Here are some shots of the tech week that I just completed out in the Comarca Ngabe Buble in my friend Austin's site. It was a wonderful week full of great information and practice. A lot of the technical skills I felt I had already learned, but we did a lot of brainstorming as a group about how to strengthen the information channels and share the resources we've discovered independently of one another. A lot of Peace Corps in independent work, and it's easy to forget that there are other people in the country, in your sector, even in your province that are working on the same things and sharing resources and information would be easier than struggling through a project solo. There are often some issues with communicating that information, so we're trying to improve that situation.
On the technical side, we built a tap stand for Austin's house, installed a valve box and poured the cement for another one, and did some PVC connections for the water installation in Austin's house. We also worked on thermoforming, which is using hot oil to mold PVC tube, and talked about more efficient ways to make these things using the resources that we have readily available in our communities. Next month I'm going to experiment creating valve boxes using plastic buckets as the mold with another volunteer. She and I just don't have access or the technical skills to create these complicated molds for a valve box, so we're trying to dumb it down (or "campo" it up, as it were) so that it's more accessible for the average volunteer and community member. Hopefully we'll find some interesting and useful solutions.
We also discussed the water committee trainings and where we want to take those as a group. I'd love to train my water committee, but it does require that they participate, which I can't force them to do. I'm supposed to meet with my water committee this week, so I'll let everyone know how that goes.
Hope everyone is well. Take care.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Back at it!
After a very frustrating few weeks in site (with the exception of Sondra's wonderful and distracting visit!), I made a little progress yesterday. The dirigente (mayor, sort of) of my town came over yesterday to let me know that they were going to have a meeting at 5pm, and what did I want to contribute. I asked what the meeting was about, and he told me that we were going to discuss a fight that had broken out a few nights earlier in front of my neighbor's house (and by extension, my house). The fight was between two men from a neighboring community. One just lost his son, a 14 year old boy, during Semana Santa. (Without giving too many details, the boy was killed in my town by people that had come from the city to celebrate Semana Santa. No one has been arrested, sadly.) The other man was apparently being accused of the death, although he wasn't the perpetrator. I asked Crispulo, my dirigente, how he wanted to address this in the meeting. He said that he wanted to talk about the fight, but I suggested that he talk about what happened during Semana Santa instead, since they're related incidences. He agreed, so we wrote up an agenda, and I added a charla I wanted to give to the end of it. (The agenda was a new format for him, and it was like pulling teeth teaching him to do it. But he did it!)
Anyway, so the meeting rolls around, and we start talking about the first point, what happened during Semana Santa. Immediately someone says, "I didn't want to talk about what happened during Semana Santa, I wanted to talk about the fight the other night. I don't like the way that's written on there. What happened during Semana Santa wasn't our fault." (emphasis ADDED) At this point I interjected. I said, "I wrote that on there, and I did it because these are related incidences. Cause and effect. Furthermore, everyone in the community is responsible for the safety of every child. Not just your own children, but your neighbor's children too. What happened was unacceptable. I feel culpable, and you should as well." It was the first time I'd regañared (scolded) my community, but it needed to happen. It was the first time I'd even voiced an opinion in a meeting, but it seemed like they were just going to tackle the effect, not the cause.
After that, I didn't need to say anything else. The community realized the effect that having big, dangerous parties in their town has on their neighbors and decided not to host any more fiestas. I told them, if it's a matter of preserving the cultural aspect of Semana Santa, there are ways to do that without risking anyone's safety. They just decided not to have them anymore, which I think is a good idea, but I didn't say that.
Needless to say, I didn't do my charla, but I did announce that I'm going to do it today at 4pm, and that I expected to see everyone there. Not to be pushy or anything. I'm going to go over my program today and then do an analysis of an environmental health problem with them. We'll see how that goes. I'm optimistic!
Alright, that's all I have to share right now. Hope everyone is well. Love and miss you all!
Anyway, so the meeting rolls around, and we start talking about the first point, what happened during Semana Santa. Immediately someone says, "I didn't want to talk about what happened during Semana Santa, I wanted to talk about the fight the other night. I don't like the way that's written on there. What happened during Semana Santa wasn't our fault." (emphasis ADDED) At this point I interjected. I said, "I wrote that on there, and I did it because these are related incidences. Cause and effect. Furthermore, everyone in the community is responsible for the safety of every child. Not just your own children, but your neighbor's children too. What happened was unacceptable. I feel culpable, and you should as well." It was the first time I'd regañared (scolded) my community, but it needed to happen. It was the first time I'd even voiced an opinion in a meeting, but it seemed like they were just going to tackle the effect, not the cause.
