In a New York Minute, Everything can Change

On Saturday November 28th my Uncle Tim (Moms younger brother) was killed in a car accident in Ripon California where my family was celebrating Thanksgiving.
Within hours of receiving the call from my mom I was on a boat out of my village, and traveled more than 22 hours straight to be reunited with my family.

Below is an E-mail I received from my uncle a few days ago. I wanted to share his words of wisdom with all of you (especially my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers).

Hello Michelle,

You are doing such great things and we are all so proud of you. I have been reading all your blog entries and love all the pictures. From your note below I can tell that sometimes things are frustrating for you. That is totally understandable and more importantly perfectly normal. You are right on to continue to focus on your mission of why you are there. Set some very very small goals for yourself to achieve that are related to you mission so you can get a few "wins" under your belt. Simple things, that you can accomplish in a day or two or a week or so. Write them down, plan what you need to do to complete them, note your progress, then note when task or objective is completed. By doing this you will see the headway you are making and the impact you are having. Long term goals are awesome, but sometimes they can be overwhelming, especially when working by yourself. Set a bunch of small short term goals that, when accomplished, move you closer to your long term goals. Set personal goals, too. You need to do things for yourself to ensure that you are good for everyone else. Be a tiny bit selfish every once in awhile.

You are doing something that very few people have the courage to do. Please know that and know that we all think that you are amazing for choosing to do what you are doing.

Love You, Uncle Tim

The memorial services will be held Saturday in Costa Mesa California. I will most likely travel back to Panama on Sunday.

The One With the Thanksgiving Pictures

I figured I better make the most out of having internet...

Here are all the pictures I took during Thanksgiving.

http://picasaweb.google.com/maguilar317/Thanksgiving?feat=directlink


I hope all of you were able to share a day of giving thanks with the people you love. It is easy sometimes to take for granted all that we have in the United State. Not just physical possessions and food, but educational opportunities, health care, the freedom of choice and so much more. I hope that your giving of thanks and appreciation will not be limited to one day but will continue throughout the year.
In case you ever forget how much you have to be thankful for, my blog will always be here to remind you =)

Love,
Michelle

The One With an Ear Full of Chocolate Pudding

Well, my life in the “campo” continues to be entertaining. My daily schedule is more or less the same as I mentioned in my last blog with different highlights and goals for each day.Tomorrow I plan to travel to Cerro Punto in the province of Chiriqui. Here, about 110 other Peace Corps Panama Volunteers are gathering for a huge Thanksgiving celebration! I am so excited to see my friends from training and swap stories about our first month is site. It is also going to be a great opportunity to meet other current volunteers from different groups. Another plus, Cerro Punto is high up in the mountains of Panama and we have all been warned that it actually gets cold there, like in the 60’s, maybe it will feel a little bit like fall for a few days.

Anyway, before I get to far into the future, let me tell you a bit about what has been going on the past few weeks. Let’s just do it point by point (in no particular order)

• I have decided to start with English classes sooner than I had planed. We were all warned by PC staff that every community is going to ask for English class. This proved to be true (X 10) in my community. PC staff also encouraged us to make sure that teaching English is a practical use of time or if there are other stressing problems that are more important. In my community, there are many problems, or what I like to call “potential projects.” However I truly think that because of the location of my village and their proximity to the “gringos/ex-pat” population, the truth is that the more English they know the more job opportunities they will have. I had a meeting yesterday and 25 people showed up, all guys and their sons. We decided that we are going to have class 3 times a week, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I am not sure yet if my Spanish is good enough to be teaching an English class, but I guess wewill find out. The good thing is that they are very eager to learn! In their eyes English=More Money.

• You know those funny looking Croc shoes that everyone makes fun of and swears that they will never wear? Ya, well, Crocs and knee high rubber boats are now my new best friend. There is so much mud here that really any other type of shoe really would only have days before the sole gets ripped off. Actually, now that I think about it, I am really the only one in the community that wears shoes on regular bases.

• Apparently the cool thing in the schools down here is to speak Spanish in a sort of “pig Latin” way. So around the house, all of thekids are saying “Chi” or “Che” in between the syllables of words. Ican’t tell you how frustrating it is trying to learn Spanish, when they are speaking this strange made up version of it. I told the kids that when I am around they have to speak real Spanish to help me learn, but they think it is hilarious that I can’t understand what they are saying. On a few occasions I have asked the kids how to say a word in Spanish and they have given me the Pig Latin version of it. I am worried that the Spanish I am going to learn is only going to be understood by children in Buena Esperanza under the age of 11.

• When I go from house to house visiting families, one of my favorite things to do to break awkward silences is to tell them what their shirts say. Most of their clothes come from donations from the states. Some of the people have been wearing a shirt for years, and have no idea what it says. There have been a few times that I haven’t shared with them what their shirt said. For example a woman who is wearing a shirt that says “Real men wear Pink.” Also, I would like to urge all off you to continue supporting your local “Relay for Life,” because not only is it helping find a cure for cancer, the t-shirts are clothing many people throughout Panama!

