"...and then they smashed my face" (Celebrating my Birthday in Panama)

Unfortunately as a Peace Corps Panama volunteer, I have encountered many volunteers on their way out
express the idea that Panamanians have made a negative impression on them. I'm not sure what it is
exactly. Some say that Panamanians lack culture. I must admit I am guilty of making this accusation
myself. However it is not so much that they lack culture as it is that their culture is heavily influenced by the US and other countries that have had a presence here over history. America itself doesn't have a culture of its own per say. It's a jumble.  Panama is in a way the same thing. It may come off as a bit of an identity crises when you meet Panamanians with names like Doroteo (A male name pretty sure originating from the name Dorothy) Leidys (obviously fit for a "Lady") Arraijan (apparently comes from "a right hand" when the souldiers were here). I really could go on and on. But in reality, this is who they are. How can we as Peace Corps volunteers accuse them of taking on too much of the American culture when we are here for exactly that purpose. - to share our culture.

I myself have met a variety of Panamanians and although some may not have all the best traits in the world, honestly, I feel that an overwhelming majority of them are good hearted people with great intentions. That to me is enough for me to leave this country with a great impression of Panamanians. If I ever have any doubts all I have to do is turn to my host family or the friends that I have formed in my community. Maybe the relationships aren’t the same as those that I would have with my family or friends back home, but if I need them they are there for me without a second of hesitation. They are thoughtful and caring. Maybe they don't like to hug as much as I do but they care in their own way. My neighbors after getting to know me a bit went out to town one day. They came back with some little things that they bought for me (I would also like to mention that their house consists of a single room, and yet they are very far form greedy) A cucumber and a tomato "because I like my veggies" An apple because I like to eat healthy and therefore eat fruits (I also like how they chose their favorite fruit) yogurt healthy and yummy, and 3 potatoes, because Im Polish and love my potatoes as much as they love rice". It was amazing I will never forget that little gesture of theirs. Incredibly thoughtful, and already knew me so well. That means that they observed my actions not with judgment but with good intentions, they paid attention to the things I like, they learned about me and my culture and they didn’t dismiss it, they accepted it as part of me, someone they care for. Its incredible that you can travel to a different country with a completely different culture, and meet people so different from you, but yet in so many ways the same, and they understand you better then some people back home. I really can''t imagine my service here in Panama without these people. I am incredibly grateful for them.

Many months ago my host family asked me when my birthday is. When I informed them that I planned to spend the actual day outside of the community, they said no problem we’ll celebrate your birthday the following weekend on December 8th, Mother’s Day. We will all be together that day anyways. Deal! I said.

They kept their word and we celebrated together on the 8th. Turns out they tricked me though. Although it was Mother's day, the whole party was for me. They invited at least 30 people. They made a Piñata, of my face. Apparently they didn’t think about the fact that I don’t like to beat myself up. Also, please note, how blond I am in their eyes. Platinum blond anyone! But they put in the time and made it with love I believe. They bought a beautiful fruit-cup just for me, made dinner for 50 people and bought one cake and made the other. Incredible.

Thats right, they made a piñata of me. 

Arroz con pollo in thie making. Thats rice with chicken and carrots and other veggies. Its a birthday party MUST! It takes all day to make this stuff. Especially if you're making it for 50 people. Thanks host fam!

The girls :) Host sisters and the one that is expecting a child  (16 years old) is the youngest one and is my host niece. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy on the 14th.

Pretty large pot of food, huh?

Two cakes, one for the guests, and one for the bday girl. If you know me well you'll be able to guess which one was for me.

The best host mom in the world!

Time to smash my face!

Oh but I don't want to smash my pretty piñata face that you guys worked so hard on.

And smash it they did! And then they picked at my brains! Candy for everyone!

Although I had a rough start to the day they made it all better. Just as any real family would. They knew exactly what to ask, and when to stop asking and distract me instead. They had me smiling for hours. I went home that day knowing that everything will be ok. As I arrived to my house I looked up at the night sky, it was filled with stars. I smiled. Panamanians have a saying “barriga llena, crazón contento” Full tummy, happy heart. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanksgiving in Panama

I am grateful for an endless amount of things. And don't you all worry, I will get to that. But I have no choice but to start off by saying that some Panamanians celebrate Thanksgiving. Its strange but really not all that surprising. American holidays, and really anything American catches on very quickly here. Right now the majority of the houses in my community have Christmas lights up. More than on my street back home. Once again, slightly strange considering that they are living in “poverty” based on income levels, but hey their houses are glowing beautifully every night. As for Thanksgiving though, it appears to be that the Panamanians that celebrate it, mainly the folk from the capital, and wealthy people, really do just celebrate it as a day to give thanks. I’ve spoken to my community about it, they all know about thanksgiving but they don’t know the history about the U.S. version of it. It was a good opportunity for me to share some of our history with them. My favorite part however, is that Black Friday is a thing here. Consumerism taking over the world one poor nation after another.


As for my first Thanksgiving in Panama, it was incredible! Also slightly overwhelming. For Thanksgiving all the Peace Corps Volunteers get together. All 200 of us! We basically rent out an entire hotel in the mountains of Chiriqui. A gorgeous cozy cabin like hotel. It felt incredible to be in the chilly mountains sitting next to a fireplace inside a spacious room made of wood and not concrete in the company of so many cheerful people. It certainly set the mood for the upcoming day.