After that, I didn't need to say anything else. The community realized the effect that having big, dangerous parties in their town has on their neighbors and decided not to host any more fiestas. I told them, if it's a matter of preserving the cultural aspect of Semana Santa, there are ways to do that without risking anyone's safety. They just decided not to have them anymore, which I think is a good idea, but I didn't say that.
Needless to say, I didn't do my charla, but I did announce that I'm going to do it today at 4pm, and that I expected to see everyone there. Not to be pushy or anything. I'm going to go over my program today and then do an analysis of an environmental health problem with them. We'll see how that goes. I'm optimistic!
Alright, that's all I have to share right now. Hope everyone is well. Love and miss you all!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I should have knocked on wood...
So much for keeping up with my personal health initiative. No sooner had I gloated about my good fortune healthwise than I got a really bad bout of stomach flu (I think...) and spent three hours in the emergency room getting an IV drip to rehydrate. The doctor said my blood tests came back normal, but as there was nothing left in my body to excrete, they never got a stool sample. Proudest moment in all of this: on the bus coming back from the beach, half conscious and really ill, I managed to lean over the guy next to me and open the window to throw up. He didn't seem too traumatized.
I just thought I'd update everyone on my physical well-being. My friend Sondra is coming in today for 10 days, so I'm glad that the worst of the illness has passed. After the IV, I felt 50% better, and today I feel 75% better. Improvement. Sondra and I are going to spend a few days out at my site to see what I'm up to out there, then we're going to head up to Kuna Yala to sit on a white beach and enjoy each others company. So excited to see her and have some girl time.
As faithful readers may remember, I was going to do a garbage charla on Saturday, but as it turned out no one was around at the time we were going to do it. Not even my community counterpart that was going to do it with me. That's just so Panama. So now I'm changing tactics. I'm going to focus on smaller groups ( between 6-10) and give the charla a few times. I was considering making it kid-friendly and giving a few charlas at my house for them. I think it's a better approach, especially have big community meetings proves really unwieldy. I lose peoples attention really quickly.
Speaking of children, I just bought the first three Harry Potter books in Spanish and a few more puzzles (puzzles are a big hit, Mom) for my community kids. I've had a lot of questions about what people can send for me, but I'd rather that people send things for kids to play with. A few rules: nothing with too many pieces, books are great, as long as they're in Spanish, nothing too technical (remember these kids live below the poverty line, technology is pretty foreign to them), and anything that combines fun and academic themes are GREAT. I almost bought Scrabble Junior (in Spanish, of course) today. I couldn't afford it with the books and puzzles, though. Please let me know if you're interested in sending something down. I'd love to have more stuff for kids to do. Otherwise they're just running around like little feral jungle kids. Which they kind of are, I guess...
Okay, that's my two cents for today. Love and good health to all!
I just thought I'd update everyone on my physical well-being. My friend Sondra is coming in today for 10 days, so I'm glad that the worst of the illness has passed. After the IV, I felt 50% better, and today I feel 75% better. Improvement. Sondra and I are going to spend a few days out at my site to see what I'm up to out there, then we're going to head up to Kuna Yala to sit on a white beach and enjoy each others company. So excited to see her and have some girl time.
As faithful readers may remember, I was going to do a garbage charla on Saturday, but as it turned out no one was around at the time we were going to do it. Not even my community counterpart that was going to do it with me. That's just so Panama. So now I'm changing tactics. I'm going to focus on smaller groups ( between 6-10) and give the charla a few times. I was considering making it kid-friendly and giving a few charlas at my house for them. I think it's a better approach, especially have big community meetings proves really unwieldy. I lose peoples attention really quickly.
