adults after dinner- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week until March 6th. The course was primarily designed with the high school students in mind, who are only in town during their summer vacation (January – March), but we had such an overwhelming response from the entire community that we opened three other class times for them.
Aside from English classes, we will be starting an environmental group for the youth in February, where hopefully we can instill in them the importance of taking care of the earth – or at least their own community – and how to have some fun doing it.
In between preparations for classes and our environmental group, we have been taking it pretty easy. We have started a small garden around the perimeter of our house where we have planted carrots, green beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon, as well as several herbs and spices. So far, we have promising sprouts and we are working on making kitchen-scrap compost to aid our plant growth. We are also trying to grow our own spinach, lettuce and artichokes (which will hopefully be the bulk of our produce.)
As for other fresh produce (which has been a problem in the past due to irregular/difficult/expensive transportation) we have found a route whereby we are able to walk from our house to the next town via a long gravel road; once there, we can catch a bus, use the internet, or buy produce. The route is about 5 miles one way, and we have to cross a river, but the walk is flat and quiet and the river is usually only knee-high. We have walked it about once a week in the past 2-3 weeks to buy fresh produce and use the internet, (which is what we are doing today!) as well as get out of town for an afternoon.
With the influx of hormonally charged high schoolers who haven’t seen friends and family in a long time, our town has become, how do I put it- LOUD. From 7am until 11pm, there’s the constant sound of children screaming, singing, playing soccer (fútbal) or baseball (béisbol), throwing stones (literally…at each other), and lots and lots of Spanish pop-music. Add to this several new puppies who keep the entire neighborhood on watch at all hours- alerting us if anything happens to walk past them (Unfortunately, these puppies are not ours, as it makes it much more difficult to get rid of them! Joking.) Needless to say, our new 5 mile walk is nice and a big thank you to Courtney for bringing us an industrial sized pack of ear plugs.
In our spare time, we have also been reading a good number of books. Taking advantage of the down time we are able enjoy, to read (at last) some of the books that we have been meaning to read for years (Atlas Shrugged- Congrats Brandon!) or new books/authors that have been introduced to us through our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers (thanks Abby for our introduction to Bill Bryson!)
February however, brings more work as we continue our weekly rigor of English classes, and add to that our new environmental conservation group. We will also be hosting a good friend of Brandon’s from high school who is on is way back from China to the United States via South America and Central America (read- Panamá!). Yay for Justin- our second visitor! We are very excited for the upcoming month, but already tired. With New Years come and gone, we have our first measureable projects underway, and our days of assimilating are over; this is it, we have arrived! It is hard to believe that after so much time mandated for learning, adjusting and settling-in, that we are finally Volunteering. Our community members seem very grateful and excited to learn English, as for environmental topics- we’re getting there. Our strategy has been, and will probably continue to be- start with the kids- they’re still pliable.
Love from Panamá, (Only 1.5 years left!!)
Brandon and Ashley (Roberto y María)
While Courtney was visiting we saw some great sites in Panama City that Brandon and I had not ventured around yet (Casco Viejo, The Panamá Canal, and Casco Antigua), as well as showing her around our village- and she survived the trip to our site amazingly well for someone who has a tendency to get motion sickness. The second part of her trip we had planned on going to the west side of the country to visit some of our Peace Corps Volunteer friends and (hopefully) to climb Vulcan Baru, the only volcano in Panamá. Unfortunately, we ended up spending almost an entire week in the city of Santiago because Ashley got Dengue. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular illness (and be very grateful that you are!) we invite you to Google it. Ashley spent the entire week hobbling between the hotel and the hospital, getting injections, popping pain pills and sleeping. Towards the end of the whole ordeal, she even got to spend a night in the hospital! Thankfully, she recovered in time for us all to make it back to Panamá City to see a few more sites and to send Courtney off (who has now vowed to come again to see what she missed, and PS- Ashley pulled through like a champ!)
