Why I Like Train Travel (also applies to the Alaska-Washington Ferry)

I love train travel.  I get to sit back, relax, stretch out, watch movies, read, think, all while watching the gorgeous scenery that is the United States pass by.  I can talk with the train attendants, who on my Seattle-Chicago leg of travel were 2 lovely individuals who were just starting their Amtrak careers- one having 4 months' experience, and the other on her very first training ride, other passengers, who come from all sorts of different walks of life, or work on projects.

I love the diversity of people I've met on the train.  There is such an evident mix of races, genders, ages, professions, avocations, social and financial statuses.  [On a note, I've only traveled in coach, not in the sleeping cars, which are more expensive and more private, so I don't know how much of what I'm saying applies to those passengers.]  On my trips last summer and this, I talked in Spanish with a Guatemalan mother and her 2 sons in the diner car, discussed race with an interesting young woman en route to DC, made friends with a itinerant drummer, listened to one guy's stories about traveling around the parts of central Asia which have enraptured my mind for years, and met a fellow who had his possessions in a Peruvian basket and was using a fountain pen to write the most visually beautiful longhand letters I've seen.

Train travel is as communal or solitary as you want it, given the range from lounge car to sleeper.  In coach, with my sleeping bag, computer, and headphones, I could be practically alone (granted, it helps that for the most part, the seat beside me was empty).  Train travel is leisurely, flexible, and essentially communal.  For a touch of class and schedule (because there isn't much to mark the passage of time), there is the option of the dining car, where for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the attendants do their best to fill all 4 seats at each table, often bringing complete strangers together for half an hour of conversation.  It can be relaxing, in that once I'm on the train, I know that it will arrive when it will arrive regardless of my actions or wishes.  Unfortunately, due to the current state of trains and rails in this country, arriving 2 hours late is fairly reasonable, but if such delays are anticipated, they don't have to add stress.*

As much as I enjoy it, I acknowledge that Amtrak has plenty of room for improvement.  Because freight brings in the money, the freight lines own the rails and have priority over passenger rail, we have to wait for them to pass.  However, many other delays are from maintenance issues.  I've been on 2 trains on which an engine needed to be replaced, and had multiple delayed departures due to maintenance work, so maybe they could have an extra engine at main stations, and do more for their working fleet (or whatever the railroad terminology for engine collection would be)?
But, to legitimize the expenditure, people need to use the passenger service, so get on the rails, and be sure to schedule in some extra time on the end!

Getting people to use the passenger service, which I will reiterate, I consider fabulous, nearly requires a cultural shift.

Right now, the United States is all about efficiency, independence, autonomy, and privacy.  I see it in Keurig coffee makers, empty carpool lanes next to 3 lanes of stopped traffic, closed doors house doors, selfies, and headphones.  We cling to our choices and laud self-reliance, while immersing ourselves in virtual worlds populated by people who think the same ways we do, mindlessly led by charismatic leaders.  It's easier that way, but results in a divided society which considers the only acceptable "compromise" to be a complete victory.

If we talk to each other, especially those who have different ideas, we can learn about our country, and what actually makes it work.  We can develop empathy and form bonds between the myriad races, ethnicities, religions (or lack), genders, sexualities, wealth levels...all of the things which contribute to our identities.

Traveling on the train is a prime place to exercise that skill of being human- communication! (As well as, you know, taking time to enjoy life, disconnecting from our frenetic lives, sitting back, and reuniting with ourselves apart from our activities.

By communicating, we can build a common community, based on communal values which will bring actual unity to prominence, overcoming our divisions.

*Yes, there are inconvenient delays, and I spoke briefly with some passengers who refused to be anything but frustrated and angry because of them, but that happens with every other form of travel, be it foot, bicycle, car, bus, train, plane, ferry, balloon.  I arrived in Chicago over 23 hours late on my last trip- but I've been stuck in the wrong city for days waiting for a plane in winter!

Not about travelling. Frustration and train of thought.

I'm sick of it.  I'm sick and tired of hearing about people dying.  I'm sick of people who are supposed to be protectors fearing their wards.  I'm sick of individuals, who in the end, act for themselves, killing other individuals.  I'm tired of people taking verbal and physical attacks on other people, or even on groups, as personal.  I'm tired of people attacking individuals as a means to attack a group.

