Week 2

After my brief visit to Davíd, I made it back to Ballena. Week 2 definitely went by a lot smoother than the first. No accidents. No trips to the hospital. My arrival to Chiriquí Grande was delayed because the streets were closed for a parade. November 3rd is Día del Patria here in Panamá, which is similar to our Independence Day. The marching bands were made up of children from the surrounding areas and different groups. They were decked out in their finest, parade gear? They had the same outfits as marching bands in the states do, but only had drums - and lots of them. I found a ride back to Ballena in the afternoon and arrived in the middle of their Día del Patria activities. The entire community was gathered on the water and was watching the day´s main even - canoe racing! A group of kids would paddle out on their hollowed out canoes to a certain point and wait for the signal. Back on the land, the blowing of a giant conch shell announced the start. In a later race, they brought their dogs out, dropped them into the water and raced in without them. However, my favorite part of the day was seeing Federico, the father of the family that I am living with, wearing his brand new RAVENS HAT! YES! The next event was a volleyball game in which some of the teachers from the school participated in. There is a primary school in Ballena and the teachers all live in a building next door. There are 10, and they are the only Latino´s in Ballena.

As for the rest of the week, I spent a couple of days studying Spanish and going around talking to people in the community and spending time with their families. There were also a couple of community meetings in which I was able to say a few words on the role of the volunteer and what to expect of me. A second meeting was organized where I met with the leaders of the various groups. Davíd, the municipal representative or Corregiador, Arsenio, president of their PTA or Padres del Familia, Federico, president of the health committee, Patricia, president of the artisan group, and Mario, president of the cooperative. I learned a little about their groups, members, and goals. I also explained to them my plan for the next months.

This month, I told them, I was here to learn. Everything here is new and unfamiliar to me. For example, here they have 20 different kinds of bananas. ¨Proyecto Amistad¨ is where I spend time with different people and their families. My favorite part is working with the men (agricolo laboriosus) in their fincas. Every time we go out I see new plants, animals, trees and fruits. Monday, we cut off the leaves of palm that they call Pinca, collected and arranged them for drying in the sun for a week. Once dried, these will be used for the thatched roof of someones house. Last week was spent harvesting coffee, going from tree to tree and hand-picking the ripe beans off each tree. Toucans, hawks, colorful frogs, parrots, venomous lizards, and the like are common sites. I am trying to find out where all their fruit trees are, because the fruit is free and tasty. Everything I eat is from the village. The rice, bananas, eggs, bread, coffee, chocolate, and herbs are all grown in the hills around Ballena. The fish and shrimp come from the lagoon.

Starting in December I am going to formally begin my Community Analysis. Until then, I will continue to learn more about Ballena, its people and culture.