Trimester Report

I apologize for the cryptic Spanish words thrown into my report. I tried to add explanations where I could.

What have you learned in the process of integrating into your community?

Hard work is appreciated. In a subsistence agriculture society, everyone should break a sweat at least sometimes. I am always surprised how quickly rumors get around of my participation in juntas, seed plantings, etc. “Was that you I saw planting rice with Valentin?”

Sometimes I feel well integrated. Everyone knows who I am in the surrounding area, and no one is surprised to see my face anymore. I don’t feel like families put up a big show when I visit them anymore.

Sometimes I know I’m not integrated. I wear $50 sandals and still slip every time I wear my $2 ones. I still falta mucho in Ngaberi. People treat my puppy like a little prince.
But either way, I’m quite content.

What challenges have you faced?
Getting people to think beyond the physical delivery of the project continues to be a challenge. Community members are not going to be content until they have a working faucet in front of their house, and I can’t really blame them. I wouldn’t mind having one of those faucets, either! However, I need to work harder to emphasize what clean water really means in terms of health.

Lessons learned about your project, community, self
Don’t underestimate the power of shyness. My second host dad didn’t say more than “Hello” to me the whole month and a halfI stayed there. It took an interaction a few months later, away from the house, to make me realize he was just intimidated to talk to me in front of his wife, with whom I had already gained confidence. Originally I thought he had no interest in m work here, but he actually is a dedicated and reliable community member.

Planned activities
-nutrition charla
-sex ed/ youth PML charla in the colegio or primaria, or plans to have one
-start water committee seminars in the Comarca NB
-house to house water purification charla
-school health charla
-propose idea of world map painting project to director
-keep going teaching English!

Help promote a better understanding of Americans
My mom, dad, and younger brother came to visit my site for 3 nights while we were in Panama. They shared American deliciousness such as Oreos, and helped my community better understand that most estadounidenses cannot speak Spanish!

I continue to share my photo album from home with my house guests. I have many photos of friends from diverse ethnic backgrounds and I try to emphasize, and re-emphasize, that not all North Americans look like me.

Success story
A PASAP MINSA (government agency) tecnico agreed to come visit my site after I had repeatedly expressed concern about the selected water tank location for a Represenante aqueduct project. The tecnico arrived early (first success!) and I walked with him and our community water committee Vice President and Vocal to visit the site of the possible spring source annex.

The Vice President had previously walked with me to the two spring sources and tank locations with the GPS and was able to explain to the tecnico why we were concerned about the tank location and a suggestion for a new tank location. The Vice President further discussed his ideas for funding an annex spring box and asked the tecnico a few questions. I stood back and took notes. I was so proud!