Oajaca. Oajaca, Panama.

Today I took a little break from Penonomé to visit the three Volunteers staying in the town of Oajaca, located up in the mountains and out of the heat. I tagged along with Tony, our Youth Leadership Promotor, who will be supporting our Latin American Volunteers this summer from the Dominican Republic and Guna Yala, an indigenous tribe off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Tony hails from the Dominican Republic, and is as suave as they come. Here he is will Arnel, one of our Guna Volunteers. Tony is the one with the hipster glasses.

Tony and Arnel

Oajaca is an amazingly beautiful community, tucked away in a large valley, and full of exciting rivers to cross. Arnel gets to cross two on the way to the school each morning. He is in a constant state of wet feet, but he says it's worth it for the view.

River crossing

Arnel and I, during his first week in community. 

I was the one who went to the Guna Yala Islands a few weeks ago to recruit Guna Volunteers for our project in Coclé, so I met Arnel on that trip, interviewed him, and helped coordinate his arrival in Coclé. Ryan and I trained him and another Guna Volunteer, Jorge, and sent them into community last week alongside their Dominican and U.S. counterparts. Here they are with our entire staff. Jorge is wearing the blue shirt and Arnel the black one. Gregorio, our main contact in Guna Yala, is sitting behind Jorge. 

Both Jorge and Arnel struggle with Spanish, their second language, and training them in three days was somewhat of a challenge. On top of the linguistic challenges, however, neither of them have really left the islands, and this will be their first time spending any extended period of time on the mainland of Panama. Their experience serves as a reminder that even Latin American Volunteers experience linguistic barriers and forms of culture shock when serving in communities outside their own. They are up for the challenge, though, and I can't wait to see how much they grow as Volunteers this summer! We are hoping that the summer will bring, along with its obvious challenges, very rewarding experiences and leadership development for both of them. 

Okay, back to today.

Luckily, I arrived just in time for lunch. (The delicious "campo" food is one of my favorite parts of community visits.) We ate chicken, rice, and pasta. Yes, rice AND pasta. Good ole Panamanian carb load.

This is David, the incredibly cute next door neighbor. My favorite conversations with him today involved him asking how much I weigh and which was my favorite soccer team, the only choices being Barca o Real Madrid. I can't even escape Spanish fútbol even when I go to Panama!

Tony with David and one of the Oajaca Volunteers, Savannah.

Eunice, the Project Supervisor for Oajaca, and David

We played some fútbol.

Coconut popsicles!

Mmmm.

Do I ever have to leave Panama?

Arnel, Michelle, and Savannah planning for tomorrow's extracurricular activities. Michelle is from Walla Walla, Washington, and Savannah is from Washington, D.C.

To end the perfect afternoon, we danced.

 

 

True to AMIGOS, I spent today with a Dominican, a Guna, a Malaysian American, an amazing Panamanian family, and two different types of Washingtonians.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Day in the Life of an APD in Coclé: I spent...oh, about 17 hours "just sitting waiting," a la Jack Johnson, today. Now don't get me wrong, there was no real wishing involved, except that the waiting please end!

Our 2 Dominican Volunteers and 49 of our 50 U.S. Volunteers arrived in two separate flights yesterday. Unfortunately, that 1 missing Volunteer means that I had to take a third trip to the airport today. I saw off the Volunteers this morning to go to the briefing site with my fabulous Project Supervisors, while I waited around in Panama City to pick up the last Volunteer. 

While waiting, Tony, our Dominican "Promotor de Liderazgo Juvenil," or Youth Leadership Promotor, and I went on a very important mission: to extend his tourist visa so he could finish up his summer with AMIGOS. As a Promotor, Tony supports our Guna and Dominican Volunteers, cultivates youth leadership in the communities, and expands opportunities for youth engagement, all as an unpaid volunteer for our staff. His visa only lasts until July 1st, so we went to extend it until August 17th, when the project ends. 

8:30 AM - Tony and I arrive at the Migration Office in Panama City, Panama. We take a number for tourist visa renewals - Q101. Not too bad, they called us up around 9:30. At this point, we had to present various very important, very detailed, yet somehow not very official-looking documents. The application for visa renewal was from 2008 and, even though I brought a typed copy in which
I dutifully changed the date to 2012, the lady at the desk insisted on only accepting the handwritten, four-years-expired document. Odd for Panama, the king of bureaucracy. We also had to present proof of financial stability, various letters of reference, and copies of his passport and ID. This is where we apparently messed up big time. It isn't enough to bring a copy of the main page of your passport, you know, the important part with the picture and passport and expiration date. No, Panama needs you to provide a full photocopy of each and every page of your passport, down to the blank, untouched pages at the end. Once we returned with all of the documents, we thought we were golden, we thought we were the most awesome people in the world, and we knew we'd make it on time to the airport to pick up that poor Volunteer that missed her flight the day before...no.

11:00 AM - The Migration Office informs Tony and I that we needed to register him with the Office before we solicited a visa extension. This requires, she tells us, that you go upstairs and pick up another number, this time for "registro." They reside at another desk in the same building. 

Okay, fine, if you insist. 

B-207. Currently, the B screen is flashing an astonishing "B-115."

Ma'am, any idea how far off this number is? 

About 3 or 4 hours. 

