Bueanas!!!!
Well, here is an interesting story…In Panama, like most other Central American Countries, the main form of transportation is bus. The buses on my side of the country are honestly not that bad. They are, I think, a lot better than the buses in the city that have earned the name “Diablo Rojos” (Red Devils). Of course, whenever using public transit in Panama, you always run the chance of getting “that one bus”, the one that has any or all of the following; blaring (annoying) Panamanian music, roaming baby chickens, screaming children, a dog strapped to the roof, a driver that passes on blind curves, or an extremely overweight person who snuggles in right next to you and then proceeds to use your shoulder as a pillow. Oh and my personal favorite is when you find yourself having to play a game of human Tetris with your neighbors because the driver keeps stopping to let more and more people in. However, if/when you look past these slight nuisances, the buses really are not that bad. They are equipped with air-conditioning… which actually, come to think of it, seems to become more of an annoyance than a advantage because the passengers have to constantly open and close their windows depending on whether we are going up or down hill so that the bus doesn’t overheat. Ok, but REALLY… let’s get to the positive! Each bus usually operates with 2 workers. The driver, and then the ever so obliging, “Ayudante” (helper). The job of the Driver I think is pretty self explanatory, and the job of the Ayudante is 3 fold.
1.) Collect and change money
2.) Store and retrieve your luggage (whether it is a suitcase of a live animal).
And last and most definitely not least…..
3.) They are the person you tell where you are traveling to so he can then relay that to the driver to ensure that the bus stops where you need it to stop
… simple enough right?
It is with point number 3 that my story is derived. We had a meeting a few weeks ago with all the volunteers in the Province of Bocas Del Toro (I believe there are 31 of us). The meeting started at 11am and after doing the math a few times I figured if all went accordingly with transportation (which is rare) it would take me about 3 1/2 hours to travel there. This worked out perfect because I had a boat ride out of site that morning at 7:30 am. So I used my power of positive thinking and sure enough I got a water taxi off the island right away, a free ride to the bus terminal and then hoped on a bus right as it was pulling out…. Hardly any wait time, amazing! I hate being late, even though everything was completely out of my control, I kept checking my watch and it looked like I was going be 5 minutes early, I couldn’t believe my luck!... Well, I got a little too certain a little too soon. As my stop started approaching I noticed that the bus wasn’t slowing down. I was sure that I had told the Ayudante where I needed to get off…. I had never been to this town before, so I made it a point to make it extra clear to him that I would not recognize where to get off so he would have to tell me when we got there. I only wish I would have known that this particular Ayudente happened to be…. deaf!
So, as we zoomed along, I noticed a sign that read the name of the town I was supposed to be going to. Usually the Ayudantes are really good about remembering where you need to stop so part of me didn’t question the fact that we weren’t stopping. But, something in me was telling me that this wasn’t right. So I approached the Aydante to ask him. As I started speaking, a nearby passenger stopped me mid sentence and considerately informed me that the Aydante “could not hear and can only speak with his hands.”… Great, sure wish someone would have told me that when they saw me talking to him earlier. So I yelled to the bus driver to stop, and by this time we were well past where I needed to go. So, I had to walk back which took about 20 min… and I didn’t make it on time to my meeting=( It was a good lesson though…. I know it was not the deaf Ayudantes fault, I should know by knowto always expect the unexpected.
After our meeting, we all went to a hostel called “Lost and Found.” This is a great place nestled high in the mountains of the Continental divide. The bus drops you off by these random rocks that are painted yellow (the only sign that there is anything around) and then you hike straight up for about 20 min until you stumble upon this backpackers hostel. I highly recommend this place if you are planning on traveling through Central America! It felt wonderful to be up in the mountains!! I did a few hikes, went on a tour of a coffee farm and swung on some vines. Here are some pictures and I will try to upload the rest when I find a faster internet connection.
- Well, the scorpions are putting up a fight. For those of you who have never lived in place like Panama, where the 3 “S’s” (Scorpions, Spiders, Snakes) are a part of everyday life… I hope my story, or should I say “experience”, will serve as a good lesson.
Before my new life here in Panama began, I knew nothing about Scorpions. Apparently, the high Sierras of Tahoe are too cold and while the climate in San Luis Obispo area can sustain scorpion life, my “posh” White picket fence surrounded house never proved to have a scorpion infestation. From what I can remember, the only scorpion experience I had (before Panama) was a video that my brother brought back from Iraq. It was a Scorpion and a Camel Spider that the soldiers had caught and locked in a box together, forcing them to fight. After watching that video, I knew that those were two living creatures that I never wanted anything to do with. Fortunately, the Camel Spiders (which are said to take a full chunk out of your skin when they bite you) do not reside in Panama. Another fortunate thing (always looking on the bright side) if stung by a scorpion, contrary to popular belief, you will (most likely) not die! And this is how I know this…
1.) Peace Corps medical office told us during training and 2.) I have lived to write about my “experience.”
