All work and all play makes Jack a...???

I've found in Peace Corps Panamá the work feels a lot like play and the play feels a lot like work. So what are we left with? Whether playing or working we are actually working or playing meaning it's all work and all play. As an aside, this makes it really important to pursue the completely inert state of neither work nor play, which is most readily achieved in near total darkness in a hammock. Thus, be you in an over, under, or middle-of-the-pack achieving mood, you are most likely working. Here are some examples. The day before yesterday Lauren and I woke up late, didn't really look at a watch until 5:30 p.m. and laughed the whole day through. Play? No, work! That day was probably one of the most productive we've had recently because we visited a bunch of people and got together a very satisfactory plan for an upcoming Earth Day activity we've schemed up. We even got to bathe Goma AND her three kittens. On the other hand, I spent yesterday traveling to a training. Trainings are dull, traveling to trainings is like the dull before the dull storm...work, work, work. Wrong! Four bus trips sleeping like a baby on Panamá-strength Dramamine, then a three-and-a-half hour walk through the beautiful Comarca countryside to be met by three new friends, one actually named Fidel, and guided to a tree house where, after some phone calls, I realized I was a day earlier than everyone else, including the tree house's owner, spending the evening watching the mist roll over the mountains and then clear to reveal a breathtaking night sky as I faded into the solitude of an 11-hour night's sleep with the only thing to do is wait 24-hours for everyone else to show and dry out all my belongings because a torrential down-pour caught me an hour into said three-and-a-half hour walk. For me, that's play. There is no clock to punch in, much less punch out. So what? Why am I sharing this with you? It seemed like a fun idea to write this, but I guess one of the main parts of my job is to share my experiences with folks back home...DOH!

Busy, busy, busy!

Life is great, but man have we been busy!  Most of you know that we recently returned home for a week long surprise visit. The visit was short but enjoyed. Most of the time was spent relaxing, using the internet, sharing stories with family and friends, and eating lots of healthy home cooked meals. (Thanks mom and dad!)

We returned to Panama ready to dive back into our projects! Here's an update about what’s been happening.

-Alex has been super busy with two major water projects.  His time is mostly occupied by planning, organizing, and/or facilitating meetings, measuring hills through the jungle with a giant rope, mediating between community members, and other various tasks associated with the projects.

*Good news- In the last meeting, the community decided the project is a go! AND they elected their own community water committee! AND as I am writing this Alex is in the Comaraca Nogbe Bugle building a water system for another community so that he can learn more and be ready to start on San Juanito’s water system when he returns.   

-In other news, Alex and I pulled off a pretty successful Earth Day fair in San Juanito! The topic was Reducir, Reutilizar, y Reciclar! (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!) We had three stations with educational games about each of the three R's, plus a fourth station dedicated to all things about plastic bags. As an attendance prize each family took home their very own reusable canvas bag made especially by our very own Shelly Masarie! As an incentive to get our campo friends to use their canvas bags we talked with the stores in our community to offer a 15 cent discount to customers that use their canvas bags instead of plastic bags. :)

-I'm excited to be a facilitator at a Woman's seminar coming up in June. The seminar offers all sorts of sessions such as basic business skills, self-esteem, woman’s health/nutrition and technical art classes. I was asked by our Gender and Development committee to do my own session on domestic violence. So I have been busy planning that. Also I am running for vice president of the Gender and Development committee, the elections are in May. If I win it will be my job to travel around the country with other members of the board organizing/giving educational sessions on things like HIV/AIDS, youth empowerment, women’s empowerment, domestic violence, men’s health, and sex education. Wish me luck!

-I also have started teaching English at the school on Mondays. I have an hour with the Kindergartners  a hour with 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th graders then another hour with the 2^nd 4^th and 6^th graders. And then FINALLY I finish the day off with one more hour with the teachers! Whew! Mondays are busy days.

-Another little project that is still in the works is something called SpayPanama, I am trying to get the non-profit organization SpayPanama to come to my community and spay and neuter all the dogs and cats. There are so many stray unwanted animals and no one can afford to spay/neuter their pets. The organization will come to my community and bring all the equipment and doctors and spay and neuter ALL the animals for $20 each dog and $10 each for cats. It costs about $80 if you take your pet to a normal vet. This doesn't seem bad to us but $20 is still really expensive here and people still cannot afford it. I am going to see if we can do some fundraising type things to earn the money so we can pay for a least 50 animals. I’ll keep you all posted!

I am sure I am forgetting some things, but I think that is it for now.  We are coming up on our one year anniversary of being in Panama May 1^st! Can you believe it??? Come visit us.