Group 65 CEC in front of US Ambassador's house
Panamanian Vice President Juan Carlos Varela
Yours truly with US Ambassador to Panama, Barbara Stephenson
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Swear in pics
Group 65 CEC in front of US Ambassador's house
Panamanian Vice President Juan Carlos Varela
Yours truly with US Ambassador to Panama, Barbara Stephenson
Monday, June 28, 2010
Swear-In...
On Friday June 25, the aspirantes of PC Group 65 were sworn in and officially made volunteers. This was a big deal for us, but what I did not realize was that it was a big deal for the governments of the US and Panama. How big? The event was held at the outgoing US Ambassador's house and the Vice-President and First Lady of Panama were there. The Ambassador, Barbara Stephenson, got a little emotional and some Panamanians in attendance were shaking my hand and thanking me with tears in their eyes. The Vice President gave a speech and it was heartfelt and thankful. It didn't seem like your typical political affair where the gestures are superficial and the dignitaries always have somewhere better to be. It made me realize that even though we have been in our training communities worried about the next language interview or APCD meeting, what we are about to do will have a lasting effect in our lives and in the lives of our community members. It is crazy to think how real that is. For all the ego clashes and stress of training, that is all over. It is time to go to work. I think this training process has really prepared us well. CEC, at least, I know the other sectors have more trepidation than we do. So THANK YOU, Carlos and Francisco.
Above Photo: What it is all about. Playing soccer with schoolkids and cowboys from somewhere in Veraguas. Pics of US Ambassador and Panamanian VP in next edition. Peace.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
USA, USA, USA!!!!!!
In sports news, the US won and advanced in the World Cup. Thank you to, Raul, the director of training for allowing us the opportunity to watch. I haven't had a World Cup entry yet. Here it is: congrats to Sam's Army and their ballsy performances. I have been critical of Bob Bradley and Landon Donavan, but they proved me wrong today. Shout out to A. Ma who is there watching. I'm jealous but I hope you are having the time of your life. Be safe. Right now, Uruguay and Argentina look real strong to me. Diego Forlan has been my player of the tournament so far. I've been watching what I can. Brazil, Argentina and Spain are hands down the most popular teams here in Panama. However, Spain lost some street cred when they lost to the Swiss. They should still advance though. That's all sports fans. Back to reality...
It has been an emotional week here, everyone is getting back from their site visits with stories to share. We lost our first aspirante, but Mark, best wishes to you man. Hope you find what you are looking for. Some are shocked and awed by their sites. But I feel really lucky.
Last week, after our site entry conference, we left for our sites. I was happy to meet my counterpart, Jose, before I went to Colon. Jose is an amazing character. He is constantly laughing and joking, but when he told me what his plans for the community were I knew he was legit. I accompanied him to his house and met his wife and the rest of his brood. His wife has an outsized personality to match Jose and a wonderful philosophy on life. She told me I was one of her kids now and if anyone messes with me they'll see how brava (English trans. ANGRRRRY) she can get. Look out Colon! Maribel don't play. The rest of the visit was an introduction to people and projects. I saw the youth group working on beach clean-up and prepping for mangrove reforestation. I worked with the agro-ambiental group. We started the vivero, which is essentially a tree nursery, gringos. I was really excited to do it because a. it was my first day there and we got work cracking right away and b. I can watch it grow from start to finish. I met school teachers and directors. And I am comfortable knowing it will be my home and work for the next two years. It is not the idyllic beach side community I pictured. It is a little 'hood fo' sho'. But Jose and is counterparts are on the brink of changing their community and their environment. I am the first Peace Corps volunteer there but they are overjoyed to have me. Not because of my wit and charm,surprisingly, but I think because having a development worker there gives their effort legitimacy. They deserve to be recognized though, and I hope I can be a bridge to get them the resources they need to have long term sustainability. Here is a journal entry from the visit (it rained a lot): The cool, heavy rain is a blanket on the loud and hot Panamanian night. The sound of water falling on a tin roof is a white noise that drowns out the ever present music and loud voices. The fresh stormy breeze blows the clouds of humidity to tomorrow. And I sleep peacefully knowing I've put in a hard day's work.
It has been an emotional week here, everyone is getting back from their site visits with stories to share. We lost our first aspirante, but Mark, best wishes to you man. Hope you find what you are looking for. Some are shocked and awed by their sites. But I feel really lucky.