I'm tired of people being out for their own gain, no matter the expense.  I'm tired of thoughtless consumerism, and enabled greed.  I'm really tired of people being terrified of otherness, of anything that doesn't fit into their thought-models.  I'm tired of racism, tired of homophobia, transphobia.  I'm tired of double standards.  I'm tired of people caring about other people's labels, but not the people themselves.  I'm tired of people calling the police on their neighbors because their kids are walking down the street, or having a pool party.  I definitely don't want to hear about how people "can't even" or "have no words" and whatnot about coffee drinks and fashion etc, phrases which are bandied around so freely that it seems the users are discouragingly uneducated and can't come up with suitable expressions, and it makes those sentiments less meaningful when an event is actually that impactful.

I'm tired of people closing themselves off in carefully constructed worlds of internet fora and netflix.  I'm tired to death of people blaming him, her, them, anybody but themselves.  I'm tired of old, horrible, injustices being used as justification for modern crimes.  I'm tired of one-up-man-ship, and the need to win to beat somebody.  There isn't a group on the earth who didn't abuse their power when they had it, and precious few if any, that never drew the short stick.

Can we talk to our neighbors?  Can we walk around our world, and engage with our fellow inhabitants, and not just the ones who are the same?  (We might find that many more are the same than we think.)  Can we empathize with someone else's pain, someone else's history, someone else's joy?  Can we step up to the challenge that is a divided world, and take hands?  Can we see through our pain, through our hurt, and see that we aren't the only ones?

Who will be the bigger man?  Who will be brave in the face of adversity?  Who will put themself aside, for the greater good?

There are thousands of people who do just that.  There are wonderful people in every community.  There are wonderful kids and adults, there are wonderful police officers, there are mothers and fathers who teach their children to listen.  There are so many people who genuinely want to understand, to reach out, and to connect.  We can help them, and in doing so, help ourselves.

We all benefit from saving the world.  Why not work together on it?

Song list:
What a Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong
Stand by me - Ben King
Put a little love in your heart - Jackie DeShannon
You've got to be carefully taught - Rodgers and Hammerstein (South Pacific)
Lean on me - Bill Withers
One Love - Bob Marley
Where is the love - Black Eyed Peas
Let there be peace on earth - Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller
You'll never walk alone - Rodgers and Hammerstein (Carousel)
He's got the whole world in his hands- traditional
We shall overcome - ?

Tangents that I almost veered into, because there is always more to say and more ways to expand, and ALL PARTIES have room for improvement:
Responses to more specific incidents and topics
USA's leadership and hypocrisy
Rights to culture/cultural appropriation
The purpose and place of police
Domestic intercultural relations
Sexism/racism/bigotry (subset, double standards and assumptions)
Gun control
What can we do?

AA - After Alaska (my apologies- lots of words, but is up to date!)

Soon, I'll start writing blog posts about things other than places and straight forward experiences.  You know, thoughts and ideas and the like.  But now, a chronicle of what happened after I finished my few months in Alaska!

I'll try to keep it relatively concise.  Illustrations available in the form of assorted photos on facebook.

