Back in the USA and more to come

We have made it safely back to our families, despite the best (worst?) efforts of Spirit Airlines (we arrived a day and a half late). It was a hectic last couple of weeks in Panama, and has been pretty busy here as well. Plus Blogger didn't publish some posts we'd scheduled (who knows why), so it has been a bit slow here lately. Sorry for that. We promise to make up for it soon.

Over 4th of July weekend, we were at my folks house in Lexington, VA, along with my grandma, my sister and her husband and the nephew we'd never met, my cousin and his wife and their daughter we'd never met, and April's parents. It was a busy time, but extremely fun, with lots of food, laughter, and talking. We didn't even view any of our photos.

So far, cultural adjustment hasn't been too hard. We have stayed in the house mostly, with just one quick run to Kroger's and to Wal-Mart. (We were subjected to the Michael Jackson memorial "news" on TV, which was definately a cultural event.) We are catching up on some sleep and shopping for a laptop and a cell phone, two of the main steps to plugging back in. We have our veggie car back (thanks to April's folks for taking care of it), and April proved today that she hasn't forgotten how to drive, so we have some independance as well. Next week, we'll visit April's grandma in North Carolina, and figure out where we are visiting next (Cincy and the Baltimore area are our top candidates right now).

But more importantly, watch here for some more recaps of events during our time in Panama (April will do pictures and summary of the course and time she spent in Isla Coiba), as we reflect on our final weeks and the full two years, realize differences we hadn't noticed while we were down there, and look through our pictures and find other stories we wanted to tell. Thank you for watching over these past years, and we hope to see many of you soon.

Final Boat Update

A few weeks ago, I thought I wouldn't have any more progress to report. They had righted the boat and put a "roof" over it of zinc panels. I thought that was to keep it drier during the rainy season than it would have been otherwise.

(Allie's boat under cover for the rainy season; it was perfectly upright originally, but they tilted it again when they continued working)

It turns out I was wrong. They covered it so they could keep it dry enough to work on. Pedro and a fellow from port applied fiberglass to the lower sides of the boat (a very smelly process) and then started to paint it. The fiberglass and resin/glue cost roughly $800; which is more than most folks on the island make in two or three months, so it took some budgeting and planning to purchase the materials and have them applied (labor is probably $8 to $10 a day as well, and probably took three to five days on a boat this size).

(Painting the boat after the application of fiberglass layers; five on the keel/bottom and three on the sides.)

Pedro achieves the very straight edge by tautly stretching a line of cord from the back to the front of the boat, and slowly painting and chatting.

(April helped out with the chatting part of the painting, which is a very common form of help)

UFO in Panama!

Many of you reading this already know that I am a bit nerdy at times....I might as well admit it to the rest of you because you will figure it soon enough. But really, I am also a fairly normal person too.

So it all started last year...the observation of one of the coolest bugs that I have ever seen. Panama has some great wildlife to observe...but I doubt that many people have visited to see the lightning bugs. Yes, lightning bugs (or fireflys to some) do exist, they are not just a Disney or Hollywood creation as my fellow PCVs from the west coast thought...poor souls who grew up deprived of lightning bug wonders.

Here on the island we have "normal" lightning bugs, a little bit smaller than those in the states and sometimes a bit more sychronized (video of sycronized lightning bugs)....but basically the same. We also have two other types of lightning bugs. My nerdy self just wiggled in excitement at the diverisity of it all.

The first one I noticed had a big bright orange light...its light was about the size of my thumbnail!!! I only got to see it flying as it tended to fly faster and higher than the "normal" lightning bugs. It also seemed to flash with a bit more frequency and when it flashed its light was frequently a sequence of flashes, not just an on and off again. I was facinated by these bigger orange lightning bugs, but they seemed too fast for me to catch, especially since they seemed to like the woods around our house more than the fields...making running after them much more difficult. So I just admired from afar waiting for the day that one would make the mistake to cross my path.

There was also a lightning bug who had the normal green/yellow color to its flash. I only knew that it was a different type at first because the strength of the flash was so strong. It strobed with the power (and sometimes the speed too) of a weak camera flash!! One night we had one of the strong flashers in our bed room, so I got out of the mosquito net to see what it looked like. It was a fairly non-descript beetle...a bit bigger (about 2x the size) than of a normal lightning bug. Pretty cool, not as common as the other two...but very powerful flash!

So just imagine my gleeful nerdyness when I looked out the "window" (fancy word for the space where we made the bamboo wall in the kitchen short to keep the view) and saw two bright green lights at the edge of the woods near the house. They looked like green LED lights. So of course I went to look thinking that it would likely be two bugs...and was very excited to find one bigger beetle with two lights.


This is what the lights looked like. He could control the brightness of the light to some extent...it could be very bright or dim...and powered up and down like it was on a dimmer switch. Very cool.

This is what he looked like under a light. Pretty non-discript in his color and markings.

This is to give you a sense of scale and size. He crawled all over my hand for a few minutes...turning his lights on and off. If touched the lights turned on very bright. I was finally tired of bothering him when he decided to fly away...and shocked the heck out of me...as he took off and flew away the underside of his abdomen light up ORANGE!! I was thrilled!!

Lucky for me, he did not fly far and I was able to chase him down and look at him again. I looked at his underside...but there was no way to tell that he had an orange light under there...it must be covered when at rest. But each time he prepared to fly the orange light would flare up on the underside. After much patience on my part and a hand over top of him to keep him from getting far I managed to get a photo of both lights. The orange light is just starting up in this photo.

It turns out, I think, that he is the same lightning bug that I have been admiring flying around our house. The one that was brighter, orange and tended to fly faster and higher than the "normal" lightning bugs. I had wanted to see one up close and never managed to catch one until now...and even then it was a suprise!

Below is a brief video of the lightning bug taken by Kevin. If you are very observant you can see the orange light start up in the moment before the beetle escapes us photographers with a flying get-away. Watch carefully...when he goes it is FAST!

In my wanderings around the web I visited the Wikipedia site on fireflies and found out that sycronization of flashing is common in some areas...

"In the United States, one of the most famous sightings of fireflies blinking in unison occurs annually near Elkmont, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains during the first weeks of June. Congaree National Park in South Carolina is another host to this phenomenon."

Guess I know what I want to see if I can ever manage to hit Tennessee in early June!

I continue to watch the lightning bugs in facination. There are some really cool insects here to see...and to photograph. I would like to thank my faithful and patient lighting aide Kevin for his help to photograph the bugs that visit us. Some people would think I am just strange, but he just smiles and holds the flashlights steady.

Grand Opening for the Island Library

It happened!

La Biblioteca (the library) is open! As you may recall, the community had made plans to make bookcases and organize books. Well, the chainsaw never worked out (due to a lack of gas and/or oil and/or machine), and bookshelves never got built. But, there was a spare bookcase from the kitchen in the school, and they decided it would work fine for the library and they would replace it when the chainsaw happened.

