Well, I’ve officially been in Panama for 15 and a
half months. When I think about that, I wonder to myself, “how did this happen?
The time has flown by!” But then I think about how many sweaty days or pouring
rain days I have tromped to school to teach and I realize, “oh wait ya now I
remember…it has been a long time!” My friend, Lindsey, recently introduced me
to a song called “Home” by Philip Philips (poor guy! His parents had a terrible
sense of humor!). If you’ve never heard this song, it a beautiful folky song
and the lyrics say “trouble it can always be found, if you get lost you can
always be found. Just know you’re not alone. I’m gonna make this house your
home.” I’ve been listening to it a lot in the past few months thinking about
what defines “home” for me. And the more I think about it, the more I realize
that although I’m in a foreign land surrounded by foreign people speaking a
foreign language, I am home. I have my parents here (not to replace the
irreplaceable Wendy and Carter of course!) but my neighbors, Rosa and Moyo,
care for me and treat me as if I was their own daughter. I am always at their
house, they call me their hija mia,
Moyo help me with everything from building a shower to putting up curtains, and
Rosa feeds me like crazy just like every good Latina mama does. Then there are
all my aunts and uncles. Every parents and teacher in the school who worries
about me, brings me gives of mangos and bananas, asks me for the thousandth
time why I walk so much and if it snows where I live in the States, and just
truly shows me love. And of course if you don’t know yet, Panama has changed
me. Since arriving, I now have over 200 children! Yes, every one of my students
is like a daughter or son to me. I worry about them, spend extra time helping
them with their English work, get upset with them, and laugh and act silly with
them. Overall, I definitely have my weird but wonderful family here.
I also feel at home because of the work I’m doing.
Although I still have days of thinking “what the !@#$%^ am I doing here?!” they
have gotten less frequent and I feel more at ease. I am teaching English Monday
through Thursday and since it’s year 2 in the school I feel a lot more
comfortable in the classroom and I love getting to do fun dynamic activities
with the students. My latest endeavor in the classroom is having my 6th
grade students write letters in “English” to my dad’s class in the States. When
I say English I use this term very loosely. Let me share a short excerpt from
one letter and I quote: “I like the snow to skate in she to find inspiration
for to ballet dance.” If anyone can figure out what this means please let me
know! J
But that has been super fun to see how excited the kids are to actually try to
apply their English to a context outside of tests and games in class. Outside
of school, on Fridays I teach an exercise class for the mothers and women in my
community as well as an English reading class for the first graders. Both of
these classes bring me great joy. I am teaching two things I love, exercise and
reading to a group of people who don’t do much of either. Another thing that is
difficult but I’m excited for the end result, is that I received a grant to
start an English/Spanish library at my school. I’m currently in the process of
getting these books from different NGOs in the States and man it’s a lot of
work, but it will be worth it in the end! The only book most students have in
their house is a Bible, so giving them access to fun picture books in English
and Spanish and helping them to read (I have some 6th graders that
still can’t read!) will make all the paperwork and logistics work worth it. The
last thing I’m doing is more of an Environmental project than English, but I
can’t wait to see it begin. We are starting a recycling project in my school!
Most of the trash in my town is burnt because there’s no trash collection
system, but about a half hour down the road is a recycling center where we can
take the recycled materials from my school, so I thought why not! I’m going to
teach lessons on what is recyclable and what is not, why recycling is
important, and how this system works. Hopefully the kids will get excited (I
mean whichever class wins gets a popcorn party which is a huge treat here!) and
all of us will have to suffer less toxic smoke from all the trash and recycling
that gets burnt. Something that I get great joy from in my own house is a fruit
dehydrator a friend, Chelsea, and I made. I am now drying mangos and apples all
the time! Guess this hot sun in Panama is good for something other than making
me sweat!
The last reason why I feel like Panama has changed
from “house” to “home” is because of my Peace Corps family. I feel so
incredibly blessed to have many wonderful close friendships with volunteers
here. I don’t know what I would do without them. I have laughed and cried and
had crazy experiences with them and I know that some of these friendships will
last a lifetime. Our latest adventure was going to the beach for our one year
in Panama party. This included lots of surfing and beaching, and of course as
every good party should have, a talent show in which a group of us
choreographed a dance and rapped the song “Look at me now.” This is a rap song
in which they talk super fast, and if I do say so myself, it was quite
impressive.
So I encourage each of you wherever you are to think
about what makes where you live not just a house but a home. Is it your job?
Your family? Your friends? Take time to think about this and be grateful for
all the incredible blessing around you. I know that I’ve sure been trying!
Love you and miss you all! I’d love to hear why you find
your house so home-y so please email me or post a comment here J
