Sorry For Being Tardy

October 14th

I know that it’s been a very long time since my last updates. I’m hoping to be more on top of my blog posts going forward. Just know that if it takes me a while to update my blog it’s not because I don’t want share what’s going on in my life or that I’ve forgotten that there are people who are interested in knowing what’s going on here. Some weeks/months I’m very busy and during other periods I have a lot more down time. If I haven’t updated the blogs in a little while hopefully it’s because I’m busy working with my community members and fellow Peace Corps volunteers on projects that are intended to improve the lives of Panamanians…it just might take a little while for you to hear about it.

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Welcome to the Darien

August 2013 The Darien is Panamá’s largest, easternmost and least developed province. It is home to one of the world’s densest and most ecologically forests, some scientist claim that the Darien rainforest is denser and more difficult to navigate than the “deepest” sections of the Amazon. The due to the region’s geography and biology, the Darien rainforest is the only place from the top of North America to the tip of South America where the Panamerican Highway does not connect. In fact there is not a single drivable road that connects Panamá to Colombia. Due to it’s inaccessibility and history the Darien has an almost mythical reputation. Was written about in great detail when western powers were searching for the best path to build a canal through Central America. Numerous survey parties went to explore the area and all of them returned unsuccessfully and in horrendous condition or never returned at all. Without an incredibly experienced...

Tech Week In El Pilon

Welcome to the Mangroves in El Pilon Feb 29 th We just finished up our tech week at a current volunteer’s site in El Pilon, Veraguas. It’s a medium sized town about 30 min. outside of the provincial capital, Santiago. We ran an environmental camp for the kids in town, taught in the primary school, worked in a vivero (tree nursery) and school garden, learned about the mangroves in the area, and went to swimming in a nearby river. I stayed with an awesome family in El Pilon. The father, Senior Alonzo, is a very intelligent man who knew tons about horticulture, agriculture, and the local ecosystems. He is the VP of the town’s environmental group, and was our tour leader in the mangroves. Each night he and I would lie outside in the hammocks and listen to music or the baseball games on the radio until we fell asleep. An Activity During Our Environmental Summer Camp An Evening Dance in El Pilon The River Between El Pilon and Montijo...

A Surprising Trip

July 2013 For the past 10 months maestro Gabriel (the headmaster and one of the teachers at my school) had invited me to come to his house in Santiago (a provincial capital 3 hours from Piedras Gordas) for the weekend. Each time he invited me I already had previous engagements for the weekend, or something else I preferred to do; so I kept turning him down. To be perfectly honest I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of spending the weekend with him and his family. Gabriel is a nice enough guy, but he comes off as a bit uptight and is not someone that I considered to be particularly fun. He frequently goes on tirades against reggaeton music and popular Panamanian culture, and absolutely refuses to dance (which is unheard for Panamanians). However, after months of pushing back the trip to Santiago I felt obliged to spend a weekend at his home with him and his family. So when I finally had a free weekend, I told Gabriel and we organize...

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