El Hombre de Mango

The wait is over, but unfortunately the wait will have to soon resume once again. I am writing this at the end of Pre-Service Training (PST) during which time I have access to Wi-Fi. I have just today (or yesterday I should say as it is past midnight) sworn in as a volunteer and will soon leave for site with my community guide. There is far too much that has occurred in the past several weeks to recount in this one blog post and limited hours. As such, I will do my best to recount the early days of PST that have occurred using the notes I've been taking my entire time here thus far. I've been lazy with the picture taking however, so expect to see more words instead.

June 12, 2019: I woke up at 4:00 am EDT. Still adjusting from Pacific time however, it felt much earlier. All the group leaders managed to execute the boarding procedure effectively and we were off to Panama a few hours later. The plane flew over and past Panama initially leading many of us to wonder if we accidentally got on a plane headed to elsewhere in South America, but the plane eventually made a 180-degree turn and headed for Panama City, during which time I got a first glimpse of the canal. Aside from the sudden altitude drop causing some hurt ears and a bloody nose, the flight went smoothly.

After clearing customs and being greeted by the staff, the WASH and SAS sectors split up and we proceeded to our respective training communities (located about an hour's drive away from Western Panama City) where we would live with host families. I found myself living with an older couple whose respective children were living elsewhere and hosting trainees of their own. My host mother, Maritza, was one of the cooks at a local "fonda" and so I found myself eating breakfast and lunch there almost every day. Her dinners at home were delicious without exception, and I was one of the few trainees that got vegetables on a regular basis. My favorite meals however were served on Sunday mornings, consisting of crema de maíz along with buttered bread and eggs. As for my host father, Saturnino was a concrete worker, plumber, and odd-job man who proudly owned a car he would do maintenance on every day. I never found myself having much interaction with him outside of dinner, however.


Me and My Host Family (August 1, 2019)

 

I spent my first afternoon in the patio next door where my host-grandmother ("Mama" Rita) lived, and would spend much of my time throughout PST sitting on the patio with her. On that first day, I found myself resting on a hammock, enjoying the thunder and the cool breeze it brought, and getting to know my new host family. I eventually noticed a mango tree and let my host family know that mangoes are my favorite fruit. This resulted in them granting me unlimited access to their mango tree as well as a lesson on how to use a long branch to knock some mangoes down. I ended up eating two mangoes, and brought a third to my next door neighbor and fellow trainee, Akshay, who was living with my host mother's twin sister named Miriam.

The following morning, I knocked myself down another mango to eat and spent that morning chatting with Mama Rita. I then proceeded with my first day by going to the fonda for breakfast where I met my eating partner, Nikki, who's host mother, Coritza (daughter of Maritza), also worked at the fonda. That day, we were slated to take a bus to the Peace Corps office located near Panama City. During this time, Akshay relayed to me that his host family had found it hilarious that I loved mangoes so much. That when they had seen me eating a mango this morning they took to calling me "el hombre de mango". The other volunteers too would call me "mango man" as they had heard the story and I would occassionally give out mangoes as gifts. Mango season, unfortunately, ended halfway through PST and the name gradually faded from memory. The family next door however, continued to amuse themselves by making fun of other aspects of my being.

View of the Panama Canal at night. Travel to and from the Peace Corps

Office required that we cross over the canal. (June 14, 2019)

One such time was after I recovered nance (Byrsonima crassifolia) for my host mom who then asked me if I wanted to drink some of the "chicha" (fruit drink) she made from it. I responded with "Claro, los recogí". My host mom passed this exchange along to Miriam who interpreted my response to be very sassy, finding it humorous.

Akshay's family also found amusing the pacing of my walk, that is, I walked too fast. They would say to Akshay "Claudio, el se corre por allí y luego se corre por allá..." (note: they mean corre in the sense of "scurry" here) taking a moment to imitate my style of walking around the kitchen. Thenceforth, his family would say "allí va Claudio" while running two fingers across the breakfast table literally almost every day while I walked by towards the fonda. The kids there eventually took to calling me "El gallo Claudio", much to my amusement.

While there remain many more stories I would like to write, I'll have to conclude with a brief summary of pre-service training (for now). We spent the first nine weeks in our training communities with the first few days dedicated to all-day office visits. Eventually, we settled into a routine of in-community Spanish and technical classes, with office visits approximately once a week. This routine would get broken up by key events such as the volunteer site visit and "tech week". Eventually, those of us assigned to indigenous (specifically, Ngäbe) sites were given Ngäbere classes in place of further Spanish classes. In these last few days, we have been placed in dormitories in preparation for our community guides, the swearing-in ceremony, and our departure. I can't say that I'm excited or nervous to begin my service, but I know that I am ready. As for this blog, I can't promise that it will be updated regularly nor can I promise that it'll be updated any time soon. Nevertheless, future posts will relay some adventures in Panama City, teach about the Ngäbe culture, and show some of the beauty Panama has to offer.