So, as scheduled, on 5 June Cecilia and her husband Eduardo brought their boat to our cove and we loaded up the six "Panama" bags we had filled with the books stored at our house and hauled them to the school. We organized them that day and the next with Cecilia and Maria Luisa into little kids (thick pages), easy reads, medium reads, chapter books, Panama information, science and education books, health books, books about adolescence, and English or Spanish books. We confirmed the plans for the checkout system and library hours. They talked to everyone about the Grand Opening on Tuesday, 9 June, and we actually left for the weekend, arriving back on Tuesday morning.

It turned out that Cecilia and Maria Luisa, together with the maestra, were up to a bit more than the Grand Opening of the Library. The maestra had organized all the kids in the school to sing a song or recite a poem for us, and they had a going-away lunch.

Then we had everyone wash their hands (manos limpias para los libros - clean hands for the books) and we held a story time to celebrate. We had all the kids, plus some younger siblings, and numerous parents. I read one of the Guillermo Gusano / William Worm books that the kids have enjoyed. I think it was a good example for the parents of how to read to the kids.

Then April went over the rules of the library and how to treat books well so they last. (And to think, I was librarian's child. :)

(April reviewing the rules of the library, on the whiteboard and posted on the wall. Together with a map of the world - we later added a map of the Gulf of Montijo and one of the island - it looks pretty official. The books nearly fill the bookcase already; they are planning on making another one.)

After the rules, April read them a book we hadn't read in nearly exactly a year, Donde Viven Los Monstruos.

(April with a very attentive crowd of listeners as Max sails back home)

When the wild rumpus started, April shocked them to their feet to dance around, while I joined in banging on a plastic bucket. They thoroughly enjoyed story time, and hopefully Cecilia, who will host the Wednesday Library Hours with Story Time, will carry on the enjoyment. (Maria Luisa will hold Sunday Library Hours.)

But while we do hope Story Time continues, one of our main goals is to encourage kids and adults to read in general. We hope to have something for everyone.

(Rubiel, Carlito, and Kiko reading, while Roxanna and Soray look at books and talk with April)

Thus, this picture is one of the ones we enjoyed the most. These three boys all clambored to find a small book and sat down to read it. Kiko lives north of us and had been by our house regularly on his way home from school to ask for a book to read, and searched out his favorites. Rubiel lives on the south of the island and Carlos near the school, so they had not read any of the books before, and enjoyed discovering the options. I have faith that they will continue to read in the future.

So what came of the donations, which were originally intended for sealable boxes and desecant packs? Since the community decided the books would be more accessable on a bookcase, and donated the bookcase, April searched around online and found another addition to the library that they had wanted: an encyclopedia, to support homework projects and learning. She found one from Encyclopedea Brittanica for $250 (plus $50 S&H once we got an Embassy address; originally, to ship to Panama was $250 as well!) with 20 volumes, aimed at the middle school age range, so it should provide as much as they need. We just spent the rest of the money yesterday at Hombre de la Mancha, one of the few bookstores in Panama (the name comes from Don Quixote, not only one of the greatest Spanish-language novels, but an appropriate label for the jousting at windmills that is selling books in Panama), picking up the fourth Harry Potter, a set of 12 books on nature, the world, and science, and other kids books. In total, the library now has nearly 400 books! Thanks to all of you who shared your love of reading and your willingness to help with our community members!

Campaign Signs

I know the election is over, but here are some photos of campaign signs.

("Chalo" is running for Alcalde, or mayor, of Santiago. Because he is the PRD candidate, he is in the first position on the ballot, thus the "1" with a checkmark. His suplente, or backup, is also listed. And the presidential logo for Bablina/Navarro 09 is included, along with the name and photo of Ruben de Leon for Diputado, which is more or less a congressman.)

Often, utility poles will be utilized by all the parties.

(This pole has a Molirena flag on top, then a Union Patriotica poster for Diputado - which also includes the presidential alliance with Martinelli of Cambio Democratico -, then off the side a PRD flag, a Cambio Democratico poster for Alcalde, and then a PRD poster. The PRD poster says Vota PRD and Vota Plancha, which means vote the party, and shows the Presidential candidate, the Diputado, the Alcalde, and the Representante. There is a "1" on the side, just in case you forgot which spot PRD holds on the ballots.)

Pressing Sugar

Back in April, just after the All Volunteer Conference, we went to visit another volunteer who lives near Chitre, where AVC was held. While there, some folks in the community were pressing sugar cane.

Sugar cane is pretty much a grass that can be grown one little plot in your yard, or in massive fields. The companies burn the fields to get the scratchy leaves off before the workers go through and cut it (so they end up sooty and blackened, but not scratched), and you'll see heavily weighted trucks carrying stacks of the about 8-foot long, 2-inch across stalks to the factories, where it is processed.

But small farmers do it on a smaller scale. They load the cane into horse-drawn carts and haul it to the trapichi, which is a horse (or person) powered press. There, each stalk is passed through twice to squeeze out the sugar juice.

(Jon and April watching the horse and farmer press cane; the juice drains out onto the metal ramp which sends it to a filter to remove chunks and then drip into the barrel)

Once the juice is squeezed out, it is heated / simmered over several days to concentrate it. Huge metal bowls are used to the process. This farmer had his built into the stove for the process.

(The bowl of sugar cane juice concentrating. The stick has a large strainer bowl on it for scooping out the concentrate.)

His stove was almost like the Estufa Lorenas, in that it concentrated the heat, thus using less firewood. The mouth of this stove is an old wheel rim.

(The stove mouth. The barrels hold processed sugar juice; buyers will pay $50 for the barrel, but then probably sell the contents piecemeal in town for $100)

Of course, there are other kinds of sugar and honey you can press. :) April and I, dressed up to go to a Samy y Sandra Sandoval concert the next night at the International Fair of the Azuero (the Azuero is the eastern side of the big peninsula on the south of Panama, containing the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos, and is famous for its "typical" Panamanian culture). Samy y Sandra's grandmother lives in the community where we saw the cane being pressed.

Some Food Photo Updates

Back at Easter, several folks brought us traditional foods. These included: a cocado, which is a mix of shaved coconut and raspadura, a cake of raw sugar cane sugar; a sweetened yuca mash (yuca is a very starchy root crop); and balos, which are corn flour mash, slightly sweetened, wrapped in a corn leave or husk.

(cocado, yuca, and balo)

Last week, April returned from Isla Coiba (it went well, look for a summary and photos -snorkeling, crocodiles, the penal colony- in about a week, when we get out again and she has computer time) with a sport fisherman, who offered her a ride back to our island (he was going past on the way to port) as long as she was willing to go fishing for an hour or two first. They caught a 50-lb fish they said was wahoo(sp?), but I'm not sure if that is the same as wahoo in English.

