Intro to Ladera

First Visits

It was almost two weeks before I would begin introducing myself to the people of Ladera. Bernardino had set it up such that I would have a different guide over the following three days to visit each of the households (I ended up visiting 18-20 of the 28 or so households). He himself couldn't serve as a guide as he was busy most days driving the minibus route between Cubo and Curva del Río. The first day I remember quite well what I ate for breakfast: a boiled egg and buchu (boiled bananas - tastes like potato), with some sweetened cacao drink to wash it down.

The first house I visited, just across the river, belonged to one Alfredo. It is customary, when having a visitor, to give them food or at least something to drink. Lo and behold I got a boiled egg and buchu. After an hour or so, we moved on to the next house - also received a boiled egg and buchu. After that I can't remember what I received, but it may well have been a boiled egg and buchu. However, it was during my visits in Ladera that I was introduced to Pinolillo, a drink composed of cornmeal and cacao.

Visiting so many houses at a time, and subsequently eating a lot of food, can mess with your digestive tract. I don't remember what my record was, it was either 7 or possibly 11, but that was not a comfortable day. After a close call, I relieved some serious pressure in the latrine and forewent dinner that night.

Neighborhoods of the Neighborhood

Though Ladera is technically just a neighborhood of the larger Curva del Río, the residents of Ladera have informally divided themselves into smaller neighborhoods, usually consisting of 1-3 households. Each of these neighborhoods are named, usually after countries, and known throughout the community. The neighborhoods of Ladera are: Antioquía, Colombia, Panamá, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, África, Tortuga, Valle Seco, Estados Unidos, and Alemania. Across the stream outside of Ladera, this same sort of name-game still occurs, with one man naming his domain La Unión Soviética.

History

After a few months living in the communities, I began a quest to learn the history of Ladera. One day, while I happened to be in Alemania, I stopped by to see José Montezuma. José was the oldest member of Ladera, estimated to be near 100 years old. However, he admitted that he was not the first to arrive. Instead, José Tera, grandfather of Bernardino, was the founder of Ladera. So I spoke with Carolina (Bernardino's mother) and Bernardino in an attempt to gather some information. Unfortunately they weren't able to recall much about those early days and said I would have to ask the man himself. He no longer lived in the community, but rather another community too far away. Bernardino provided me directions on how to find him, but Carolina warned me that José would recount the story in Ngäbere. In preparation, I created a set of questions and asked Juliana to help me translate them.

A couple of days later when my schedule permitted me, I travelled out to find José. He lived a 15 minute hike away from a community that was located between Curva del Río and Cubo. Along the way, I found a good samaritan who showed me the way to José's. He told me to watch out for the dogs, but when I approached the house, none were present. There was however a large flock of chickens.

I announced my presence and was greeted by Angelina, who has been taking care of her grandparents. I was told that José was tending to some ducks but that he should return soon. When José did come (along with the aforementioned dogs), I did my best to introduce myself in Ngäbere and explain the reason for my presence. While he did understand Spanish quite well, he preferred to speak in Ngäbere. Fortunately, Angelina was able to provide translation. After he settled onto a hammock, he began to reminisce.

Carlos Quintero and a brother of his had been hunting over a period of days in the wilds of the Bocas del Toro province. By chance they came upon a cacao farm inhabited by a Latino named Félix Smith and various laborers. They had inquired about the extent of his land, declaring that they would like to establish homes in the area. Félix apparently told them that he did not want to see a single Ngäbe near his lands, and that he would call the law on them should they try.

Undeterred, Carlos approached the governor in Changuinola to inquire about settlement rights. The governor assured him that he had nothing to fear from Félix, giving a green light for settlement. Carlos informed his family in Changuinola about the land, but ultimately decided not to settle there. Instead, his relative José Tera would be the first to go and work the land. Félix would abandon his land soon after as his cacao operation failed to make much in the way of profits.

José "Itili" came with his wife Isabel Salinas and their four children at the time. He recalled that Curva del Río had only consisted of three households at the time and that Chitä had already been settled in what was to become Lado Oeste. Others would later arrive and settle in Ladera, such as Chalí Vega, Mario Guerra (no relation), and José Montezuma.

José Tera recalled that the area was rich in wildlife, with an abundance of tigers, monkeys, turkeys, other game, and fish. In particular, he and Isabel liked eating monkey meat. Though the hunting of monkeys had the dual purpose of protecting the corn harvest, which the monkeys would eat. For Isabel's part, she said she enjoyed being able to weave kra (chácara) which she hadn't been able to do much of in Changuinola.

