Guess who is official?

So last Wednesday, 10/22/08, 34 of us were sworn in by the US ambassador as Peace Corps Volunteers. I wasn´t necessarily expecting to feel anything different afterward but it did feel good to finally be "official." Ten weeks of training are finally over and do I feel prepared you ask... only time will tell. I´ve been on my own in my new site, with my new host family (Hostmom and 3 sons ages 27-30) for the last 5 days, bucket baths and all. The family is great. They are very outgoing, religious, well rounded people. A couple of the guys also seem to think that its funny to talk spanish so fast that I can´t understand. Here is a conversation I had with Dennis (the middle brother) yesterday:
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Dennis: (asking me a question that I couldn´t understand)

Me: What?

(repeat the above 3 times)

Me: You know I can´t understand you when you talk that fast! Say it slower!

Dennis: (trying to be smart about it) This is how Panamanians talk. You´re going to have to get used to it.

Me: Well you´re just going to have to get used to repeating yourself 5 times when you talk that fast to me.

(laughter in the background from everyone else)

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It was actually pretty funny. But my spanish is really getting better thank God. In my site, the people aren´t as friendly and open as people in a small village where a lot of other volunteers are placed or even as the people in the community where we trained. The people here wouldn´t have any patience for someone with minimal spanish skills.

So a little more about my site and living conditions... Due to regulations I can´t publish where exactly my site is but its a small town where everyone lives in houses. Sorry to disappoint all of you who thought I was going to live in a mud hut or for one of you in particular who assumed my new home would be a teepee for the next two years. I do have electricity and since the guys in my house like to watch sports, they pay for cable so believe it or not, I get CNN en Español anytime I want! Water comes once a day and we have a small machine called a bombo that pumps the water into the house. Behind the house we fill three 25 gallon jugs with the water and thats what we use to wash dishes, bathe, flush the toilet (I do have an indoor bathroom) and whatever else we need. My site is extremely accessible unlike some other volunteers who have to hike over an hour to get to the nearest bus. The bus stops once an hour in front of my house and if I want to catch another bus that runs every 15 minutes or so, I just have to walk for about 10 minutes to catch it. I also get cell reception at all times so purchase your international calling cards and give me a call!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment. Hasta pronto, pues.

(above) The beautiful women of group 62 ranging in ages from 22 to 30.

(above) The dashing gentlemen of group 62 ranging in ages from 23 to somewhere above 50.

(above) The US Ambassador speaking to us in impressive Spanish. Panama flag in the middle back there.

(above) To celebrate our swearing in we went to an Indian restaurant in Panama. Here are the cool kids who chose to sit in the room where you had to sit on the floor Indian style!

(above) After indian food, we went to karaoke bar! I believe my hips weren´t lying as Jodi and I sang Shakira!

(above and below) So I forgot to mention that to celebrate our swearing in, our whole group went to a beach for 3 days. It was amazing and a lot of fun.

(above) The pensive dog on the beach. He was deep in thought and I wanted to capture it :)

(above) So you should know by this time I like to try to be artistic. This pic as well as the pensive dog were the artistic shots.

(above) This is the house where I will be living with my host family for the next 3 months.

(above) This is the view from the porch. If you remember the view from my old porch with my host family (scroll down), this view is A LOT different.

Fishing for crabs!

So here are the fishing pictures that I haven't had time to post. This was prob about a month ago. Beautiful, huh? Walking through the knee deep mud and water up to my neck was still worth the trip. Oh and no cracks about my borrowed hat, I was called Abe Lincoln all morning! Long sleeves were for the bugs.

Nutrition: Carbs and Fried Foods

The title of this blog will resonate with anyone who has lived in the campo in Panama. Today we had a presentation with the medical office about nutrition here in Panama. The first slide said something to the effects of the average Panamanian food being carbs and fried foods. For instance, as we have all experienced, it's not uncommon to sit down for breakfast to a plate of fried bread called hojaldre and a fried hotdog called salchicha. We don´t even wince anymore... its common. Nor do we wince when we are presented with a plate of spagetti with a side of rice. Food is food, right? Don´t get me wrong, I still manage to get through it by eating as little as possible. All of my host families that I have lived with stare at me with wonder as I serve myself half a serving of rice after they have all covered their entire plate with it. Here in Panama, rice is not a side, its the basis and staple of the entire meal. When I get back to the states, I don't know if I will ever eat rice again. I will also probably eat salads for a good couple of months after I get back as well because salads are not easy to come by.

Okay enough about me complaining about my lack of a well rounded diet here on to business...

So I have visited the place where I will be living for the next 2 years. I will be working with different community organizations but first of all I will be working with a youth cooperative. The way I describe a youth cooperative is like a student organization. By next April there should be about 70 youth cooperatives in Panama. They teach young Panamanians all about leadership, managing money, life skills, self esteem, project management...basically skills that they otherwise wouldn´t be learning in school. It also gives them an outlet to be creative and keep them from negative influences that could exist in their communities. The coop that I will work with has many different projects going on including mangrove reforestation project, a computer center (that needs a lot of work), and a small store (also a lot of work needed). I met with them this weekend and its pretty apparent that they all need motivation and a breath of fresh air in this coop. A lot of them are excited that I´m there to work with them and I really am too. I´ll keep you updated on other projects as they come up. I also plan on teaching Junior Achievement at the local school.

On another note, I got updates on the UT OU game this weekend... Hook 'em Horns!