A (Wo)Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama

I did some research about Panama before I came here, but I knew there would be a huge learning curve (though I had no idea quite how big that curve would be).

So, here are a few things I didn't know before I came here:

• How to take a bucket shower

One of the things I had to learn how to do during my first week in Panama was how to take a bucket shower.  They take some practice (and some courage to get that first bucket of cold water over your head), but are really environmentally friendly (you use much less water) and quick once you get the hang of it.  It can be hard to get conditioner out of your hair though.

• The US invaded Panama in December 1989 (Operation Just Cause)

As an International Affairs and Latin American Studies major in college, I'd read a lot about various interventionist activities that the US has been involved in, but I didn't know about the 1989 US invasion of Panama.  

The invasion came as a result of a dispute over election results and a perceived threat to US interests and personnel in the Canal Zone.  During the invasion Manuel Noriega, who had governed Panama as an authoritarian dictator since he came to power in 1983, was removed from power.  The casualty numbers and description of the extent of structural damage change depending on who you're getting your information from, but it had a lasting impact on Panama and on US foreign policy in the region.

The Peace Corps/Panama program was established in 1963, but Peace Corps actually left Panama between 1971 and 1990.

• The rest of the country is very different from Panama City

Being in Panama City (or Panama as it's referred to locally) is like being in the US.  It's what I imagine Miami might be like.  There are skyscrapers, high rise apartment buildings, fancy hotels, and giant video screens with advertisements like you'd find in Times Square.  The vast majority of the wealth that the Canal generates stays in Panama City, where about half the 3.5 million population of Panama lives.  

Outside of Panama City it's much different.  Most buildings are one story (or maybe two), sometimes the lights or the water go out (if you have running water and electricity, which most people do, except in the most rural areas), there are stray dogs in the street, and a general lower level of income.  

I'm struggling to describe it because when you see something so close and live in it you lose some perspective.  Everything here is true (to my current knowledge), if a bit scattered.  I'm going to get some perspective from friends and flesh this out more later.

• There's a break in the Pan American Highway called the "Darien Gap"

The road ends in a town called Yavisa in the easternmost province of Darien.  They haven't been able to continue the road through this area due to very dense rainforest, environmental concerns related to rainforest preservation, and opposition from local indigenous groups, so the road picks up again about 100 miles later in northern Colombia and continuing on to the southern tip of Chile where it ends.

My friends who live in Darien tell me that some tourists don't know that the road ends and refuse to believe border police officers when they try to explain that you can't drive all the way through (I think you can take a boat to Colombia from Panama City), so they end up driving all the way to Yavisa before having to 

• The difference between corn and flour tortillas (or how to make them)

I didn't know there was a difference between corn and flour tortillas beyond one being yellow and the other being white.  In Panama corn tortillas are a common breakfast food.  They're little hockey puck-ish disks of corn flour dough that are fried.  They can be either white or yellow, depending on the kind of corn flour you use.  Volunteers tend to like to eat them with hot sauce.  My host sister in site runs the kiosko at school, so I'd help her make tortillas at night to sell at school in the morning.  They also sell frozen ones in the supermarkets that are thicker than the homemade ones and come in bags like the frozen bagels that you can buy in the US supermarkets.

• You can get almost anywhere on a bus in Panama.

Buses are really easy and cheap to navigate in Panama.  You can really get almost anywhere on a bus, and the places you can't get to you have to take a boat or hike.  I didn't anticipate travel to be so easy.  It's also possible that I'd changed.  During training we had to move around alot, so I got really proficient at packing my backpack and better at traveling in general.  

• You should always ask more than one person for directions when you're walking somewhere

In the land of nameless streets (ok, some streets have names, but really only in the cities, and even then they're not marked most of the time) sometimes people will pretend to know what you're talking about and give you bad directions because they don't want to lose face by telling you they don't know.  So, just keep asking people on the street as you follow the first set of directions.  This also helps to counter the effects of pa' alla (over there) accompanied by a hand gesture, which is a common way of giving directions.  Time estimates will also always be lower than the reality and asking for anything like a number of city blocks will just make people look at you funny.  You'll get lost and frustrated and overheated, but you'll probably make it there eventually if you're persistent.

• Mirrors can be totally optional

Despite being very appearance focused here (it's a sign of respect and professionalism to look good), I haven't seen a ton of mirrors in people's homes.  During training my host family only had one mirror and it was in a dark-ish alcove next to their bedroom.  My first host family in site didn't have any mirrors in the house (that I saw), but my second host family in site had a mirror in the bathroom.  In my house right now I have one mirror in my bathroom that's too high for me and a compact that I use sometimes.  Most days I don't see my face.  I've never spent much time in front of the mirror, but not having one Initially it bothered me.  But now, I've gotten used to it and being in a well-lit bathroom with a mirror can be a treat.

• How important "always looking on the bright side of life" would become

Peace Corps is hard.  Everyone has their own battles specific to them and their service and not comparing yourself to others can be really hard to do (site/project jealousy is a real thing).  It's really important to celebrate the small victories (like catching the bus when you were cutting it close or having a student say hi to you in the street) because it makes getting through the bad days easier (when the water is out, and there's a giant spider, and your cat poops in the shower).  

Trying to practice active empathy and being able to laugh at how ridiculous life can help more than you may initially realize (and friends, friends are really important, especially when that bright side is hard to find).

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