(April's nice doctor from Panama City who offered a ride back from Isla Coiba; he goes sport fishing about once a month for a couple of days to fill his freezer)

They immediately fileted it and stuck the ziplocs in a cooler, and when she got out, they gave her a bag with probably 8-lbs of two-inch thick slabs of fish. We shared some with our neighbors (the first time we've ever been able to give them fish) and cooked the rest with garlic and olive oil as massive steaks (except one we blackened with Phillips Blackening Seasoning; thanks Kristin).

(Cooking three of our massive fish steaks)

Vagaina Monologues

A couple of months ago, two volunteers in our region, Teri and Cassie, used the same funding source we used for our Health Fair to support the Theatre department at the Santiago branch of the Universidad Panama in staging Los Monologos de la Vagina (The Vagaina Monologues). In addition to the play, which was attended by over 300 people on its one night showing, they organized a day of charlas (discussions) for about 30 community members from PCVs' communities. The charlas, on AIDS and domestic violence issues, were led by Panamanians from Mides (Ministry of Social Development) and APLAFA (sort of like a Planned Parenthood maybe?) who are very enthusiastic about helping stop the spread of AIDS and ending domestic violence.

Five women went from our community to both the day of charlas and the play, and then spent the night in a hotel in Santiago. For all of them, it was their first time going to the theatre, and may have been their first night in a hotel. They certainly enjoyed themselves both at the play and with the night away (even if their rooms didn't have TV or A/C, they did have lights and a shower and bathroom).

(Maria Ester, Marlina, Ilsa, Yadira, and Magda, at Los Monologos de la Vagina, as evidenced by the playbill in Maria Ester's hand)

It took a lot of walking and talking to get those five (it was supposed to be six). Initially, we chatted with Cecilia and Maria Luisa (who would have loved to have gone, but felt that others would find greater benefit from attending) about who to ask. They recommended women they thought would be willing to talk about what they heard and/or who faced domestic violence. They selected women from all parts of the island, so that each community would have someone who had experienced the charlas and show. Then I walked around the island, visiting just about every house to deliver an open invitation to all the women on the island to the show, and a special invitation to the selected women for the full day and the night in the hotel.

I received a lot of interest (the name alone makes people take notice), and several of the women immediately said yes they would accept. There were some logistical questions (at one point, I thought I might be babysitting a two-and-a-half year-old all day, but evidently she stayed with a friend or relative) about the event, but with April in Panama City, I think any trickier questions about the topic weren't addressed to me. But when I returned a few days later to confirm their attendance, two backed out. It may have been due to child care concerns, or fears of spending a night out in the city, or it might have been a disapproving husband. Whatever the reason, I ran around to talk with our backups (two kids got colds and moms were unwilling to leave them with relatives; so they said) and called Maria Luisa and Cecilia. I also coordinated with Israel, the corregidor, to use the community boat to take us to port. As we left at dawn that morning to go around the island and pick everyone up, I wondered how many would actually be ready and going. I was pleasantly surprised.

We arrived at port early enough that we didn't need to go straight to the charlas, so I gave each of them their bus fare and told them we'd meet at the terminal at 8:45 to go to the APLAFA offices. When I walked up at 8:40, expecting to wait for them, all five were there, wondering why I was late! Then, instead of taking a taxi, Marlina said they'd walk, since she knew where it was and it wasn't far. I am constantly pleasantly surprised.

They were a bit surprised when I introduced them to Cassie, Teri, and the others leading the charlas and then started to leave; clearly they hadn't anticipated being left "alone". But when I came back at the end of the day, they were a happily integrated part of the class. The only other confusion came when we checked into the hotel. In addition to their three rooms, through the grant, I had made a separate reservation for April and I. But I don't think they realized that, and they were concerned about which one of them was going to have to share a room with me (five of them plus me, with three rooms, meant two people per room). They laughed once they realized the only question was which of them had to sleep alone.

Everyone had a few hours to get made up to go out, and then we headed to the theatre. When the play started, they initially checked with us for our reactions, but soon they were absorbed in laughing along with the rest of the crowd. They clearly had an exciting night, and from conversations with others on the island, they've been sharing their experiences and the fun. Thank you to Cassie and Teri for putting so much effort into making both the day and the play happen.

One other photo from that night:

(Us with the women from the island at the theatre; I don't usually see it when just chatting with them, but every so often, something points out to me that I am a bit taller than most of the folks here.)

Follow Up Volunteer

Peace Corps service is only two years. At the end of two years, if you've really "done" it, you have a pretty good grasp of the language, you understand most of the culture, you're comfortable eating, getting around, and travelling, and you have a good grasp/understanding/comfort level in your community. And then, just when you are starting to feel successful, everyone wants to implement the ideas you've been mentioning, and suddenly you have tons of work to do, it is time to leave.

If, like in our case, you were a first time volunteer, the community has finally gotten a good grasp of your grasp of the language, they understand the aspects of your culture you've displayed in site, and they know what you are comfortable eating, and have finally gotten a good grasp/understanding/comfort level with the gringo in their midst and what is Peace Corps. And just when they are wanting to implement the ideas you've been mentioning and have tons of work for you to do, you leave.

The solution? A Follow Up Volunteer. New blood (for the chitra and mosquitos, quite literally). Someone who can come in and continue the work you started, hopefully picking up right where you left off. Thanks to your efforts, they shouldn't have to learn everything from scratch, won't have mention the ideas for the first time, and should be able to implement.

We will benefit from just such a Follow Up Volunteer in the island, and hopefully she will benefit from us. We've been able to arrange for host families; she should get all of our household goods at a discount (and not have to haul them out there); we're providing her a map with everyone's name, nickname, and relationship (so she'll know who are siblings, cousins, etc); we've made a list of in-progess projects and potential projects, as well as groups and people to work with; and we've made a list of all the other secrets, tips, and hard-won knowledge we've picked up in our two years here. With luck, she'll start at about the level we achieved in just the last half-year.

Allison is from California and has a strong background in environmental work. She heard about our site from the CEC (April's sector) volunteer who visited us two weeks ago and told Francisco (April's boss) that she would like to come here. (There are no couples in CEC or SAS in this group, which is ironic after our group two years ago had five couples.) She is tall apparently, which is lucky, since we built for our height and things shouldn't have to be lowered. Beyond that, we don't know much yet. She will do her Site Visit (recall ours' here) in mid-June, ironically when we are in Panama City to do our COS (Close of Service) medical appointments. Then she will swear-in on 30 June and head to site later that week, which, as you know, is right when we leave the country. So, we aren't sure yet when or how we'll meet her to chat about the island. But even if we don't, she'll have all our notes and the support of our great friends in the community who are enthusiastic about helping her get settled in. We wish her the best of luck.

Arrival Date!

