That means you're cheap. Don't wanna be cheap. I've really been noticing the "over there" lip gesture. It's hilarious. And awesome.Disfruta!
Monday, May 30, 2011
lengua sin palabras
Watch this awesome video on the meaning of a number of Panamanian gestures. Another one the guy doesn't cover is this:
That means you're cheap. Don't wanna be cheap. I've really been noticing the "over there" lip gesture. It's hilarious. And awesome.
Disfruta!
That means you're cheap. Don't wanna be cheap. I've really been noticing the "over there" lip gesture. It's hilarious. And awesome.Disfruta!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
gracias a mis estudiantes
I just finished up morning conversation class with Lurlyne. She was my only student from Conversation One to join me for Conversation Two so we have more of a private tutor class. I was a little disappointed that none of the other 4 of 5 students could join us again, however I'm really proud of Lurlyne for showing such dedication. Lurlyne manages the front desk at a dental office (her husband went to dental school at Creighton) and they have a number of American patients. She has a 16-year-old daughter that wants to go to college in the States. Lurlyne is here for those two factors: she wants to be able to communicate clearly, effectively and fluently with her American patients and she wants to help her daughter with the college application/selection process. She has such positive energy, she always comes in with a bright smile and she is always so grateful for the two hours we spend together. She has improved so much since we started working together at the end of March. She is no longer making many of the errors she made before, she thinks thoroughly about what she wants to say before she says it, and her confidence has soared.
Lurlyne and the Access students always remind me why I'm here: to have a positive effect on the lives of Panamanians through English language instruction and cultural exchange. I always walk away from these classes feeling happy, energized and grateful. Gracias a todos mis estudiantes; uds. me enseñan más que saben. Thanks to all my students; you all teach me more than you know.
Lurlyne and the Access students always remind me why I'm here: to have a positive effect on the lives of Panamanians through English language instruction and cultural exchange. I always walk away from these classes feeling happy, energized and grateful. Gracias a todos mis estudiantes; uds. me enseñan más que saben. Thanks to all my students; you all teach me more than you know.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
san blas, kuna yala: real life corona ad
The picture says it all, doesn't it?
I spent Friday morning - Sunday evening in paraíso (paradise). Some of my friends had organized a trip and I jumped at the opportunity to go; I'd been wanting to go to San Blas since I arrived in Panama...and all the hype and expectations did not disappoint. We woke up before the sun on Friday, squeezed into a LandCruiser, and were off. San Blas is north and east of Panama City on the Caribbean side. We took the highway for about an hour and a half and the last 45 minutes or so were spent on a roller coaster of a road. We were winding around mountains, taking sharp turns, speeding down steep descents and crawling up steep ascents. We stumbled out of the car when we finally reached the unloading point, all of us at least slightly woozy from the theme park ride. We waited at the edge of the water under a little hut for about 45 minutes before a boat arrived to take us to the island. Even though the boat ride was packed and I was drenched with salt water by the end of it, it was absolutely mesmerizing. Everywhere I turned there was another tiny island full of palm trees and a white sand beach in the middle of sparkling, teal blue water. Remember the old school Microsoft screen saver of an island like those I just mentioned? Apparently that photo was taken in San Blas.
The San Blas, or Kuna Yala, islands are an autonomous "comarca" of Panama. The Kuna Yala indigenous people occupy about 50 of the 350 islands in the area but have control over all of them. The Kunas believe strongly in the four key elements of the environment: earth, wind, water and fire. The Kuna women are easily identified by their traditional dress: they wear a shear blouse connected to a mola (multi-layer, hand-stitched material consisting of animal designs and geometric shapes) and a patterned tapestry as a skirt. Many of them also wear a gold ring in the center of their nose.
Our group stayed on Franklyn/Tony Island. It's called that because those are the two owners. It's split down the middle, complete with a chain link fence; Franklyn owns and runs a hostel of huts on one side and Tony does the same on the other side. We stayed on Tony's side. This was one of the most economical vacations I've ever taken. For all transportation (car and boat), two nights in a hut, all meals (including lobster for dinner one night!), snacks and entrance fees I only spent $120.