On my flight from Fairbanks to Juneau (via Anchorage), I sat next you an Aussie on a wander, who in the course of more general conversation, told me about the hostel where she was staying that night.  This proved highly serendipitous, as the ferry departure was pushed from 2 AM which would have meant spending some hours at the port waiting, to 9 AM, which meant that I managed to find and secure a place at the hostel of lore.  I ended up taking a walk around town with this erstwhile friend, who was staying a bit longer in Juneau before continuing on her way.
The next morning, some other ferry riders in a similar situation to me gave me a lift to the port, where after a bit of waiting, we boarded.  I highly recommend the Inside Passage ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), either in a cabin or in lounge chairs in the solarium, but will include a caveat: unlike airplanes, where there are 5000 announcements regarding boarding and whatnot, you'd better be paying attention on the ferry and in the docks, because they aren't particularly concerned over whether or not a particular passenger is on board.  They keep to a schedule, which they announce, but there's nowhere near the degree of handholding that happens in the airport.
The Inside Passage is GORGEOUS, and varies just enough that 3 days just starts to get old.  On my boat, the Columbia, there were 2 enclosed viewing decks, a movie theatre with the same 4 movies every day, a deli/cafe place, and a restaurant.  Also showers and laundry facilities for the solarium guests, without their own in-cabin bathrooms.  It's a place to hang out and chat with fellow passengers (nothing else to do!), which led to a couple music circle nights, card games, and conversations, including some with a recent college grad named Aaron (not sure how he spelled it, actually), and his friend/mentor, who'd just been on a kayaking adventure in SE Alaska, and who gave me a ride from Bellingham to Seattle!
In Seattle, I made arrangements for my forthcoming rail tickets, secured a few legs, and connected with Jenn, a friend from college, who graciously hosted me for the several days I had in town.  We went swing dancing, had indian food, where I spoke with the waitress in Spanish, wandered around Pike Place Market and Seattle Center where we were surprised by the revelries of Seattle Pride!  I had a couple week days where I was on my own for a few hours, but aprovechar'd the time (that means 'took advantage of') by visiting the Space Needle, Childrens' Science Museum, EMP Museum (my favorite- pop culture, movie costumes and props, music stuff), a tour of the harbor, some fabulous views of Mt Ranier, aquarium, and a pass by the famous Seattle Library!  I also got to catch up with a handful of other college friends who live/d there :-)
Once I left Seattle, about 24 hours saw me in Sacramento, where David (more Prin! there was a lot of Prin reunioning in this part of the trip) picked me up from the train station. I got to have dinner with Miranda, a friend from Peace Corps, and saw Ivy and Andrew for a couple days, which involved more swing dancing, because more swing dancing is happy. On my last full day in Sac, David and I went white water rafting for my first time, on the American River, with an entertaining - and capable- guide, and a group of 4 women who ranged from yearly rafters, to one other 1st timer. It was great fun!
From Sac, I went to San Francisco for a couple days, where I stayed with a cousin, Betty, and her husband, when I wasn't wandering around the city essentially at random. I've got to say, San Francisco was my favorite city of those I visited, in terms of itself.
I flew from SF to San Diego for several days with my grandmother, and went to the beach, ran on the beach of my own volition, wandered in Old Town, and she and I went to some music venues, and it was a generally lovely time! We also went sailing with another couple of friends, and Skip, our enthusiastic captain.
From there, I boarded a train to LA, where after a brief reunion with Joe (yes, more Prin), I set out on the Southwest Chief, scheduled for a 2 day trip from LA to Chicago, whence I'd end up in Cincinnati as a surprise for my mom's birthday. That part ended up happening, as well as it could, but on the way, the train broke and we had a 4 hour delay in Raton, NM - oh, Raton!- which ended up with the train running 9 hours late. However, there were some fabulous people on board, and there was an impromptu drum/music circle in Raton, so it had some good stories. In a side note, just because, there was also a drug bust in my train car, but didn't lead to any increase in the delays, so that's OK! Instead of going to Chicago to transfer, those who were to make my connection were put on a bus in Galesburg to pick up the train in Indianapolis, no, Cincinnati, no, Indy...but I ended up in Cincinnati a mere 45 minutes after the train was scheduled to be there...after giving the driver instructions on how to get to the terminal. Yay!
A week and a half or so in Cincinnati held 2 birthdays, Korean food, kayaking, running, shopping, crafting, all sorts of fun stuff, and then I was off to College Station, TX, via Washington DC and New Orleans! More trains. They're rather limited by their tracks, but quite comfortable.
DC saw more Prin friends, with whom I stayed, catching up, and walks around the iconic spots. NOLA saw a Peace Corps friend, and her friend who put me up for the nearly 12 hours I was in that city- I really need to actually visit that place sometime! And about another day saw me in Texas, where on an hour layover in Houston, I ended up leaving early and meeting my friend Mollie, for a few days of moving her, her husband, and her dog, from an apartment to a very cute duplex! Then I flew back to Cincinnati for a Month And A Half!
Cincinnati held Cincy LX, a weekend of swing dancing til 5 AM on two nights, dancers from this eastern-part-of-the-Midwest, and hosting 3 fun dancers up from Tennessee! After recovering, I ran at least 5 days a week, caught up with Cincinnati friends, and started getting into job searching!
But then September came, and it was time to bus to Omaha via Chicago (6$ - go Megabus!) staying with a Prin friend in Chicago, for Cowtown Jamborama, a Lindy hop workshop weekend, and another week of hanging out and enjoying the company of Omaha friends. Then off to Colorado for my cousin Kelsey's wedding (perfect!) where I reconnected with the Little Dragon, my charge in Alaska, who Remembered Me! Then were several days of checking out Denver, to which I'm about ready to move, and driving through the mountains with my parents to Glenwood Springs, Delta, Ouray, Grand Mesa, Black Mesa, and more! We saw rain, fog/clouds, heat, cold, sun- every kind of weather, and completely unbeatable scenery.
Sated for the time being with topography, I went to Florida, where I am given to understand by my host and Prin friend Andrew (different Andrew from Sacramento) that there is none. We whooshed through all 4 parks over 2 days, with 2 visits to Epcot, went to a wetlands wildlife preserve, to the beach, and there was good times had by all.