We spent two nights there. The first day after we dropped off our things in our rooms, we headed out to the main are where every one was just relaxing. Talk about meet and greet. There were at least a 100 people there that I had never met before. Needless to say, I still do not remember all of there names. In the evening everyone gathered around for the talent show. It was wonderful to just relax and see all the talented folk perform. All of us just filling the couches, the floor, every available spot and enjoying the show. Thanksgiving is the only time during the year that all the volunteers get together and it really is a bit surreal. After being the only English speaking person in site for months and months, to go to Thanksgiving which feels like a mix between a big family reunion and college. I can’t wait for next year. After the talent show the real celebrating began. It was great :)

The one with the "emotionless" face works in a indigenous community, apparently they don't smile there. He has assimilated very well :P

Most of us started the next day off with a large breakfast. The rest of the day was full of relaxing by the fireplaces and playing sports outside in the freezing cold weather (probably 55 degrees or so. Unfortunately being the Panamanian that I now am, the next day I had developed a cold, fever and all). In the meantime, the incredible folk that had volunteered for kitchen duty, were working their shifts and cooking away from the early morning. Thank you all for doing an incredible job and making what has probably been the best meal that I have had in Panama thus far. 

Finally around 6 pm the line started to form. The line of 200 people. However I think that most would say that it was definitely worth the wait. What do you all out there think?


I am thankful for the amazing Thanksgiving day that I had here in Panama with incredible individuals from all around the U.S.A. I am thankful for being so lucky to have received Panama as my Peace Corps Country of Assignment. The people that I have met in this country, although often demonstrate their affection in different ways then we do back home, are some of the most caring and good-hearted individuals that I have met. I am thankful for the incredible community that I live in and all the friends that I have made that are my support system and hopefully life long friends. I am thankful for all the friends and family that I have back home, who also are extremely supportive, and although far away, and sometimes with less communication then ideal, I know that as soon as we talk, it will be as if I had never left (Minus all the marriages and babies of course, which are a pretty clear indication of how long I have been gone for). I honestly, could go on and on and on about the things I am thankful for. Even though sometimes I face obstacles and rough times, in the end things always fall into place. Exactly where they should be, even if I may not know it just yet at that moment.

A Successful Field Trip to the National Park

Proud to say the field trip that I organized to the Omar Torrijos National Park was a complete success.  Although it started out a little rough with everyone arriving late, we quickly made up for lost time. One bus, two bus, three pick-up truck and finally there! With each form of transportation the kids got increasingly excited and giddy.

Finally we arrived. As I was finishing up some registration stuff, my favorite Panamanian man, counterpart, one of the original founders of the park, and an incredible positive spirit sat the kids down for a talk. Very not Panamanian-like he plopped right down in the middle of the road and made the kids join him. He whispered about the secrets of National Parks, what they are, why we need to take care of them, the kids listened intently. I smiled contently, I brought the perfect person along.

 

We arrived to the Visitors Center and started out with an icebreaker and some photos after which we had students from each of the three schools make short presentations about the recycling program at their school. Although slightly unprepared because of the end of the school year craziness (they all just stop going to school the last month of classes), they still rocked it!

After a quick snack, some bananas and cookies to give them some energy, we headed out onto the trail. Hiking time! We hiked up to the best viewing point in the park. Although it was quite foggy, we all received a history behind the name of the park and some interesting facts. Then the fog slowly faded away and the kids could see the gorgeous mountains peaking through. They also had a chance to see the mine and they got a little talk on the affects of mining. After this, the photo shoot began. I believe that it was the first time any of the kids had gone to the park so the event needed to be captured.

We hiked back down to the visitors center. Well, the adults did. The children broke the first two park rules, do not run and do not scream. What took them 30 minutes to climb, they got back down in probably under 5 minutes. Little Speed Demons.  There was no stopping them. I am just grateful none of them got hurt. Once we arrived back we served lunch, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken, typical Panamanian “fancy” food) that Sara and I cooked the night before and she finished that morning at 3:30 am, incredible woman.

After lunch we took the kids in groups on the second hike. I much slower paced hike during which they could observe every little incredible detail of nature and its ecosystems, and miracles. Sr. Julio took the first group. I followed for a bit to snap some photos, and really, to get inspired because I was leading the next group. I can’t even begin to explain how talented he is. The way he explains things to kids is fantastic. He could get them to believe that a rock is the most incredible thing. And honestly he wouldn't be lying. A rock is an incredible formation that the kids walk on every day and never notice. That is exactly what this trip was about. It was an opportunity for these kids to start to appreciate the nature that surrounds them. The nature that they always have had, have grown so accustomed to that they no longer notice it. They believe that it will always be there. It doesn’t even cross their minds that the actions they take on a daily basis, such as littering and cutting down trees can and will have an effect. This was an opportunity for them to learn about how incredible nature is, the many ways that it has adapted to its environment, but also the struggles currently faced by nature.



We finished up with an award ceremony. I handed out the certificates that I made for all the students and parents that participated in the trip - “Award for Environmental Conservation” awarded to so and so, the RECYCLING STAR of 2013". I really hope they appreciate them and take care of them because I put a lot of work into those certificates and really because they should be proud of what they have achieved. 

We finished the day off with another ice breaker- incredibly amusing to see these kids try to pass oranges to each other only using their chins and necks! Should have gotten smaller oranges, my bad. 



Although I have no photo evidence of this, the kids all fell asleep on the ride back home. A successful day I’d say.

Now its time for me to get going and start baking things for Christmas! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy and Successful year 2014! Take the time to think about what you define to be as "successful" year and make it happen!

Peace and Love,
Karolina