There were many groups of young Israelis staying on the island and there were also some really cool North Americans. I spent a good amount of time getting to know awesome people from California, Michigan and Canada. We spent our days laying in the sun on the beach and shade of palm trees, soaking in the beautiful water, playing scrabble, listening to music, and just hanging out. We actually all met up again last night (their last night in the city) for some DELICIOUS (and cheap!) food at Sabor de la India. A new friend, Courtney, and I shared butter chicken, naan and samosas. My bill was a mere $7. So awesome.
This whole weekend was the perfect way for me to clear my head and get a little perspective on this adventure of mine. I'm living in a beautiful country with so much history and so many cultures. I'm glad to have the opportunity to take advantage of seeing and experiencing the diverse peoples and places within this culturally-packed country of only 3 million people.
Now that I'm 3 shades darker and genuinely content, it's time to get back to work. I'm no longer teaching the morning conversation class--only 1 of my students signed up for the second class :( so she's switching to the night class. I'll be team-teaching that class with my friend, Josh. I'm planning on restarting the faculty conversation club next week--I'm cautiously hopeful on this one, though. It's been pushed back by the participants for about 3 weeks now. So we'll see. I'm taking a bit of a break from Access this week because the students have exams. The midway point of my grant is in 2 weeks...CRAZY. Next time I'll post a midterm evaluation.
Until then...
Cuídate.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
vacaciones con jack y mi padre, mal día, oportunidad nueva
Mal día
Jack left on Friday after a little over 3 weeks with me. My dad left yesterday morning after 5 days together. Yesterday was the "mal día" (bad day). April was the best month that I've had here so far. I finally got in to a routine working with adult students in CELI and high school kids for Access; I made some cool new friends; I saw Shakira in concert; Jack came and we went on our first real vacation together and spent time just being normal; my dad came to see my Panamanian life firsthand; and then yesterday it's like I was startled awake from a great dream that I never wanted to end. I don't know how much of April's perfection was all of those fun adventures, being with the love of my life and sharing this journey with him, getting in to a routine or what but I finally felt great here. I was, maybe for the first time since this adventure started, 100% happy. And then yesterday hit me like a ton of bricks across the face. I feel guilty for feeling "off." I know this is a great opportunity and I know there are thousands of people who would trade places with me; but I guess we all have our off moments, right? Part of me can't believe I've already been here over 4 months. And, for the last couple days, part of me can't believe I still have 6 months to go. I will continue to make this the most positive experience I can. I will go to work and see tangible change happen in front of my eyes; I will start to learn more about the culture here (I might try to do some research on some of the many indigenous groups of Panama); I will do the next crazy thing with my new friends; I'll do all of that because that's who I am and that's what this experience is about. Sorry for the "moment," I think I'm trying to convince myself of all these things as I write them to you.
I realized after a vent session last night that, I apologize for sounding painfully selfish, this journey is mine and it is about me. Sure, I'm doing my best in the classroom and trying to have a positive effect on the people I meet here, but my students, my friends, my colleagues and this experience as a whole are having more of an impact on me than I could ever imagine having on them. After a little over 4 months here, I'm starting to be a confident teacher, I'm more assertive, I'm more outgoing, I'm getting better at being by myself and I'm trying to take advantage of new opportunities.
Now for the good stuff.
3 semanas con mi amor
I left you with a cliffhanger from my last post: our journey to El Valle. Some friends of mine invited us to tag along for a one-night stay in El Valle. I had heard a lot of great things about this area so we jumped at the chance. Jack and I hitched a ride with Alex, May Ling and Felicidad. Alex is one of the few people I've met here with a car; but alas, he moved back to England shortly after we returned from El Valle. Anyway, we drove about two hours west to the beautiful mountainous region of El Valle. The air was crisp and clean, there was almost no traffic and at night we could see every star in the sky. We stayed at La Casita, a camping hostel. They provided tents and breakfast for only $15/per person. We spent that Saturday afternoon exploring the area, hiking, and swimming in ice-cold natural pools. That night there was a music event at the hostel. People brought any instrument they knew how to play and just jammed. I think there was a scheduled list of events but when the power went out it turned in to an all-night jam session. Pretty sweet.
