Panama Hats 101

So, I have a new hobby.  And I’m PRETTTYYY excited about it.  My area of Panama is known for making Panama Hats, some of you may be familiar with these types of hats, which are sold in the US as well. Many women and some men, in my community make these sombreros.  Naturally, I wanted to learn how.  So here, is the step by step process of how Panama hats are made.

First, you must obtain the material you need to make the hat.  The two most common types are junca and billota (no idea if I spelled them right haha).  Both are plants that grow here in Panama.  Once you have your plant, then then cut it into strips, as my host mom is doing in the below picture with billota. 

You then have to cook the strips in water.  Once cooked, you hang or lie the strips in the sun to dry out.  I believe some people then also soak the strips in the quebrada (steam) over night, I am not positive though, that may just be for junca because we did not do that with the billota. 

Once dry you can start to tejer (weave) the pieces together.  Normally 15 strands are used, being an amateur I am only using 13. 

Once you have a long enough strand woven it is time to coser.  Most people use horse hair, that they roll together to intertwine into a pretty durable piece of string.  You then begin at the top of the hat and begin sewing it together.  You must then tie it to a mold (to give it the correct shape) and you then sew the hat around the mold.  Again, as an amateur I am making a miniature sombrero instead of the real deal haha. 

After you have created the part where your head goes, you must flip it up to sew the brim together.  I am very proud of my first ever Panama Hat, even if it is only big enough for a small doll.  Apparently I am the first PCV (at least here in Loma Bonita) to tejer a sombrero, and everyone was quite proud of me.  I have already had multiple offers to buy a hat from me lol (it’s a shame making money on the side is against PC policy lmao. . .jk after all the work I put into it I am not going to want to sell my hats ha). 

And that, mas o menos, is how you make a Panama hat.  It is actually a TON of work, and they sell here for only $3 to $5, not much money for all the work that goes into it.  I am currently only allowed to use billota because junca can cut you if you are not careful and I do not have enough experience yet for junca lol.  Maybe, by the end of mand I do not have enough experience yet for junca lol.  Maybe, by the end of my two years I will have made one big hat. 

The ins and outs of Pasearing

So some of you may ask, what in the world does Jill (or Jay as most people refer to me over here) do all day in Panama?  Well, that is not an easy question to answer, because quite frankly I do something different every day.  My first 3 months in my site are simply to get to know the community, the school, the people, the environment etc.  And how does one get to know there community?  Well, you pasear of course. 

                There is no direct translation for pasear in English, well there is, but not in this context.  Basically, the largest form of socialization in the campo, is to simple walk to a neighbor’s house and yell “BUENAS!” or, to salamar, I have not gotten the salamar down, we shall see if I ever do.  Salamaring is pretty much just yelling, it can be “WHOOOP” or “OOOOEEEEE” or “OH OH OH” or really any noise you so choose to make.  Then the other person will respond with their chosen noise lol.  Once the hello is through, you are generally invited to sit down on the porch, where you proceed to make small talk for anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours.  Often times, especially when I am the one pasearing, there are awkward silences.  I, am in no way a master at small talk in English, lot alone in Spanish.  Those that know me well know that I do not even like making phone calls (not a problem for me here in Panama were I don’t have phone service lol), lot alone inviting myself into someone’s home.  However, this is culturally normal, apparently, so are the awkward silences.  ESPECIALLY in these first three months when the Panamanians have as much pena (shyness/fear/quiet) toward me, as I do toward them. 

                Now, that is not so say everytime I pasear I am met with awkward silence.  Oh no, there are also the people who like to TALK and TALK and TALK.  Usually very quickly, so I am straining to follow the conversation.  Honestly, I prefer the people who won’t stop talking, at least it shows they are enjoying your company, but man does it take a lot of energy and concentration for me to understand what in the world they are talking about, could be anything from their family to the sickly orange trees to their health to how many girls or pregnant in the school. 

