I am a machete slashing soccer mom.

I spent this morning and yesterday doing what is probably my favorite activity in all of Panama (among many other favorite activities) - slashing the crap out of a the jungle with my machete. We call this activity limpiaring (or cleaning) and given that I live in the jungle and plants grow at ridiculously fast rates, every few weeks farmers need to sharpen their machetes and wage war with the weedy plants and trees on their farms, slashing everything but their crops. It makes me feel so badass.

In contrast, my other latest and greatest activity in the community has been to accept the role of "madrina" for the teen boys baseball team, which can be roughly translated to "soccer mom". This means that every Saturday I accompany the team to their game and make sure they have juice and snacks and shout encouraging words. I am so dead serious about this. I guess I must now consider the possibilty of buying a sporty SUV. (although my community does like to joke with me that part of my role as a madrina is to buy the team a bus, the funny part is that they are not reaaaally joking.)

In addition to the limpiaring and new role as madrina, I am finding many other delightful ways to pass time here.

1. I got a new cat. My neighbor children named her Gafi (full name: Gafiela). She looks like a small panther and she likes to alternate between killing things and cuddling with me. see photo below of an exceptionally cute girl holding my exceptionally cute cat.


2. My volleyball skills are improving considerably.

3. It is pretty fun living in a town where you are everybody´s favorite shiny new toy. I know that eventually I will head into loved-and-cherished-but-not-so-exciting teddy bear status, so I am enjoying the excitement my newness generates for the moment.

4. My cooking skills are in high demand. So far I have made pizza and brownies, both well recieved - though both hard to split 30 ways (once word gets out, everyone wants a piece).

5. There are many fun new jungle creatures and bugs to see all the time.
As a matter of fact, while waiting for the bus today there were two sloths in the tree next to the bus stop. Also, last week my friend Jorge (nickname: chucky - after the diabolically doll) invited me over for a suprise. He had killed two beautiful jungle cats and we posed for lots of pictures. You might notice that in this photo I am smiling, but really i am crying a bit on the inside.




6. The kitchen in my host families house has a really rad view, out into their plaintain trees. We cook all meals over a fogon (or fire) which feels a bit like camping every day. Here is same cute girl, in my kitchen.


7. I am having a lot of fun teaching English class. Yesterday I taught the song "Are you sleeping brother john?" and had three groups sing it in a hilariously performed round. It was a site to behold.

As you might can tell, things are improving by the day here. In fact, I am trying to keep myself from getting too caught up in how delightful I think my little jungle paradise is, though for the moment I feel like one lucky volunteer.

No need to be alarmed, this just happens to be my life right now.

My first days in Valle de Las Perlas

DAY 1, July 4, 2010:

Activities: Arrive at 5, play volleyball for 2 hours. Community surprises me by including normal volleyball players in the game, rather than superhuman spikers I had previously played. Things look promising.

Dinner 1: Fried Tortuga(turtle) & boiled green bananas.
Dinner 2: Sauteed Tortuga, Fried bread, pifa (squash like fruit from palm trees).

DAY 2:

Activities: Pooping, vomiting, sleeping, talking about said vomit and overall feeling of weakness.

Food: 1 prune. Half glass lemongrass tea.

Typical conversation of the day:
Community Member: How are you?
Me: I don’t feel well. I just vomited and I feel weak.
CM: You should eat.
Me: If I eat I will vomit.
CM: You are weak because you don’t eat.
Me: I am weak because I am sick.
CM: You are sad.
Me: I am sick.
CM: Do you have a mother?
Me: Yes
CM: she is far from here?
Me: yes.
CM: Do you want to be with her?
Me: sometimes.
CM: You are sad. You miss your mother.
Me: I am not sad, I just don’t feel well.
CM: Why don’t you eat something….?

Moral of the day: Don’t eat endangered species.



Day 3:
Breakfast: Couple spoonfuls of nasty cream of oatmeal substance.
Lunch: 3 small ripe bananas. One small bag of cheeto-ish things.
Dinner: Handful of rice. One boiled green banana.

Morning/ Daytime Activities: Fail at stirring oatmeal mush substance causing it to be lumpy and more gross than usual, host mom now convinced I cannot nor ever could cook. Rest. Visit some families and somehow manage to miss eating lunch with any of them. Move to new host family house. Unpack my things and try to keep from losing temper with group of children who follow my every move and question everything I do and own for about 2 hours. Volleyball.

Night time activity: Escape to bed area after dinner of rice and banana at 8pm. By 9pm entire family decides to squash into floor area next to my bed (which barely even fits my yoga mat) and continue to stare and occasionally talk with me, as I stretch to find things to ask them how to say in dialect. “ it is dark” “water is falling” “ I am tired” “I like to sleep”. They get the hint and leave me after an hour or so.


Day 4:
Breakfast: one fried green banana. One small cup sugared coffee.
Lunch: One boiled green banana. 1/5 an avocado.
Dinner: 3 boiled green bananas with salt (a marked improvement).

Morning Activity: Sit on small wood block in dark smokey kitchen listening to new host mom and her mother (who had come to visit me) speak in Ngabe for, oh, about 3 hours. Occasionally smile at two small children and ask how to say “ I eat breakfast” or “banana” in dialect.

Afternoon activity: Cure feelings of failure for not having even visited a farm yet by pasearing to the houses of my two favorite lovely families to draw pictures of pink elephants and whatnot with the kids. Return home to read Peace Corps cross cultural workbook like I am starving and it is delicious food (for my heart and soul). Sit in disbelief that 1. I am actually reading anything the PC gave me. 2. It is so lovely to know that others have suffered before. Then, of course, volleyball.

Evening activity: Sit in complete darkness with family for 45 minutes listening to radio news about the local strike. Light kerosene lamp and sit in moderate darkness for another hour, discussing being poor in Panama vs America.


Days 5 and beyond:
Have all continued to be varying degrees of better and I would hate to ruin the vibe of this entry with accounts of meals that actually include rice or lentils, or days that have passed quite delightfully. I will be saving those entries for later.