I know where I'm going to live for the next 2 years!

Signs that I am getting used to Panama:

· It takes more than a few roosters to wake me up at 4 am.

· I like sugar in my coffee now.

· I have no trouble eating mountains of rice.

· I did feel cold when it was less than 70 F last night.

· I eat everything with just a spoon.

Signs that I am still American:

· I drink a lot of water, all the time. My host parents only drink coffee.

· Mosquitoes really like biting me.

· My skin gets burnt really easily.

· I miss peanut butter.

My training group traveled to the Darien (province east of the Panama Canal, closest to Colombia) for 10 days of technical training. We worked and stayed in a small village 4.5 hours from Panama City. The village was about 30 Wounan-Embera (indigenous group in Panama/Colombia) families, most of whom had moved to Panama from Colombia in the last 50 years to escape terrorist groups and to have better access to schools and healthcare.

My host family had four kids, age 15, 10, 7, and 2. I hung out a lot with the kids and they taught me some new card games. Most of the women make baskets for side family income, and my host mom taught me how to sew a basket. All the women wear wrap miniskirts with colorful prints like I'm wearing in the picture.

Every day, we spent half the day constructing latrines, and half the day working on water systems. Each group of 10 built a pit latrine and a composting latrine. We also made repairs on the PVC water system and hiked into the jungle to see where the source of the water was. It was really neat because the spring box was at the top of waterfall (see above).

On the last day there, the community had a huge farewell party for us. The previous night we had our bodies painted in preparation for the fiesta. At the party, they gave each of us gifts (I got earrings and 3 necklaces), and then we all danced the traditional dances. Afterwards there was a piñata for the kids which was definitely not like my piñata experiences in the US- imagine a blindfolded kid with a 5 foot 2x4 and 50 kids diving onto the concrete floor for candy. My host mom gave me the basket I had been working on (which she completed for me because I was really slow).

The next morning we left really early to go to the beach. It was wide white sand and very beautiful.

Upon returning to the training community near Panama City this past Monday, we have been really impatiently waiting for today to find out where each of us will be placed. This is the place where I will be living for the next 2 years.

Our staff made the site announcement very dramatic. At the front of the room was a large map of Panama, with dots on it to indicate the villages to which my group is assigned. Starting at the eastern side of the country, my boss announced the future resident of each spot. I will be living in a hillside village, population 150, in the Comarca Ngobe Bugle. It is very close to the village where I visited the volunteer Meredith a month ago! The closest town is San Felix on the Interamericana Highway. Once I get to San Felix, I am only about 1 hour from a beautiful beach.

Before choosing new communities, my boss and current volunteers have at least 3 meetings with community leaders to ensure commitment. The community leaders also have to commit to providing me with 3 host families for the first 3 months. After that, my community will help me build a house. Who would have thought that I would own my own house at 23?

From my info packet written by my boss: “The people farm the hillsides for the classic Ngabe crops of rice, corn, beans, plantain, yucca, and coffee. Poverty level is high here but the community is warm and inviting….The water system only provides water to a few houses and will need a new source. You will be able to explore the area for potential sources and identify the sites that will work for a gravity flow water system.”

I will meet one my community leaders in Panama City in a few weeks, and then we will travel back to the community for a few days’ visit.

Thanks to everyone who sent me mail!! Today I received a stack of mail, with US postmark dates ranging from mid August to late to mid September. Surprisingly, packages seem to make it here faster. Also, if you send me something in the next few weeks, we have been advised to have our names (ie Attn: Carolyn) at the bottom of the address, so that all the Peace Corps mail is grouped together instead of by names. I will post my new mailing address in a few weeks but I can receive mail at this address until the end of October.

Until next time!