Thursday, October 28, 2010

Swear-In

So, I currently sit in an air conditioned room, on an ex-military base now filled with ex-pats, and I type on my laptop while using wireless internet. All of this after eating a wonderful Italian dinner with other great Peace Corps Volunteers. My first few hours of being a volunteer.....
Swear-In ceremony was a great experience, and it was again inspirational. The ceremony was held at the Ambassador of the United States' house, and the President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli was present. I come to realize the President Martinelli is a very personable guy, probably because he got a college degree from Arkansas. Overall, it was a wonderful ceremony.
In addition to swearing-in, I also received the official results of my language proficiency exam Wednesday, and I am proficient enough to swear in unconditionally. Also, I have spoke with family and friends the past few days, and I want to again thank everyone for the support from home. These words of encouragement help to push me through the challenges I face each day.
My first few hours of being a volunteer are not what I am expecting for the next two years. In fact, after a two day stint at the beach to celebrate, I will be in my site for the next three/four weeks without leaving for anything. All the way until Thanksgiving! One month without internet, TV, electricity, or English .... it's going to be an experience of a lifetime!
Anyways, I just wanted to update everyone and let them know I am alive. In addition, I am now a Peace Corps Volunteer officially! YAY!!!!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

First Impression of my Site!

Wow!!! Amazing! Inspirational! Opportunities! Difficult!
A continuous list of contradictory words could continue, but I think that most people can get the point.
My first visit to my site was amazing. I experienced so much in a short period of time. In additions, it gives me a whole mix of contradictory feelings all at the same time, but overall, it inspires me. I have so much to learn, and as most of you know, I enjoy learning. For two years, I will live in this amazing community, and my primary purpose is to help. It is odd how many times I said the following information in Spanish, "Hello. My name is Kevin White. I am a volunteer with the Peace Corps. I work in community economic development. Currently, Peace Corps has approximately four programs in Panama, health, agriculture, english, and business. I work in business. I am going to work with the businesses in this community, for example the cooperatives, associations, convenient stores (tiendas), organizations, and small businesses. I can help with accounting, marketing, finances, and business plans. I am a graduate of accounting, and I have a lot of experience working with businesses in the United States. I am going to live here for two years, but first I need to learn about the community, the culture, the people, and the businesses for three months. In addition, I need to learn a lot more Spanish. However, I want to help all the people of your community. Thank you for your time."
I actually had difficulty typing this because I said it so much in Spanish, and I feel like I am already talking Spanglish.
As far as my community, there are opportunities for me to work in so many different areas. However, I first have so much more I need to learn, including Spanish. Also, I was regularly asked about what projects I had. This question was always responded with me saying that I don´t have any projects. I am going to help with your projects. I want whatever I do to be sustainable, and you know better what you need then I do. So I need to learn about what you want and need, not what I think you need.
So exactly what I am going to be doing for the next two years, I do not know. How I am going to find out what I am going to do, I do not know. Where will I be living after my three months in with my host families, I do not know. The placement of a house in a community is very important decision. Many different things can be interpreted from where my house is placed. Why is he living next to that cooperative? Why is he living next to that family? Why is he close to the church? Why is he far away from the church? etc.
One major accomplishment of mine this past week was helping in the weekend adult education program. I instructed two short classes. One was about motivation for starting a business, and the other was about having an elevator pitch. Both occurred in Spanish, which is a term used lightly at this point.
I have however uploaded some additional photos, so be sure to check them out. http://picasaweb.google.com/kwwhite3/
As for me, I have a going away party for our house families tomorrow, an official language interview this coming Monday, leaving the training community Tuesday, having an interview with the Country Director this next week, Swearing-In on Thursday (and we have heard that the President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli will be in attendance as well, who is a University of Arkansas graduate by the way!), going on vacation to the beach with Group 66 Friday and Saturday, and moving to my community Sunday. Wow!!!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Community Entry Conference!

This coming Tuesday, I leave for a Community Entry Conference where I will meet a counterpart from my community. For a little over one day, there will be information covered ranging from community expectations of the volunteer, volunteer expectations of the community, planning the first three months of service, and planning for the week long adventure. This will be my first opportunity to meet someone from my community!!! Then, on Thursday morning, I will leave for my community with my counterpart, and I will spend about four days in the community learning about it and getting a feel for my next two years. In addition, I have the opportunity to take luggage/supplies (such as a water filter) and leave it there in the community until I return at the end of the month, which will help immensely since I packed way too much and have already acquired an amazing more amount of stuff like books.

What are my expectations from my community? That is a good question. At this point, I just hope for patience as I advance my language proficiency, but this question is also something I need to seriously consider this coming weekend and translate into Spanish. Otherwise, for the one week, I hope to meet as many of the different organizations as possible. Also, I will investigate where I will live for the next three months, whether with one host family or three, and where I will live afterwards. Finally, I will also be able to determine whether there is anything else I need to buy, for example more warm clothes since it is at a significantly higher elevation, but really, I am just hoping to have some questions answered. The closer I get to the end of training, the clearer my next two years begin to look. Soon enough, I will be in my community and can begin the integration and trust building process necessary for my next two years of service!

In addition, tomorrow the CED trainees of Group 66 will present a community analysis done together in the training community that we have been living in since our arrival in Panama. It will entail a seasonal calendar, gender roles analysis, priority needs assessment, and SWOT analysis. It is truly amazing how the Peace Corps can recruit such talented people, and it is even more amazing how these same people are willing to give two years of their life to simply helping other people, especially since the process feels like jumping off a bridge without knowing whether you have a bungee cord attached!

It has been an insanely busy past 7? weeks, and it has also flown by. In the process, I have already experienced so much. I can´t wait for this upcoming week! So many questions will finally be answered!!!!! ( and a few more!!!!!!)

Friday, October 1, 2010

Site Announcement!!!

So it happened today. I received my site announcement, and I couldn´t be happier. While I am not going to be in a Ngóbe indigineous tribe, I will be in a Bugle indigineous community of approximately 1,000 people. In addition, the community I am going to has a lot of interest in help from a volunteer in a lot of cooperatives, and there are about 5 agencies that are working in the area to stimulate the economy. While it does have a paved road that leads up to the community, the last 1 hour of travel is done in the back of a chiva!
In addition, there is no house identified for me to move into after my first three months, so I may have the opportunity to build one! Tambien (mix in a little Spanish, lol!), from the paperwork, it appears as if the community will be supporting me when I build the house. However, even if I don´t end up building my own house, it is still going to be an amazing experience.
I don´t have electricity, but I do have running water!
I´ll post more information as time progresses, but as for now, I am out to celebrate with fellow trainees! In addition, my weekend will be filled with learning Spanish!