Skip to main content

Margeri's Birthday


May 2013

            This May Margeri (the granddaughter of my host parents) had her second birthday party.  The party was held at my host family’s home, and was attended by her extended family and many of the kids in the neighborhood.  It was a surprise to all of us when her aunt, the one that perpetually looks displeased, came out in a clown outfit and led a number of activities and games for the kids and their parents.  There were relay races, dancing competitions, trivia, pin the tail on the donkey, and as always a piñata. 

My favorite party of the party was when Margeri’s aunt led a very long prayer at the end of the party.  Margeri’s aunt is evangelical and almost all of the attendees are catholic, they seemed less than enthused by her religous message. During the prayer my friend and neighbor kept on muttering that this is a tantería (stupid waste of time), although one mother was so put at peace by the prayer that she fell asleep.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tower Stove

June 6t h          I recently returned home to Piedras Gordas after traveling to La Canoa in the province of Herrera to visit Peace Corps volunteers Nick Duckworth and John Doyle.  Nick is a CEC volunteer from my training group who is living and working in La Canoa. John is a CEC volunteer that has been working in La Canoa for the last two years.  Nick is overlapping with John for the last few months of his service.  During his time in Panama John has been working on a “Tower-Stove” project in his community and throughout the country.  He designed the “Tower-Stove” with another Peace Corps volunteer, and the founder of Contextual Solutions, Steve Bliss. To date John has built over 30 “Tower-Stoves.”          The “Tower-Stove” is a particular eco-stove model that built with the  hope of reducing or replacing the use of the fogón (traditional Panamanian wood burning stove).  The “Tower...
Post a Comment
Read more

Super Size Me

Feb 21 st Apparently I’m too big for Mama Chomba’s house.  A couple of days ago when I plopped down on couch I broke the wooden beam that supports the seats.  The couch is much more comfortable to sit on now, but after sitting on the couch all day there is a crater 6 in. deep in one of the seats. I’ve been trying to disguise the hole by filling it up with the clothes people leave in the living room.  We’ll see how long that works for. Last night I used the sink to help me stand up after using the bathroom.  It wasn’t a very good idea. I ended up tearing the sink out of the wall, and putting all my weight on my foot with the stitches, which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place. I’m just going to blame these incidents on all of the carbs I’m being fed.
2 comments
Read more