Speaking of children, I just bought the first three Harry Potter books in Spanish and a few more puzzles (puzzles are a big hit, Mom) for my community kids. I've had a lot of questions about what people can send for me, but I'd rather that people send things for kids to play with. A few rules: nothing with too many pieces, books are great, as long as they're in Spanish, nothing too technical (remember these kids live below the poverty line, technology is pretty foreign to them), and anything that combines fun and academic themes are GREAT. I almost bought Scrabble Junior (in Spanish, of course) today. I couldn't afford it with the books and puzzles, though. Please let me know if you're interested in sending something down. I'd love to have more stuff for kids to do. Otherwise they're just running around like little feral jungle kids. Which they kind of are, I guess...
Okay, that's my two cents for today. Love and good health to all!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
La Lucha (The Fight)
So, here I am again, back in site, trying to get work done. The last week has been a flurry of activity. I finished up a conference and went back to site, where 2 busloads of people from the city had descended upon my town to celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) in the time honored Panamanian tradition of drinking themselves into a stupor. Nothing says Happy Easter to me like waking up to a man passed out at the bottom of your stairs from the celebrations the night before. I wonder if he hid a basket for me...
After the crowds left and my community pulled itself together, I started walking around, talking to people and getting a read on interest in various projects. I've been encouraged by my APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) to abandon (for the time being) my efforts to get my water committee to function. He made the valid point that I'm exhausting myself trying to do something that they're not ready or interested in doing, and it's only making me angry. So, I'm taking his advice and working with people that I like and that are interested in working on something. Speaking of which, the secretary of the water committee asked me yesterday if I would help him lead a discussion about garbage disposal in the community on Saturday. As many of you already know, garbage disposal is not my main passion, but it's definitely lacking my town. And, hey, if he's interested in doing something with me, I'm happy to oblige. Beats the hell out of nagging people until they're worn down and grudgingly agree to work with you. Plus, he's on the water committee, and if this goes well, he could be my in to getting the water committee pulled together. Like the Panamanians say, I'm here en la lucha (in the fight).
On top of that, I'm going with my counterpart, Isela, to Meteti tomorrow or Friday to formally turn in our letters of request to start a cooperative. There's still a lot of work involved, but I think she's sincerely interested in getting this done. Once again, if they're willing to work, I'm happy to do some leg work. As long as it's shared.
Other than that, I've just been doing my thing. I've somehow, miraculously, managed to not get sick since December (knock on wood), so I'm taking advantage and running with the dog and getting stuff done. Eventually, illness of some kind will incapacitate me. It's only a matter of time...
I also spend long hours reading and contemplating my position here. I noticed in my musings recently that I am almost immune to crazy, outrageous occurances. Things that I would have been outraged or shocked by when I arrived ceased to have the same effect. For example, having a Panamanian man invite me back to his house (presumeably to share a fine wine and discuss the complexities of the global financial crisis or debate the pros and cons of public health care) and then in the same breath tell me that he has not one, but two pregnant girlfriends didn't even phase me. I almost wanted to say, who doesn't? You think you're special?! At any rate, my shock-and-awe-o-meter are pretty much constantly on zero.
Alright. I'm tired and that felt a lot longer than it turned out to be! But, I'm trying to be a better blogger. This is not a natural forum for me, but I'm doing my best.
Til next time!
After the crowds left and my community pulled itself together, I started walking around, talking to people and getting a read on interest in various projects. I've been encouraged by my APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) to abandon (for the time being) my efforts to get my water committee to function. He made the valid point that I'm exhausting myself trying to do something that they're not ready or interested in doing, and it's only making me angry. So, I'm taking his advice and working with people that I like and that are interested in working on something. Speaking of which, the secretary of the water committee asked me yesterday if I would help him lead a discussion about garbage disposal in the community on Saturday. As many of you already know, garbage disposal is not my main passion, but it's definitely lacking my town. And, hey, if he's interested in doing something with me, I'm happy to oblige. Beats the hell out of nagging people until they're worn down and grudgingly agree to work with you. Plus, he's on the water committee, and if this goes well, he could be my in to getting the water committee pulled together. Like the Panamanians say, I'm here en la lucha (in the fight).
On top of that, I'm going with my counterpart, Isela, to Meteti tomorrow or Friday to formally turn in our letters of request to start a cooperative. There's still a lot of work involved, but I think she's sincerely interested in getting this done. Once again, if they're willing to work, I'm happy to do some leg work. As long as it's shared.