We woke up the next morning and couldn't find Alex anywhere. Knowing that we had to get back that day (as we left for Isla Grande the following morning) and that he was our ride, we went on a trek in to town to search for him. I spotted his car parked outside a restaurant and he happened to be crossing the street as we got closer. He told us he wanted to stay another night, so that left Jack, May Ling and I to fend for ourselves for a ride home. Jack and I decided on the bus because they're cheap, and frequent. We stood in line for almost an hour with about 150 others waiting to go back to the city and boarded the small bus made for about 30 people, but it's Panama so about 40 people got on. We were traveling back to the city on Easter Sunday so a 2-hour trip actually took over 3 hours with traffic. To make it even more exciting one of the passengers brought a stowaway bird...logically. We didn't realize this until about an hour into the ride when there was a loud screeching sound and feathers flapping; oh, duh, I always bring my pet macaw on the bus with me. Right.
The next morning Jack and I were picked up and driven 2 hours north toward the Caribbean. A small boat took us from just outside the town of Portobelo to Bananas Resort. It's a quaint, 35-room hotel. There are three rooms in peaked roof houses; two on the bottom, one on top. Jack and I had a room at the top of one of the houses complete with a hammock on the balcony. The highlights of our trip include: delicious food, 4 pm margaritas daily, pool time, beach time, a hike to the other side of the island, paella, Panamanian beer, me dominating Jack in ping pong (twice), friendly staff, time together, beautiful sunsets, sleeping in, more food and more time relaxing together. It was the perfect first vacation.
We came back to reality after five wonderful, sun-filled days to have a last supper for Alex. We met up with my friends at Beirut, a delicious Lebanese restaurant, went out for drinks and watched Alex and Jack play chess for over an hour (zzZZZzzz...). It was fun to be back with friends, though. The next day, Jack got to experience the canal and on Sunday we spent the afternoon at the causeway. Monday, May 2nd was Panama's Labor Day so we had a picnic in Parque Omar and just hung out together. Jack came to school with me Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday he helped in my conversation class and the other two days we worked with the Access students. When Jack asked some of the Access students if they liked me and thought I was a good teacher, one of them responded with, "She is very beautiful." Ha. I guess I'll take that.
We went to a networking event at a Mexican place with Laura (research fulbrighter) on cinco de mayo. I didn't do a ton of networking, mostly just saw my new friends (many of whom I met at the previous event), drank some celebratory margaritas, then had dinner with Jack. On Friday night my friend Josh and his girlfriend Isis invited us over to their place for a traditional Panamanian dinner; Isis made oven-cooked chicken, rice, a salad and everyone's favorite, plantains. I finally figured out what makes those taste so good, the recipe is so simple: plantains, tons of sugar, tons of butter and a little water. Yum. After a delicious meal, a couple bottles of wine, great conversation, and some sports-watching, Jack and I headed back to the apartment. We were bums the rest of the weekend. Monday we went to the Centro Municipal de Artesañias so Jack could get some souvenirs as it was his last day in the city.
My dad arrived on Tuesday. Jack and I met him at the airport where we were picked up by a driver for our hotel, the Intercontinential at Playa Bonita...I do NOT recommend it. Before we got to the hotel we stopped to pick up some beer and snacks so we wouldn't get gouged all the time at the hotel. When we arrived, supplies in hand, one of the supervisors, instead of greeting us and welcoming us to his hotel, firmly told us we would have to keep our recently purchased goods in storage for our stay there. From that point on we plotted on how to get our things out of storage. Unfortunately the rainy season decided to kick in full swing during our few days at this beach hotel so we were stuck hanging out in the room, reading and watching movies. To make matters worse, there were a number of businesses there for private conferences and they closed off 2 of the 3 restaurants for their dinner parties. Overall the service was pretty bad, the prices were insane, and of course the rain didn't help our spirits. We did, however, get our contraband items out of storage on the second day so that was a small victory.