The land eventually became less productive, particularly when it came to growing rice. As his kids had grown older by that time, he divided the land between them and moved to land his father owned in a valley that is today flooded.

The soil in that river valley was extremely rich, he recounted. The dam was constructed using local labor of which José Tera and Isabel Salinas took part. People from even as far away as Lado Oeste travelled to take part in the construction as the company paid good money.

It would seem odd that José would lament the construction of the dam after having taken part. But he explained that he didn't know what a dam was or what it would do.

"Nunca habiamos visto uno." Angelina translated.

The company would periodically call meetings to inform the residents that once the dam was built, they would have to leave the land. But José and his family were incredulous. It seemed impossible that an area so large could become totally flooded. Perhaps, the company representatives were mistaken. At the very least, they never understood that their own property was at risk.

Part of constructing the dam consisted of clearing the land of trees. Isabel recalled how she felt when she laid witness to all the trees that had been felled.

"Ver todos esos árboles de lado, especialmente el cacao, fue como ver cadáveres." Angelina translated.

Isabel had been working as a cook for the laborers, and the elated mood of the workers on break juxtaposed with her sadness.

Though they did not believe it could happen, the water levels slowly began to rise. They found themselves evicted and eventually, the whole valley would become a lake.

They moved back to Ladera for a time, and then used part of their compensation from the dam company to buy the land they were occupying at the time of my visit. They'd prefer to live in Ladera, they said, if it the terrain wasn't so rough. However, Isabel would tell me that if running water were to arrive in Ladera, she would move back.

Kra

September 6, 2019

Antonio arrived to guide me to a community west of Curva del Río which I'll call Krabtä. His father worked was working on the road that was under construction out that way, and he and his mother alternated their time between Krabtä and Lado Oeste. Additionally, it was the community volunteer Shelby "Gely" had been assigned to.

After an hour hike or so, we arrived at Krabtä and to the home of Martín, Shelby's guide and host father. Martín is quite friendly, and a leader in the community. He often asks that we (volunteers) visit him every time we're in town. Shelby wasn't initially home, so Martín and I got acquainted with each other. The specifics of the conversation, I cannot remember. Meanwhile, Antonio sat impatiently.

Eventually, Shelby arrived and was accordingly surprised about my visit. She recounted that recently another volunteer had been to visit by chance as well. After a brief reunion, she took me on a mini-tour of the community and eventually into what I call the House of Kigä. In a small shack, there was an operation taking place where pita (kigä) plants [Aechmea magdalenae] were scraped away at to obtain the fibers beneath. The fibers would eventually go through a process to become string. The string would then be used to weave kra (chácara). I asked if I could participate, which they found funny. After all, this was women's work! But when they saw that I was serious, they humored me and sat me down at a station. They sat Shelby down at a station besides mine.  Before me lay a pita leaf and I was given a scraping tool made of wood with which to... scrape. I tried a few passes but the leaf was unfazed.

"Más presión!" I was advised.

After several more tries, I finally managed to scrape just a little bit. Slowly but surely the chlorophyll rubbed away and the stringy fiber was revealed underneath. Where I had pressed too lightly, Shelby had placed too much pressure on hers. The result was damaged fibers. There was thus a delicate balance between placing enough pressure to scrape the exterior but also softly enough to maintain the integrity of the fibers. Though I had moved painfully slow, they were pleased with how smooth the fibers remained. After scraping another or two, they thanked me for my visit and gifted me a kra.

Shelby completed the tour by the river. Out of the corner of my eye, lay a stream that drained into the river, but within the stream were some peculiar branches. As I focused upon them I realized I was, in fact, looking at a snake.

My First and Only Live Snake Sighting

I pointed the snake out to a kid who had just come back from an attempt at fishing. He grabbed a stone and tried to drop it on the snake. The snake quickly fled across the stream, onto the land, and disappeared into some grass. Fortunately, the snake did not match the descriptions of any venomous species we were told about. Nevertheless, the people take no chances and grant no mercy to any snakes.

Afterwards Shelby and I debriefed at her host family's home before I departed back to Lado Oeste with Antonio.