As many of you have calculated or realized watching our recent posts, our two years of Peace Corps service is almost up. And now we finally have the answer to the question Grandma asked every time we talked with her: "When are you coming home?"

We will be coming home Independance Day weekend.

We'll spend it at my folks' house in Lexington, Virginia. April's folks will come down, my grandma will be there, hopefully April's grandma will be able to come up, and my sister, along with Justin and Sam, the 20-month-old nephew I've never met, will come down on the 4th. We'll grill out and have hamburgers and instead of salchichas, real hotdogs!

We'll also start the process of readjusting to life in the United States: punctuality, expensive avocados, sidewalks, no really fresh fruit or fish, temperature changes greater than 10-15 degrees, no good bus system, etc.

We'll start to organize some of our pictures and memoriabilia into a condensed showcase of our time here; we want to be able to show and tell more than the blog has provided, but without overwhelming folks with a day-long lesson. We are still working on travel plans (if you want to see the show in your neighborhood, let us know) and job plans (if you need a volunteer coordinator, let April know! :).

Burning: Why and What are the Alternatives?

(Ed. Note: I originally wrote this a couple of months ago for La Vaina, the PC Panama revista (magazine) that comes out every regional meeting (now every four months). La Vaina has articles from the office about on-going work, as well as summaries of various committees and groups, and photos and stories or other submissions from volunteers, covering everything from what is the best cheese-puff in Panama, to thoughts on sustainable development, to recipes for zapallo soup (zapallo is like pumpkin; remember when we carved some with our neighbors?). In Panama, La Vaina means "the thing", as in "da me la vaina allá" - "give me the thing there". Back issues are available online at the Friends of Peace Corps Panama website. Sorry I didn't get any photos to submit with it, although one of the editors added one of some small burns on a hillside; you can find the article - minus the last two paragraphs - and his photo in the May 2009 issue.)

Burning: Why and What are the Alternatives?

As summer comes to an end, the pace picks up. Everything is as dry as it will be. Soon, the rains will green everything again, and new trees, brush, vines, and grasses will grow over the trees, brush, vines, and grasses that were cut over the past few months. In other words, better burn the dry stuff now.

Why is slash & burn the preferred method of farm management? What are the gains from this destructive option that outweigh other safer, less-damaging alternatives?

There are several reasons for slashing, and several for burning. The basic slash reason is the paucity of “good” soil here in the tropics. While many of us from the US are accustomed to feet of good, grow-able soil, here in Panama and other tropical lands, the topsoil is often less than a foot, sometimes merely inches. Once exposed from the protection of tree canopy, brush, and detritus, the winds of summer and rains of winter quickly move the soil into streams, rivers, and the ocean. Within a few years, a recently but not maintained cleared plot will not grow crops well. So it is time to move to another patch of “good” soil. (At least here in my island community, that frequently means a plot that was previously cultivated and has been let fallow for a few years, so no more “old growth” is normally lost.) Chop through with a machete, and it is ready for planting (or in the case of tirar-ing maize, plant first by tossing seeds so they reach the soil, then cut everything down so sun and rain reach the seeds). It isn’t hard to slash – a day or two’s work and everything is down.

What is the alternative to slashing? Well, for starters, you could maintain the plot you are currently using. Which means adding abono (fertilizer) organico; preventing erosion through live barriers, abonos verdes, and terracing, and drainage catchment systems; and weeding to prevent overrun of your plot by malaisas. Those efforts, which SAS and CEC learned in Pre-Service Training on a small scale, take time, especially if you are trying to apply them on a large scale. A lot more time and effort than a few days of slashing.

As for burning, once you’ve cosechar’ed (harvested) that primero coa de maize (first planting of corn) in your slashed plot, the time has come to burn down the now dried materials. Burning removes the sticks and stumps from the field, and adds ceniza (ash), with its associated nutrients. This serves at least three purposes: one, it adds (albeit limited relative to alternatives) nutrients and minerals to the soil, which will make your next crop grow better; two, it kills weeds, which decreases the amount of work necessary to maintain the plot; third, it reduces the large debris, so it is easier to move around the plot when planting, weeding, and harvesting. It isn’t hard to burn – a hour or two’s work and everything is aflame.

What is the alternative to burning? Presuming you’ve already slashed, then you could use the same plot without burning (possibly you already did this with that first coa de maize). The downed trees could be placed horizontally as dead barriers for erosion control. You could weed really well right away, while the weed counts are low; and you could plant abonos verdes, such as mani forajero or canavalia to help control weed populations. These efforts take time, a lot more time than a few hours of burning.

Another option is to mulch all the downed material. Smaller items (leaves, twigs) can be piled for compost, but branches, limbs, sticks, and trunks are too large. A chipper shredder would be required. This takes time to transport and time to use (the gallon of gas to run it we’ll call a wash with the gas to start the fire if burning). And you still haven’t really addressed the weed seed issue. A lot more time than a few hours of burning.

So, it sounds like in terms of the farmer’s short term perspective, slash and burn is the easy and positive winning option. Less work, fewer weeds, more nutrients in the soil.

The alternative, for the farmer, requires thinking well into the future, when the effort of maintaining a plot long term begins to pay off through the need for less land, and less distance travelled to that land. If the same plots could be used over and over, all your land can be in use at once; there is no need to allow a plot to revert to monte (transition level growth between grasses and true forest) so it will grow material for later burning for nutrients, etc.

So why are we against burning? Why is burning bad? By whose values? There is an image of burning as a terrible thing – dirty, polluting, resource consuming, illogical. Is that because it is a single big event? Like our fascination with plane crashes even though they are less threatening than car crashes, burning a single big burn is more noted than the small, less visual, impacts of tailpipe emissions, etc. What is dirty and polluting? Burning a hectare of monte releases CO2. Driving a car releases CO2. Which is dirty and polluting? What is resource consuming? While natural resources may be lost, we’ve already seen that more immediate resources (time, money) would be necessary to implement alternatives to burning.

So what can we, as Peace Corps Volunteers, do? We can bemoan the burning. But most folks will still do it. If we feel that it is really important enough, that our values can be understood by our community members, then we must provide alternatives that are feasible and adoptable. Maybe start with your MIDA (Ministry of Agriculture) or ANAM (Environmental Authority) office to talk about a demonstration plot of mulching, with a multi-year use plan. Maybe with a community farmer, so others understand it can be done and isn’t all due to MIDA magic or ANAM abono while they aren’t looking. Or you start with talking to community farmers about why they burn. Ask, don’t lecture. Learn, don’t teach. Start early. After a while, offer alternatives to their reasons for burning. By your second year, maybe you’ll find someone willing to implement some of the ideas. Then call in MIDA or ANAM or other PCVs to help you start, so they see there is interest and they aren’t alone.

By the time you leave, maybe one small plot less will burn. Congratulations. That’s your reward.

