My New Home in Parita!

     Like they promised us on our first day of staging in Washington DC, all is slowly being demystified... I now know where I will be serving as a Peace Corps volunteer!  I will be living in Parita, a town in the province of Herrera in the Azuero region.  I was told that it is a city with 5,000 people living in it, and that I will be working in the local school with 10 English teachers!  After going on my site visit though, I realized that its not as it appears on paper.  Its even better!  Here is a satellite image of Parita:

      I traveled to my site with my new counterpart on Tuesday April 8 and was introduced to my new host mom, English teachers, and directors of the school.  Everyone seems nice and enthusiastic to work with me.  The school is absolutely beautiful!  It is both a primary and a secondary school with grades from pre-kinder through 12th.  I'm very lucky because school is from 7am-1pm every day and I will be done before the real heat sets in!  On the second day I presented myself to all 10 of the English teachers and had a meeting with them about my job and what my role is in the school.  I talked about how, for the first three months, I would only be observing the school and shadowing the teachers to assess their skills and determine what they need.  I think I will shadow one teacher per week and then work on the analysis that I have to give at the end of the three month period.
     The school is right on the main road and only a minute walk from my house!  I will be living with a 73 year old woman named Dora in her house for the next three months.  She has a beautiful 100 year old house that is also on the main road and close to everything.  She is a sweet lady and she is very well connected with the town so she will be able to introduce me to a lot of people.  My counterpart took me around the town and also introduced me to the mayor, the police, the fire department, and the doctors at the health center.  There are a lot more people to meet, but I am trying to pump the brakes and not feel overwhelmed to get to know everyone just yet.  I have two whole years!
     Parita itself if a beautiful old town.  It is known for hosting a lot of cultural festivals throughout the year, and is a very religious part of Panama.  I went to mass for the first time ever on my site visit.  The church is very old and beautiful with an obvious influence of Spanish architecture.  Parita was settled by the Andalucians in the 16th century, and you can see their influence in the buildings and also in the accents of the Paritanians.  Its very ironic that I'm living here because I studied abroad in Granada Spain during college, which is part of Andalucia, and now I'm living in a place that is very much influenced by it!  Here is a picture of the famous church in Parita thats right around the corner from my house:

     While I was at my site visit, the Azuero was hosting its annual fair in Las Villas in Los Santos.  I went to it with my counterpart and another volunteer and her counterpart.  It was huge!  They had lots of artisans selling handmade products, I was able to buy my first hammock for $12!  We also watched a traditional drumming competition, and saw all of the girls dressed in their traditional "poyera" dresses.  I could have easily spent all day there.  The good thing is that its only 20 minutes away from my site, so next year I will be able to go for the whole day!
     I was at my site for only a week, but after that experience I know that I will love it!  People from the Azuero are stereotyped as being very happy, friendly, and passionate.  I think I can work with that!  I am very excited to get to know everyone and get settled into my new home.  I just have to get through one last week of training, swearing in, and a short vacation with the rest of the PCV's until I get to move there for good!