Last week, after our site entry conference, we left for our sites. I was happy to meet my counterpart, Jose, before I went to Colon. Jose is an amazing character. He is constantly laughing and joking, but when he told me what his plans for the community were I knew he was legit. I accompanied him to his house and met his wife and the rest of his brood. His wife has an outsized personality to match Jose and a wonderful philosophy on life. She told me I was one of her kids now and if anyone messes with me they'll see how brava (English trans. ANGRRRRY) she can get. Look out Colon! Maribel don't play. The rest of the visit was an introduction to people and projects. I saw the youth group working on beach clean-up and prepping for mangrove reforestation. I worked with the agro-ambiental group. We started the vivero, which is essentially a tree nursery, gringos. I was really excited to do it because a. it was my first day there and we got work cracking right away and b. I can watch it grow from start to finish. I met school teachers and directors. And I am comfortable knowing it will be my home and work for the next two years. It is not the idyllic beach side community I pictured. It is a little 'hood fo' sho'. But Jose and is counterparts are on the brink of changing their community and their environment. I am the first Peace Corps volunteer there but they are overjoyed to have me. Not because of my wit and charm,surprisingly, but I think because having a development worker there gives their effort legitimacy. They deserve to be recognized though, and I hope I can be a bridge to get them the resources they need to have long term sustainability. Here is a journal entry from the visit (it rained a lot): The cool, heavy rain is a blanket on the loud and hot Panamanian night. The sound of water falling on a tin roof is a white noise that drowns out the ever present music and loud voices. The fresh stormy breeze blows the clouds of humidity to tomorrow. And I sleep peacefully knowing I've put in a hard day's work.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
June 6... extraordinary tasks
6.05
“There was nothing good men and true could not accomplish when committed to a Noble Task. He saw them all as figures in a romance, embarked on what he was to call The Great Adventure of Panama. They were more themselves, better men, in this wild field of combat.” -David McCullough
Sometimes it seems as if the task ahead is impossible. I’ve discovered where my site is. It is all I could ask for: coastal, four hours from La Ciudad (Panama City for you gringos), running water, electricity, bus service, cell phone signal, and most importantly, ambitious community members. Why am I so nervous for the work ahead? Perhaps nervous is not the right word. A month from now, mas o menos, I am expected to go into this community as the first Peace Corps volunteer they have encountered. I am taking my ever expanding Spanish skills (which don’t seem to be expanding fast enough) and my life, which is conveniently able to fit into a couple of backpacks and entering into a foreign community that will be my home and my work for the next two years. Not only do I have to become a part of the community’s social fabric, I have to get them organized and working, and I have to pave the way for future volunteers. I know I am prepared for this, but, damn, it still seems daunting.
It is going to take an extraordinary effort. I do not mean I a pompous “Real Men of Genius” level of extraordinary. I have been wondering lately about the nature of this word extraordinary. Plenty of people do extraordinary things. I have always had this theory that before one reaches success (real success, not instantaneous winning the genetic lottery type success) life gives you one epic trial to see if you are worth the trouble. Where my theory keeps going wrong though, is I always thought it was a one-time thing. Do your diligence, suffer, pass go, collect your winnings at the window. I am learning now that the trials and travails never stop. It is exhausting, but every now and then I have to remind myself that the work is the reward. I see the volunteers that are two years down the road and they are so relaxed. I worry I’ll never be that relaxed, but then I realize that two years ago, mas o menos, they were showing up in a strange pueblo with limited language skills, a binder full of training tools, their lives on their backs, a shiny new machete, and the hopes that they could do something extraordinary.
“There was nothing good men and true could not accomplish when committed to a Noble Task. He saw them all as figures in a romance, embarked on what he was to call The Great Adventure of Panama. They were more themselves, better men, in this wild field of combat.” -David McCullough
Sometimes it seems as if the task ahead is impossible. I’ve discovered where my site is. It is all I could ask for: coastal, four hours from La Ciudad (Panama City for you gringos), running water, electricity, bus service, cell phone signal, and most importantly, ambitious community members. Why am I so nervous for the work ahead? Perhaps nervous is not the right word. A month from now, mas o menos, I am expected to go into this community as the first Peace Corps volunteer they have encountered. I am taking my ever expanding Spanish skills (which don’t seem to be expanding fast enough) and my life, which is conveniently able to fit into a couple of backpacks and entering into a foreign community that will be my home and my work for the next two years. Not only do I have to become a part of the community’s social fabric, I have to get them organized and working, and I have to pave the way for future volunteers. I know I am prepared for this, but, damn, it still seems daunting.
It is going to take an extraordinary effort. I do not mean I a pompous “Real Men of Genius” level of extraordinary. I have been wondering lately about the nature of this word extraordinary. Plenty of people do extraordinary things. I have always had this theory that before one reaches success (real success, not instantaneous winning the genetic lottery type success) life gives you one epic trial to see if you are worth the trouble. Where my theory keeps going wrong though, is I always thought it was a one-time thing. Do your diligence, suffer, pass go, collect your winnings at the window. I am learning now that the trials and travails never stop. It is exhausting, but every now and then I have to remind myself that the work is the reward. I see the volunteers that are two years down the road and they are so relaxed. I worry I’ll never be that relaxed, but then I realize that two years ago, mas o menos, they were showing up in a strange pueblo with limited language skills, a binder full of training tools, their lives on their backs, a shiny new machete, and the hopes that they could do something extraordinary.