Kevin Cropper is a SAS PCV in Group 59. He loves the smell of a campfire, but not a forest fire. He hasn’t figured out how to determine if that one plot less burned, thanks to his efforts.

Off to Coiba!

Just a quick update....

I (April) am off to Coiba National Park today to teach a Certified Interpretive Guide course with park rangers there. In this case interpretation means interpretation of a history, resource or other story....such as guided hikes that our National Park Rangers do in the States...they help you interpret what is unique and important about what you are seeing/experiencing. The training will be an official course within the curriculum of National Association of Interpretation. (See their webpage at http://interpnet.com/ to learn more about interpretation as a profession and a skill set.)

As my parents have heard... I originally proposed this week long class last February. I wrote the proposal three times before it was accepted (English, Spanish, and official government format Spanish). The course has been postponed twice...once in November due to a broken electric generator and again last month for unknown reasons (internal agency confusion seems likely on that one :)

The funding has come from the national environmental agency ANAM and all of the students are ANAM employees. All told we hope to have representatives from 7 different Panamanian parks in attendance. I even have a wonderful co-instructor to share the work with...Eylin Martinez is a Panamanian who also holds the certification from the National Association of Interpretation. I am so lucky that she is donating her time and efforts to this workshop...she brings a great point of view, excellent Spanish and a cheery disposition. All in all she is quite likely to be the main reason I survive the week with any sanity. Thank you Eilyn!!!

So, off I go to fix up the last minute details and make the last of the copies needed. I will post later about how the class went...with photos of course. If I get lucky I may even get in some snorkeling time...I am taking my gear just in case.

Boat Repair

Do you remember the boat that was in our house when we first visited in July 2007?

It was still there when we moved in in November 2007. It stayed for December...and January....and on and on. We got used to using it as a type of bench. Then April told the owner that she was going to move it...he just needed to say where to put it.

Then the first weekend of May 2008 (less than 2 weeks after April asking where to put it), we came home to find that the boat was no longer there. Our neighbor had finally moved it into his front yard. It stayed there for about a month, before moving into the Casa Comunal (a very similar design to our house, but much bigger) across the field. Over the course of the last year, they worked on it, practically taking it apart and expanding it into something larger. The finished boat was about 1 1/2 feet wider and a couple of feet longer than the original. They put fiberglass on it, and put it in the water around January of this year.

And the fiberglass separated.

So they pulled it out in the cove near our house, cut off the fiberglass, and put on a new layer (ouch, expensive mistake, since everyone would like to fiberglass their boats to make them last longer and float lighter, thus using less gas, but it isn't cheap).

Then they pushed it back into the water.

(Check out those long legs helping to push)

After cutting some lengths of a trash tree (grows really fast, dies fairly soon, and isn't good for anything other than making O2) to serve as rollers, they recruited a bunch of neighbors and kids to move it back into the water.

(Almost there, although if it were a really high tide, it would already be in the water)

Someone gets the job of running the logs around to the front once we've rolled off the back ones, since they haven't lined the entire length to the water.

(At last, it makes it into the water; it is one of the brighter boats in our community)

This time, the fiberglass held and the boat has been put to work fishing and transporting people and stuff. It is a bit larger than most of the boats folks use around the island, but makes for a nice ride to port, with the little casita to shelter from sun and rain.

We are seeing an increasing number of boats that are either all fiberglass ($$$$) or have a fiberglass layer on the bottom ($$). For those of you who remember Allie's boat that Pedro was building, it is still sitting pretty in his front yard waiting for the plata (money) to finish it.
The art of making and using an all wooden boat is not lost in our community, but in our two years here we have seen an acceleration of the change away from natural local materials. We have also seen at least one small boat handmade from a single log...but there are not that many big logs anymore to use this way. Things will always change, the changes just feel faster sometimes when you can actually see them in progress.

Money in Panama

The money in Panama could be pretty familiar to anyone coming to visit from the United States. That is because the "Balboa" is their name for the Dollar (and is also the name of a popular beer); the balboa has been tied to the dollar since its inception in 1904 after Panama's Independance from Columbia (wikipedia info link), and currently, the paper money is all US Dollars, although stores often use the "B/." symbol instead of the "$".


But while Panama uses US coins, there are also Panamanian versions of the coins as well, and the peso (50-cent piece) is actually used with some frequency. All the coins have the same composition as their US counterparts. I have not been able to figure out yet where their coins are minted however. And they do not seem to mint every year. I have found quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies from 1996 (when the shields got smaller and other design changes were made) and 2001 for example, but nothing in between and only quarters since, with 2003, 2005, and 2008 versions, each with a different design. As they are the same size and have the same value as their US versions, you'd have no trouble spending Panamanian coins in the United States.

(From the top, clockwise: un centavo, un peso, una quara, un real, y diez centavos)

In recent years, the US Mint has begun a program of changing the obverse or reverse of US coins, making your pocket change much more interesting to look at and much more popular with coin collectors, who now try to hoard a copy of each style. Panama has been making small changes for years. Here are some of the versions I've collected in our time here.


Similar to in the states, one cent is called un centavo. But not a "penny".

(One cent pieces, with various front images; Urraca is a historical/mythological freedom fighter, who led the indigenous against the consquitadors in the 16th century)

The five cent piece in Panama is an integral part of the monetary system. Instead of a "nickel", it is called un real. And many items are commonly priced in reales. For instance, if you buy a soda for 20 cents, the shopkeeper will likely say, "cuatro reales", or "four nickels". This is true at least up to items that cost a dollar. So something that costs 75 cents would be "quince reales" or "fifteen nickels", not "setenta-cinco centavos".

(These five cent pieces sometimes have the shield, sometimes the face of Sara Sotillo, a Panamanian educator born around 1900 and instrumental in the development of teachers rights and responsibilities.)

You'll have to refer to the picture above of all the coins to judge the size, but Panamanian ten cent pieces (un decimo de balboa) are the same smallness as US dimes and are probably the most boring of Panamanian coins.

(Panamanian ten cent pieces don't have their own name, like "dime". These two reverses show two shield designs, the newer slightly smaller.)

To me, the 25-cent piece is the most dynamic. Here is the obverse (the Balboa profile) and five of the six reverse designs I have seen (I was missing the Childrens' Hospital, the newest design, that day).

(Panamanian Quarters, with from top left, the original shield design (at least 1966 to 1993), the smaller shield design without bottom fronds (1996 and 2001), the Panama Vieja tower (2003), the Puente del Rey (2005), and the Protégete Mujer (2008) with a Protect Women ribbon.)

While not as changing as the quarters, the peso, or 50-cent piece, is really neat mainly because they actually use it here in Panama. I have gotten one as change numerous times. While the coin holders that the bus drivers and ayudantes use do not have a space for them, they are not at all averse to getting or giving them, and toss them in a box to hold them.