Just like getting Amebas (which knock on wood I have not had yet) I knew that a Scorpion sting was bound to happen. I figured it would either be a.) On my hand, reaching to grab something or b.) On my foot if I were ever to forget to bang out my boots before putting them on…. But no!!! Life likes to keep me on my toes. My first scorpion sting was on, what I would say with full confidence after haven been stung there, the absolute worst place one could be stung…(no, not down there)… the eye!!! Yep, that’s right, the little bugger was on the inside collar of a t-shirt I was changing into for bed. So it was pitch black, I was exhausted and as I slipped on my clean “comfy” PJ’s he made his presence loud and clear! My semi-spasmodic reaction sent him flying across my room. My machete was not close by this time (I should have known). So I franticly reached for any other weapon-ish type thing in attempt to seek revenge. My flashlight is what I stumbled upon first (which would have been a lot more useful if I were in a Star Wars movie). I shinned the light on him just in time to see him scurry under my bad. The pain came instantly. It felt like 100 bees had all stung me on the same place, at the same time. The whole right side of my face swelled and throbbed for over an hour. The one thing I wanted was ice, and seeing as how ice is like gold in my community, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. The pain was so intense that it brought me (someone who hates taking pills) to take not just one but TWO pain pills. Eventually, after pacing back and forth on my porch for over an hour, the pain and swelling let up, but it took over a week before my eye felt completely normal again.
To prevent an incident like this from happening again, I made a promise to myself that each piece of clothing would be put to the “Shake test” before getting close to my body. And just to play it extra safe, I am also not permitting myself to reach into area I can’t see, walk around bare foot at night, or put my shoes on without thoroughly examining them first.. …. So basically, if after 2 years I have nothing else to show except for my new extreme paranoia, we can all look back to this blog post to pinpoint the cause.
- In collaboration with my friends that run “Operation Safe Drinking Water,” a few weeks ago we had 3 nurses from the United States come to my site for a full day Health Clinic. Being so far away from a doctor is a huge problem in Buena Esperanza, so they took full advantage of having not only medical attention but FREE medical attention, and FREE medicine! The nurses worked all day, and saw I would saw more than 200 people. It was a great success. My community was so thankful that they insisted on cooking the nurses a full traditional lunch. I was paired up with one of the nurses that couldn’t speak Spanish in order to translate. This was great because I was able to get a better understanding of what some common sicknesses are in the community. It came to my attention that most of what ails them can easily be prevented if they simply had the knowledge. There is a wonderful book, I am sure some of you have heard of called “Where there is no doctor.” And since, that is exactly where my community finds themselves, where there is no doctor, I have decided to start teaching them chapter by chapter, the information in this book. I have written to the publishing company requesting copies of the book in Spanish, so hopefully we can get some copies so they can follow along with me. Otherwise I can make some “cheat sheets” for them to keep and refer to. I plan on starting the first class or “Charla” as we call them in April.
In preparation for the nurses to come visit , I decided to teach my English class the parts of the human body. I gave them crayons and paper and had each of them draw a human body and then label different parts. Then, when the nurses came I had all the drawings out for the community to see and practice their English while they were waiting. Anyway, the day we made those drawings, my students started getting really curious on how to say specific sicknesses in English. However, what they wanted to know, I didn’t know how to say in Spanish so the class turned into a big game of charades. They would say the word at first and after I just stared at them blankly they would jump out of their chair and start acting it out and I would have to try to guess what sickness or incident they were acting out. This was thoroughly entertaining, one guy wanted to know how to say “dizzy” so he started walking around the class bumping into things and falling over when I guess “baracho” (drunk) they all got a good laugh. I usually bring my Spanish /English dictionary to class but happened to forget it this particular day, and I am sure glad I did!
- I think I mentioned in an earlier blogpost that it is common for the people with leadership qualities in a community like mine, to leave in order to live in a bigger town with more opportunities. The reason Peace Corps now has a presence in Buena Esperanza is because after one of these leaders left the community he contacted Peace Corps to try to get someone to come as he says “fill his spot.” Well this guy was recently visiting is family for a week, and while he was there he suggested we hold an “emergency community meeting.” He told me that some of the community members have approached him expressing some concerns they had with me….. Apparently, there was some misunderstanding or miss communication when the community was told what exactly Peace Corps is and isn’t. The people were told by myself and my boss’s that I was there in the community to “work” with them. We would go into some detail and give some examples. However, the only type of “work” these people really know is with a machete. So all this time, they have been thinking that I was there to “work” as free labor for them in their farms. Huge problem! So we held an “emergency meeting” and he was able to explain the mission of Peace Corps and my role as a volunteer in their language. Because even though they speak Spanish, it is their second language and there are obviously some things that are just more clear when they are explained to them in their native tongue. I think the meeting was a big success, and they really understand what my “work” in the community is going to be. Towards the end of the meeting one of the community members expressed interest in getting some leadership training. So myself and the other guy who was visiting took a few days to prepare and did a mini seminar (about 4 hours) on what leadership is, what makes a good leader and how to organize and motivate people. We had about 30 people attend the seminar, even though most of them were only there because we were giving away juice and homemade bread. But nonetheless, it was good information for them to know and a good first step to getting the community to think about working together to accomplish goals!
Rain Report: We ended the month of January, 2010 with 11.4 inches of rain. One day it really poured and my neighbors recorded 6.4 inches in 24 hours. The record amount in a 24 hour period is 14 inches recorded in January, 2005.
Ngobes Say the Darnedest things- After one of my English classes , I was hanging out with some of my students, just chatting... After a long pause in the conversation one of the guys looks at me with a really confused look on his face and says “Meti, what language did you speak before you spoke Spanish… how did you communicate?” Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought this was a silly question because all the other guys started laughing and reminded him that I was just teaching them English like 5 minutes prior.
Uncle Tim's words to the not to wise - Things that are Easy to do are just as easy not to do.
Brazos (hugs),
Miche