Other than that, I've just been doing my thing. I've somehow, miraculously, managed to not get sick since December (knock on wood), so I'm taking advantage and running with the dog and getting stuff done. Eventually, illness of some kind will incapacitate me. It's only a matter of time...
I also spend long hours reading and contemplating my position here. I noticed in my musings recently that I am almost immune to crazy, outrageous occurances. Things that I would have been outraged or shocked by when I arrived ceased to have the same effect. For example, having a Panamanian man invite me back to his house (presumeably to share a fine wine and discuss the complexities of the global financial crisis or debate the pros and cons of public health care) and then in the same breath tell me that he has not one, but two pregnant girlfriends didn't even phase me. I almost wanted to say, who doesn't? You think you're special?! At any rate, my shock-and-awe-o-meter are pretty much constantly on zero.
Alright. I'm tired and that felt a lot longer than it turned out to be! But, I'm trying to be a better blogger. This is not a natural forum for me, but I'm doing my best.
Til next time!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Long time no blog
Oh my, it's been a while since I've written. I had that gently pointed out to me by my friend Rosie, so everyone has her to thank for what I'm sure will be a scintillating blog post.
Well, the last month and a half have felt simultaneously like a marathon and a sprint. I have hardly been in site, although it's quickly becoming the place where I most like to be. I've gotten really comfortable there doing things (like taking a shower outside and having passerbys yell "Molly, you're bathing, huh?") that I would have found very bizarre 8 months ago.
I've also been going to conferences, and my family came and visited for a week. We went to a beautiful resort in Bocas del Toro (basically the other side of the country from where I live, and it was my first visit there) and drank delicious, fruity concoctions for a week. I have to say, as wonderful as it was to see my family (I love you guys!) and as beautiful as Bocas was, I felt very out of place there. All of my basic needs were taken care of, and all I had to do was "relax". Turns out I have a hard time doing that. My basic needs and my community efforts are what I do every day, and without that, I was kind of frustrated. At the end, I was kind of antsy to get back to what I understand and know. Sorry Mom, apparently I can never go home.
Things in the community are good. My Mom and I went up to my water source and measured the flow of water and I discovered that my water source is giving out 108,000 gallons of water a day. Which is more than 4x what is needed for the 3 community it serves. This brings up some interesting issues that I'm going to look into in the next few months in an aquaduct study; first, there are houses behind the tank that are using this water, and I think that they're using it for irrigation and cattle (which is a HUGE waste of water); second, the system wasn't designed to take vital things (like pressure and friction) into mind, so the distribution of water in my town is uneven; third, the aquaduct committee is still disfunctional (shocker, I know) and clearly hasn't done repairs on the line for quite a while, as my Mom got to witness when we went up to the toma to repair a tube. As a result, water is escaping all over the line. I need to assemble and conduct a huge aquaduct study to investigate what the problems are exactly, but those are the things that have come up thus far.
Other than that, I have another conference that starts on Sunday that I'm bringing one of my counterparts to. I'm bringing a woman, Isela, that is the head of the burgeoning women's cooperative. Hopefully it'll get off the ground, but if not, I think that this women has the potential to be the next dirigente (mayor, basically) of my town. She's a little firecracker, so I'm excited to see how she handles this conference.
One final note, thank you to my parents for coming down and pampering me and visiting my site. It was hard for me to adjust, but I was really happy to see you and get to spend time with you. I love you both so much!
Alright! Back to site!
Molly
P.S. I just got a new chip for my camera (my old one had a virus) so I'll start taking pictures again. Sorry for the shortage!
Well, the last month and a half have felt simultaneously like a marathon and a sprint. I have hardly been in site, although it's quickly becoming the place where I most like to be. I've gotten really comfortable there doing things (like taking a shower outside and having passerbys yell "Molly, you're bathing, huh?") that I would have found very bizarre 8 months ago.
I've also been going to conferences, and my family came and visited for a week. We went to a beautiful resort in Bocas del Toro (basically the other side of the country from where I live, and it was my first visit there) and drank delicious, fruity concoctions for a week. I have to say, as wonderful as it was to see my family (I love you guys!) and as beautiful as Bocas was, I felt very out of place there. All of my basic needs were taken care of, and all I had to do was "relax". Turns out I have a hard time doing that. My basic needs and my community efforts are what I do every day, and without that, I was kind of frustrated. At the end, I was kind of antsy to get back to what I understand and know. Sorry Mom, apparently I can never go home.
