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!

Parties and Puppies!

     Hello friends!  Its about that two week mark when I have to update my blog again.  The World Cup started up last week, and almost everyone in my town watches it religiously.  We don't have a TV that works in my house so I haven't kept up with it, but that's ok because I'm not a huge soccer fan anyways.  I did get together with some other PCVs at a local bar/casino to watch the US vs. Ghana game though, which was fun!  Other than that I just catch it whenever I hang out in the teachers lounge.      Last Thursday, June 19, the town celebrated Corpus Christi, a very famous religious holiday for the Paritanians.  For this festival, the town made these beautiful "alfombras" or carpets made out of flowers on the street.  They outlined the picture first in chalk then filled it in with flower petals and colored salt.  I was really disappointed that I didn't get to see it...due to some miscommunication I thought that the alfombra would be on display all day but it was gone by 12 p.m. and I was working in the school up until that point.  I will definitely make the time to see it next year though, because the pictures that I saw of it were incredible.
     The Paritanians love their festivities, and are celebrating Corpus Christi for the next 2 weeks!  According to Wikipedia, Corpus Christi is "a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the tradition and belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ."  It's a big deal here and the Paritanians have long performances during the weekend called "Diablicos Sucios" and "Diablicos Limpios" where they dress up in elaborate costumes and paper mache masks and dance.  Diablicos Sucios (or "Dirty Devils") came to Parita back when the Spanish colonizers conquered the Azuero region.  My friend explained to me that because the Spaniards and indigenous people couldn't communicate verbally, the Spaniards dressed up as devils and danced around to scare the indigenous population into compliance.  If it sounds horrible, that's because it is.  But this tradition was born from that, and now it's a big part of Parita's cultural heritage.  Here is a picture of me with a friend dressed up as a "Diablico Sucio"

     This is what a "Diablo Sucio" looks like.  Typically, they wear suits with red and black stripes to represent the fire and darkness of hell, but the costume has evolved over the years.  They're called "dirty" because they jump around erratically as part of the dance and sweat, hence the name "dirty."  They also carry an inflated pigs bladder that they tie on a string and use it to beat the ground.  I'm not really sure what the significance is but it  definitely adds to the craziness of it all.  For this dance, the masks are usually made to look like a devil of some sorts.  This one is a devil with a skull above it!   I actually got to meet the mad who made these masks, Dario Lopez.  He is a local artist and does an incredible job making these, he even let me help out one day!  I might be working with him in the future to expand his business to attract English speaking customers.  Here's a picture of my friend dancing the Diablico Sucio, and you can see in his right hand he has the inflated pig bladder.

     "Diablicos Limpios" or "Clean Devils" have a different costume and dance.  Their clothes are brighter and more colorful, and their masks depict animals as opposed to devils.  In this performance, the dance is more of a group effort and it depicts a fight between devils and angels, and in the end the angel kills the devil so he can't tempt humans any more.   Here is a picture of some of my students and friends dressed up as Diablicos Limpios:

     The Paritanians also reenact the story of how the Spanish conquerer Hernan Cortes defeated Montezuma and brought down the Aztec empire.  My friends participated in the play, one as Hernan Cortes and the other as the captain of his army.  Here they are mid performance: 

     The festival was held this weekend and will continue next weekend, so i'll probably have more pictures to post for my next update.  

     In other news, I have 7 new additions to my family!  On Sunday morning my host mom told me that a stray dog had had puppies in the abandoned lot next door!  At first I couldn't see the mother and I was worried that she had abandoned her puppies, so I went looking to find a way into the yard.  While I was trying to see if I could climb the fence, I saw the mother on our side looking for food.  So I followed her and found that where the fence ended on the other side of our house was replaced with a tin slab that had been pushed aside so that the dog could get in and out.  She had given birth under a bush next door to 6 puppies: 3 white with black spots (2 male, 1 female), 2 brown/black/white (1 male, 1 female) and 1 black with white (male).  They are all adorable and seemingly healthy!  The dog is such an incredible mother too.  I was told to be careful because she is aggressive, but I haven't had the slightest indication of that.  She is timid because she lives on the street, but she lets me pick up her puppies and hold them and has not once showed signs of aggression.  She is such a good dog, I want to try to take care of her after her puppies have gone.  I've been told though that she is the community dog and everyone gives her food.  She looks healthy enough but I want to get her fixed, her whole body just sags because she has had so many puppies.  Here is a picture of her with all of her puppies: 

     The bush that she had given birth under didn't provide much shelter, so I fixed up this little shelter for her with a water bucket and some food.  It's not too bad if I don't say so myself:

     Here I am with a lap full of puppies!!  They're only 2 days old here so they all fit!  I'm really trying hard not to get too attached, but I don't know how well that's going to go....I haven't named them yet which is a good sign, but that might not last too much longer.  