Kra-making in Lado Oeste

My host-mother, Juliana, is well-versed in kra making, being able to make kra of various patterns. In fact, much of what she learned came from those who live in Krabtä. While kra are traditionally made of pita plants, they can also be made from colored tape. This provides the benefit of creating kra of more vibrant colors, as well as offering unmatched durability. Natural kra, as an example, maintain their integrity for around 10 years and fray when wet (such as by rain). It was a plastic kra that Juliana gifted me for my day to day. Expertly crafted with various colors, and large enough to carry my liter bottle and more, I took it almost everywhere I went. However, some of the old guard turn their noses up at such plastic kra, and one woman in Curva del Río gave me three (3) kras because the sight of my tape kra repulsed her so.

Kra Juliana

Photo Credit: Michael Horner-Ibler

I asked Juliana if I could learn to make kra the way Shelby, who would become something of an expert herself, had. She politely declined, saying that making kra was not something men do. She then tapped on some wooden baskets, made of a wooden vine known as bejuco.

"Esto es que hacen los hombres" she told me.

Because as we all know, basket-weaving is the epitome of masculinity. Cutilio would take me out to harvest bejuco during the latter part of my service. While he did show me how to make a basket once, it was certainly not something I could say I learned.

From time to time, I would come across women making kra and express my interest, but they would just chuckle and shake their heads. I had considered petitioning for lessons in Krabtä, as they had seemed amenable to teaching me, but it ultimately became unnecessary when I finally found a teacher.

Beatríz had come from the South CNB. As such, she was something of an outsider and also someone who understood what it was like to be far from home and family. When I told her I was interested in making kra, but that nobody would teach me, she shook her head.

"Siempre quería enseñarles a mis hijos a hacer kra, pero nunca querían. Ahora aquí tu estás pidiendo para aprender pero nadie te enseñará."

She agreed to teach me, as soon as she got more string. Ultimately, my evacuation arrived before I could learn. The closest I got was to help prepare string for kra of the larger variety, which are usually used to transport items, such as a bushel of tubers. The string is prepped by grabbing various strands and rolling them along one's leg. Ultimately, it was something I wasn't physically very capable at, given that my legs were so hairy. The best I could do to at the time was roll the strings across the side of my knee where hair was scant.

There's only so much that can be done
on the side of a knee
Photo Credit: Remijio Montezuma

Though I ultimately never learned how to make kra, I was grateful that someone was willing to teach me.

Dreams and Superstitions

I am walking along a path up in the hills when suddenly I see a tiger before me. I slowly back up and look behind me and see another winding up the trail towards me. To my left above me, yet another one is prowling along, eyes set on me. I wake up.

Dream Interpretation

As I mentioned previously, dreams are thought to have real-world significance in Ngäbe culture. When I recounted my dream to Juliana, she grew worried.

"Esos son maleantes." She told me.

Just recently during that time in fact, there had been a killing. Apparently in one of the communities near the dam, a man was robbed by knifepoint on the streets. When he refused to hand over his belongings, he was mortally wounded.

Witnesses reported three culprits who supposedly fled into the hills and who were still at large. Rumors had it though that they lived in [Fake Name] Río del Sur, roughly a 40 minute hike from Lado Oeste.

I went into Cubo that day to buy groceries (i.e. I was carrying a good deal of money) and people feared for my safety. They asked me to postpone the food run but, given that I had other obligations planned over the next few days, it couldn't be done.

The day was uneventful, but I was told that the maleantes may have still had their eyes on me and that I was still in danger for at least the next day or two.

Dos Lobos y el Venado Matado

I'm walking through the snow in a winter forest. As I pass a particular tree, I see on my left a dead deer. Over its corpse are two wolves, one white and one black. The white one growls, and I wake up.

Juliana was unable to provide an explanation, and was content to see how the day played out. I had planned to visit a woman by the name of Luzmila in Curva del Río that day. Juliana suggested that perhaps she (and her mother) were the wolves I dreamed about, and that I was the deer :p.

When I had returned, I found Sean "Nidi" was present as he was delivering a note from Tristan "Itoli" about an intercommunity water meeting. Juliana came out with a plate of lunch and whispered to me "Allí es tu lobo". Sean had let it be known he had a twin brother, unaware of the superstitions surrounding twins, as explained later in this post. Because of this cultural meme, it could be assumed that Sean was a threat. However, since this followed one of Sean's bouts with intestinal parasites I would remark "Más como el venado matado."

But combining what is known about twins, in which often one was considered good and the other evil, it may be that the wolves represent this twin duality. The dead deer, of course, is there to identify Sean's spirit. Given that Sean was the one speaking to me that day and that it was the white wolf who growled, perhaps then he would be the good twin. Unless black is supposed to mean good and white bad in which case, it could still make sense. After all, Sean was labelled as a "Disney Villain" by the volunteer cohort during training.

