Over the weekend, I successfully
grilled two chicken thighs with garlic, onion, broccoli, and green
pepper. I made grilled pizza, with a cobbled together pizza sauce
made of tomato sauce, Panamanian oregano that I'm growing and
barbeque sauce. I splurdged on a block of colby jack, and some
mozzarella sandwich slices. Oh, and sourdough crusts. Now, I won't
lie that there wasn't definite room for improvement, like putting
more coals on at the right time (whenever that is) so that there's
enough heat to cook the pizzas completely, but it was pretty
delicious!
Tonight's dinner featured more of the
grilled chicken mix, reheated with honey and Thai curry sauce, and
chunks of mango that one of my co-teachers gave me, and served over
tri-color penne. In case you haven't heard, curry + honey, at least
this variety of red curry, is AMAZING. And easily adaptable to
different levels of heat tolerance; just adjust the ratio.
So, obviously, Peace Corps continues to
be a rigorous challenge to body and mind. Mostly yours, as you fight
the urge to run to the airport to come visit me and have
non-Panamanian cuisine in the middle of rural Panama.
In other news, I am down to 8 months
left! 8, by the way, is my favorite number, ever since I was 8 years
old, in the middle of a very formative experience of my life, which
was the forever known (at least to me) as The '94 Trip. This trip
was a courageous venture was a road trip undertaken by my mom and
grandmother wherein my brother and I were introduced to the western ¾
of the United States, visiting a slew of relatives and friends and
people whom I unfortunately don't remember very well, as well as
stopping all sorts of canyons, national parks, landmarks, learning
all sorts of things, some accurate and some things, less so. We saw
prairie dogs. About 8. On this trip, my brother informed me that I
only said that 8 was my favorite number because I was 8 at the time.
I don't know if I was determined to prove him wrong, or if the
comment was immaterial, but 8 has remained my favorite number
consistently from that summer.
(Side note, as I'm writing this in my
doorway, I just looked up in this lovely 80ish degree evening, and
the sky is entirely a uniform slate blue with minimal cloud
definition except for a brilliant magenta streak in the middle of the
sky.)
On one hand, 8 months is still quite a
while, particularly when I think about how my longest international
experience prior to this one was 10 weeks, and that seemed like a
long time, and now I feel like I'm on the home stretch with nearly 3
times that remaining. On the other, generally more convincing hand,
it seems like an eyeblink, in comparison to the ~18 months I've
already had in country. And so, despite my efforts to stay in the
present, my thoughts turn to the future, BEYOND THE PEACE CORPS. I
suppose I'll have to find another organization/institution that can
be abbreviated to PC, since Principia College and Peace Corps served
me so well. Anybody know of another good one? ;-)
Seriously, though, as I look to the
future, I wonder what to do after this. Here in Panama, I declare
that I am not a school teacher. But, if a really good offer came
along, something with lesson plans, or guidance, or something, well,
I can't make a definite statement. However, I'm thinking I'd
probably like to spend some time in the US. So, if you have any
suggestions of organizations that make you think of me, or cities
where I should look, do let me know. As small as the world is
becoming, the US, and the future, are still crazy big. I only ask
for a swing scene in whatever city, but happily, that isn't a
terribly limiting factor! For jobs, something non-profit, preferably with an eye on the international scene would be nice ;-)
I'm not looking for an immediate job;
actually, I'm looking to start working again in a bit over a year
from now. First, I want to honor the memory of that fantastic '94
Trip with another cross-country exploration. Although there are some
people from that first trip whom I'd like to include, unfortunately
the limitations of this world prevent my seeing them, I have added
many wonderful people to my life in the past 19 years- 20 next
summer. Yeesh, seriously 20? Woohoo 20th anniversary
trip!
I am particularly in the past 8 (8!)
years, as I found friends who have been invaluable in my life since
our paths met. Some have continued with various intersections, some
have separated into different directions, but each one has
contributed positively to my life experience, and I am so grateful!
So, although it's a year away, give or
take a few months, I want to visit the various corners of the USA,
and invite you to invite me to visit you. Preferably with a couch or
floorspace where I can sleep.
P.S. In case you're wondering, yes, I
am still working in the schools. I'm working with 7th and
8th graders again through next week, and then I'll go back
to 8th and 9th graders for 3 weeks, before
returning to the Primaria, where (si Deos quiere), we'll start a
recycling program!
The Coclé volunteers are also
coordinating a series of travelling seminars with MEDUCA (Ministry of
Education) to take place in each district of Coclé, the first coming
up at the end of July. My Fridays are still devoted to the Primarita
Arriba, where I'm sure I'm learning much more than the kids are...but
they're learning too...I hope. And on Saturday, I'm holding a
meeting to plan future community classes. This meeting will
determine whether I will continue having free-form time, or will
become ridiculously busy running community classes for all of the
various needs in town. Exciting, no?
In the 3rd trimester, I'm going to take more time outside of school, try to get a book grant to share between my schools, work on recycling, ballroom dance classes, getting re-educated, continuing the MEDUCA seminars, and running a couple life-development seminars for the 9th graders (they're great pre-packaged seminars called Elige tu Vida, or Choose your Life, and cover goal setting, and personal and professional life choices).