And now, I'm back in Cincinnati, fairly permanently for the forseeable future, except for 1 little week-long trip to NYW next week, for a career conference ;-)

Non-chronological Alaska Wrap-up!

I arrived in Fairbanks 3.5 months ago tomorrow, on a cold, dark March 19, and saw a sheer green gauze scarf of Aurora Borealis. In the first few days, I met the Little Dragon who was to be my closest companion for the succeeding 3 months and went to an Ice Sculpture Park, and in the following weeks, hiked, skiied, walked, sang, danced, saw caribou, Dall sheep, orcas, moose, bears, eagles, and watched a few steps of the Little Dragon's development toward becoming a Real Person. I also had the opportunity to get to know my more grown up Alaskan relatives better than ever before, and meet some fantastic friends (mostly dancers)

When I arrived tLD was just starting to turn herself from stomach to back and the reverse. Over the course of 3 months, she worked through a number of phases in a similar pattern: accidentally discovering a new motion and getting startled by its occurrence to figuring out how to do it intentionally, and then doing it all the time. Rolling, scooching, crawling, climbing...any day she'll be walking! She progressed from occasional vowels to singing herself to sleep (she had great exercises for relaxing the vocal cords), to babbling at high volume all day long. Including saying “alligator” and “jacket” because she's just that smart! She actually said “ga ga goo goo” on more than one occasion, although she prefers “goo ga”. It was fascinating to see her realize or develop wants as opposed to needs, and preferences as we introduced her to different food options. Sweet potatoes- yes, peas- no. And she snorts.

One weekend, my aunt and I hiked in the White Mountains on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Most of our trail was firmly packed, unless we ventured to one side or another, where we would suddenly sink up to a knee. After about 5 miles, we were heading out to an overlook spot that went off to the side of the main trail. As a consequence of being off of the main trail, instead of sinking into the snow when we drifted, we sank into the snow on unpredictable steps. 5 steps on the surface, 1 sinks, 1 up, 2 down, and so on. We prevailed, and got a pretty good stair-stepper work out, and a fantastic view!! After some pictures and snacks, we made our way back to the packed trail, again never knowing if the next step would be on the snow surface or on the ground.

On another weekend, my aunt and I went cross country skiing. It was a beautiful day, and we warmed up quickly. A style of skiing that I'd not done before but is apparently popular there is skate-skiing. While I desperately attempted to skate-ski, my aunt zipped back and forth ahead of me, much like a puppy!

Also largely due to the influence of my aunt and cousin, I participated in my first 5K! 3 runs, 2 walks, and a 10K costumed walk/run. From not being a runner, I very nearly miss it when I don't go, and cut my 5K time from about 36 minutes to 30! In the 10K, our group was the monsters from the movie 'Monsters Vs Aliens', along with Galaxar, and I was The Missing Link, which was a pretty good look for me if I do say so myself ;-) We didn't win any prizes, but were recognized by a number of people in the 8-10 year old crowd, so we considered it a success! That was also the Midnight Sun Run on the summer solstice, which starts at 10 PM, and participants are named in the paper if they finish before midnight, which we did :-) After my first 5k, my aunt, uncle, and I went to Chena Hot Springs to soak and relax for a while.