     Here are all the puppies together on the ground!  They're really beautiful dogs, and their mother is a really interesting mix.  Surprisingly, none of the puppies really look like her with all of her spots.  I'm starting to promote these puppies amongst my friends to try to find good homes for them.  I already know two people who are interested, so that's a good start!

     They're so tiny that they can fit in my hand!  They hardly ever make noise either, so I think that means they're happy and healthy :)

     

     I was trying to put off getting a dog for as long as I could, and was seriously considering not getting one at all.  Having a dog is a huge responsibility and really complicates life and my ability to travel.  This was just such an unexpected surprise!  But since their arrival I have been so much happier, I think I just needed something to love and take care of...and now I have 7 dogs to share that with!  I will definitely keep taking pictures of them as they get bigger, more news and pics to come in 2 weeks!  

A Constant State of Sweat: Life So Far in Parita

     I have officially been in my site for over a month now, and a lot of things have happened!  I have started my three months of observation in the school, and so far its been going great!  I will be working with 10 English teachers, which is perfect because I like to stay busy.  I made an observation schedule where I will be observing two teachers a week so it won't take too long.  By the end of the week it gets pretty tiring.  I have actually had the last three weeks off of work.  The first week was because the teacher who I was supposed to observe went to Panama City, so I couldn't go in.  Then the next two weeks the students had a week of exams followed by a week of vacation.  I will start school again on Monday and I can't wait!  So far I have observed two teachers and have had a great time getting to know the students and other teachers in the school.

     One of the craziest things happened to me right when I got to my site.  Dora, my host mom, was wearing a shirt one day and I noticed that it said "The Rutland Herald" and "Established 1794" on the front.  I remember thinking "That's the name of the newspaper company in Rutland VT, about 1.5 hours from where I live!  But this couldn't be the same one, what are the odds?  Dora has never been outside of Panama and speaks no English, how could she have a shirt from VT?  It must be referring to some other Rutland in the US it's probably a common name."  But when I did the research, I found out that it is actually THE Rutland Herald from VT which was established in 1794!  When I asked Dora where she got the shirt, she had no idea.  No one in her family had ever been to VT.  I'm thinking it must have come to her through some GoodWill donation that Panamanians can buy at a low cost.  But I was just blown away at the coincidence!  I'm taking it as a sign that I am supposed to be here in Parita!  Here is a picture of me and Dora wearing the famous shirt!
 

     Religion is a very important part of the culture here in the Azuero, and Dora goes to a Catholic church every week.  I think that it's important for me to go to show support for something that means so much to my community, and it is a great way to get out and meet new people.  Not being a particularly religious person myself, I have found that going to church is a great time to reflect on my own personal thoughts without any outside distractions.  I have learned to like it and its important that I go.  The church is also very beautiful!  Here is a picture inside of the church. 

     They have many religious festivals throughout the year, and it seems like every week they are celebrating some patron saint.  For these celebrations, they oftentimes make a float filled with real flowers and have a procession throughout town.  Here is a picture of one of the beautiful floats they have made: 

     I have been lucky enough to make some great friends here too!  They are a part of a church band here in Parita made up of people my own age.  They're wonderful people and have been so nice to include me in their group!  So far we have traveled around to a few nearby churches and performed at the services.  I joke that I'm a traveling church band groupie because I just sit there and watch while they perform!  Its great to spend time with them and they are really talented!  They brought me up to the top of the tower of the church, where you can look out and see all of Parita!  It is my favorite spot!

     My new friend in Parita was also nice enough to take me to Sarigua, a national park in Parita.  It's called an 'albinca,' meaning land that is now a desert but was once part of the ocean.  

     There were a lot of sand dunes, cacti, and lizards to see!  It was really cool to find old shells and the remnants of salt on the sand.  It's incredible to see the vegetation that can grow in such an arid climate. Although it was really hot, it was also very beautiful.  

