Peace Corps Project Ideas!

One of the important things about Peace Corps is to initiate change by being the example. Take for instance, my host familys' children would use a stick to chase the dog out the house and sometimes they would not use it nicely. 

It did make me sad but whenever the dog came in the house when I was around, I encouraged it to go outside in a friendly voice and he would leave. Now, the young children do the same too without using a stick to harm the dog when trying to get it to leave the house! 

Additionally, they did it one evening when the parents were watching and they were shocked that using their words rather than force gets the dog out the house easier and faster. Even though this is a small change, it has showed me that leading by example is one of the most effective methods for change

It is a soursop! It is a fruit as big as a football and it tastes sweet, especially as a chicha, or juice. My host mother served it to me as a dessert one evening and told me it helps prevent cancer which makes it a healthy treat.

Independence day festivities and dances are mainly what takes up everyone´s time during the month of November. They decorated the school and casa comunal for tipico dance and other performances through the morning with arroz con pollo after.

This is the type of drum they use for the Congo dances, which is an Afro-Antillean dance that originated in the region I live in (Colon). The dancers dress in ripped clothes and act as escaped slaves called Cimarrons as a way to recognize Panama´s African roots.

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The girl´s patterned dress is a similar type of dress worn in the Festival of the Diablos and Congos here.

Beautiful Panamanian dresses used for tipico!

My start of growing flowers for my house by sticking the branches of flower bushs into a mix of half fertilizer and soil from my yard (which is not as good). A few have taken root and are growing big!

One of my community members is showing me the process to make Panamanian hats, which are made of this palm plant right before it starts to fan out and turns green. Once I cut the sides of the palm for the fleshy yellow part, I bounded the plant to cook for about 30 minutes and then will let them hang to completely dry for about a day. Since it has been rainy for the past few weeks due to the rainy season, we will start back making the hats once the the plant is dry!

My quiet yoga spot by the river which is very relaxing in the mornings to listen to the water currents and watch blue butterflies flutter by. It is a good morning start each day and one of my community members now does yoga with me too!

It is a sloth just hanging in a tree by my house! He was so cute because he had a permanent smile on his face :)

And my house is almost complete! Just need to paint, move in furniture, and do a few things to make my house feel like home (maybe add a hammock somewhere). Also, I have a woman in my community who is my closest friend and is like my mother here while I am here. She offered to give me a sink for my house and I thought to just ask if she had anything I could borrow to save on money and now she is lending me a table and a bed! At first I was hesitant to ask, but my community tells me they are here to help and support me in any way they can. All I have to do is ask. Really, I believe most communities volunteers are placed in want to help and make PCVs feel like they are at home because they understand the sacrifice volunteers make to leave their families and lives to serve where we are needed.