(Half dollars, or medio balboas)

So, if you decide to visit Panama, you'll have no trouble spending your US money, and you'll have something interesting to bring back and share with the grandkids or just the clerk at the local tienda. :)

I did spend a US "gold" presidential dollar at a tienda on the island. One was willing to take it, probably more as an interest item, while another didn't want it and wanted paper. That is one coin that doesn't have a large circulation here. Of course, it doesn't up in the US either. :)

Update on Library Progress

Wow. Early on in our service, experienced volunteers warned us that the first year would be getting used to the community and the community getting used to you, and you talking about ideas and projects and ways of doing things, but not actually doing any of them. Then in the second year, things would start happening, and your community members would start implementing a few of the ideas you had talked about. Finally, in the final few months, your community would realize you were leaving soon and want to implement all of the ideas you had ever talked about, all at once (okay, maybe not all, but more than you have time to accomplish; maybe that's why they do follow-up volunteers).

Well, it isn't quite like that, but we've certainly seen an uptick in organized scheduling of activities. Last Sunday, we had a community meeting about the library, to discuss where to house it and how to use it. Attendance was limited, but with Cecilia and Maria Luisa (two of our host moms and community leaders) there, it was very productive, and they decided to talk more about it on Wednesday at a Padres de Familia meeting at the school. They assigned each person (well, everyone but us, which was a pleasant surprise) at the Sunday meeting a section of the island to alert about the Wednesday meeting. It was amazing how quickly the word got around; I left site Monday and was asked Monday afternoon about the meeting.

On Wednesday, we had 27 people at the meeting at the school, including the maestra. Cecilia led the discussion and guided them through deciding where to store the books and how to make the books accessible to the community. It was amazing, organized, and productive.

(One of the best parts about this meeting? April and I understood about 97% of the conversation, even when multiple people were talking. What a change from our first Padres meeting we attended!)

The current plan is on 21 May, they'll use a chainsaw to make planks out of a tree that is already down on the school property, which is where they intend to house the library until they can build it its own house off school property. Then on 23 May, they will have a junta (work party) to build bookshelves, which they decided on in the meeting as the best way to make the books visible and upright with spines readable.

On 5 June (April will be gone a week in the midst of that to teach a course at Isla Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), they will transport all the books to the school, organize them. And we will discuss amongst the volunteers interested what hours it will be open. (Transporting and organizing the books will be a hefty effort. Between the books we have and the books Cecilia has from a Club de Leones - Lions Club - donation, there are probably 10 or 11 ft of books, around 300, from thin kids books like Dora the Explorer, to the first three Harry Potter's, to thick health books, like Donde No Hay Doctor - Where There is No Doctor - and Qué Se Puede Esperar Cuando Se Está Esperando - What to Expect When You're Expecting.)

Finally, on 9 June (si Dios quiere - God willing), they will have an Opening Party to open the library to the community, announce office hours, and demonstrate the check out procedure, which was the other part of the library discussion at the meeting. After much consideration and discussion on the relative merits of protecting the books by not allowing them to leave the room versus giving people the chance to read at their leisure and to their kids by allowing them to take them home, as well as how to plan for replacements of damaged books, they decided:

• Adults only may check out books;
• Two weeks is the check-out period;
• No deposit is necessary to check out a book;
• One book at a time;
• Privledges will be suspended if you destroy a book;
• Renewals are allowed, but you must bring the book back to request checking it out again

So it sounds like a lot of work in the time remaining, but it also sounds well thought-out and do-able.

But the other big topic of discussion during the meeting was the interest in making an Estufa Lorena at the school. So, overlapped with that schedule of events for the library, they intend to modify the table in the kitchen, collect materials, and build an Estufa. After two years encouraging the construction of a school estufa, it is thrilling that they are going to do it, but we really wish they would have decided this a few months ago.

So now we're talking about a lot of work in the time remaining. Maybe those experienced volunteers were right. We'll be sure to warn the newbies on what to expect.

Mail Hold - Don't Send Any More Letters or Packages

To all of you who have sent us letters and packages, we have loved getting the ones that made it.

To all of you who have sent us letters and packages, someone or some mice have loved getting the ones that didn't make it, inspite of any Jesus stickers and tons of tape.

But to those of you with great success rates and those without, it is with great sadness that I say, please stop sending those letters. With as long as letters sometimes take to arrive at the Post Office here, and as long as it may be before we can visit and ask the nice ladies behind the counter to check the General Delivery under "C" for Cropper, we think the time has come to ask you to stop sending them.

It is hard to write about leaving; we have tried in many ways to avoid it, or at least thinking about it, and the sadness it will bring. But returning to the states (if you didn't hear, April didn't get selected for the Australia dream job) will at least mean getting our mail, even if it is a bit more expensive now. :)

Panama National Election 2009

"Change" seems to be a global presidential theme. On 3 May 2009, Panama held their once-every-five-years elections, and Ricardo Martinelli (millionaire owner of the Super99 chain of supermarkets here in Panama), who started his own Cambio Democratico (Democratic Change) party, defeated Balbina Herrera, of the PRD party, a long standing party which currently holds office with Martin Torrijos. (Presidential candidates can not succeed themselves, so Torrijos did not run.)

But while the global themes of campaigns were familiar to the local campesinos (countrymen) in our area (we were often asked about Barack Obama, who did we vote for, and the similarity in themes between Obama and Martinelli), elections in Panama are much more of a local event. Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post.

As I said, elections are held every five years. At that time, citizens vote for Presidente, Diputado, Alcalde, and Representante. The Diputado is like a Representative in the US, serving at the national assembly level. The Alcalde is like a mayor or county executive. And the Representante is in charge of the local level issues (such as attracting the government funding to accomplish things like the solar panels all the houses have in our community, or the sidewalk constructed last year). He (or she; we had two female and two male candidates this year) is generally the first person residents ask when they need help with a project, need building supplies to improve their house, or need a new battery for their solar panel.

So over the past year, newspapers, TV, and radio were covered with ads for candidates (many analysts said that Martinelli could sink so much of his own money into the campaign that it greatly changed the dynamic and methods compared to previous campaigns). Other popular advertising methods include Tshirts, hats, and flags, as well as banners on the street lights, posts and trees. These banners often indicated who to vote for at all four levels. We even had a banner appear on the island that listed PRD candidates for Presidente, Diputado, Alcalde, and the local Representante (sorry, I didn't get a picture). When you see the ballots below, you'll understand how they can indicate who to vote for. But all organized events and paid advertising had to end by midnight on Thursday, 30 April. This was rather nice, as it provided a three day respite before the election. (The sale of alcohol was prohibited in this time period as well, so you couldn't be drunk the day of the election. Unless you made your own.)

