Hi all!
I am back in Tallahassee! What an experience this has been! I hope you don't mind that I continue to reflect upon this experience for the next few weeks, recounting my experiences and moments week by week through photographs and distinct moments. However, it will most likely be after graduation on August 7th that I actually have the time to sit and write on this blog. I have been working on my thesis which is due on Tuesday, so my writing capabilities have been directed exclusively to that endeavor.
Please check back soon, there are weeks and weeks of experiences I cannot wait to share with you!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Monday, June 14-Sunday, June 20th (week 3)
Have you ever spent the night at a friend's house, or visiting your parents, and when you wake up you look around, expecting the same things you think should be there to there, to be there.... and it takes you a few seconds to realize you aren't in your own place, and you have to also understand where you are and why you are there? After you are fully awake, and after the initial thoughts of "OMG! I've been kidnapped!"disappear, you laugh it off and slap yourself in the head for what just happened.
Well, that happened to me EVERY DAY this week. The sounds and smells of big city traffic- horns, clunky motors, brakes, more horns, and exhaust- are not something I awake to every day in my home in Tallahassee, where my backyard is woods and my neighborhood has 20 houses in it, tops. Yet here, they became my morning alarm letting me know the city was awake and I should be too! Also, the sun lent a hand also in letting me know it was time to wake up- shining through my 10th story bedroom window and, heating up my room to an unbearable temperature within minutes of rising (so much so I soon bought a $50 fan and lugged it all the way home as soon as I could). It seemed strange to leave my home in the United States to live in a supposed "developing nation" and go from hearing crickets at night to nightclub music and traffic.
The highlight of my week was traveling to Darien this week, where I gave my first seminar to a group of teachers at the "Instituto Meteti de Darien". The teachers came from the entire province of Darien, some traveling more than 5 hours by bus and/or boat to attend this seminar. The only thing with training in Panama is that here it is not considered rude to pick up a phone call during a meeting or just leave or come hours late. That was kind of frustrating because I am used to silencing cell phones and stuff... nope! not here! I am still not sure if that is a cultural thing, teacher thing....not sure. But overall it was fun! I went on the trip with the Vice Precident of Civitas Panama, the teacher in charge of Civitas Panama on a national level, and our driver. On the way back we bought some fish on the side of the road, kind of random.
Still adjusting to life in Panama City...
Living Through the Lens
Wow, it has been quite some time since I last wrote in this blog, and it was about being sick, of all things!
Well, first of all I am not still sick, but it did hit me quite hard and I lost an entire week of work from it, although I did translate a boatload of documents and activities from home that week. I was able to go to the doctor after waiting for days to see the ONE (yes, ONLY one) doctor who accepted my international insurance in town. He gave me some anti-flu or something or other shots and I was back to almost normal by Monday. I would have never guessed that you can catch a cold in 100 degree weather, but it is possible I have certainly found that out the hard way.
There are so many things I want to share with you all, so many stories to tell and I want to tell them in my own way. I really, really enjoy taking pictures. Not pictures of people at parties or going out like 99.9% of the pictures that end up on facebook; but pictures that document the important events in my life (and every once in a while, some random thing I find interesting or beautiful). So I will show you what my life has been like for the past 4 weeks in my own way...living through the lens.
Well, first of all I am not still sick, but it did hit me quite hard and I lost an entire week of work from it, although I did translate a boatload of documents and activities from home that week. I was able to go to the doctor after waiting for days to see the ONE (yes, ONLY one) doctor who accepted my international insurance in town. He gave me some anti-flu or something or other shots and I was back to almost normal by Monday. I would have never guessed that you can catch a cold in 100 degree weather, but it is possible I have certainly found that out the hard way.
There are so many things I want to share with you all, so many stories to tell and I want to tell them in my own way. I really, really enjoy taking pictures. Not pictures of people at parties or going out like 99.9% of the pictures that end up on facebook; but pictures that document the important events in my life (and every once in a while, some random thing I find interesting or beautiful). So I will show you what my life has been like for the past 4 weeks in my own way...living through the lens.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sick!
I am sick in Panama! This sucks! My throat began to hurt Friday after giving a day-long seminar, so I figured it was just because I had been talking nonstop for 8 hours straight, but no! I just keep getting worse and worse and now I am dizzy and have a headache (and I think a fever too!). I might have to miss work tomorrow, I am not sure but I called and warned them about the possibility. Took some cough syrup and some cold medicine, hope it works!
The blog posts are gonna take a back seat for the next few days as I try to get better...
On the 4th of July in front of the Panamanian flag. This flag sits on top of the tallest mountain in Panama City, overlooking the Panama Canal. From this point you can also see the entire city. This used to be part of the area in Panama where only Americans could enter and was restricted to Panamanians. Where this flag waves, the American flag used to stand. It is a fitting visual reminder that this land now belongs once more to its people. I really enjoyed this visit.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
What am I doing in Panama?
A lot of people have asked me exactly what I was doing in Panama. The answer to that questions is a bit difficult to explain. Here, every day is different and there is no "typical" day for me in Panama. As with many international service experiences, my job description changed a few times before I finally arrived in Panama. I originally was told I would be working with high school students in classrooms working alongside teachers and teaching "Project Citizen". Project Citizen is a program for youth of many ages in which they identify a problem in their community, research alternative public policy solutions, pick the best solution (while keeping in mind the constitutionality of their decision), and then put their plan in action by influencing the appropriate branch and level of government. It is a powerful exercise in democracy. It allows students to think critically about public policy, citizenship, democracy, and their role in government as citizens of a democratic nation. I love the methodology and the power of this program to shape young people into active, contributing members of society who think critically about public policy and know how to utilize the government for what it was meant to be... a tool for the people!