We left the hotel Friday morning to take Jack to the airport. I was really sad to see him go because we had such a perfect few weeks together. Hopefully he'll be back again at the end of July/early August for another visit. Thanks for coming, mi amor; you made me feel happy and comfortable and just normal again. Now, please come back :)
2 días más con mi padre
After dropping Jack at the airport, my dad and I returned to the city where we checked him in to the hotel. This time, instead of telling him he couldn't bring in his gin, the bell hop offered to fill up the bucket of ice for him...much better start. We relaxed and had lunch at a restaurant nearby and then went to see the canal. It was another gloomy day, but wasn't nearly as rainy as the days before. Serendipitously, there was a ship registered in Hong Kong passing through the canal as we were on the observation deck. There was also a Panamax ship overflowing with containers holding who knows what. That night I showed my dad my apartment and then we had dinner with Christine and her friend.
The next day the sun proved it does exist in Panama! Finally blue skies and sun for an entire day. I took my dad to see Latina where he got to meet Luz (the director/facilitator of Access), Isabel (teacher friend), Luis (Christine's admin assistant) and Patricia (director of a private school and creator of a methodology being used by Christine for a project for 11-year-olds learning English on Saturdays). From there we went to Cerro Ancon to look at the beautiful views of the city, then to the causeway where we walked around and eventually had lunch. We went back to the hotel for a siesta and that night had a date in Casco. We went around happy hour so he could see the area while there was still some sunlight, had a drink, then had dinner at Mostaza. It was a perfect last evening together. Thanks for including me in your western hemisphere trip, Dad. I'm really glad you got to see some of this adventure of mine.
Oportunidad Nueva
Today I had a meeting with a woman in Casco Antiguo. She would like me to work with some at-risk high school students that go to school in Casco. Many of them are from the areas bordering Casco (very poor, dangerous, violent, run by gangs, etc.) but attend school at Iglesia de la Merced in Casco. One day a week, she would like me to give reinforcement of what the students are already working on in their English classes. I'm still debating whether or not to take this on, so your comments/feedback are, of course, welcome.
En fin
Tomorrow I will finally be back in to my routine at CELI. I'm going in early to help Christine with some things, conversation club with the U. Latina faculty and Access in the afternoon. My conversation II class starts on Thursday morning. I have condensed my schedule down to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays all day at CELI. That leaves Mondays and Fridays open for me to, maybe, work with the Casco kids and hopefully do some research on the indigenous groups of Panama. Vamos a ver. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your love and support. It really means a lot to know I have such a great, strong network willing to send me encouraging thoughts and positive vibes.
Un abrazo.
Cuídate.
Jack left on Friday after a little over 3 weeks with me. My dad left yesterday morning after 5 days together. Yesterday was the "mal día" (bad day). April was the best month that I've had here so far. I finally got in to a routine working with adult students in CELI and high school kids for Access; I made some cool new friends; I saw Shakira in concert; Jack came and we went on our first real vacation together and spent time just being normal; my dad came to see my Panamanian life firsthand; and then yesterday it's like I was startled awake from a great dream that I never wanted to end. I don't know how much of April's perfection was all of those fun adventures, being with the love of my life and sharing this journey with him, getting in to a routine or what but I finally felt great here. I was, maybe for the first time since this adventure started, 100% happy. And then yesterday hit me like a ton of bricks across the face. I feel guilty for feeling "off." I know this is a great opportunity and I know there are thousands of people who would trade places with me; but I guess we all have our off moments, right? Part of me can't believe I've already been here over 4 months. And, for the last couple days, part of me can't believe I still have 6 months to go. I will continue to make this the most positive experience I can. I will go to work and see tangible change happen in front of my eyes; I will start to learn more about the culture here (I might try to do some research on some of the many indigenous groups of Panama); I will do the next crazy thing with my new friends; I'll do all of that because that's who I am and that's what this experience is about. Sorry for the "moment," I think I'm trying to convince myself of all these things as I write them to you.