What else...I got into a couple ballroom dance groups, and through them made some amazing new friends who sorely tempt me to move to Fairbanks more permanently, above the appeal of family. In April one of the main ballroom teachers encouraged me to participate in their annual dance contest, and out of 9 couples, my partner, who I'd met the night before, and I came in 4^th in the Swing contest, which was half WestCoast and half East coast. The biggest drawback I see to Fairbanks however, other than winter, is the nearly complete lack of lindy hop. There are about 3 lindy hoppers in residence that I know of, and 2 of them are follows, so I'd have to lead, and...it's still not the same. It was great fun taking classes in polka, Viennese waltz, East coast swing, and samba and in social dances, learning/reviewing rumba, foxtrot, American waltz, cha cha cha, salsa, west coast swing, hustle, and maybe a couple other styles.

Beyond Fairbanks – 

For my cousin's birthday, the family trooped down to Denali to hike and see what we could see. We picnicked at Horseshoe Trail and hiked to the top of Mt Healy on the first day, and wandered around the Savage River on the second day. The Little Dragon came along, of course, and she slept through nearly all of the hiking. We walked across a miniglacier, and saw 2 moose, a handful of Dall sheep, a caribou, a grizzly bear and her cub, possibly another grizzly, and maybe an eagle or two! The weekend after, my cousin-in-law and I went on a sightseeing cruise out of Valdez (after the original plan of going to a similar thing out of Whittier with the the rest of the family fell through). On the drive down we saw a few moose, a handful of caribou, a critter we're calling a bison – you can't prove it wasn't, it was near a sign about bison in the area! - a LOT of bald eagles, tundra swans, and a porcupine...and in town we found a black bear. From the boat, we saw sea otters, which are adorable!!!, sea lions, harbor seals, gulls, terns, pigeon guillemot (black and white birds with red feet). We visited a couple glaciers, and from the boat watched a big gorgeous one the name of which I'm forgetting calve into the bay. Beautiful ice bergs and smaller hunks of ice, the beautiful glacier blue. I'm using the word “beautiful” a lot, but if any area merits the term, it's there. On June 1 we drove back up to Fairbanks, and got to have the novelty of getting snowed on in June as we passed through the mountains.

On June 23, after these adventures and more, I took a flight to Juneau where I stayed for a day, made some temporary acquaintances, and embarked for 3 days on a ferry to Bellingham, WA. I got to see a bit of Sitka and Ketchikan, and saw Petersburg and Skagway from the deck, chatted with other passengers, and added orcas and porpoises to my list of seen sea animals! In a fortunate happenstance, I got a private tour of the Bridge, met the captain, and heard all about how the radars worked, how the boat works, different jets and propellers used to move it in various directions, and a fantastic view out over the bow.

From Bellingham to Seattle, I got a ride with some friends I'd made on the ferry, where the incomparable Jenn Odell picked me up and graciously hosted me for several days, showing me around and making sure that I was entertained throughout my stay. I got to see much of Seattle (it was my first real visit there), and got a hefty taste of Seattle flavor when Jenn and I stumbled upon Seattle Pride as we headed into town on Sunday! It was also a delight to visit with other college friends who'd migrated up that way, namely on a dinner with Katie and Andy before they went off on vacation and Evan whom Jenn and I got to distract from his job! As I write this, I'm on the train to visit more such lovely people in Sacramento, CA! But while there are seat-side power outlets for everyone, there isn't internet except maybe in the sleeper cars, so I'll be posting after I arrive in Sacramento. In the meantime, check out pictures on facebook, and have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night!

Now, I'm finally posting this from the train, en route from Sacramento to San Francisco, because apparently some commuter lines have free wi-fi ;-)

Monthaversary of being an RPCV!

Hello all!
It's been a while, but I have one last update from Panama.
Since Tristan and Jennifer finished their whirlwind visit, I packed up my house, had a yardsale to sell or just give away many of my belongings, and moved back in with my host family from the beginning (though not training).
I had a few more community classes, printed pictures with my e-mail address to hand out to my favorite community members.

