Group 75, Panama

It has been nearly two months since entering into the Peace Corps training program, and since my last blog post updating anyone on what my life has turned into since arriving in Panama. I would like to say I’m sorry for not posting in such a long time, but please realize that training has been incredibly busy and hopefully it will be apparent in this post that as slow as the life may be in some areas of Panama, life as a trainee is moving at a chaotic pace and we haven’t slowed down yet.

Since arriving, we have been non-stop learning in some form or another. We started out in the Regional Peace Corps office located just outside of Panama City where 50 new trainees in the Sustainable Agriculture Systems and Environmental Health (S.A.S., E.H.) sections begun learning about Peace Corps role in Panama’s community development projects. I am currently a S.A.S. volunteer and I will be working on Cacao projects in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. S.A.S. deals entirely with agriculture as a way to increase food resources, create or disseminate sustainable methods of farming, and demonstrate best practices for both food and cash crop production. E.H. volunteers consist of mostly engineers focusing on water acquisition for communities that don’t have direct access to potable water systems. Although these are mostly unrelated fields, we share the same training class and also have the same hardships, which make us brothers and sisters from different mothers and misters.

As new volunteers, we’ve all dealt with our share of difficulties. To list a few, I have provided the following list: Living with host families; language barriers; strange animal encounters/infestations; sudden bouts of unexpected illnesses; food or lack there of; loneliness, and dealing with changing relationships/lifestyles.  In regards to the illness topic, we heard a joke at the beginning of service that “Every fart’s a gamble.” Initially, every one thought that was the best joke ever. There were even little aftershocks of snickers because the thought of it was so amusing. Now, a few of us know the truth, and it is not only a cruel joke, but also a prophecy of what is to come.  After going through my own bout of extreme diarrhea, an aspiring thrown queen herself asked me, “In relation to the gambling joke; have you ever gambled and lost?” I slowly turned my head to the volunteer and gave an acknowledging nod. She looked back at me and said “Me too…” with a sullen look on her face. It was a sad, but comforting day for the illness ridden, and we embraced our shared experience with a frown-like smile. Life can be difficult and suddenly a lot of things don’t seem so bad. Initially I had a real problem eating fried food and rice for every meal, and I had a hard time even mentioning boiled green bananas (B.G.B), but at this point, my whole philosophy of diet and hunger have changed. I will down a plate of rice in no time, and as far as B.G.B.’s go, if you repeat over and over to yourself that they are potatoes, and mix them with anything that has flavor, you can choke a couple down eventually. I’m totally stocking up on gravy mix because mashed “potatoes” is definitely on the horizon.

Relationships are also significant challenges we face as volunteers. Distance can put a real strain on relationships whether they are with family, friends, or significant others. As someone who has been abroad before, I sometimes feel in some ways I could mentor some of the others that are experiencing the imminent difficulties of long distance even though I am experiencing some of the same problems. My best advice would be to do what you can and give everyone their fair share of your time, because that’s about all anyone can do. I know the people I care about, and they know I care about them.

Aside from the difficulties, we just recently found out about our new sites and half moved in. I think everyone is excited, nervous, anxious, and any other additional emotions that you can think of that normally accompany those thoughts. These two months have gone by fast and like I’ve always been told, “the older you get the faster the time goes.” In no time I will be looking at the final days of this trip and wonder where the time has gone. See you soon America.