The Puzzle Pieces are Finally Coming Together

     Hello again!  I am happy to say that I am writing this blog in a much better state of mind.  These past three weeks have been a whirlwind, but everything has fallen into place as it always seems to.  The three biggest stressors in my life for the past month have been my school/community analysis presentation, finding a house to rent, and getting good homes for all of the puppies.  I've had a lot of disheartening false hopes, but now it seems like I've got almost everything figured out and dealt with (knock on wood).
     The community and school analysis was the culminating presentation that I gave to all 10 English teachers, four principals, and my Peace Corps boss.  The presentation is supposed to include everything that I had learned during my 3 months observing and what my plans are for the future in Parita.  It also had to be in Spanish for at least 30 minutes!  Needless to say it was nerve wracking.  I almost had a heart attack beforehand because the cord to connect the computer to the projector wouldn't fit, and I had to try five different ways to get it working!  I ended up having to use one of the schools computers, download internet software for it, and download my Prezi from the internet onto the computer in order to have it functional on the projector.  It was a half hour process and I almost lost my cool, but I held it together!  It was very important that I got the projector to work because in Panama, the presentation of something is almost as important as the content of the information.  With this in mind, I chose to learn how to use the Prezi software instead of making a PowerPoint.  The majority of my teachers had never seen a Prezi before so they were very impressed with it.  I ended up talking for about 40 minutes, and afterwards we had a constructive discussion with everyone about additional ideas.  And of course a presentation wouldn't be complete without "brindi" aka refreshments, so I made a chocolate pudding pie and a banana pudding pie.  It seemed like I worked harder on those than my presentation, I had to go to 4 different stores to find what I needed, and I accidentally made butter instead of whipped cream!  It was an annoying thing to have to do but everyone seemed to like it.  All in all it was a very successful meeting, and I'm so glad that it's over!
     Earlier that week, I had been asking people in the school about places to rent.  It has been an uphill battle for the last 3 months.  It was an incredibly frustrating situation because there is an abundance of empty houses here, but no one wants to rent them.  This is because they are owned by wealthy people who live in Panama City who only use them for 3 weeks out of the year during carnavales, Semana Santa, and Corpus Cristi.  So I was looking for and finding all of these perfectly good houses, but I couldn't rent them. The only places I could find were also on the four lane main road that passes through the town on which I currently live.  It is so noisy and awful, I haven't been able to sleep through the night for the whole 3 months that I've been here because 18 wheelers go by at all hours of the night blowing their horns.  It was seriously stressful, and I was determined to find a place far away from that road!
     Last week I had a dose of good luck when I found a woman whose niece has a house to rent!  The house is perfect too!  It is fully furnished with a living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and an indoor bathroom!  It is very, as we call it, "ye ye" meaning fancy.  The location is perfect, it's so far away from the main road, 3 minutes away from my school, and right next to a field.  The only problem is that the landlord might be moving back into it after December.  She works as a teacher in another province and is applying to be relocated to this area for the next school year.  I will know in November if this is happening, but hopefully it won't!  At the very least though it will be a great place to stay for a while and get my life started here in Parita.  After I my presentation on Friday I went with my boss to see the house and get it approved, and it all checks out!  I should be getting permission to live there on Wednesday!  I am so excited to have my independence back, it has been too long!
     The puppies are doing fantastic as well!  They're growing so big and have now started eating soft food!  I've had to start feeding them more and more every day.  Here's a picture of them at breakfast!

     They are also getting to be that age when they always seem to get into trouble.  The fences around the lot are made of a lot of different things, and because of this there are a lot of holes.  I've done my best to patch up the holes and keep the puppies contained, but they always seem to wiggle through those spaces and get stuck.  The other day I had to go out in the rain and get one that was stuck between the fences, and he was covered in mud!  Today I went outside to give them breakfast and found that two of them had gotten stuck in a small area between a tin structure that I put up to prevent them from going through the fence and had spent the whole night there!  They're naughty puppies but I love them.  And they're biting too!  They have razor sharp teeth, and although I've given them so many toys and things to chew on, they still seem to like my sandals the best.