I realized after a vent session last night that, I apologize for sounding painfully selfish, this journey is mine and it is about me. Sure, I'm doing my best in the classroom and trying to have a positive effect on the people I meet here, but my students, my friends, my colleagues and this experience as a whole are having more of an impact on me than I could ever imagine having on them. After a little over 4 months here, I'm starting to be a confident teacher, I'm more assertive, I'm more outgoing, I'm getting better at being by myself and I'm trying to take advantage of new opportunities.
Now for the good stuff.
3 semanas con mi amor
I left you with a cliffhanger from my last post: our journey to El Valle. Some friends of mine invited us to tag along for a one-night stay in El Valle. I had heard a lot of great things about this area so we jumped at the chance. Jack and I hitched a ride with Alex, May Ling and Felicidad. Alex is one of the few people I've met here with a car; but alas, he moved back to England shortly after we returned from El Valle. Anyway, we drove about two hours west to the beautiful mountainous region of El Valle. The air was crisp and clean, there was almost no traffic and at night we could see every star in the sky. We stayed at La Casita, a camping hostel. They provided tents and breakfast for only $15/per person. We spent that Saturday afternoon exploring the area, hiking, and swimming in ice-cold natural pools. That night there was a music event at the hostel. People brought any instrument they knew how to play and just jammed. I think there was a scheduled list of events but when the power went out it turned in to an all-night jam session. Pretty sweet.
We woke up the next morning and couldn't find Alex anywhere. Knowing that we had to get back that day (as we left for Isla Grande the following morning) and that he was our ride, we went on a trek in to town to search for him. I spotted his car parked outside a restaurant and he happened to be crossing the street as we got closer. He told us he wanted to stay another night, so that left Jack, May Ling and I to fend for ourselves for a ride home. Jack and I decided on the bus because they're cheap, and frequent. We stood in line for almost an hour with about 150 others waiting to go back to the city and boarded the small bus made for about 30 people, but it's Panama so about 40 people got on. We were traveling back to the city on Easter Sunday so a 2-hour trip actually took over 3 hours with traffic. To make it even more exciting one of the passengers brought a stowaway bird...logically. We didn't realize this until about an hour into the ride when there was a loud screeching sound and feathers flapping; oh, duh, I always bring my pet macaw on the bus with me. Right.
The next morning Jack and I were picked up and driven 2 hours north toward the Caribbean. A small boat took us from just outside the town of Portobelo to Bananas Resort. It's a quaint, 35-room hotel. There are three rooms in peaked roof houses; two on the bottom, one on top. Jack and I had a room at the top of one of the houses complete with a hammock on the balcony. The highlights of our trip include: delicious food, 4 pm margaritas daily, pool time, beach time, a hike to the other side of the island, paella, Panamanian beer, me dominating Jack in ping pong (twice), friendly staff, time together, beautiful sunsets, sleeping in, more food and more time relaxing together. It was the perfect first vacation.
We came back to reality after five wonderful, sun-filled days to have a last supper for Alex. We met up with my friends at Beirut, a delicious Lebanese restaurant, went out for drinks and watched Alex and Jack play chess for over an hour (zzZZZzzz...). It was fun to be back with friends, though. The next day, Jack got to experience the canal and on Sunday we spent the afternoon at the causeway. Monday, May 2nd was Panama's Labor Day so we had a picnic in Parque Omar and just hung out together. Jack came to school with me Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday he helped in my conversation class and the other two days we worked with the Access students. When Jack asked some of the Access students if they liked me and thought I was a good teacher, one of them responded with, "She is very beautiful." Ha. I guess I'll take that.