May 16...Pondering
5/16/10
From West of Jesus by Steven Kotler
Maybe that’s how things go. Maybe we tell ourselves stories right up until the moment we can no longer tell ourselves such stories. We believe the earth is flat until we believe it is round…. Scientists now believe the quantum world is a world of possibility. They believe that our most fundamental level of reality is not any one firm reality, rather the possibility of an infinite number of possibilities. We cannot find the cornerstone of our foundation because everything and nothing are the cornerstones of our foundation. We live in a world of magnificent maybe. And every now and again someone rattles the bones of the past in the direction of the future in the hopes that a wave will rise.
I guess the question is why am I here. Why did I leave my family and friends and a beautiful girl who loves me to serve in the Peace Corps? I could be chasing money in South Florida and living comfortably. Instead, I am sweating somewhere outside of Panama City, somewhere where the slum meets the farm. Training is a tedious affair, yet I would not trade it. To paraphrase a quote I read once: the explorers could not have discovered anything if they were scared to lose sight of the shore. Well I can’t see the shore and I’ve lost my bearings, yet I still have the hopeful expectation as if my ship just launched. Before I left the reactions were varied from positive encouragement to vacant stares. Some have idealistic views of the Peace Corps, a remnant of its birth in the 1960s and the hippie generation. Let me put that to rest. This is no lackadaisical organization. It is a machine intent on planting the seeds for a better world. The demands are high for the volunteers and the “aspirantes”, which I am. This is no tropical vacation. The goals are lofty. However the pressure is not to immediately end world hunger, cure AIDS and reverse climate change by saving the rainforest. Rather we are here to teach populations which haven’t had the opportunities we have had in the US to appreciate, improve and preserve the resources they have now. And maybe generations from now the world will be a better place because of our work and our sacrifices.
I am here because I could not quiet the voice in my head that told me to stop complaining and do something. I am here because I have had it too easy up until now. I am here because the men of my generation have not been made to be self reliant in the midst of the wild game of survival. We chase dollars never questioning the sources of wealth, never questioning if our easy living is making it hard for someone else.
This is the most selfless and selfish I have ever been. I am learning a new culture, a new language. I am learning how to build things with sweat, dirt, a machete and twine. I am a surfer in a surfer’s paradise (although I have yet to discover the untapped nooks and crannies of the dual coastlines). Everything I do here will benefit me. I am being trained to facilitate positive change. Maybe that will be in schools, in farms, in a coastal ecosystem or on the mountains. In some beautiful inverse relationship, everything I do will benefit someone else as well. That’s why I’m here.
From West of Jesus by Steven Kotler
Maybe that’s how things go. Maybe we tell ourselves stories right up until the moment we can no longer tell ourselves such stories. We believe the earth is flat until we believe it is round…. Scientists now believe the quantum world is a world of possibility. They believe that our most fundamental level of reality is not any one firm reality, rather the possibility of an infinite number of possibilities. We cannot find the cornerstone of our foundation because everything and nothing are the cornerstones of our foundation. We live in a world of magnificent maybe. And every now and again someone rattles the bones of the past in the direction of the future in the hopes that a wave will rise.
I guess the question is why am I here. Why did I leave my family and friends and a beautiful girl who loves me to serve in the Peace Corps? I could be chasing money in South Florida and living comfortably. Instead, I am sweating somewhere outside of Panama City, somewhere where the slum meets the farm. Training is a tedious affair, yet I would not trade it. To paraphrase a quote I read once: the explorers could not have discovered anything if they were scared to lose sight of the shore. Well I can’t see the shore and I’ve lost my bearings, yet I still have the hopeful expectation as if my ship just launched. Before I left the reactions were varied from positive encouragement to vacant stares. Some have idealistic views of the Peace Corps, a remnant of its birth in the 1960s and the hippie generation. Let me put that to rest. This is no lackadaisical organization. It is a machine intent on planting the seeds for a better world. The demands are high for the volunteers and the “aspirantes”, which I am. This is no tropical vacation. The goals are lofty. However the pressure is not to immediately end world hunger, cure AIDS and reverse climate change by saving the rainforest. Rather we are here to teach populations which haven’t had the opportunities we have had in the US to appreciate, improve and preserve the resources they have now. And maybe generations from now the world will be a better place because of our work and our sacrifices.
I am here because I could not quiet the voice in my head that told me to stop complaining and do something. I am here because I have had it too easy up until now. I am here because the men of my generation have not been made to be self reliant in the midst of the wild game of survival. We chase dollars never questioning the sources of wealth, never questioning if our easy living is making it hard for someone else.
This is the most selfless and selfish I have ever been. I am learning a new culture, a new language. I am learning how to build things with sweat, dirt, a machete and twine. I am a surfer in a surfer’s paradise (although I have yet to discover the untapped nooks and crannies of the dual coastlines). Everything I do here will benefit me. I am being trained to facilitate positive change. Maybe that will be in schools, in farms, in a coastal ecosystem or on the mountains. In some beautiful inverse relationship, everything I do will benefit someone else as well. That’s why I’m here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)