To celebrate the completion of one year in our sites as volunteers, most of my training group met up for two nights at an all-inclusive resort on the Pacific coast over Halloween weekend. My volunteer friends and I had been anticipating the vacation for months, but when I arrived for my first time to an all-inclusive resort I found myself a bit overwhelmed- swimming pools and buffets galore, with Panamanian staff running around everywhere cleaning stuff that didn’t appear to be dirty. Jessica and Kayla (my trusty Comarca cohorts) and I arrived to our plush 2 bed, 1 futon room and the first thing I thought (or maybe said) was, This room could easily fit 7.
I enjoyed myself thoroughly but I nevertheless wavered between guilt and gluttony. As I sipped a mixed drink in the pool I wondered what my host mom was doing back in the community. Probably working. I decided to partially come to peace with myself by doing to the buffet what any of my community members would have done – eating as much food as possible, and never leaving a spec of uneaten food on my plate. I did just that, every meal.
In the morning after breakfast, some of my friends and I were watching a game of shuffleboard. I heard music on the beach – I looked – and I saw a Zumba (Latin music exercise) class in the sand. I ran over and joined in, the only non-Panamanian, judging by appearance. The dance moves were fun but due to my level of coordination the Panamanians had to give me some tips.
Later on, one of the other volunteers whom I don’t know too well said, “I can’t believe you just walked over there and joined in the middle of the Zumba class!” I thought about it and realized, before my time in Panama, I wouldn’t have joined that class alone. But by joining the class I was just doing what I do every day in my community as a volunteer, jumping into potentially awkward situations that I know nothing about, and seeing where it takes me.
One of these things is not like the others.
No comments:
Post a Comment