The Woman and the Elephant

Juliana recounted that she had a dream where she saw Magdiel's wife pulling an elephant along with her by a string. She came to believe that the elephant was Magdiel, given his strong and hard-working nature. She had trouble interpreting its meaning, but her best guess was that it was a representation of how his wife just bosses him around and he just puts up with it.

Bad Omen of a Snake Bite

I had walked into the kitchen of Cutilio's and Juliana's kitchen one day to find Cutilio sitting in a corner, looking up pensively. I asked what was wrong.

"Tenía una sueña mala" he told me "de una mujer."

A bad omen indeed. Women are said to represent snakes. If one touches you in a dream, it is thought that your are at great risk of receiving a snake bite. Snakes, particularly the highly venomous Bothrops asper, are not uncommon in the region.

"No recuerdo tanto, pero solamente que ella me estaba mordiendo el brazo con mucha fuerza y no podía sacarlo." He seemed visibly fazed. As a result, he opted not to work the fields that day.

"Sick" Women

There is no word for "pregnant" in Ngäbere. Pregnancy is typically hidden and never discussed, at least not until after the baby is born. Instead, the closest inference someone may come to saying someone is pregnant is to say they are sick (bren). However, since it is well known that bren is a stand-in for pregnant, people instead started referring to symptoms of pregnancy such as ngoto käme (bad/injured feet).

It is believed that bad spirits surround a pregnant mother in an attempt to harm the fetus and so in the process they may cause collateral damage around the mother. As such, when someone is in a compromised state, such as recovering from a snake bite, pregnant women are discouraged from seeing the individual. Juliana once recounted that her uncle was recovering well from a snake-bite until a pregnant woman visited him. His condition deteriorated soon after and he died.

Another example was when an upstanding member of Ladera was bitten by a terciopelo. He did not return to his home to recover given that a member of his household was pregnant. He stayed with a neighbor instead. Add to that, he said one needs to be careful on trails since if a pregnant woman passes over them, it becomes "hot" for a certain period of time.

The Man With a Twin Brother In Río del Sur

Sean had let it be known that he had a twin brother, unaware of the superstitions surrounding twins. There is an old belief that twins have a sort of great spiritual power that makes them powerful healers, but the power can also be used for evil. There's also a belief that of two twins, one is usually good and the other is evil. If one is suspected to be evil they'll refuse it breast milk and give it animal milk instead, so that it doesn't grow strong. Nevertheless, when confronted with a twin, there's no easy way to tell if they're good or bad, so people stay cautious. Sean recalled telling a woman he had a twin brother when asked about his family. She told him she was afraid of twins and then walked away.

Cutilio explained it to me this way: "Vamos decir que Felipe es un gemelo. Y el me pide yuca o algo como asi. Y yo le digo no. Ahorra el va ser enojado y por pensamiente nada mas, él podría causar que me pasará algo mal."

Case in point, Sean said he pointed out to his host family how ugly he thought one of the chicks was because it was bald-headed. One day a raptor came down from the sky and carried the little chicken away.

"Por su culpa!" They told him. "Siempre decías lo feo que era!"

Nevertheless, he was still accepted by most people of the community. For one, people doubt that the power of twins applies to other "races". Add to that, the tradition of identifying and weakening "evil" twins has waned. It is presumed that these evil twins no longer exist due to the word of God.

"Gracias a dios" a twin in Ladera told me "que [mi y mi hermano] nunca tuvimos malos pensamientos."

But above all, they had little reason to suspect Sean was an evil twin. As one member of his community put it: "No estaría aquí apoyándonos si fuera un gemelo malo".

Farm to Table

The food I ate would surely make a foodie more than jealous. Usually farm fresh, from fields managed manually (no herbicides or pesticides), and with foraged elements included as well. While there are a fair share of items in the diet that were store bought: hojaldres (made with store-bought flour and vegetable oil), (most) rice, canned sardines, seasonings, sugar, etc..., most of the staples eaten were harvested.

The region is located in a reserve, but the regulations are ambiguous. Technically, all hunting, timbering, and agriculture are prohibited. But since people were living here since before the establishment of the reserve, certain compromises have been met. Trees can be felled for personal construction, the low-intensity agriculture currently practiced is tolerated, and hunting rules are not enforced. Adding to the ambiguity is the fact that dams in some reserves have been approved despite significantly altering their environment.

Map of Reserves in Northwest Panama.