    They also received their first bath last week.  Puppies have an innate way of getting very dirty, and even though I keep their space clean I always come away from playing with them with my arms and legs covered in dirt.  So I gave them all baths the other day, and they were not happy!  I think they were just afraid of the new experience.  They were clean for all of a day until they were dirty again, but that's ok!  Here's a picture of Scout taking a bath:

She was NOT a happy camper: 

     I'm very sad because most of my puppies are going to be leaving me on Thursday.  I have a meeting in another town from Friday to Sunday, so I'm trying to get all of the puppies to their homes by Thursday.  I'm pretty sure I have homes for all of the males, but the two females I'm still uncertain of.  I think I'll be keeping the brown female, Scout, and I'm waiting on one of my Peace Corps friends to see whether or not she can take the white female.  It's a very unfortunate part of the culture, because every person who I have talked to doesn't want a female dog, only male dogs.  This is even after I've told them that a fantastic group Spay Panama, which offers spay/neuter operations for only $25, is coming to Parita in October and they can get the female dogs fixed then.  They still don't want them.  This is a real shame because it is the female dogs that need to have families to pay for their operations in order to prevent more homeless dogs, but they're often the ones without families and the number of homeless puppies rises.  So I'm keeping the mother dog and the brown female dog and I will pay for them to get their operation in October.  I have also renamed the mother dog Reina.  Reina in Spanish means "queen," but more importantly I decided to name her this because culture is such an important part of life in Parita, and there is a "reina" of almost every cultural activity.  Also I just really like the sound of the name.  So it looks like me, Scout, and Reina will be moving into our new home at the beginning of August, and I can't wait to begin my life here with these two misfits!    

     It's hard to believe but in only 11 short days I'll be making my way home for a visit!  I'll be in Vermont from August 9-17 and I can't wait!  It will be really great to see all of my friends and family and to eat real food again (I've had enough rice and beans to last a lifetime!)  It will also be a really good reward for getting through these last 6 months, which I've heard from other volunteers is the hardest part of the experience and I believe that now!  From adjusting to a new culture, learning a language, making new friends, changing your diet, and having to live in another persons house, it has been a roller coaster over the last 6 months.  But now I know where I will be living, what I will be doing, who I will be working with, and more or less what to expect.  It will be much easier to come back to Panama knowing that I have my own house to go back to and that I am done with my community analysis presentation.  When I come back I can really start my work as a Peace Corps volunteer and the adjustment period is more or less over.  I'll bring my camera home and will have a blog update after my vacation!  See you all soon!

Puppy Updates and Unexpected Parades

     Hello friends!  These past few weeks have been very busy for me.  I have finally finished up with my observations at the school.  It was a very enlightening experience, and I feel like I have a better understanding about how everything works and who's who in the school.  Now I'm working to put together my presentation for the 25th of July.  I have to give a 30 minute presentation in Spanish of my analysis of the community and school as well as what projects I'm planning on doing.  My boss from Peace Corps will be there, along with my 10 English teachers, the principals of the school, and possibly the Mayor and Representative of the community.  It's pretty intimidating, and I am getting a bit nervous!  I'm just focusing now on preparing for it and also looking for a house!  I can move into it at the beginning of August!  One of my counterparts is currently helping me look, so I'm hopeful he will find something.
     Last weekend I volunteered with a traveling spay/neuter organization called Spay Panama.  My friend in town, Luis, is a member of the group and invited me to go.  It was incredible!  10 veterinarians worked pro bono at this clinic from 7am-1pm constantly spaying/neutering dogs and cats.  I volunteered in the "taxi" station, where I would move the anesthetized animals from one station to the next.  I was so impressed at their efficiency, they must have operated on 300 animals that day!  The clinic was set up in a basketball court of a school, and the community attendance was great!  It was really reassuring to see how many people cared about their pets and understood the importance of sterilizing.  I would have loved to take the mom of the puppies, but I didn't think I could take her away from the puppies for so long at that point.  But this same group is coming to Parita in October, I am so excited!  I'm going to work to promote this event and try to get my community members to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.  It only costs $25/dog and $12/cat, and that includes sterilization, parasite injections, ear cleaning, and food/shampoo supplies!  I will definitely be bringing the mother dog to this event in October, I'm just hoping she doesn't get pregnant again in that time!
     Speaking of which the puppies are doing great!  They have seen some big changes these last two weeks!  I have moved them from underneath the bush to the patio, which is covered with a roof and closed in on 2 sites.  It is a much more safe and secure place for them, and they have so much more space to move around!  All of them have already opened their eyes and have started wobbling around!  They have started to form their own personalities too, which is really cool!  I told myself that I wouldn't, but I named them.  Let me officially introduce you to the puppies:

 This is Scout.  She is the brown female, and the most adventurous puppy by far!  Today, she managed to get up in one of the holes of a cinderblock and got stuck!  She is also one of the noisiest, but I think she is just exploring her voice now that she has found it.  She is such an attention hog, but also an amazing cuddler.

  Scout's male twin brother is called Zorrito.  Zorro, in Spanish, means fox, and so Zorrito means "little fox,"

which I think he looks exactly like.  He is such a chill little dude, always happy to be picked up and never making much noise.  He is also one of the biggest puppies of the litter. 

    The only black puppies name is Yin, because he is all black with a little white, the opposite of his brother Yang.   He is a talker!  I think he's like Scout and that he's just finding his voice and likes to use it!  He's a sweet boy though, and is always trying to lick the bug spray off of my legs which is NOT good!  He likes to push the limits sometimes but that's what makes him such a unique and funny dog.
  

  This sleepy guy's name is Yang, the compliment of his brother Yin.  He is all white with a black spot, and also one of the bigger puppies.  He is the lazy one of the group, just content to eat and sleep.  He is such an easy going dog!

    The second of the three white puppies is Bandit, for the mask-like markings around his eyes!  He is such a sweety!  Whenever I pick him up, he always has his mouth open like he's smiling. Some of his favorite things are eskimo kisses and belly rubs!  He is a really laid back puppy too, and hardly ever makes any noise.

   And the smallest one is Madeline :)  She is the other female of the group, and the smallest puppy of the litter.  She was also the last one to open her eyes and start walking around.  But her small size doesn't keep her from wrestling with her bigger brothers!  She is a feisty little puppy!  

   My Peace Corps friends Shaylee, Sam, and Grace came to visit this weekend to see my the puppies and my site.  It was a really fun day, and it was good for the puppies to be around other people.  The mom wasn't very happy, but I had my friends each give her a piece of a hot dog and afterwards she was cool with it.  My friend Grace might be taking one of the puppies, I would be so happy if she did!  I'm trying to promote them amongst my PC friends, and hopefully I can find them nice homes amongst them!  

Me with Zorrito and Bandit:

   Aside from the puppies, the other big news is that the Corpus Christi festivities are over for the year.  This last weekend, we finished with all of the Diablicos Limpios/Sucios and had other more interesting celebration... they had something called "La Danza de las Donas" where drunk men from the town got dressed up in drag and had a dancing contest on stage.  I was told that last year, one of the contestants was dancing so hard onstage that he fell off and had to go to the hospital.  He won this year, I think in part because people felt bad about what happened to him the year before.  It was such a fun night!

     It seems like Paritenos like to celebrate no matter the occasion.  Last week, I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my drawing, and all of a sudden started hearing band music at 10pm.  It sounded like it was going right by my house!  I went outside and was surprised to see a huge grouping of people around the road.  Apparently, they were having a parade to celebrate last years "Reina de Parita" aka the Queen of Carnival.  They had a big float with the marching band following.  It was definitely an unexpected surprise!