• I have been meeting more and more of the “Gringos” in the area. All of them equally welcoming and entertaining as the indigenous people in my community. Anyway, when I went to pizza again on Sunday I met a man named Joe. He has started this wonderful non-profit organization called “Operation safe drinking water. In Buena Esperanza there are two 500 gallon water collection tanks that were given to the community during the presidential campaigns. So the two tanks have been just sitting here for many months completely useless, because the community can’t afford the extra materials needed to set them up. So Joe heard about this situation through a friend of his that I had mentioned it to earlier and when I saw him at the pizza place on Sunday he says “we are coming to your community on Tuesday to install a tank at the school.” Just like that! So they showed up with 3 volunteers from the states and all the materials, and I got a few of the guys in the community together and they worked for about 3 hours until we had a brand new rainwater catchment system at the school for the kids. Here is the link to their blog, They have a little story and some pictures from my village. http://operationsafedrinkingwater.org/blog/

• My closest “Gringo” neighbors are David and Linda Cerutti. They have a farm called “Green Acers” and a chocolate business called Cerutii family chocolate. David is the type of guy that is constantly messing with machines and thinking up crazy inventions. Anyway, we had this idea to start selling “Chocolate pudding cones,” (which is just as it sounds, chocolate pudding in an ice cream cone) at the farmers markets on the island. Our idea was to eventually get some of the older kids from my village involved as a way to teach them about entrepreneurship and basics of doing business and working with customers. Anyway, we planned to go into town the week before farmers market to give the“Chocolate pudding cones” a trail run before the actually farmers market. It ended up raining so hard that day so were weren’t able to set up in the park. So we went into one of the restaurants where all the locals hang out and had some lunch trying to wait for the rain to die out. It never did, so we decided instead of wasting all the pudding we would give it out to everyone in the restaurant. Plus David was very eager to try out his creation! Try to picture this: A plastic juice bottle that is full with chocolate pudding, on the bottom of the bottle David made a little hole and connected a small pump (like the type you use to pump up a soccer ball). Then on the cap of the bottle was another hole with a rubber tube running out of it. So the idea was to pump up the bottle with enough pressure so the pudding would flow through the rubber tube and you could fill up a cone. So all was going according to plan, David was holding the bottle upside down and manning the pump while I was using the rubber tube to fill up the cones for everyone in the restaurant. Everyone was happy and impressed until David handed off the pump to another friend who let’s just say pumped it one to many times… The bottle filled with to much pressure that the cap blew off!!! Of course it happened to be pointing right at me so I got covered in chocolate pudding!!! I was looking to my left when it happened so my right ear just got stuffed with pudding. Needless to say everyone involved (including myself) pretty much died laughing. It was one of the funniest things I had ever been apart of.... There will be picuters.

• If all my crazy stories have intrigued you enough to look for some property down here in Bocas, it’s your lucky day!!! A property right next to my village just went up for sale =) You could be my new neighbor!!!
  
  Well, I think that is about all that I have time for right now. If you skipped to the bottom of the page, here is a summary: Started English Classes, Got a rainwater catchment tank hooked up at the school, and got covered in chocolate pudding!

Here are some more pictures... Enjoy http://picasaweb.google.com/maguilar317/BuenaEsperanza?feat=directlink

And most importantly, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!! I hope you know how truly Thankful and Blessed I feel to have such loveing and supportive friends and family. You are all in my thoughts during this Thanksgiving holiday.

~Meti

The One With Pictures and a New Mailing Address

Hello Hello,

I know how much you all like the pictures, so I managed to find some time to upload some. I even figured out that I can add some Captions to give the pictures some context. So whenever I have time I will try to do that.
This first link is picture from Swear in about 3 weeks ago.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maguilar317/SwearIn?feat=directlink

Amd this link is pictures from in my site over the past 2 weeks
http://picasaweb.google.com/maguilar317/2WeeksInSite?feat=directlink

I have yet to bring out my "real camera" my SLR in site yet. I have decided to wait until I am out of a host house. But these pictures will do for now.

Also, I have a new mailing address:

Michelle Aguilar
Cuerpo de Paz-Panama
Entrega General
Bocas Del Toro, Bocas Del Toro
Republica De Panma

Remember if you are going to send in anything make sure to put religious symbols on the package and that way they will not mess with it in the mail.

Until Next time,
Meti

The One With the First 10 Days in Site

Hello

Other Peace Corps Volunteers have told me that once in site, “the days go by slow and the weeks go by fast.” That has proved to be true with my first 10 days in site!

Run down of a typically day so far:

I wake up around 5:30 am to bathe before the kids wake up. I call it “bathing” because it involves taking a cup and filling it in a large bucket full of rainwater and then pouring it over my head, (whiling standing in the middle of the kitchen), and I would hardly call that a shower… But it does the job.

