Kukwe Kri

I began writing this post on a balcony overlooking the ocean on Isla Boca Brava to the screeches of howler monkeys in the trees above, continued it at a picnic table in a sweaty fonda in San Felix, continued on the front porch of my house – the beloved Castillo Kwitubtä (Chicken Hill Castle), and finally finished in a hostel in Casco Viejo. The past month has been packed and the next few will likely be the same. We’re in the home stretch of our service and I admit the senioritis is coming on strong. It’s a weird feeling, knowing that these are the last four months ever that I get to live and work with my gente. I am already having days where I feel so done and just want to check out, days where I am frustrated that after a year and a half of trying to promote healthier behaviors I’m still hardly seeing any change, days when I dream about returning to a world of convenience and efficiency. I have lots of things that I hope to fit in – water committee seminars, filming some new skits written by my Youth Health Promoters, trying to make progress on the aqueduct improvements. The aqueduct project continues to be at a standstill as the community is rife with conflict (and the cows continue to break water tubes)…and unfortunately, the stress of this project has gotten in the way of the strong bonds I have with my closest neighbors. So I have some pipes to repair but also some relationships to repair. I arrived in the city today for G79’s close-of-service conference tomorrow and Friday, where we talk about career planning and adjusting back to life in the US and whatnot. I can’t wait to see everyone. Some exciting news (kukwe kri: big news in Ngäbere) is that I’m not returning to the states just yet… I will be staying one more year in Peace Corps as the Regional Leader for the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé! In September I’ll move to the hopping metropolis of San Felix (read: sleepy little town). Several of my main duties will be supporting the 30-ish volunteers in the Comarca, planning regional meetings, coordinating with government agencies, and preparing new communities to receive PCVs. Plus, I’ll be living in a house with a refrigerator, Wifi, a shower, air conditioning…you could say I’m excited. But REST ASSURED I do not plan to stay in Panama forever :) In September 2019 I’ll return stateside and hope to go to grad school soon after! I’m also required to take a month of paid leave as I’m starting my third year so I’ll probably be coming home around November.

So onto some recent highlights ~

Cody's parents and brother flew to Panama for a weekend. We spent some time with them at the beach and then went up to his old site. We camped out in the school and did an Elige Tu Vida seminar the next day. The kids and teachers were so enthusiastic and it was such a success. In the photo I'm attempting to corral kids for the Glitter HIV activity (someone starts the game with glitter on their hands and by the end almost everyone is 'infected', to demonstrate how HIV is spread)

Some of our crew during Cody's weekend at Michael's house.

New row of garden beds made by Marcelino's producers' group, ready to plant vegetables.

Me holding a recently beheaded chicken. I decided I wanted to learn how to prepare a chicken from start to finish so I bought a nice 4-lb hen from my friend Manuel, hiked ~30 minutes holding it upside down by the legs to Dominga's house. They hung it from a tree and handed me the knife...and I couldn't do it. I was so afraid I'd butcher (no pun intended) the killing and ruin the meat or something so after a few minutes of me hemming and hawing Melvin grabbed the knife and in one fluid motion sliced the head off so it could bleed out. But I did the rest - dunking it in scalding water, plucking, removing the guts, cutting, washing, cutting, cooking... I made pollo guisado and shared it with my host family. Yummm. I know where my food comes from, do you?!

Manuel working on a latrine seat.

"Bei, take a photo of me with the latrine seat and send it to your family in the United States and say 'This is Hilario Palacio'".

At the end of April I went to Batata, a community wayyyy up in the cordillera, for a few days with nine other PCVs to be a translator for a medical clinic by a group of physical therapy, physician assistant, and nursing students from the states. Batata is on the other side of the Comarca - the Buglé side! It was my first time interacting with the Buglé, and I got to learn a little Buglere too. It's in the same Chibcha language family as Ngäbere but the two are mutually unintelligible. The university that coordinates the clinic comes 2-3 times a year and has formed an amazing relationship with the community; they are hoping to establish a permanent clinic there. It brought me full circle, a little - back in 2014 I went to the Dominican Republic to help at traveling clinics on a spring break service trip. This was one of the occasions that got me thinking about joining Peace Corps in the first place. This time, I actually felt useful because I speak Spanish now haha. The Buglé people were really beautiful and so was the region. I didn't take pictures during the clinic but here are a few from the area.

"Water is life, care for the forests."

Mara and Courtney came to Panama!! We spent two days in the city checking out the canal, fish market, Casco Viejo, and Cerro Ancón. Then we came to my site, and I put them to work! We planted rice with Clemente and Abel, visited multiple artisans and they purchased some homemade Ngäbe swag, gave a dental health charla where we taught how to make homemade baking soda toothpaste, and hiked to visit Bertilo's new conservation park. We then spent a couple of nights on the beautiful Isla Boca Brava. We went sea kayaking and stopped at several beaches, the first we didn't time our landing very well and a wave flipped our kayak and slammed us and our stuff into the sand... the second beach was more tranquil and a kind Ngäbe caretaker chopped us down fresh coconuts, mmm. Having them here and catching up on old college times, their current lives, and teaching them as much about my life in the Comarca as I could fit into a week and a half was such a blessing. It was an amazing trip, thanks to you two for visiting <3 

At my house with Cuchi Cuchi's three most recent kittens: Pía, Violeta, and Simón.

A Kuna man we met at Cerro Ancón in Panama City showed us a sloth and her baby in a tree.

A group of three high school girls approached us in the park and asked if any of us spoke French. Mara does, so she helped them with their French homework.

Hanging out with Elvin and Melissa on the porch.

Homemade toothpaste and dental health workshop.

Pineapple & papaya batidos on Isla Boca Brava.

Finally, this weekend my friend Ire from Bocas del Toro came and gave a cacao management seminar! My community has many cacao trees... but most of them suffer from a plague every year and very little chocolate is actually produced. The gente have been asking for this for quite a while and I'm so glad I was finally able to make it happen. She is a cacao wizard and taught about how to prune trees and get rid of plagued pods. I learned a lot and I really hope the gente will take her advice and see if they can make their cacao productive again. I'm bringing home Bocas cacao from the conference and I will finally cumplir on the other request: a brownie baking lesson.