A Panamanian Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. 25 years ago today, I was born. That's crazy! I don't know where last year went. Last year at this time I was by the swimming pool enjoying some beer and guacamole. Where has it all gone?

Today was a little different than that. I went to another volunteer's site with my Environmental Health people today. It was the first time that I actually saw a volunteer's site in person. It was pretty...rustic. I prepared myself pretty well for it, but I was still struck by the community that we stepped into. The problems in this community, and I imagine in many others, are relatively basic. Why do I keep getting sick after drinking the water? Well, who else is using the water and, more importantly, what is it being used for? They're questions that seem obvious to us, but for a rural community that hasn't had a lot of education about germs and parasites and what causes them, they're issues that need to be addressed.

I'm leaving now to head over to Santa Clara for training (woohoo!). I'm meeting my first host family today, which should be interesting. I'm nervous about it, but the volunteers that are here with us trainees assured us that, although it's awkward at first, it gets a lot better. And, eventually, they end up becoming a good support system for you. I'm sure I'll be exhausted every night after my 10 hours of Spanish and technical training. But, I'm going to make an effort to stay engaged and talk to them.

Here are some pictures of the trip out to Panama este (Panama is a city, province and country name--so East Panama is in the eastern part of the province). We were very close to the Darien, which is the big jungle just north of the Columbia border. The Darien is off limits because of the FARC presence (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia). The woman is part of the Kuna tribe, and she's in traditional Kuna clothing. Enjoy!

I will try and post soon, but it may not be possible. So, until next time! Chau!