Peace Corps 4th of July in Site & Killer Pig Story
Over this past month, I got to see the beautiful mountains that separate my community from an Embera site that is about 1.5 to 2 hour hike away while going with one of my counterparts to plant plantains in his finca. In one of the pictures, there is a bee on the side of the horse. But it is not just a normal kind of bee but one that sucks the blood from animals and I had one on my knee!
Coincidentally, the day after the U.S. Supreme court made gay marriage legal in our country, Panama had their Gay Pride Parade the following day. Peace Corps volunteers and the U.S. Embassy teamed up to provide support in the parade.
Also, I had a little barbecue with my community members to share a little bit about the U.S. independence day while eating delicious food. While they did have some BBQ pork and some other traditional foods for the 4th of July, I did have some vegan garbanzo bean and sweet potato burgers for people to try if they wanted! It was simple and fun with a few fireworks to end the evening.
To help new volunteers in training understand volunteer life before starting their two years in site, they will visit someone who has already been in Panama for about a year. The volunteer that visited me for a week learned how to make corn tortillas, played with the pet monkey one of my community members have, and we both learned of these killers pigs that live in the mountains!
Since my time here, I have never heard of this story until the volunteer visited me. My neighbors told us about these pigs that eat people in the mountains by releasing a scent that makes their victims dizzy. Though, the only way to get away from them is by climbing a tree while making sure they do not see you.
If they find out you are hiding in a tree, my community members told us that they will chew the tree until it falls so they can attack you. Whoa! What an entertaining story. Hopefully it did not scare the volunteer away :P
Coincidentally, the day after the U.S. Supreme court made gay marriage legal in our country, Panama had their Gay Pride Parade the following day. Peace Corps volunteers and the U.S. Embassy teamed up to provide support in the parade.
Also, I had a little barbecue with my community members to share a little bit about the U.S. independence day while eating delicious food. While they did have some BBQ pork and some other traditional foods for the 4th of July, I did have some vegan garbanzo bean and sweet potato burgers for people to try if they wanted! It was simple and fun with a few fireworks to end the evening.
To help new volunteers in training understand volunteer life before starting their two years in site, they will visit someone who has already been in Panama for about a year. The volunteer that visited me for a week learned how to make corn tortillas, played with the pet monkey one of my community members have, and we both learned of these killers pigs that live in the mountains!
Since my time here, I have never heard of this story until the volunteer visited me. My neighbors told us about these pigs that eat people in the mountains by releasing a scent that makes their victims dizzy. Though, the only way to get away from them is by climbing a tree while making sure they do not see you.
If they find out you are hiding in a tree, my community members told us that they will chew the tree until it falls so they can attack you. Whoa! What an entertaining story. Hopefully it did not scare the volunteer away :P
I love how you are sharing your vegan lifestyle with everyone you meet. I'm proud of you and can't wait until you come back to the States. Oh yeah, and stay away from those killer pigs.
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