Once I arrived a few weeks ago, I was told that I was not to work with students directly, but rather mostly with teachers. At first I was sad, because I really enjoy working with youth. I mean, that is what I love about PeaceJam! However I understood why they made that decision. They really want to make the most use of my time here, and by training teachers I can impact many times more classrooms than if I were to go into the classrooms themselves. Over time, I also realized that this is actually MUCH better, because it allows my Project Citizen knowledge to remain with the teachers. They will remain in Panama schools long after I leave, making this project a 1000 times more SUSTAINABLE. And I am all about that :D
The only time I am actually working with youth is when I do presentations to youth in a technical college, where students go after high school and before joining the workforce. Every Monday beginning this Monday, and until I leave, I am conducting seminars on "Citizenship" as part of the student's requirements before they graduate from the technical school. I am really looking forward to that! My entire presentation is around the Citizenship Ladder, which depicts the growth of citizens from "inactive citizen" to "problem solving citizen". I will talk about what it means and how they can go "up the ladder". It has taken a lot of preparation and I am very excited about working with youth here in Panama!
So for now, I am training teachers from elementary to high school in effective methods of teaching Project Citizen, and I am also training them on a new online platform, www.thepeopleunite.com, that connects a classroom in Florida with a classroom in Panama and they support each other through the Project Citizen process. It is really a neat website, that allows classrooms to video chat, comment on each other's uploaded work, upload videos and photos, and many more things. It does exactly what good technology is supposed to do...make the world a smaller place!
Some days I travel to the "interior", which are all the small towns outside of Panama City. Once you leave the city, which I affectionately refer to as the "Miami of Latin America", it becomes a whole different country... much more like the central american towns I am used to and less like the hustle and bustle of a city where millions of dollars flow in and out in an instant. Two weeks ago, I spent the entire week traveling through the interior. It was such a draining experience I got back on Friday and did not do anything all weekend because I had to recover both mentally and physically. That experience will be in my next blog, so stay tuned!
Other times, I leave for the day to the interior for trainings and other activities, leaving before daybreak and arriving late at night. Those days are intense as well. I think I am averaging about 40-60 hours per week at work. It is grueling sometimes, but it is so rewarding especially because all of the teachers are so excited about the program and really care about their students. Not sure if I could do it for longer than a few months though...
And some days, I work from my office, which is located downtown in the Electoral Tribunal. I usually get picked up from my apartment I spent a few days this week preparing for the seminar I taught on Friday. I translated about 6 different activities from English to Spanish, which was difficult because the wording is so important in those activities I did not want to translate it badly so the meaning would be lost. I will talk more about the seminar in a later post, but I will say that it was almost 8 hours long and I came home and went directly to bed... what a day!
I hope this gives everyone reading this a little insight on what my weeks have been looking like. It has been difficult some days, but I wouldn't trade this beautiful experience for anything :)
Once I arrived a few weeks ago, I was told that I was not to work with students directly, but rather mostly with teachers. At first I was sad, because I really enjoy working with youth. I mean, that is what I love about PeaceJam! However I understood why they made that decision. They really want to make the most use of my time here, and by training teachers I can impact many times more classrooms than if I were to go into the classrooms themselves. Over time, I also realized that this is actually MUCH better, because it allows my Project Citizen knowledge to remain with the teachers. They will remain in Panama schools long after I leave, making this project a 1000 times more SUSTAINABLE. And I am all about that :D
The only time I am actually working with youth is when I do presentations to youth in a technical college, where students go after high school and before joining the workforce. Every Monday beginning this Monday, and until I leave, I am conducting seminars on "Citizenship" as part of the student's requirements before they graduate from the technical school. I am really looking forward to that! My entire presentation is around the Citizenship Ladder, which depicts the growth of citizens from "inactive citizen" to "problem solving citizen". I will talk about what it means and how they can go "up the ladder". It has taken a lot of preparation and I am very excited about working with youth here in Panama!
So for now, I am training teachers from elementary to high school in effective methods of teaching Project Citizen, and I am also training them on a new online platform, www.thepeopleunite.com, that connects a classroom in Florida with a classroom in Panama and they support each other through the Project Citizen process. It is really a neat website, that allows classrooms to video chat, comment on each other's uploaded work, upload videos and photos, and many more things. It does exactly what good technology is supposed to do...make the world a smaller place!
Some days I travel to the "interior", which are all the small towns outside of Panama City. Once you leave the city, which I affectionately refer to as the "Miami of Latin America", it becomes a whole different country... much more like the central american towns I am used to and less like the hustle and bustle of a city where millions of dollars flow in and out in an instant. Two weeks ago, I spent the entire week traveling through the interior. It was such a draining experience I got back on Friday and did not do anything all weekend because I had to recover both mentally and physically. That experience will be in my next blog, so stay tuned!
Other times, I leave for the day to the interior for trainings and other activities, leaving before daybreak and arriving late at night. Those days are intense as well. I think I am averaging about 40-60 hours per week at work. It is grueling sometimes, but it is so rewarding especially because all of the teachers are so excited about the program and really care about their students. Not sure if I could do it for longer than a few months though...
And some days, I work from my office, which is located downtown in the Electoral Tribunal. I usually get picked up from my apartment I spent a few days this week preparing for the seminar I taught on Friday. I translated about 6 different activities from English to Spanish, which was difficult because the wording is so important in those activities I did not want to translate it badly so the meaning would be lost. I will talk more about the seminar in a later post, but I will say that it was almost 8 hours long and I came home and went directly to bed... what a day!
I hope this gives everyone reading this a little insight on what my weeks have been looking like. It has been difficult some days, but I wouldn't trade this beautiful experience for anything :)
A sanctuary for the virgin Mary, this one is from Escual Normal in the interior. Every single school has a sanctuary for the virgin Mary.
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