El Dia de la Votación was Sunday, 3 May. And it is an event. Many folks are still registered to vote where they grew up, so although we have only about 150ish adults on the island, there were 265 votes cast in each race. (The influence of "outsiders" was greatly discussed, since they aren't really affected by the vote they cast for Representante, which to most of our neighbors, was the most important race.) Each of the four candidates for Representante provided a number of boat rides from port to the island in the days prior, and food the day of. Why food? Because everyone goes to the school to vote (polls opened at 7am) and then hangs out for the day, chatting with friends, etc, and awaiting the close of the polls at 4pm. At which time, the counting begins.

The voting is held in the school, with three members of the Tribunal Electoral (the election board) and one policeman to ensure the security of the process. (There is no vote by mail, or absentee voting, so those four could only vote for Presidente. An odd twist to service towards voting.) On the wall outside the voting room, they pasted instructions on how to vote and sample ballots.

(Fairly simple instructions on how to obtain your ballots - you need your ID card - then how to mark them, and finally how to cast them in their appropriate box.)

(No cameras, video cameras, or cell phones allowed inside the voting room.)

There is a separate ballot for each race. Each ballot has its own color coding to facilitate the process.

(The blue Presidential ballot, with pictures and names of candidates with party names and flags. )

There were EIGHT parties early on in the race. As time passed, alliances were formed that generally held at the lower levels as well. In a drawing of lots, the order of the parties on the ballots was established. PRD drew 1 (the red, white, and blue striped flag) and Cambio Democratico drew 5 (the green and pink "CD" flag). If you wonder why several of the photos and names look similar, that is because PRD formed alliances with Partido Popular (2, green star on blue flag) and Partido Liberal (6, red/white/red striped flag), and CD built alliances with Molirena (3, red and yellow triangles flag, with a red rooster), Partido Panamanista (4, purple/yellow/red flag), and Union Patriotica (7, red with orange stripe flag). A former president formed his own party, something like Vanguard of the Moral Front, and was spot 8 (of the 269 votes in our island, he received 2 sympathy votes from folks who apparently knew Martinelli would win and didn't want the guy to get nothing).

So if you wanted to vote for Martinelli, but were really a fan of the Molirena party instead of Cambio Democratico, you could cast your vote in spot 3, instead of spot 5. Thus your party (Molirena) was credited with bringing support to the alliance, and in the total count, Martinelli got your vote. Then (so goes the idea), when he is president, he will support your party's desires as well and reward your party bosses for the votes they brought to his election.

(The orange Diputado ballot. The pictures and names are smaller, and there are three "open" positions for anyone running as an independant. But the party flags and numbers remain the same.)

By the level of the Diputado ballot, some of the Presidential alliances had broken, and parties were running competing candidates.

(The pink Alcalde ballot. Molirena, 3, did not have an Alcalde candidate or alliance. The blue stamps indicate that this ballot has been nulled, so people can look at it outside of the voting room.)

All of the parties were allowed to have an observer in the voting room. Four of the parties did on our island, and the observers were residents of the island. Each one had a full list of the voting roster (a book with the name, picture, and ID number of each person registered to vote in that voting location). They watched from 7am until the counting ended, about 11pm, and ensured ballots were cast correctly, without coercion, and counted correctly. We did have one blind man vote (he does not live on the island, but I think grew up here; we have seen him before) and he was assisted by someone to mark his ballots, fold them (into quarters) and drop each one into the appropriate cardboard box, one for each race, with the appropriate color across the top.

(Our race for Representante. There were four candidates.)

"Chayo" ran on PRD (1), aligned with Liberal (6); he actually lives off-island, although he has a house in the south and is the brother of several residents. Popular (2) and Vanguard (8), did not have candidates or alliances at this level. Efrain Miranda (the Representante for the past 20 years, or since the new government process was instituted after Noriega's removal by the US and George Bush Sr) ran on Molirena (3), aligned with Panamanista (4). Paula (our first host mom on the island) ran on Cambio Democratico (5), aligned with Union Patriotica (7). We also had one Independant, Vielka, running alone in the pale blue 9 spot; she also lives off island but has a house in the south and family.

At 4:11pm, the workers from the Tribunal Electoral officially closed the voting and taped the boxes closed. The policeman entered the room to ensure the boxes were not messed with. The officials demonstrated all the remaining, unused, ballots to the observers, and then all seven of them walked outside and burned them (so no one could cast an extra ballot). Then they opened the box of Presidential ballots and counted them all out onto the table. 269, which is how many their records showed had voted that day (265 local, plus the three workers and policeman). Then they returned all the ballots to the box. They taped large sheets of paper on the wall, one for each party, each sheet with 20 rows of 15, to record the counting. Then one worker pulled out a ballot, determined how it had been voted, announced it to the crowd (while the party observers were in the room, interested community members crowded the windows and counted along), then demonstrated it to one window, the observers, the other window, and finally handed it to a second worker who double checked that the announced vote was correct and built piles for each party. The third worker marked one vote on the sheet of the announced party.

April made a video of this process. I highly recommend observing a part of the participatory election process that takes place in Panama every five years. Can you imagine this kind of interest in the United States? This video was during the Presidential count. You can see the boxes for the other three offices next to the reader.



After this, we walked back to the house, ate dinner, and I walked back again about 8:30 that night. They were in the midst of counting for Alcalde. After each race was finished, the workers summed the totals, the observers gave agreement, and the workers recorded on the official papers the votes per party, total votes, blank votes, null votes, and then they signed and the observers signed. Then they took the ballots and the sheets from the wall, and they all went outside and burned all the papers. No hanging chads around to count later.

The count for the Representante, the race the residents were most interested in, began about 9:30pm. It finished about 11. While Vielka (the independant) started off strong, Chayo collected a streak of votes and then never relinquished the lead. With their alliances only suppling a few votes to each candidate, their totals were: Chayo, 112; Vielka, 82; Paula, 35; and Efrain, 33. Some folks were very happy, some were frustrated, some were confused. Some thought the Representante should live on the island, but obviously even the majority of island voters didn't agree, so it wasn't a conspiracy of outside voters. I talked with Paula later, and she was happy; she may not have won, but her presidential candidate had won handily, and that was enough for her.

It was a long and tiring days for us, and we didn't even vote (we were taking Family Fotos as a fundraiser for the library project). But what an amazing chance to see such interested and enthusiastic involvment in the democratic election process.

Beautiful Bugs

Well, it has been a while since my last post showing some of Panama's wonderful insect population...but I haven't stopped taking photos. Kevin helps me with holding a flashlight for lighting while I take close ups of bugs at night, that is true love for you! So I hope that you enjoy them like we did. You can click on the photo to see it bigger...if you care to.

This bright white bug was very patient with his photo shoot and even chose our blue dish rack for a striking background.

This cockroach was truly about 3/4 the size of our cell phone before he lost his head. He was still moving a bit in the morning.


