I realize this is a lame and cliché title, but it
really is the best way to describe this past month. My least favorite question
to answer about my life here is: “How is work?” or “What is your work like?”
These questions come from a place of interest and attentiveness but I struggle
to provide a satisfactory answer every time…well, because I do not really work.
Not in the conventional sense, at least. The Peace Corps is a strangely lovely
program that is unlike anything else in the way that it operates and the
expectations that it sets for its employees/volunteers. I will continue to
teach you about what it looks like to be a Peace Corps volunteer as best as I
can over the next two years. Please be patient and continue to ask questions,
as you are confused.
<Working Hard>
Life
in the Comarca NB is simple living, but not breezy living. My community does
not have electricity and there is not always running water and when there is,
it is not always potable. Most men spend long hours in their fields working
with little gain. Women are usually responsible for caring for the children
(which are often plentiful), cooking, cleaning, and other tasks such as
collecting water for drinking and bathing when it does not come to the house.
Tasks that are simple and fast in the states are time-consuming difficult here.
Laundry usually takes a full day to complete and has to be started early so
that the clothes can dry before the rain comes in the early afternoon. Cooking
is challenging, as most people cook over a fire (a three stone fire) instead of
a stove and have to carry wood to their houses from other parts of the
community. Cleaning is a never-ending job because many people have dirt floors
and numerous children and animals, including dogs and chickens with boundary
issues.
Since my last post, I have had the opportunity to
speak to the kids in my school and a nearby community about the importance of
hand washing with my neighboring volunteer, in honor of Global Hand washing
Day. It was really awkward at times because the kids in this region tend to be
really shy initially and get embarrassed very easily, but it was a good
experience. For part of the activity, the younger classes painted signs that
said "We wash our hands" in Spanish, English, and Ngäbere and
then had a relay race to wash the paint off.
Another aspect of working hard while living here is
maintaining a good mental health. Being the only White person in the community
has its benefits but it can also be challenging. I cannot hide; I draw
attention every day no matter what I do and I will continue to do so every day
until the day I leave. It can also be really difficult to be fully immersed in
a different culture and required to speak another language everyday. There is
so much that I could say about this aspect of my life and I commit to being
honest and open about the internal and external struggles of my service but I
could write a whole different post about this and this is already getting long,
so expect that in another post. For now, what I want to share is that I am
learning a lot about myself, my culture, expectations, and limits through this
experience and have tested various coping strategies. The most effecting?
Adopting a puppy. I would live to introduce to Muma (which means frijol or
bean in Ngäbere). Expect to see more from her because...just look at her and
you will understand.
This week, I finally got to do something related to
my job as an Environmental Health Volunteer, and it was unpredictable and
interesting. I got to go with my host dad/the president of the water committee
to fix a broken pipe in the water system. Let's just say it was a complicated
job that revealed a few of the many reasons this community needs improved water
accessibility and potability. See for yourself-a 40 year old pvc line suspended
over a creek...oh boy.
<Hardly Working>
During our first three months living in our
communities, our main job is to live like the locals. We each live with a host
family during this time and do our best to integrate into local culture and
life. Where I am living, community members speak their indigenous language in
addition to Spanish and so I have been focusing on learning about their unique
beliefs, customs, and dialogue in order to effectively assimilate into the
community. One of the ways I have done this is by wearing my naguas (indigenous
dress pictured below) whenever possible and practice speaking the few words and
phrases I know in the indigenous language in order to express my interest in
the culture of those with whom I will be living and working over the next two
years.
Speaking of culture, Panama loves their parades. As
November is La Mes de la Patria (Patriarchy Month), it is full of
vacation days and parades, which has contributed to the hardly working portion
of my life. Below is a picture from a parade that the school in my community had
on November 3rd: Panama's Independence Day from Spain.
I have never been a person who always has to be
doing something or needs to be working to be happy. I love that I can hammock,
play soccer, visit people, and play with kids and call it work. My host family
is always bustling with kids. There are a minimum of six kids here all the
time, so I have spent a lot of time getting to know them, teaching them games
and songs, and learning from them. They LOVE pick-up-sticks and would play with
them constantly if I would let them. It has been fun to watch them learn new
strategies and tricks the more they have played.
Thanks for being such an attentive and encouraging
community,
Courtney and Muma
