here's the rundown...

i am dedicating this post to my daily life because people at home ask what it is exactly that i do, and i realizaed i should probably tell ya'll, no?

as i've said before, i live in a tropical mountain town. there are a couple main roads, but they're in very poor condition. the main one into town is currently under construction. they're putting down stones so that the road is not just a bug muddy mess. anyway, to get to most of the houses you have to use trails like this one.

here's the house i'm living in. i live with one of the wealthiest families in town. they have a fridge, indoor kitchen, t.v., things like that. there is a shower in the house actually, but it sprays out freezing mountain water. taking a shower is my least favorite part of the day. the latrine is out back (no toilets here) and i have to walk up about 20 steps dug into a mud hill to get to it. not fun when raining or in the middle of the night. oh, and don't let the picture fool you. not all the windows are glass (VERY rare un the campo). they just put them in the front to look nice. most windows are concrete bricks with holes in them (see photo). also, here's my room. it's normally the oldest boy's room, so i am sure he is anxious for me to move out.

my host family washes my clothes everyday, cooks for me, and looks through my things when i'm not home. it's cool though, they are just curious about the gringa in the house. here's a typical breakfast. fried egg (and when i say fried, i mean fried. in a pot with an inch thick of oil.), white bread, and some warm, sweet, and liquidy thing (creamed corn or something they call oatmeal). lunch is usually rice and beans at the school or soup at home. soup is a pot of chunks of chicken, squash, corn, and root crops (potato, yucca, etc.). they even take out the chunks of chicken when they serve me. how nice. dinner is a huge bowl of white rice with either beans, fried fish, a fried egg, and/or fried plantains. and sometimes cabbage or tomato soaked in mayonaisse. (i know, i am eating white rice and mayo.) and i'm drinking 2 to 5 cups of coffee a day and lots of candy and cookies from the little stands in town. so the food isn't great. but when i move out i'll be able to cook for myself, so i tell myself this self-poisoning is only temporary.

now for the work. currently i am working on a few projects.

1) i am working with the youth cooperative made up of kids aged 8 to 18. they are all really timid since they are used to the panamanian norm of telling kids what to do, what to think, etc. it's really hard for me because i want them to express their opinions and design their own projects. we'll get there. anyway, the point of this project is to empower youth, teach them business skills and how to run a coop in the hopes that they will start their own when older, and to have fun. right now i'm working on a plan for summer. (their summer break is january and february.)

2) i am working with an artisan group. many of the people in my town are artisans. they wor with wood, fibers, and soap stone (there is a mine in my town). a group of soap stone carvers have formed a group and i am working with them on organization and improving the sales of theur products. i don't have any pics now, but i'll take some so you al can see what u'm talking about.

3) i'm working with a group called liderazgo juvenil. it's made up of 6 people aged 16-23. they are trying to establish a computer center in town. a couple months go they built a room and now they need to finish details and figure out where they can get computers. this is a really important project because the town is of 4000 (that's REALLY big for the campo) and currently there are no computers. more and more youth are starting to attend high school and college and they need to know how to use computers for studies and to get jobs in the city.
4) i'm working with the man who works at the health center. the health center in my town is outdated. but the man who works there knows everything about the community and is dedicated to make it better. he found someone to donate land to build a park and he wants me to help him form a youth group to build the park. he's on vacatuon now for december, but we'll start on this project in january.

5) other random stuff. there are random meetings in the community i attend. i go around and meet people and visit the ones i already know. i think i'm going to try to teach computer classes in the school. (the school has computers, but they don't teach the kids how to use them. also, according to a whack government law, only students can use them, not community members. thus the need for the computer center.)

so everyday is different. i wake up around 6, leave the house by 8, and am in the community all morning. it's hot a humid and i get bitten by bugs. most afternoons, it begins to pour so everyone stays home. if not, i'm working on projects or visiting people. in the evening it gets cold, which i hate. but by then, i'm tired and i'm usually in bed my 9 or 9:30.

that's my life. currently, i am looking for a house to move into so i can live on my own and avoid fried food and white rice and have my own space. i'm also looking forward to christmas, which i will spend with volunteer friends. but i am very very sad that i will miss it at home with my family for the first time in my life. :( other than that, i am generally really happy and excited about my life here. and i can't wait for people to visit me! (hint, hint.)

okay, here's some other random pics from site:

fruit from a cacao tree. you cut it open and the beans you make chocolate out of are in a fleshy covering which you can chew on. it takes like sour strips candy, thus, i love it.

one of those crazy stick bugs. i saw it while walking on the mud road.