     At the park there is a very rickety stand that is about 20 feet tall that we climbed to see out onto the park.  While I was scared for my life, it was worth the view!  Here is a shot overlooking the park: 

     This is my new Paritanian friend Cesar who brought us to the park: 

My friend Shaylee was just as nervous about climbing down the stand as I was!

     A dry forest also surrounds the park.  When Cesar and I walked through it, it reminded me of a scene out of the Jungle Book with all of the vines hanging down: 

     Cesar also brought me to meet a local artisan, Dario, who makes incredible devil masks.  Here in Parita, there are many religious festivals throughout the year, but one of the biggest ones is the "Diableco" where people get dressed up wearing these devil masks and parade throughout the town.  It was incredible to see how he makes these masks out of paper mache and then decorates them.  I even got to help make a small one!  This is a local business, and he relies on tourists as his main source of income.  No one in his family speaks English, and I'm thinking potentially teaching a son of his to speak English so they can sell their product to a bigger market as a secondary project.  Hopefully I will be able to work with them in the future, they're amazing people!  Here's a picture of me with one of his creations:  

     The next town over in Palo Grande has a huge archaeological site where a ton of excavations took place back in the 90's.  This land has incredible remnants of ceramic artifacts from the indigenous population that predated the Spanish conquest in Panama back in the 1600's.  I had always wanted to go check it out, and thankfully my friend Cesar knows the man who owns the land!  We hiked over to the village one day and got to go digging around his land and found some amazing stuff!  We found painted pieces of ceramic artifacts, handles of jugs, a big stone tool called a 'mano' that was used to grind corn, and a flattened stone that I think was used as an old iron!  It was such an amazing day!  Here I am with some of the artifacts that we found! 

     I have had many adventures in the one month that I have been here.  I can't wait to see what the next two years holds for me in Parita!  More updates to come!

     

From Aspirante to Volunteer: Peace Corps Swear In Ceremony

     On Wednesday May 30, 2014, my group G74 took their oaths and swore in as official PCVs!  The ceremony was held at the US ambassadors house in Panama City.  After 10 long weeks of cultural, language, and technical training, the day had finally come to bridge the gap from Aspirante to Peace Corps volunteer.  Below is a group picture of G74 before the swear in ceremony:

     And another picture of the other Teaching English volunteers in my group:

     All of the teachers, trainers, and PC staff were present at the ceremony along with other volunteers.  It was nerve wracking because we had to go around and present ourselves in Spanish, which is a very easy thing to do but is daunting when you have 100+ people watching you!  Afterwards, our Country Director, Pete Larousse, made an opening statement thanking everyone who had helped to get us to this day.  

      After his speech, the US Ambassador to Panama Jonathan Farrar talked about the important impact that Peace Corps Volunteers have on Panamanian society and thanked us for embarking on this mission.  I was lucky enough to get to talk to Mr. Farrar afterwards, he is a really wonderful and interesting person. 

     Before officially swearing in, both the TE and CEC group needed to give a speech, and the representatives from our group were two of my friends Nick and Sam.  They did a great job giving a funny and accurate representation of the cultural lessons we had learned so far while living in Panama. 

     After all of the speeches were concluded, it was finally time to take our oaths.  We all stood up, raised our right hand, and pledged the following oath: 

     "I, (insert name), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the          United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the    same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I  will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.  So help me  God." 

     And just like that, I was officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!  It was a very grounding experience, and for the first time since I got to Panama it really hit me that I was in the Peace Corps.  Afterwards we had a reception and spent time talking and taking pictures.  My group loves taking funny pictures, they're always so much better than serious ones: 

  Here is a photo of all of the new PCV's in the Azuero region with me:  

     This is the Breakfast Club!  Every morning during training, this group of ladies would come to my house for breakfast.  It was a wonderful way to start my day, they always had so much energy and I learned a lot from them!  I will truly miss them.

     I had to get a picture of the two UVM'ers in our group.  This is me and my friend Sydney.  She graduated from UVM with me but we never crossed paths back in college.  Now we're serving together in Panama!  It's a small world.

     This is a picture of me and my friend Christina, a volunteer from the CEC group.  It's probably my favorite picture of the day!  She is really awesome and will be serving in Bocas in an indigenous community, I will definitely be going to visit her within the next two years.

     After the ceremony, we all went to TGI Fridays.  It was great to have "American" food for the first time since coming to Panama.  It was also Happy Hour all night, so we stayed there for a few hours and celebrated our new achievement.  To end this great day, we went out to some other bars and experienced the nightlife of Panama City!