Several weeks then passed without incident, and Christmas was upon us before we could say “Feliz Navidad.” (Sorry we had to.) We were very lucky to have Peace Corps friends that were willing to travel two days across the country to come and spend Christmas with us. (We are sure that the lure of the beach had nothing to do with it.) We had a full Christmas meal, including a ham, mashed potatoes with gravy and an apple pie. Everyone pitched in to help, and it was almost like being at home with our families (minus the yelling and drinking—joking!). We played card games, listened to Christmas music and had a white-elephant gift exchange. (Ashley received a magnetic photo frame, and Brandon a beautiful mermaid sculpture souvenir.)
Our visitors stayed for several days, and by New Years, we were again in the company of our neighbors. We spent a quiet night inside, playing cards to pass the time and drinking a cheap bottle of sparkling wine; but with no ball drop to look forward to, we passed out early and closed up the house. However, around midnight we woke to the sounds of bottle rockets and roman candles, and opened the front door to find almost every member of the community out and about, wishing happy New Years to everyone they passed, with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Not wanting to be left out, we decided to head out and share our own well wishes, and after an hour, turned back in and fell asleep.
And so our holidays passed. Resolutions having been made, we walked into the New Year full of ideas and drive. On January 5th we officially started teaching English with an Intensive Summer English Course- 8 weeks and 24 hours of English per student. We currently have more than 40 students from the ages 3-50, in four different age group classes. Children before lunch, and youth and adults after dinner- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week until March 6th. The course was primarily designed with the high school students in mind, who are only in town during their summer vacation (January – March), but we had such an overwhelming response from the entire community that we opened three other class times for them.
Aside from English classes, we will be starting an environmental group for the youth in February, where hopefully we can instill in them the importance of taking care of the earth – or at least their own community – and how to have some fun doing it.
In between preparations for classes and our environmental group, we have been taking it pretty easy. We have started a small garden around the perimeter of our house where we have planted carrots, green beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon, as well as several herbs and spices. So far, we have promising sprouts and we are working on making kitchen-scrap compost to aid our plant growth. We are also trying to grow our own spinach, lettuce and artichokes (which will hopefully be the bulk of our produce.)
As for other fresh produce (which has been a problem in the past due to irregular/difficult/expensive transportation) we have found a route whereby we are able to walk from our house to the next town via a long gravel road; once there, we can catch a bus, use the internet, or buy produce. The route is about 5 miles one way, and we have to cross a river, but the walk is flat and quiet and the river is usually only knee-high. We have walked it about once a week in the past 2-3 weeks to buy fresh produce and use the internet, (which is what we are doing today!) as well as get out of town for an afternoon.
With the influx of hormonally charged high schoolers who haven’t seen friends and family in a long time, our town has become, how do I put it- LOUD. From 7am until 11pm, there’s the constant sound of children screaming, singing, playing soccer (fútbal) or baseball (béisbol), throwing stones (literally…at each other), and lots and lots of Spanish pop-music. Add to this several new puppies who keep the entire neighborhood on watch at all hours- alerting us if anything happens to walk past them (Unfortunately, these puppies are not ours, as it makes it much more difficult to get rid of them! Joking.) Needless to say, our new 5 mile walk is nice and a big thank you to Courtney for bringing us an industrial sized pack of ear plugs.
In our spare time, we have also been reading a good number of books. Taking advantage of the down time we are able enjoy, to read (at last) some of the books that we have been meaning to read for years (Atlas Shrugged- Congrats Brandon!) or new books/authors that have been introduced to us through our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers (thanks Abby for our introduction to Bill Bryson!)
February however, brings more work as we continue our weekly rigor of English classes, and add to that our new environmental conservation group. We will also be hosting a good friend of Brandon’s from high school who is on is way back from China to the United States via South America and Central America (read- Panamá!). Yay for Justin- our second visitor! We are very excited for the upcoming month, but already tired. With New Years come and gone, we have our first measureable projects underway, and our days of assimilating are over; this is it, we have arrived! It is hard to believe that after so much time mandated for learning, adjusting and settling-in, that we are finally Volunteering. Our community members seem very grateful and excited to learn English, as for environmental topics- we’re getting there. Our strategy has been, and will probably continue to be- start with the kids- they’re still pliable.
Love from Panamá, (Only 1.5 years left!!)
Brandon and Ashley (Roberto y María)
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