Why the migration officials did not tell me beforehand that we needed to register with the Migration Service before soliciting a visa extension, so I could have facilitated both processes simultaneously, I will never understand.

You really should know our rules and protocol before you work with us, jóven.

I hate when they call me jóven.

I leave Tony there to wait while I pick up the Volunteer at the airport, hoping that everything will be sorted out when I get back. Buh no.

12:00 PM - After a $25 taxi to the airport, I stand in the waiting room outside customs. Her flight is delayed so I distract myself with a strawberry soda. Mmm. Finally, she arrives! All of our Volunteers are in country! Now it's time for a $28 taxi back to the Migration Office (yes, that airport taxi ripped me off).

1:30 PM - We join Tony to wait. When we arrive, the registration desk has seen a startling total of 5 people since I left over two hours ago. "B-120." This might take awhile...Exhausted, I squeeze in a short yet quite efficient nap. Okay, not so short, but I'm tired, OK?

3:20 PM - I awaken to a conversation next to me about how bureaucratic Panama is. Yes. Even Panamanians think so. A man kindly offers me his ticket, saying he's had enough. B-191. We're moving up in the world. Unfortunately, the registration desk is not. The screen currently flashes "B-129." Hmm, perhaps that is because they have one person attending all the 300 that are waiting in line to register. We wait a little longer. "B-130." "B-131." "B-132." "B-133." 

I am starting to get a little bit worried that maybe we aren't going to get out of here. Ever. I decide to make a visit to the administration desk, fully preparing myself for some serious red tape. 

Ma'am, do you know how long the office will be attending clients today? I have about 60 people still ahead of me, and I know they close the doors at 3.

They will see that everyone that got numbers today gets served, even if it's at 8 o'clock tonight. 

Hmm, well I just don't know what to do! I have been here for hours, and I really can't stay another night in the City. 

It will go a lot faster, jóven, because people have started to get fed up and leave.

Yes, this is true. You're catching on to the ridiculousness of this process.

Unfortunately, I have to leave to Penonomé as soon as possible (a two hour bus ride away from Panama City). I am in charge of a sixteen-year-old girl and we can't travel at night. Do you have any advice for me?

      Without smiling, she hands me a ticket.

Someone just left this with me. Bring your old one back to me.

It says, "B-135."

The golden ticket!

By 4:00 PM, we have registered Tony and solicited a visa extension. But guess what? One lucky person gets to come back in 48 hours to pick it up! I know that Tony and I never want to set foot in that waiting room again...

By 5:00 PM, we are sitting yet again - this time on a bus back to Penonomé. Three hours and another expensive taxi ride later, we arrive at the briefing site. 

I thought that I was done with waiting rooms and bureaucracy for the day. But no.

10:30 PM - 1:00 AM was spent in a hospital waiting room with another Volunteer that had to get stitches. Oh the joys of Panamanian public health care. 

When I woke up this morning, I never thought I would spend 17 hours sitting and waiting in 3 waiting rooms, a bus, and about 6 taxis. All is well, but my butt is a little sore!

Banking

So banking in Panama is fun! Our AMIGOS project needs to open a bank account in Panama so we can run our programs through money wired from the US.

You need:

• Several letters of reference from banks in the US and in Panama. These must be signed originals.
• To have life insurance in Panama through the bank itself. Yes, I am the proud owner of life insurance in Panama! We signed lots of forms and even had to name beneficiaries. This means that my brother is now a beneficiary to all of the money in our account if both Ryan (my Project Director) and I die crossing the Panamericana highway.
• Two forms of ID
• The phone numbers and addresses of personal and commercial references in the US and Panama

We are still waiting on one bank reference for Ryan, but by this Saturday we will officially (cross your fingers!) have a Panamanian bank account. Yahoo! First task, down. 

En route to Panamá

Hello loyal followers, however few you may be.

I have been re-inspired to continue this old blog, Aventuras, by my most recent blog obsession, Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. What started out as a paradoxical journey toward both self-improvement and self-acceptance, taking herself seriously and lightening up, being more efficient but also carving out time to wander, play, and simply be, has become a delightful book of the same title that I received as a graduation gift from my aunt. I have found that many of Gretchen's challenges, her daily paradoxes, resonate with me as well.

I am adventurous and free-spirited, yet highly perfectionistic and against wasting time.

I travel the world, yet I am a serious homebody.

I hate clutter, yet I despise throwing or giving away my possessions.

I have a desire to "Be Sarah" and accept myself, but I want to perfect my nature.

I want to live fully "in the moment," yet I unwantingly stress about the future.

Gretchen decides to spend an entire year trying to learn how to be "happier." To live in the moment, to appreciate the small things, and to not let her life pass by unnoticed. Each month, she dedicates herself to a new set of resolutions, and tries to achieve them cumulatively so that by December she is perfectly following all of them. Among the twelve themes are "Be serious about play," "Lighten up," "Remember Love," "Contemplate the Heavens," and "Keep a Contented Heart." In the month of February, "Remember Love," she writes about her marriage, attempting to follow such lofty resolutions as "Don't expect praise or appreciation," "quit nagging," and "fight right." I love Gretchen's honesty and humor as she is tackling the everyday reality of both improving and accepting her own nature. It's a great read!

So, as I read this happiness project of Gretchen's, I will be posting bits and pieces of my own, as well as recounting my many Panamanian adventures to come. Boarding the plane in Houston now!