Be Thankful

Panama is currently suffering from severe flooding, mostly in the Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui regions (including my area of the Comarca Ngobe-Bugle). It hasn’t stopped raining in 14 days. Our director made all volunteers in those areas consolidate to their regional capitals for safety reasons, but many bridges and roads had already been washed away, so some were stuck in their sites. About 20 volunteers are currently working with government and international agencies to help out with the relief effort. Those in communities that have been washed away are being trained in disaster response, as their work will now focus on rebuilding their communities. Cerro Iglesias should be fine because it is high on a mountain and not prone to flooding (unlike my house, which I’m afraid to see).

I am heading back to my site after being gone for 8 days, my longest stint away from Cerro Iglesias since I made it my home 5 months ago. My group reconnected for a required Peace Corps event called in service training. Many months have now passed since those intense first 10 weeks together. When we arrived in Panama we all had different backgrounds and experiences. Now, we share similar hilarious stories about explosive diarrhea, flesh-eating parasites and awkward host family moments. We also visited a few farms to learn more about tropical agriculture topics: Robusta coffee, permaculture techniques, how to vaccinate chickens, etc.

Due to the floods, our original plans to celebrate Thanksgiving in the beautiful mountains of Chiriqui were changed last minute to another touristy mountain town called El Valle del Anton on the other side of the country. It was amazingly well organized given the last minute arrangements and considering that many people were unable to attend due to the weather/response efforts . We had an American-style turkey dinner with all the delicious fixings.

The message I wanted to send home was that I am so thankful for all of my friends and family that are constantly reaching out to support me, no matter where they happen to be in the world. Especially in a time of disaster, like we are having here in Panama, it is important to be grateful for even the basic things like access to clean water and shelter. To my friends and family out there, I am forever grateful to you.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WFP/4072d4281e82e2c593234bc6aa248882.htm

(I met this enormous photogenic pig on a school farm last week)