We went to a networking event at a Mexican place with Laura (research fulbrighter) on cinco de mayo. I didn't do a ton of networking, mostly just saw my new friends (many of whom I met at the previous event), drank some celebratory margaritas, then had dinner with Jack. On Friday night my friend Josh and his girlfriend Isis invited us over to their place for a traditional Panamanian dinner; Isis made oven-cooked chicken, rice, a salad and everyone's favorite, plantains. I finally figured out what makes those taste so good, the recipe is so simple: plantains, tons of sugar, tons of butter and a little water. Yum. After a delicious meal, a couple bottles of wine, great conversation, and some sports-watching, Jack and I headed back to the apartment. We were bums the rest of the weekend. Monday we went to the Centro Municipal de Artesañias so Jack could get some souvenirs as it was his last day in the city.
My dad arrived on Tuesday. Jack and I met him at the airport where we were picked up by a driver for our hotel, the Intercontinential at Playa Bonita...I do NOT recommend it. Before we got to the hotel we stopped to pick up some beer and snacks so we wouldn't get gouged all the time at the hotel. When we arrived, supplies in hand, one of the supervisors, instead of greeting us and welcoming us to his hotel, firmly told us we would have to keep our recently purchased goods in storage for our stay there. From that point on we plotted on how to get our things out of storage. Unfortunately the rainy season decided to kick in full swing during our few days at this beach hotel so we were stuck hanging out in the room, reading and watching movies. To make matters worse, there were a number of businesses there for private conferences and they closed off 2 of the 3 restaurants for their dinner parties. Overall the service was pretty bad, the prices were insane, and of course the rain didn't help our spirits. We did, however, get our contraband items out of storage on the second day so that was a small victory.
We left the hotel Friday morning to take Jack to the airport. I was really sad to see him go because we had such a perfect few weeks together. Hopefully he'll be back again at the end of July/early August for another visit. Thanks for coming, mi amor; you made me feel happy and comfortable and just normal again. Now, please come back :)
2 días más con mi padre
After dropping Jack at the airport, my dad and I returned to the city where we checked him in to the hotel. This time, instead of telling him he couldn't bring in his gin, the bell hop offered to fill up the bucket of ice for him...much better start. We relaxed and had lunch at a restaurant nearby and then went to see the canal. It was another gloomy day, but wasn't nearly as rainy as the days before. Serendipitously, there was a ship registered in Hong Kong passing through the canal as we were on the observation deck. There was also a Panamax ship overflowing with containers holding who knows what. That night I showed my dad my apartment and then we had dinner with Christine and her friend.
The next day the sun proved it does exist in Panama! Finally blue skies and sun for an entire day. I took my dad to see Latina where he got to meet Luz (the director/facilitator of Access), Isabel (teacher friend), Luis (Christine's admin assistant) and Patricia (director of a private school and creator of a methodology being used by Christine for a project for 11-year-olds learning English on Saturdays). From there we went to Cerro Ancon to look at the beautiful views of the city, then to the causeway where we walked around and eventually had lunch. We went back to the hotel for a siesta and that night had a date in Casco. We went around happy hour so he could see the area while there was still some sunlight, had a drink, then had dinner at Mostaza. It was a perfect last evening together. Thanks for including me in your western hemisphere trip, Dad. I'm really glad you got to see some of this adventure of mine.
Oportunidad Nueva
Today I had a meeting with a woman in Casco Antiguo. She would like me to work with some at-risk high school students that go to school in Casco. Many of them are from the areas bordering Casco (very poor, dangerous, violent, run by gangs, etc.) but attend school at Iglesia de la Merced in Casco. One day a week, she would like me to give reinforcement of what the students are already working on in their English classes. I'm still debating whether or not to take this on, so your comments/feedback are, of course, welcome.
En fin
Tomorrow I will finally be back in to my routine at CELI. I'm going in early to help Christine with some things, conversation club with the U. Latina faculty and Access in the afternoon. My conversation II class starts on Thursday morning. I have condensed my schedule down to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays all day at CELI. That leaves Mondays and Fridays open for me to, maybe, work with the Casco kids and hopefully do some research on the indigenous groups of Panama. Vamos a ver. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your love and support. It really means a lot to know I have such a great, strong network willing to send me encouraging thoughts and positive vibes.
Un abrazo.
Cuídate.
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