The One with her first few days in Panama.

I made it!!! And it is so wonderfully amazing here, I am not sure I am going to be able to put it into words.

So backing up about a week….. I flew to DC last Monday. I have never been to the East coast so this was very thrilling. I had half a day to check out as much of the city as possible. Luckily our Hotel was in a prime location. I woke up with the sun on Tuesday morning and did as much as I possibly could in 6 ½ hours. First stop was the Pentagon memorial and Arlington cemetery. I got a chance to pay my respects at Kennedy’s gravesite in Arlington (after all he is the reason I am here). Then it was back on the Metro to DC for the self guided, world wind tour of all the monuments and the Smithsonian’s. Ever since I took an aviation history course my 2^nd year at Poly, I have wanted to see the Air and Space Smithsonian, more specifically the Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Flyer. I was literally like a kid in a candy shop when I entered that museum. I don’t think I have every taken so many pictures in one place =) I also got a chance to spend about an hour (not nearly enough time) in the Natural Science museum.

So, once I was exhausted and nice a sweaty from running all around town, it was time to meet my group…. Wonderful first impression! We had a 6 hour meeting Peace Corps calls “staging.” I immediately felt comfortable with the people. The dynamics of our group are as follows: 36 people, ranging in age from 22-63, 2 married couples, 21 in Community Economic Development (what I am doing) and the other 15 are doing Environmental Health, we are split pretty much 50/50 in gender. I am still learning where they are all from, but I would say a good 70% or more are from the East Coast. There are 3 other Californians, and one guy that even went to POLY!!! (he graduated in 06). Everyone is wonderful, they each bring their own dynamic and culture to the group. They all have such a great sense of humor which makes the long days much more enjoyable.

So in a nut shell, here is what the past week has looked like...
On Wednesday we flew from DC to Miami to Panama City. For the past 3 nights we have been staying at an old United States military base, when we owned the Canal. It is called Fort Clayton. This is where Peace Corps Panama’s headquarters are. We are literally right next to the canal. We have really been living in luxury here, we have; running water, hot showers, air conditioning, catered meals, T.V, internet etc. This will all change very soon. So the 3 days here we have had orientation which included language testing, safety overview from the American Embassy, LOTS of shots and much more!

Today we went to our first site visit. All the CED’s left at 6 am and it was a 4 hour drive to the province of Colon. This was our first time seeing how a volunteer actually lives and works. Her community was fairly large, about 200 people. Her main projects included a Co-op, computer classes and an agriculture tourism project. The community was so happy to have us there. You could tell they had been preparing for days. There were masses amount of food which included: beef with special spices, yucca, tomatoes, vegetable medley, papaya, coconut bread, amazing lemon grass tea, tamales wrapped in banana leaves, star fruit, chicken cooked with spices and served with rice, beans, and vegetables.

There are 3 other vegetarians in my group, and so far we have not had trouble keeping our diet. This might change when we start living with our host families.

Tonight is our last night at Clayton. Tomorrow we head to Santa Clara to start our official training.

I am so excited to meet my host family, and begin the language, technical, and cultural trainings.

The closest internet will be a ½ hour bus ride away, but I will try to get to a computer at least once a week.

Also, next time I blog I will tell you more about what I have learned about Panama and Panamanians. Things are very different here, and I am sure I have only scratched the surface.

I hope you are all doing well back in the States.

Until next time,

Miche