So a couple of people have asked me for my thoughts on Panama. I´ve been hesitant to go into too much detail, because we´ve been given some strict rules on what we can and can´t post. In summary, the rules break down as follows:
1) Don´t post any negative opinions of the country or Peace Corps.
2) Don´t post anything controversial.
3) Don´t post any information that can be used to identify the specific location of a Peace Corps volunteer.
So that basically leaves 2 categories of posts:
1) Observational/Descriptive
2) Positive opinions
So now that you know all that, here are a few thoughts:
Panama is definitely a divided country with a huge income gap between urban and rural populations. As volunteers, we will be working with poorest people in the country. The people here have been very friendly and generous, our host training community has been especially welcoming. The country has amazing natural beauty and diversity, and a unique culture. While not as a culturally diverse as the US, Panama has latino, idigineous, african-antillean, and chinese populations that have mixed to create a very unique place. I´m looking forward to the next 2 years in this amazing country. Also, the US could learn a thing or two from Panamas public transportation system which provides cheap transportation to anywhere in the country.
Now for the question and answer period, what do you want to know?
5 comments:
Sho, uh, how did you end up in Panama? I assumed you were tranferred for work but it seems that you actually joined the Peace Corps? How did that happen?
- Alena
Josh,
We're headed to the Adirondacks tomorrow. I'm packing a sweater, as it looks like it will be between 55-70 or so. Far north of Panama, no?
I got your ol' television working. The picture is quite an improvement from ours. However, I'm surprised at how much heat it generates, which will be nice in the winter, but tricky in the summer months as we don't have air conditioning downstairs. We've got colder months ahead so it won't be an immediate issue. I figure you're far away from the electronic world and might enjoy this update on it.
Vaya con dios!
Dad
Yup, I joined the Peace Corps. I just felt like the right time, but the process was pretty quick.
What is Ngobe? And what are the pretty flowers/shrubby things in front of your house?
The Ngobe (or Ngabere) are the largest group of indigienous people in Panama.
As for the flowers, I'm not sure what they are, but any name I would have for them would be Panamanian. They are very pretty though.
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