This blade of grass is COVERED in ticks...tiny and medium ticks. This photo gives me the crawly skin feeling. On this walk I once stopped to pick ticks off of my leg to see 8 more starting to crawl up my feet in the time it took me to take off 3. In the cool air of the morning and evening the ticks crawl to the top of a blade of grass, as in the picture in the hopes that someone will brush by and give them a ride and a meal. In the hottest part of the day they crawl down and hide from the heat. They can be the size of the inside of this o or smaller than this period.

The good news is that ticks in Panama are easier to kill than their relatives in the USA...you can do it with your fingernail. They also do not carry Lymes disease...so if you don't find them you just get an itch spot at the site of the bite...not a lingering illness.

A tiny spider on our water filter.



This was just a really big spider. Very pretty. I don't know if this type of spider qualifies as a tarantula or not...I usually think of trantulas as having stocky legs (we have the type in Panama too) but this is the biggest type of spider I have seen on the island.

At our house we have a live alongside the spiders policy...we don't kill them. The theory is that they are less likely to bite than their competition for food is to sting...see below.

A mother scorpion with her young on her back. Scorpions give birth to live young and them protect them for a little while by carring them around. The young are about 3/4 inch long tip to tail when first out. This photo was taken outside a friend's house when we were moving a pile of cement block. Mother and babies did not survive long after the photo shoot.

I have decided that compared to scorpions, (who's first line of defense is to sting and our closest medical center is 2 hours away, not that most stings are hospital worth...but some are) spiders who run away from me are not as scary. They seem to hunt the same foods, so the spiders live and scorpions die in our house.

These leaf hoppers sometimes visit at night attracted to the candleight. There is nothing to quite give you a scare like a large leaf hopper or grass hopper smacking into your chest as they arrive to the circle of candlelight where you are cooking or reading. Just to give you a sense of scale...here is the same leafhopper with my friend Kori's hand.

I have also had the good timing to see some of our local insects as they start to hatch. Below is a newly hatch beetle on a tomato leaf. The eggs that they hatched from are to the left.

Kevin says I should go back to school for a degree in entomology...but I am just having fun. Maybe when I retire. OH! Just wait...I saved the best bug for next week!!! This bug makes me wiggle with nerdiness, giggle like a geek....don't miss out on next week's blog about a UFO in Panama!!!

Library Fully Funded

Well, one can always use more money! However, our Partnership grant for the community library has been completely funded through donations. This means that the money will arrive soon into our hands so that we can start using it.

THANK YOU!!

Thank you to one and all who donated! We don't know who most of you are, but thank you from both of us and our community. We will now start looking for a way to store the books that will best protect them from all of Panama's challenges. We will be sure to post a blog with photos of the finished library and the opening day for you all to enjoy.

(And if you still want to help some other Peace Corps Volunteer with a project, check out the full list of projects in need of assistance.)

Cultural Contrasts 2

A while ago I posted about some of the cultural differences that I have noticed in Panamá. YOu can read it if you like: Cultural Contrasts. I continue to learn about Panama, myself and the culture in the USA through these differences. These are just my observations...and I continue to observe so here is another couple for you to enjoy.

Flirting:
In the States a guy who is interested in a girl has to work up the nerve to come up to her. A guy has to have the guts to face rejection to get a chance. Just whistling at her or yelling "Que bonita" (how pretty) would not work, in fact it would likely work against him. Here in Panama whistling, hissing, and calling out piropos (spanish for calling out comments or compliments at a woman) is normal.

To my ear it sounds rude, like annoying bored construction workers, I would never pay attention. In fact there are times when I swear the next guy to say something will get the best earful of Spanish I can muster and I walk along practicing a good stinger to give. But here piropos are how a girl knows when a guy is interested...they say that it tells them that they are pretty.


Sidewalk etiquette:
In the USA when we are walking along a sidewalk side by side and someone approaches us from the other direction we automatically yeild some space by merging into single file. I wasn't even concious of this action until I got to Panamanian side walks (which are challenging just as sidewalks). In Panama they do yeild...but only the minimal necessary. They will not merge into single file...they just wait until that last possible moment to squish down to let you pass.

Every time it happens to me I swear that this is going to be the time they bump me off the sidewalk...but it is rare that thier bags even brush me. This felt unbelievably rude to me when I arrived, but now I realize that it is just the way things are done here. They don't run into each other...they just seem to have a different (smaller/closer) cultural norm on personal space needed for passing others. I still don't feel comfortable in those passing moments, but I have come to realize it is because I carry a different cultural expectaition from the norm here.

I have more cultural contrasts to offer...but I need to go catch a bus home. Take care on the sidewalks out there.

Thank You Donars!

Hello,

I just wanted to post a quick note thanking all those who have donated to our Peace Corps Partnership Grant for the community library. (If you don’t remember what I am talking about check it out: Community library post). The total donations have brought our amount needed down to just $175!!

One of the reasons that I wanted to say thank you is because unless you give Peace Corps specific permission to tell us who you are during the donation process (which I have been told means checking some obscure box in the forms) we never find out who gave money. We want all those who have given to know that we appreciate your help...as do the people in our community; we may just not know who you are to say it personally.

If you have not yet donated and still want to...there is still a bit left to be given. You can check it out at: Community Library donations

Last night, by phone, Kevin told me that our library now fills the shelf alloted for it...a shelf that is about 6 feet long. That is a lot of books especially when you consider how many of them are thin childrens books. Poco a poco. (little by little)

You don´t have to live abroad to be interesting

Our relatives are also up to some interesting things these days... We thought that you might enjoy knowing about the other interesting family members.

The following is a bulletin board soon to be seen in the Cincinnati area:

It seems that my Uncle Steve was laid off from his job at the Aces and Eights Harley Dealer just north of Cincinnati. He is an excellent Harley mechanic, he even has a patent for a part for Harleys (a hydrolic clutch if my faulty memory serves me...but it is an iffy memory).

Well, within a couple of weeks of his being laid off the local competitor, Harley Davidson of Cincinnati, had offered him a job. They want all the local Harley riders to know that he now works with them....Uncle Steve has quite a reputation. So if you are in the Cincinnati area and see the billboard please enjoy it for me.

Kevin´s sister Meghan is also up to interesting and new things. She is using her time as a stay at home mom with a Masters in Environmental Science to launch a new business, EcoConsults. She will provide "residential and commercial clients with simple, cost-effective, personalized recommendations for a greener lifestyle", with long- and short-term cost benefit analysis. If you are near Baltimore (or even if you aren't) and would like to have someone knowledgable look over your house or business for ways to improve your environmental impact, check out her site. She was involved in the 2009 Baltimore EcoFestival this past weekend as well.

April's sister Hilary continues to make the world a more interesting place through her art. She specializes in making ¨Melting clocks¨as seen in Salvador Dali's paintings. Examples of her clocks and many other works of art can be seen at the website for her company, Pragmatic Effects, or at her blog of the same name.