Things in the community are good. My Mom and I went up to my water source and measured the flow of water and I discovered that my water source is giving out 108,000 gallons of water a day. Which is more than 4x what is needed for the 3 community it serves. This brings up some interesting issues that I'm going to look into in the next few months in an aquaduct study; first, there are houses behind the tank that are using this water, and I think that they're using it for irrigation and cattle (which is a HUGE waste of water); second, the system wasn't designed to take vital things (like pressure and friction) into mind, so the distribution of water in my town is uneven; third, the aquaduct committee is still disfunctional (shocker, I know) and clearly hasn't done repairs on the line for quite a while, as my Mom got to witness when we went up to the toma to repair a tube. As a result, water is escaping all over the line. I need to assemble and conduct a huge aquaduct study to investigate what the problems are exactly, but those are the things that have come up thus far.
Other than that, I have another conference that starts on Sunday that I'm bringing one of my counterparts to. I'm bringing a woman, Isela, that is the head of the burgeoning women's cooperative. Hopefully it'll get off the ground, but if not, I think that this women has the potential to be the next dirigente (mayor, basically) of my town. She's a little firecracker, so I'm excited to see how she handles this conference.
One final note, thank you to my parents for coming down and pampering me and visiting my site. It was hard for me to adjust, but I was really happy to see you and get to spend time with you. I love you both so much!
Alright! Back to site!
Molly
P.S. I just got a new chip for my camera (my old one had a virus) so I'll start taking pictures again. Sorry for the shortage!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Long time comin'...
So, it's been a while, I realize (Thanks Mom for spell-checking for me!). Here is what's happened in the last month or so since I've written:
1. I have a house! I'll update pictures on it and give a little digital tour when I've organized it and it looks pretty. It's AMAZING having my own house. It's true that it's not really my own though, because as soon as you have a house, visitors start pasearing to it, and you're really never alone. But, it's okay. I get to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for myself, and I'm thrilled about that.
2. I have a dog! Okay, this was kind of an accident. The mom stopped nursing her, and no one wants girl puppies because they have babies, so I became the default owner. She's only about 6 weeks old, so she shouldn't be away from her mom yet, but, like I said, the mom's not nursing. I'm doing my best with her right now, but it's hard!
3. I've got a couple potential projects coming up. There's a possibility for some money from an indigenous NGO to work on a project of the community's choice, so I'm going to help them figure out what that project might be. I'm also (hopefully) going to work on developing a community garden project in the coming months, which will be a great way to get some work started and reestablish myself as a professional in the community.
Okay, pictures will come when I get through the city next weekend, I promise. I'll post pictures from the house building, the puppy, and whatever else I have sitting on my camera.
Love and miss you all!
1. I have a house! I'll update pictures on it and give a little digital tour when I've organized it and it looks pretty. It's AMAZING having my own house. It's true that it's not really my own though, because as soon as you have a house, visitors start pasearing to it, and you're really never alone. But, it's okay. I get to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for myself, and I'm thrilled about that.
2. I have a dog! Okay, this was kind of an accident. The mom stopped nursing her, and no one wants girl puppies because they have babies, so I became the default owner. She's only about 6 weeks old, so she shouldn't be away from her mom yet, but, like I said, the mom's not nursing. I'm doing my best with her right now, but it's hard!
3. I've got a couple potential projects coming up. There's a possibility for some money from an indigenous NGO to work on a project of the community's choice, so I'm going to help them figure out what that project might be. I'm also (hopefully) going to work on developing a community garden project in the coming months, which will be a great way to get some work started and reestablish myself as a professional in the community.
Okay, pictures will come when I get through the city next weekend, I promise. I'll post pictures from the house building, the puppy, and whatever else I have sitting on my camera.
Love and miss you all!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Photos!
Here are some shots of my last 7 days. I've been visiting my friend Kayla in Cocle. We had some friends from college in town: Emily Naftalin, Katherine Ketter, Micaela O'Connor, and Ben (who's last name I've totally blanked out on! Sorry!) Some of these are taken in Cocle, and some in Panama City. I've added CAPTIONS! I'm learning about technology veeeeerrrryyyyy sloooooowly. Sorry...
Love and Happy New Year!
Love and Happy New Year!
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