So, I’ve been doing one too many lists lately I know, but it
is the easiest way for me to some up my time here, without boring you too much,
because let’s face it. . .often times my current day to day life here in LB
isn’t all that enthralling. I’m still in
my first three months so all I’m doing is getting to know the community,
letting the community get to know me etc.
Lots of pasearing, lots of observing in the school (although I currently
also am helping the teachers with English but that is it’s on post I guess I
can write sometime), working on my sombrero (I am nearly finished my first
normal size sombrero. . .it is the talk of the town, no joke), going to
Penonome (my nearest city with internet, a normal supermarket etc, also the
location of all my Peace Corps meetings and the post office), reading, writing
in my journal, playing uno, the Spanish version of banagrams, blink, the pig
game and the angry birds card game with children etc. What I’m getting at is that there is only so
much I can write about without writing the same things over and over
again. However, today I am going to
write about a bad day, because well, being in the Peace Corps is not always
rainbows and butterflies (although in general I have been really lucky with the
way things have been going) and then about a good day because most days are
pretty good.
BAD DAY
Well, I somehow obtained a rash all over my hands, including
between my fingers, a bit on my leg and the worse part, on my face. It was not going away, and it was even on my
lips. My host mom wanted me to go to the
doctor, but in order to do anything medical I have to call the Peace Corps
Medical Officers (PCMOs). So, I walked
out to where I have cell signal and called the med office. Now, as most of you know, I HATE making phone
calls. Really, I do nearly anything to
get out of it (this brings up the somewhat infamous story of when in high
school Kate and I called her mom, who was not at the house with us, to order us
a pizza because neither of us wanted to do it lol). But, I sucked it up and went for it, only to
be told that the PCMOs where in with the new trainees (I am officially not in
the newest group of Panamanian Peace Corps Volunteers!) and could they call me
back. . .well no, no they can’t because I do not in fact have signal. Ok, so it was decided I would call back in a
half hour to hour.
60 minutes later, I once again called only to be told they
were STILL in the meeting, but I could call the emergency medical number
because someone always has that phone on them.
Awesome, it was awkward enough for me to make the first two calls, now I
have to call the emergency number for something that is quite clearly NOT an
emergency, but it’s either that or stand on the side of the road waiting (and
it looked like it was going to rain any minute). So, I sucked it up once more and called that
number. The PCMO was mega nice, but
asked if she called call me back in 5 minutes.
Well sure, why not. 25 minutes
later she calls back, tells me it is probably an allergic reaction to something
(as I also assumed) and to go to the pharmacy in Penonome and she would send
meds there for me.
By the time all of these phone calls were over, it was after
1pm. That didn’t give me much time to get to Penonome and back, but I went for
it (my host mom was very concerned about both the rash and me going to Penonome
so late in the day, and said a prayer for me and proceeded to tell the
neighbor, who is a friend, all of her concerns so that she also was worrying
the whole time. . .oye. . .it is nice to be cared about I guess ha). It took me about 20 minutes to get a car out
of my town (all in all pretty quick) and only a few minutes to get a bus to
Penonome. I asked the driver if he knew
where the pharmacy was. I had the name
and a description of the location. He
said, yes yes, there are 3 of them, but I know where that one is. I’m sure you can see where this is going. .
.he dropped me off at what he claimed to be the correct pharmacy. It was not.
The woman there told me I wanted the one by the Mercado. So I trekked down yonder, only to be told
that no, that was not the one I wanted, I wanted the OTHER pharmacy that they
owned (this one was San Juan, I wanted Juancito). So I found my way to Juancito. Where the woman, with a sad look in her eyes,
informed me that yes Peace Corps does prescriptions there, but they had not
gotten a call today. Before I could get
too upset though, she told me she would call the other pharmacy and see if they
got a call. They didn’t answer, but this
kind woman kept trying different numbers until she got someone, and yes, they
had my medicine (at Juancito 2). This
same kind woman took me outside and physically pointed me in the exact right
direction to walk. After walking in a
ginormous circle around Penonome I finally got my medicine. Then I rushed back to get a bus. By the time I got to Cope (where I need to
get a car), it was the time that school was letting out. . .no hope of getting
a car into my site (on a different day when I had too much stuff to walk I
waited an hour and 45 minutes and only ended up getting a ride back because a
member of my community was also waiting for a car and someone with a truck
offered him a ride and he asked them to take me too), so I walked the little
over a 5k (half straight uphill) back home.
