And So It Is . . .

Hello to all! This blog and the one following mark the end of our almost first five months in Panama, the end of our first two months in our community and the beginning of our next twenty-two months as Peace Corps volunteers. Time seems to grind on here in Panama, and as our first months here have been reserved for getting to know our neighbors and the functioning of our community, most of our time here so far has been spent awkwardly trying to think of something to say or ask that won't come off as interrogating in our still rough-around-the-edges Spanish. To add to the awkwardness, most people here are quite comfortable sitting in silence with you for long periods of time, leaving you to wonder if they are just comfortable with you there, or waiting for you to leave. We have actually met and been welcomed by almost everyone in our community- being invited into homes when we walk by, or even feeling comfortable enough to simply walk into someone else's home (as is the general custom here.) Most everyone by now knows who we are, that we are here as volunteers with Peace Corps (and not long-term tourists), and that we will be sharing the next two years of our lives with them- though this last part is still being digested by them (and us). As for our role here in the community, it is still being worked out. Many people, while seeming to understand that we were sent here to work in Environmental Conservation, still have really only voiced interest in learning English. At the same time, we have been participating in a number of activities that lie outside of our environmental conservation scope that will need our attention- the major ones being the local water supply and the local education system. To start, our local water supply is irregular- to say the least. Since we have been here it has come and gone frequently, (with the rains, and not for reasons you may think) and is usually rust-colored or just plain brown. Brandon was able several weeks ago to walk the 2 hour jungle trek to the local water source- a small cascade of water that is diverted into a concrete box, that comes out the other side through PVC tubing that winds 11 times over streams, barely being propped up enough to clear the regular flow of water. After a hard rain, (which happens frequently here) the streams quickly fill with run-off water and debris- rising above the level at which the PVC tubes are suspended and putting enormous pressure on the joints until the piping gives way and breaks open. Thus leaving the town's water supply to join the already strong stream, and requiring someone to walk out through the now very muddy jungle to repair the line. When the water is flowing freely through this obstacle course of PVC tubes, it ends up being pumped into a filter (a large cement holding tank with a filter of sand and rocks) that is situated on a hill next to town, and then by gravity it is pushed into people's homes. The whole system is full of deficiencies, and problems arise quite frequently- leaving people in town to go to a nearby stream or river to bathe and wash clothes and dishes. Last week Brandon and I had the opportunity to observe in the school, a small building where the 17 students all gathered into one room, 1st through 6Th grade and had class for several hours. The students here are taught to memorize things, and in general are not taught to critically think. We are hoping we can somehow help with this situation. Other issues in town include a trash problem, (many people litter and burn garbage outside their homes) sea turtle problem, (many people kill the sea turtles for their meat and decorative shells and also steal their eggs for food) and poor diets (many people live on staples of rice, plantains, green bananas and other starchy vegetables with little protein and usually no nutrient-rich veggies). Brandon and I have been slowly figuring out ways to start our work (in its conventional context) here, and decided to go ahead and start a vegetable garden. While the garden is for our own vegetable production, we thought that it would be a good way to spark the community's interest in home gardens *(as to supplement their poor diets and possibly to sell for additional income). So last week we started our first home garden together. Coming from the Midwest, we realized that growing vegetables here would be a lot more work (as the ground is a mixture of sand and clay- very little organic matter), but didn't realize how much! We decided to use a double-dig garden bed technique, digging 2' deep into the ground to aerate the soil for better root production, adding organic matter to the soil (in our case 'balo' tree leaves, which contain an abundance of nitrogen and chopped up platano tree trunks, which contain an abundance of potassium) as you go. In one day we had dug a 12' long by 4' wide by 2' deep hole into the hard-packed clay ground (which had also been a trash heap in the past, and was filled with half-burned garbage) working 8 solid hours in the Panamanian heat. It was definitely rough work, but we had a great response from the community, with people stopping-by to see what we were up to and why- it was *and has continued to be* a great teaching tool. We still have a long way to go, as we have 2-3 more beds to dig, a fence to put up,shade-providing roofs to construct, plants to sow, and a compost pile to start, but we are definitely looking forward to it. We are now in a transition phase from being students and observers, learning about the history of where we are and the people who live here, to becoming teachers and demonstrators- showing what abundance can be head with little resources and some hard work. It is a difficult line to cross as we are continually defining our own jobs and status in the community, but our little garden has helped to make that transition a bit smother. This upcoming month will see the end of our host family stay, as we have been looking for a house. While our host family has been more than generous to us, after 5 months of living with families we are ready to move into our own home. There are several options available to us at the moment (which is amazing for a town of 40 buildings) , all of which have plenty of space for guests... We will be making a final decision on one of the homes in the next several weeks and hopefully be moved-in by the beginning of October! We hope that all is well with everyone and we hope to hear from you soon. Love and hugs from Panama. Ashley and Brandon.