Update from Panama!

Hi all, Mrs. Judy and I are writing an update for Kevin. By no means will we do as good of a job describing the adventures and experiences that Kevin has already had in Panama, but hopefully we can let everyone know how he's doing and what he's up to! - Judy & Nancy

As some of you may have seen on Facebook, Kevin had the opportunity to run (technically - hop on a chiva and then a bus) to Santiago, Panama last week to pick up a few necessities. He has been in his location, Buenos Aires, for a month now and has certainly had to make a few adjustments to his routine, but is finding his new home welcoming. Right now Kevin is learning more about the culture and people in the city as well as the way the community operates. After learning about his new home, he will decide how he is best suited to assist the people of Buenos Aires.

Kevin talks fondly about his community and his excitement in helping them. One of the most inspirational things for him is the unity of his community. Despite their differences, the people of Buenos Aires are all dedicated to their community.

He has already become active in the community using his knowledge gained from Future Farmers of America (FFA) in high school and his involvement in the Boy Scouts of America. He has been asked to work with a Boy Scout troop in the area. Using the skills he honed in FFA, he has helped evaluate the growth seedlings in a nearby greenhouse to determine if they were strong enough to be transplanted to another community for planting. Kevin has also found that he will be able to use his accounting and finance skills to help his community and has even bought a new accounting book!

Kevin has learned some new trades while in Buenos Aires, one of which is washing his clothes by hand! He said that on his first try it took him about four hours to wash his clothes in the river near his location. No worries though, his second round of laundry went a bit faster...there's only room for improvement!

New Address
There is a new address for Kevin posted on the Contact page of his blog. If you send any packages his way, let him know via email so that he can be prepared for a pick up! He's certainly looking forward to getting more pictures and letters.

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!!!!!

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!!!

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!!!!!!)

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!

Photos

So, today I am back in Panama City at an internet cafe, and I was able to upload a few photos. I finally have a fast internet connection (lol!). Be sure to check out the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/kwwhite3/Panama
Anyways, I returned safe and sound from my journey to Hato Chami on tech week, which was a wonderful place. I had to ride in the back of a chiva (the real thing, which is a small pickup truck with a roll cage and tarp covering it) for an hour and a half with 15 other trainees, and many of us kept saying that they should sell tickets because it was an amazing ride, while others got soaked, banged around, and prayed for safety. (I wanted to be in the drivers seat because it was like an hour and a half mudding experience, included the driver stopping at one point to manually lock the hubs.) The end of the ride takes you to the top of a mountain that is above cloud level. While standing outside in the afternoons and early mornings, you can watch as a cloud approaches and then engulfs you and everything around you. You end up being in what feels like a heavy fog with a sprinkle, but you are really standing in a cloud. I now know what a cloud feels like!
At Hato Chami, which is another Ngobe indigineous community of approximately 2,000 people, there is no electricity, and my host family only had running water in the early morning hours, unless you count the stream that ran behind the house and was used for bathing by myself and others when we woke up too late. My host family was again amazing, and I am beginning to think that it may just be all Panamanians (or at least those that Peace Corp places volunteers with). While there and working with a very amazing group, my group helped a honey cooperative. We walked the president through a SWOT analysis and a significant part of Strategic and Operational Planning. In addition, we had done a mini-BOCA (which is business and organizational capacity assessment). I also worked with another volunteer, Jack, on teaching a group of fifth graders for two hours. I never thought I would enjoy teaching kids so much. With Jack, we used a poster competition to teach/reinforce budgeting, decision-making, and marketing/advertising concepts. We had them create a sign for their tienda (convenient store).
The biggest news I have right now is that I find out where I will be spending my next 2 years on Friday, and I am extremely excited. The diversity of cities here in Panama is incredibily broad, so my site could be from one extreme to another. However, I feel like either extreme will make for an amazing two year experience.
I will try to update this coming Friday with information on my site placement, but I can´t make any promises. As for now, everything is wonderful, and I have a lot of Spanish left to learn.

First Month!

So yesterday will be the anniversary of my first month in country, and it is truly amazing how quick one can adapt. While I still cannot communicate on a sophisticated level with Panamanians, I can communicate to a point (like I can tell Panamanians that I can´t communicate), and I seem to understand more of what is being said each day. But besides language, using a pit latrine with no toilet seat no longer bothers me. I take bucket baths when the water is out, and it doesn´t ruin my day. While Panama will never replace my home in the states, I still look forward to the end of the day and going home to sleep in my bed in Santa Clara (and not the one on the beach). In addition, I look forward to seeing my Panamanian mom, complimenting her on her cooking, enjoying her cooking, and playing bingo or watching TV with her and my host brother (I won a´peso´ last night, which is a half dollar, and I quit playing when I was down to just that). I also enjoy sharing the American culture, while learning about the Panamanian culture at the same time. For instance, where I live, no one really cares or keeps up with the weather, neither the temperature, 7 day forecast, nor even if there will be a rain shower later in the day (except if they see a cloud). I remember being constantly in tune with the weather on my cell phone while living in Arkansas. Granted, I may not always know the 7 day forecast, but I could ask someone close by and they would. Now the weather is always a surprise. In fact, at night, I no longer keep the fan on all night because it feels cold. After only a month, I enjoy the food of Panama. I even have a standard routine each day. I don´t sweat as much as I used to, and I consider it a luxury to have a dry towel after a shower (because I never do). Again, it is not that I am or ever will truly be a Panamanian, but I feel like I may someday not stand out. (Well actually, my pale skin and blue eyes will always make me stand out, but I won´t feel like an outsider.) One month, a lot learned, a lot missed, a lot more I now have a stronger appreciation for, and a lot I know I will miss when I leave in 26 months.
As for my plans, tomorrow I will work with a small group of fellow Peace Corps Trainees, and we will talk to a group of kids about gender roles in Panama. In addition, on Sunday, I will leave for another one week adventure in a Ngobe community. What I am supposed to pack, a sleeping bag because it is high in the mountains and gets cold at night. I still don´t believe it, but I will take my sleeping bag. How could it get cold in Panama?
(By the way, thank you to everyone who is commenting on my posts! It is good to hear from you even if it is through a brief post!)