Could have been a lot worse though I guess, I could have never even
gotten my meds or it could have been pouring rain.
GOOD DAY
This one man, every single Sunday in church (yes I go to
church every Sunday, shocking I know), asks me when I am going to go to his
house. Now, the truth of the matter is I
have been to his house twice and both times he was not there. Plus he happens to live a half hour walk
straight up hill (in the hands down most gorgeous house in the community, gorgeous
for American standards even). Well, I
decided to give it another go one morning.
I had already had a glorious 57 minute run (the longest I have done yet
here in LB thanks to the oh so killer hills), but I need to lose some of the
weight I gained during training and I love walking, so I thought what the heck.
. .I’ll give it another go.
Yup, he was not there once again (but this is the good day
story so don’t feel too bad). I wasn’t
all that surprised and simply headed back down.
I stopped at a house on the way, only to discover that said man was also
at that house. He didn’t believe me that
I had just gone to his house haha, but the people’s whose house we were out
backed me up, having seen me walking that way earlier. I talked with them for a bit, then they
informed me that they were going to a meeting.
I soon discovered that this meeting was with the ministerio de salud
(governments health organization) and of course did not turn down the
invitation to join. I kid you not, 4
cars of government people showed up, and some bank people. There were at least 7 ministerio de salud
folks plus 5 or 6 bank people (including a few north americans). The meeting was about this sector of towns
aquaduct. Not only did I learn a ton
about the aquaduct, I also met a few community members I had yet to meet, met
the ministerio de salud people, had my Spanish complimented, and even had the
woman who hosted me for my first week here (the hands down most
miserable/difficult week I have had thus far in Panama, and I thought this
woman and her family hated me) brag about how I had lived in her house for a
week and give me encouraging words about my sombrero. Oh also, a group of community members had a
discussion about me finding the love of my life here. . .doh (the Peace Corps
volunteers who have served in LB and in surrounding communities have set quite
the standard for Panamanian love affairs).
I tried to explain that I really do like being single and have enough
things to deal with/figure out without adding a boy to all of it. They all just smiled and laughed haha. But,
the moral is, people feel comfortable enough to joke with me! And take pride in
having me in their homes! Plus community members successfully built and aquaduct
and have a group who successfully maintains it. . .a very good sign for me and
any projects I do.
I eventually made my way home, only to end up stopping and
having a conversation with 4 of the teachers (including the director) who were
waiting for a car to get home. Again,
the convo wasn’t much, but they talk to me and treat me like an equal, I didn’t
feel awkward stopping on the road and talking with them for a bit.
Finally I made it home, where I was greeting with a Pipa
(coconut) to drink. And I spent the rest
of the day in my hammock working on my sombrero and reading, and spoke on the
phone with one of my best Peace Corps friends about meeting up sometime soon,
and with my momma. Oh, I also spent nearly 2 hours helping a teacher grade his
English exams (again though, he came to my house to get help, it may seem
silly, but it’s nice to feel needed and that people are comfortable enough with
me now to ask for help). Let me tell
you, I got some excellent laughs with the sentences these 9th
graders wrote.
My motto here in Panama is “one day at a time” and so far it
has really helped lol. Everyday brings
something different around here, and honestly I can never predict what will
happen the next day, really can’t even come CLOSE to predicting what will
happen. Some days are harder than
others, some days I ask myself what in the heck I am doing here, but mostly I
just take things one day/moment/second at a time. Good or bad, it’s all part of the experience
haha.