Around 6:30 am the kids start to wake up, all 10 of them. They start crying one by one until they are all wide wake screaming, crying, and running around the house so it feels as though an earthquake is taking place. I sit outside reading and enjoying the beautiful view of Dolphin Bay, while the kids get ready for school. Breakfast is usually a cup of coffee (or should I say a cup of sugar with some coffee in it), which inevitably ends up split all over my book because the house is so sensitive to motion that when the kids run, you better hang on to everything! After I drink my coffee that I sneak some protein powder into, I head out into the community to get involved in whatever is happening that day.

It did not take me long to realize that a boat or “cayuco” was going to be necessary to get around. It is possible to walk through the main grove, but each time I try, I feel like I am struggling through a competition of gladiator, hanging on to the vines and walking the makeshift bridges that are no bigger than a balance beam, trying not to fall into the dirty water. The Natives, especially the kids can do it with such grace, but on day 2 in site I put my order in for a cayuco!
You might know a cayuco by its other equally common name, a “dug-out-canoe.” From what I have gathered the process of making one of these involves first, waiting for there to be a full moon, then hiking way out in the jungle and searching for the perfect tree (there is certain criteria it needs to meet) then dragging it all the way back and working many hours to hallow it out until it floats. It might be awhile until I actually get it. Let me know it you have any suggestions on a name for my new floating tree.

Moving on… I make sure to return to the house before it starts raining, usually around 2 pm. However, I think my “weather rader” could use some tuning. Let’s just say that there is hardly ever a trinkle before the down poor when it rains here. But at least my host family finds amusement when I show up soaking wet.

For lunch/dinner I usually eat a huge bowl of white rice and either beans or lentils. The rest of the afternoon is filled with studying, reading, playing with the kids and watching the rain. Sometimes in the late after noon there is another meal, then I “ bucket off” and head to bead as the sun goes down.

Some highlights from the past 10 days in site:

• My host sister taught me how to wash my clothes… This involved kneeling literally one inch away from a 10foot drop and hitting my soaking wet/soapy/slippery clothes against a piece of wood as hard as I could. It is obvious that I am a novice. It is a great way to release anger, but I am not sure why they insist on washing their clothes in such a hazardous spot.

• On either side of my village there are “gringos.” I have already had the pleasure of meeting 5 of them. One of them took me to a local Pizza place where I was introduced to MANY other “gringos” that live in the area. The all were very warm and welcoming and may prove to be valuable resources both in my work and personal sanity = )

• I have made my first composting toilet, which for now is really just a composting bucket. I went on a scavenger hunt with some of my host siblings to find the ingredients, I am sure they all think I am crazy, but as much as I want/need to live the way my community lives…. Having a place to go to the bathroom is going to have to be a matter in which we differ. Oh, and while we are on the subject, if you would really like to know… I took a 2 litter Coke bottle and cut it in half, the bottom half serves as my “pee cup” and the top half aids me in the catch and release of the many cockroaches I live with.

• One day I worked with 3 other woman to make over 250 Johnny Cakes in celebration for Independence Day, Nov 3rd. It took us close to 6 hours. It reminded me of making tamales with my family. I have pictures of the whole process that I will try to put up next month some time.

• There was a storm one night that made me feel as though I was in the “Wizard of Oz.” I thought for sure I was going to wake up the next morning and the house was going to be in a distance far away land. There was no way I could sleep because there was water being blown in my room and falling through my mosquito net and drenching me, as if there were no roof at all. And the wind sounded like a train, I could literally here it coming miles away and could do nothing but brace myself. The next morning was pristine, with clam waters and blue skies. It will be a storm I won’t soon forget. Let’s hope that it is not just one of many.

• Nov 3rd, yesterday, was the celebration of Panama’s Independence from Columbia. I celebrated at our local school with all the kids and the “Padres de Familia” which is like the PTA. We ate the Johnny Cakes for breakfast, then the kids did a ceremony where they sang the national anthem and raised the flag. After that one little boy read the history of the Independence, none of which I heard any. After that it was time for the games to begin. The next 4 hours involved games such as; running races, sac races, boat races, two piñatas, and my favourite was the “musical chairs.” The “music” ended up being one of the teachers banging a piece of coconut against another piece of wood, when he stopped all the kids would race for a chair; the kindergartens were the most entertaining. I also have pictures from this I will share ASAP.

Well, after a few short blog entries, I felt like I owed you a longer one! Please forgive some grammar/spelling mistakes as I am working as fast and as best I can in this internet café with a Spanish keyboard. I plan on figuring out a way I can use my own computer again.
Anyway, I will try to update my blog as much as possible. Only time will tell with what regularity I will have internet access.

Love, miss, think and talk about you all often. Friends and family is something that is universally, and everyone in my community loves hearing stories and seeing pictures of you all!

Until next time - Meti