Map Credit: Ministerio de Ambiente

Fruits

The staple is, of course, bananas. There are various types but I never got to learn the difference and names between them. What we would consider "normal" bananas (though I'm not sure if they're Cavendish-variety), are usually peeled green and then boiled. This is standard buchu. For some reason, mashing the bananas and rolling it into masa after cooking them makes it more palatable. While these bananas do ripen and can be eaten as we are used to, this is unpopular with the gente. It's easy to assume that they eat them green due to food realities, but the truth is they genuinely dislike eating the ripe yellow bananas. In terms of nutrition though, eating them green is the wise move as various proteins and nutrients break down into sugar during the ripening process.

However, there is a breed of bananas known as "manzanilla". These are smaller in size but very sweet. There's a vague taste similar to that of whip cream. This is the only exception where people will eat the banana ripe. Often it is used to make michilá, which is described later below.

A Bunch of Manzanilla

Plantains are available as well. These are the preferred fruits for frying into patacones as they are sweeter and larger.

Oranges and lemons: Available seasonally compared to bananas which are year-round. A good source of vitamin C, but not a common part of the standard diet. Oranges have their juices sucked dry (rather than just eaten), and the lemons are used to make chicha de limón.

Pineapple: Very rare, I've only seen a few plants around. With the exception of a community east of Ladera, most people don't bother with them.

Coffee: I've seen one or two coffee trees, likely because cacao is predominant in the region.

Coconut: Orange coconut is consumed for its water, often after a day of working with the machete in the field, which can provide some much needed hydration and electrolyte replenishment. I was gifted a sapling to plant near my rented house. When I asked how long it would be before the tree bore fruit, I was told five years >_>.

Orange Coconut, Ready to Drink

The brown coconut on the other hand is consumed for its meat. More accurately, it is used to create coconut oil, as well as to make Johnny Cakes.

What about mangoes? Well the trees grow here. Believe me, I identified them. However I was told that while the trees grow, the fruits don't. Woe is me.

Cacao: The cash crop of the region (if you don't include bananas). Each pod contains seeds arranged in a cob-like manner. Each of the seeds are surrounded by a fleshy fruit that gives off a floral smell and which has a starburst-like flavor. The seeds are what is processed to make chocolate.

Esteban Shows Off One of His Cacao Trees

Vegetables

Tubers are the dominant vegetables produced. Principal among them is yuca (cassava) which is grown year-round. Others are ñame (yam), ñampí rojo/blanco (red/white taro), and dachín/otoé (another type of taro).

Grains

In smaller quantities (relative to other crops) rice and corn are grown. The corn is used more as a delicacy, where fresh corn (maíz nuevo) is used to make "tortillas del campo". Lately, birds tend to get to the corn first. It is speculated that birds have run low on traditional food sources causing them to attack the crops as it had not been a problem previously, even as it was grown in greater abundance. A college student with family in Curva del Río studying Watershed & Agricultural Engineering had asked me to help with an experimental plot where he was planting corn. A couple of months later, he invited me back for harvest, giving me a good (and rather excessive) portion of the corn which I brought back for my host family.

Rice harvested from the fields is eaten as normal compared to store-bought rice, except it's supposed to taste a little better. However, it takes a lot of work to prepare the rice, and harvesting it is no picnic either. One day, I was invited up with the rest of the community of Lado Oeste to help harvest a plot of rice. The two methods of harvest consist of either pulling the rice off the sprig, or collecting the sprig rice and all. The former method takes longer, but the latter merely delays work. I opted for the former and during the course of the harvest the community thought I was pathetically slow, as they opt for the sprig-harvest method. They thought I was so slow in fact, that they secretly had me competing with one of the kids to see who would bring in the greater yield. At the end of the harvest, I presented my yield and everyone marveled at the sprig-less collection of rice. My harvest sack wasn't even half full, but given there were no sprigs taking up volume, I was declared the winner. It's hard to relish a victory against an 8-year old though.

Carrying Rice Back From the Finca

Each grain of rice is light, but they all add up. If you weren't deterred hauling 20 or so pounds of rice down the mountain via slippery trails, then the next steps still need getting done. First, since most people opt for the sprig-harvest method the sacks of rice need to be bludgeoned repeatedly to knock the rice off the sprigs. The loose rice, still encased in a shell, then has to be toasted to loosen said shell. Finally, the toasted rice needs to be taken to the pilar to be pilar'd. Basically, you put all the rice in a pillar-shaped container and repeatedly drive a small log into it to de-shell the rice. This takes time, muscle and blistered hands. Afterwards, the shell-bits need to be sifted out. Still not done. Last is a final check through the rice to remove any rice grains still encapsulated in a shell. After that, just cook the rice like normal. EZ.

