Drug Country

miercoles 7.9.11

So I have returned from the Darien and man what a trip. By the way parts of the Darien are not allowed entry because of the drug trade from Columbia.  Don´t worry they don´t put Peace Corp volunteers there. I took a bus with some other trainees that were going out to the Darien.  We took the bus 5 hours and then I met up with my volunteer and we took a chive for 1 hour on the bumpiest road I’ve ever been on.  I don’t think we traveled faster than 10 mph.  But at least I didn’t have a 1, 2, or 3 hour hike like some of the other trainees.  The chive took us straight to my volunteer’s house.  We were in Santa Rosa where all the houses are raised off the ground so it felt like a tree house.  We climbed a log about 5 feet to get up to her deck and then the interior of the house was just a small room for sleeping.  She cooks out on the deck with a gas stovetop.  They do not have electricity but are fortunate to have an aqueduct with running water.  The roof of her house was made out of thatched palms.  The latrine was a similar build on the ground.  All weekend we were “pasearing” which is basically walking around and talking to people or we would hang out at her house.  For those that know me I always like to keep busy so it was definitely a chance of pace.  The women of the town wear perumas, which is a very colorful wrap around skirt.  The older women to not wear shirts just beads around their necks.  The children also run around in underwear or shorts.   The older folk speak the native Embera language but the young kids are not taught it anymore, which is a bit unfortunate that the language is dying out.  The older men there are so cute.  One guy is almost deaf so we had to shout at him.  Another guy made me a ring from a nickel.  Saturday we went to the health committee meeting which started 2 hours late, but that is the Panamanian way, “Panamanian time”.  On Sunday we hiked an hour to the toma where the water spring is.  I saw monkeys, toucans and Aidan’s blue morpho butterfly on the way.  I had to hike up some small waterfalls, which was great and then I swam in one for a bit.   A highlight from my trip would have to be my infected feet/legs. (look at the before and after pics) Everyone had their own remedy in the village.  I tried bark boiled in water with garlic, another lady took us into the jungle to get leaves to boil with soap detergent, I used Vick’s vapor rub, steroid cream, and 2 other types of itch cream.  I ended with a baking soda paste that scotched my sores and made some puss and scar.  Sweet.  At least we made brownies so the night ended well!  You can actually turn the stovetop into an open with 2 pans, neat trick.   On my way back to Panama City… it was a mess.  I left the site at 615am to catch the chive but it was full so I had to wait 2 hours for the next one.  We shoved 19 people in the back of a pickup truck for an hour and then I took a cramped 5-hour ride back to the terminal to head back to the Peace Corps office.  Overall it was a great experience to get to travel the Panamanian way and this site visit helps me narrow down the type of site I would like to be at.  As some of you know I am very homesick.  It is a lot of ups and downs here especially after my weekend.  My friend Evan visited a guy named Omar.  Omar’s advice to Evan was great.  It was something like “when you want to quit and yes I said when, don’t do it”.  There are going to be a lot of hard times since I am living a completely different life here so just help me push through! And send me mail J by the way I got my first Hep B shot today. Ouch.  Oh and I took my malaria pill today which means I’ll have some crazy dreams tonight.  Mine are usually about natural disasters.  So hard I’ve been in an earthquake and a hurricane.  Maybe a tsunami tonight?  Hmmm…zzzzzz.

Update just got back from the doctor- I had an allergic reaction to something in the grass. Hmm dog/cat/horse/chicken peep or poop could be an option. Yum.

Eating dinner in the city.

Of course I found the JEEP. JEEP count is at 2.

The house I stayed in with the volunteer in Santa Rosa.

Indigenous girls wearing perumas (skirts).

Pet monkey. Yes please.

Catherine and some of the local kids.

The hike up to the spring. Lots of waterfalls along the way.

So my infected feet.  Apparently I had an allergic reaction to something in the grass.  This picture actually looks quite beautiful to the way they look at this moment.