Out and About in March

The Dirty D (Darien, that is)

The Darien province of Panama is located far to the east side, bordering Colombia.  In March I had the opportunity to visit what Peace Corps volunteers “lovingly” call the Dirty D.

My adventure was to begin visiting a friend in an Embera Indigenous village, where a women’s group had requested a training in basic business skills.  I hadn’t been able to reach this friend Bridget to confirm during the week prior to my trip, but this is not so unusual for Peace Corps volunteers, so I went ahead and hoped for the best.  As per her instructions, I arrived at a remote boat dock before 7am to look for boats heading to Sambu.  The first boat sign-up list was already full so I signed up for the second … except soon word started spreading that this second boat driver decided not to come that day.  So now what?  I heard some talk about taking a different boat to Garachine and then some form of land transport from there to Sambu (car? motorcycles? hmm).  After talking to a bunch of people, I was convinced this idea was worth a shot and by 9:30, I was finally out on the water.

At least waiting by the boat dock was pretty

Heading out

Around 11:00 we stopped somewhere for gas and a couple guys got off the boat looking for their own type of fuel.  An hour later the gas tank was full and the beer-wreaking dudes finally came back so we could continue.  Thankfully I had an umbrella to shelter me from the brutal midday sun and was also able to shade the older Embera woman sitting next to me.  Around 1:30 we reached Garachine and I helped that older woman and her daughter carry their stuff to where we were to get picked up.  They bought me a bottle of water as thanks.  Such a bonding experience!  So the large group of us heading to Sambu piled in the back of a cattle truck and marched onward.  It was all I could do to not smash my head against the metal cage bars as we bumped along (not such an issue for the shorter Panamanians), and by the end I was covered in bruises and a layer of dust (dry season in the Darien is dry).

I am too tall for this cattle truck

After reaching Sambu around 3:30, it didn’t take long to find Bridget who’d been patiently waiting for me all day to hike back 1.5 hours to her community Day Puru.  When we made it I had the worst dehydration headache I’ve ever experienced, but Bridget took good care of me and spoiled me with all kinds of delicious food and much-needed water-chugging.

Bridget cooking away

Bridget's scary (but typical) ladder for a her stilted house

Cute neighbors

The next morning’s business presentation went really well.  I helped the women’s group create a working mission statement and covered a bunch of my normal topics like how to evaluate which activities generate greater profits for them.  It was also an interesting experience for me to give a presentation to a group of women who were not all wearing tops.  Different culture!

Business presentation

Women's group

After the talk, I was painted in the traditional style using a plant-based dye that lasts about a week.  Loved it!  After this short visit, I said goodbye to Day Puru and Bridget walked me back to Sambu so I could catch the 3am boat back out.  I wish I could’ve gotten pictures of that gorgeous, moonlit river journey…

Mixing the dye

Getting painted

Bridget showing me around Day Puru before heading out again

After this successful visit, I headed across the Darien to visit my friend Alex in a remote Latino site called Candelilla.  This time no boats were involved – just a bumpy chiva ride and a two hour hike.  Whew.  Alex joined the Peace Corps a year after me and having helped with her training, it was really cool for me to see her all settled in and working hard.  We tag-teamed an agribusiness presentation for the few members of her community that showed up (her community is small to begin with and suffers from the normal Panamanian “no-show” syndrome).

Agribusiness charla

Me, Alex, and her charla participants

Overall, I really enjoyed my Darien adventure, although I know I only got a taste of it all, and I was left in awe of how far out there some of these communities really are.  On a more serious note, several of my volunteer friends in a different region of the Darien were recently removed from their sites due to violence involving Colombian drug runners.  My heart goes out to them and their communities who are dealing with a very complicated situation.

Other March Events

In addition to my travels in the Dirty D, other events kept me out and about during most of March.

- I organized my first “big” regional agribusiness seminar in the province of Veraguas.  Unfortunately I unknowingly planned it in conflict with a regional pilgrimage festival honoring Jesús Cristo de Atalaya.  OOPS!  The low attendance was a big disappointment, but I feel we did the best we could with the information available.  I learned many good lessons that I will use in my next two seminars later in April and May.

I think the high facilitator to participant ratio helped people get a lot out of it

Seminar complete

- I attended a UPenn Wharton Global Forum in Panama City.  It was quite a shock to my system to preview the business school world I will join next year, but the speakers were interesting and I enjoyed the event.

Exciting

This is the President of Panama

Fancy poolside dinner equipped with open bar and interesting performers

Meeting people

- Peace Corps Close-of-Service Conference occurs for volunteers three months before we actually leave.  The idea is to start getting us mentally, physically, and administratively (so much paperwork!) prepared to leave Panama. My official departure date has been assigned: June 27, meaning I need to leave my community to spend my last days in the Peace Corps office on June 22.  In one cheesy activity, we passed around a candle and shared whatever we wanted with the group.  I’m pretty sure this activity is designed to make us cry.  It worked.  We also put together this awesome video that I recommend watching (I come in at times: 6:05, 8:26, and 12:34): “Happy” Peace Corps Panama Group 71.

To celebrate the end of the conference and the last time we’d all be together as a group, I organized a party boat to take us on an evening tour of the Panama City bay.  Organizing this yacht had stressed me out for months, but it was totally worth it.

Yacht passing through the canal

Party planners making a toast

- Dani Dagan visited me!  We played with monkeys and did some other touristy things around and off the coast of Panama City before spending a couple days in my site.

Monkey friend

Touring a Wounaan indigenous village

Pineapple on Taboga Island

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all who had the chance to visit me in Panama: Dani Dagan, Molly James, Laura Holzman, Rebecca Powell, Aloni Cohen, Sadie Diaz, Marisa Gonzalez, Erica Goldman, and Ashley Thompson.  It really meant a lot to me.  I can’t believe that the next time I go to the airport it will be for me to really leave.  AHHHH!!!

- I got recognized by the Embassy!  Check it out in Spanish: Panama US Embassy

#ThirdWorldProblems (of a first world girl)

Oh yeah, remember this segment?  It’s back!

- I repeatedly hear a volunteer friend complain, “I am just so tired of cockroaches poopin’ on my clothes.”

- My new definition of “clean clothes” is: smells ok and has three or fewer visible stains

- My new definition of “nice clothes” is: my Peace Corps polo and/or any T-shirt with no holes or visible stains.

- The clothes on my line were almost dry before that downpour came.

- Any beverage with ice in it is fancy.

- Any wine that comes out of a bottle instead of a box is classy.

- The day we tried to teach community members how to use voicemail on their cell phones, we couldn’t find strong enough signal for them to activate their mailboxes.  We blamed it on the wind.

- How did a mosquito get me there?

- I once flicked a cockroach out of my plastic cup of wine and kept drinking