The Fruit That Was

Pifá (peach palm) is a starchy fruit borne by one of the various coconut species (Bactris gasipaes). It was common and well enjoyed in the Bocas del Toro region until a few years ago. A fungal borne disease that came from Costa Rica started afflicting and killing the flowers of the pifá. As a result, the trees have borne no fruit and the once widely enjoyed chicha de pifá can no longer be crafted. However, the tree can be chopped down and the top harvested for the cogollo de pifá (heart of palm).

Foraged

Kalalu is a particular species of fern that grows wild in the hills. There are ferns that look similar, but they are bitter and inedible. There's another edible type of kalalu which grows by the river, though I've never set eyes on it. Mountain kalalu tastes and has the texture of asparagus. The river variety however is more like a spinach.

Culantro - Not quite wild, but it grows uncontrolled throughout the community clearing. They are harvested on an ad-hoc basis for cooking.

Naranjillo (Solanum quitoense) - A wild fruit that looks like a tomato. Two bushes just happened to grow by my rented house but I was evacuated just as the fruits were ready. The people of Lado Oeste apparently use the fruits to make a juice of sorts.

Products of Produce

Michilá - A chunky drink made of either manzanilla or plantains which may or may not have added sugars depending on the fruit used and the tastes of the creator. Sometimes it has coconut added to it for good measure. Often served hot. My site neighbor Sean once remarked that his first reaction was one of utter disgust. Had he "been in any other context" that would be his final opinion. But after having become accustomed to it, it became one of his favorite comforts. Especially during the rain when things get "cold", but you have this warm mushy drink. Mmm...

Pinolillo - A solution of cornmeal and cacao which is sweetened with sugar. Quite good with a pleasant aftertaste.

Johnny Cakes (pronounced "yäni ké") - A flatbread consisting of flour mixed with grated coconut meat. In Lado Oeste they are baked weekly, or bi-weekly, or maybe it was once a month? Can't remember. Regardless, Johnny Cakes are sold in order to raise money for the church. Regionally, Johnny Cakes are a popular means of fundraising and vendors in cities such as Changuinola can be found selling them (coconut not guaranteed).

Bernardino

Dam Activism

Bernardino's grandfather had established Ladera, though much of the details of its founding were fuzzy at the time. Bernardino himself lived in another valley before being displaced by the construction of a dam which became operational in 2011.

Rather than accept the loss, he became an activist seeking to secure reparations from the dam's company. As part of this he wrote an article in partnership with the International Accountability Project as a means to raise awareness of the issue. He was among the representatives selected to travel to Washington DC to negotiate with AES, an engineering company based in Virginia.

While they did secure increased compensation, there are still questions surrounding land rights around the backflow the lake created. Add to that, there are plans to build additional dams, many of which will displease and/or affect (largely) indigenous people. As a result, protests still occur frequently near the dam.

Bernardino has since moved to his family holdings in Ladera. A fraction of the money his family received in compensation was invested into a minibus van (Chiva) which he uses to drive the Cubo - Curva del Río route. If given the choice however, he would have preferred the dam never be built.

Trips to DC

Photo credit: Bernardino Morales

Bernardino has gone to DC on more than one occasion. During his visits, he took his time to see some of the sites, including the museums. At one point as well, we met with members of an indigenous tribe in the US (though he couldn't recall their tribal affiliation). Of course, DC is not quite representative of the rest of the US, so it was interesting to hear his thoughts about the people of the US:

"Todos allí son muy ricos. Las calles están muy limpias y todos visten en sus trajes. He estado en una de estas casas y tienen una cocina completamente amueblada y todo, pero no lo usan. Es solo por apariencia. En cambio, todos van a los restaurantes a comer."

 

Work Partner

As a work partner, he was always well organized and on top of his work. He paid close attention to the training lectures given by the Peace Corps office and made efforts to pass this on to members of his community. An example would be that the white volunteers do not like being referred to as "gringo", especially if one knows their names. Other things would be explaining the work of a Peace Corps volunteer and clearing up misconceptions, the major one being that we were not bringing any funding.

He was an active member of the water committee, though the committee itself rarely met. Though not the president, his word was respected by the committee and indeed, the community. Thanks to Bernardino, the water project was possible.

Bernardino et al.