                And, as I think I have mentioned before, it is customary when you pasear at someone’s house for the to give you food, or at the least coffee.  This makes pasearing tricky for a few reasons.  If, like in my community, it is a FAR (hour plus) walk to some of the houses, and you are on your 3^rd house, and 3^rd cup of coffee or chica (juice) you are bound to have to go pee.  Now Panamanians must have the biggest bladders in the world, this never seems to be a huge problem for them, I however, have ran into this problem multiple times.  The other problem is that you are going to gain weight, there is little way to avoid it.  If you have already eatin lunch, but someone gives you a plate of spaghetti y gallina de patio (chicken they raised in their yard) or a bowl of soup and plate of rice, or a bowl of crema (a nutrient fortified cream of wheat like thing) you have very little choice but to eat it, or seem exceptionally rude.  Also, I often get sent home with bags of fruit, bananas, starfruit, oranges, lemons, tangerines. . .these houses are my favorites haha.  

                Yup, welcome to my silly little life. . .lol. . .so yeah, the answer to what does Jill do all day?  Well, if I am not observing in the school (a post of it’s on really, or learning how to do a myriad of house wifely things (see Being a Housewife in Panama), then I am probably pasearing (or doing a number of things to avoid pasearing because I am still not yet comfortable with it lol, but no I pasear A LOT). 

All set for some pasearing with my new Panamanian hat and my panamanian purse (which you can only see the strap of lol). . .note that I am literally in the monte (jungle) in between houses, and slightly lost at this exact moment haha. . .but i figured it out

Things that make me laugh. . .or cry. . .depending on the day (but mostly laugh)

1.       Finding a frog the size of my hand in the latrine/shower at 6am. 

2.       The fact that it gets down to about 70 degrees in the morning and evening (nice, except when you have to take freezing cold showers in an outdoor shower).

3.       The walk from my shower to my room is all on dirt, in turn by the time I get back to myroom my legs and feet are dirtier than before I showered. 

4.       The first question my host mom asks when taking me pasearing to people’s houses is “does your dog bite”. . .apparently we have a lot of “bravo” dogs in this community. 

5.       Everywhere you walk in my town is uphill. . .according to my host mom the town should be called Loma Fea (ugly hill) instead of Loma Bonita (pretty hill ).  All the houses you see (white squares) in this pic are part of my town, and I am standing in another part of town lol. 

6.       Not having electricity, and in turn being in bed by 7, asleep usually by 8/8:30.

7.       The fact that I get REALLY excited when I see electrical sockets. 

8.       The fact that NO ONE can pronounce my name correctly, I now am called Jay, Jills, Ill, Jeel, Hell, Jello and every other variation possible, in turn I rarely know if someone is actually talking to me. 

9.       Everyone tries to feed me or give me coffee.

10.   Some days we have so many guineos madurro (ripe bananas) that I end up eating 4 or 5, and my host mom tries to get me to eat more, other days we don’t have any fruit at all. 

11.   My mouth actually hurts some days from smiling so much (what else can I do when I either don’t fully understand or the awkward silences have gone on for a bit too long). 

12.   The ant infestation in my room (the whole house that I’m living in really, all of my belongings, and often times my body, has ants crawling all over it. 

13.   The cat calls, hisses, kisses and honks that I get when walking, running or using my phone next to the road. 

14.   The amount of bug bites on my ankles and legs (sangre nuevo- new blood, como un bebe- like a baby. . .this is how I explain it to people haha because they ALL comment on it)

15.   Having to walk 25 mins round trip to use my phone, see number 10 for what happens when I am on my phone. 

16.   Contemplating what in the world people are thinking when they see a white girl, wearing vibram 5 fingers, sweating to death, breathing hard, running up the insane hills on the side of the road  (especially because I run through towns other than my own). 

17.   The chickens sleeping in the tree, not sure why, but it gets me everytime haha. 

18.   Attempting to get in and out of my mosquito net without it falling, or completely coming off my bed, and then tucking it back in so no bugs can enter. . .quite the process let me tell you lol.

19.  I get overwhelmed when I have internet access, seriously, I actually feel stressed out not knowing what to do first lol.