So far I haven't heard from anyone from town, but a couple of my co-teachers have been in touch :-).  As it turned out, I was hopping in and out of town finishing things, and working on reports and various worky things, but did have time to go to the rios with Ana and the rest of my host family, and at the end with their new houseguest, the recently arrived French teacher for the colegio.  Wonder of wonder- he actually spoke decently fluent French!  I mean, I don't speak French to know how correct it was, but he could put multiple complete sentences together, which is lightyears beyond the previous teacher  And as things stand, it even looks like he's permanent and won't be sent elsewhere at the end of the year!

My last big huzzah was a long anticipated trip to visit my friend Grayce in Bocas del Toro.  After talking about it for nearly a year, I finally made it out with a couple weeks to spare in country!

Bocas being far away, about as far as possible while staying in Panama, I took an overnight bus at 10PM, which landed me in David at 4 AM, right on time to get a 4:45 AM bus for the 3ish hour leg up to Almirante, where I switched to a water taxt to Bocas Town on Isla Colon.  Once there, I wandered around the town for a couple hours before settling at a hostel.  Ere long Grayce rolled in, and we did some errands before heading to her island of Bastamientos on her host dad's boat, as there isn't public service to her part of the island.

Bocas is BEAUTIFUL.  Grayce's site is one of the most undeveloped that I'd seen, with neither plumbing nor electricity, but had one of the best views.  She got her washwater from a nearby stream and community pluma (faucet), and lugged drinking water from the Bocas Town..  In a brief couple of days, I got well acquainted with her gatito (cat) Mickey, to whom sitting in a hammock was an invitation to cuddle, saw my first and thankfully only scorpion in Panama (very tiny, and quickly dispatched), and went on a tour of a cacao plantation.  We saw so very many crabs on the mangroves, a tiny red frog, and tried raw cacao, among other things.  It's kinda sweet nutty, and not chocolately at all.

View from Almirante at the water taxi to Bocas Town

Tropical Tree At Cacao Farm

Cacao Pods!

"Walking Palm" tree, which I believe moves on its leggy roots.

Early Panamanian rope- a vine that the indigenous people would pull down, strip the bark, and lash their houses etc.  If it wasn't needed immediately, it would store indefinitely in a stream!

Grayce and me in the wild portion of the cacao farm.  If cacao trees aren't maintained, they naturally grow too tall for harvest.

Purple Cacao Pods!

Our guide through the Cacao Farm.  The seeds are first put in the bottom segment of the shelving unit thingy, and move up through the drawers through the process, before being spread on a large drying platform to the right of the picture.

Manglare, or Mangrove

The view from Grayce's house- none to shabby!

Mickey!

And, on my way out, a dolphin came to see us. He surfaced a couple of times, but this was the only picture I managed. Very cool :-)

 It was a brief visit, but very entertaining, and well worth the many hours in the bus.  When I got back, I went to the finale of a PCV friend's week-long choral camp in which kids learned some American pop songs and performed them in front of friends and family- it was a great success, and at the time at least, generated a good deal of interest in an English youth chorus in her community!
My final week in the campo flew by with a final farewell trip to El Valle, final packing and weighing of my bags, last goodbyes, and some wrap-up errands around town.
Sunday the 23rd, I enlisted the help of a friend with a truck to drive me down to Anton with my bags, and off I went to the City, for a week of meetings, appointments, errands, and a little bit of touristing, when my PCV friend Ally and I stole off to Panama Viejo for an afternoon, which is the centuries-old original capital which Henry Morgan razed many long years ago, leaving it in ruins which more or less remain to this day.  Being in a place that was literally destroyed by a privateer/pirate puts a different spin on the romanticized idea that we have in the modern US.

And a final picture of Nate and Julie and a view to the Pacific as we went from Julie's site to El Valle
One Last Time.

Muchisimas gracias a la gente de Panamá y especialmente los de Santa Rita de Antón por 2 años incredibles. Nunca voy a olvidarles, ni mi tiempo de vivir con ustedes.

Tristan and Jennifer's Visit!! aka, the rest of December and the beginning of 2014

And so we continue. I don't know in what order you are reading my posts, but the previous entry covered the culmination of my cinematic career to date, which ended on December 19^th, 2013.

I went back to site for a whole weekend, a long weekend to boot, to relax, see the very involved nativities that nearly every household arrays on their porch, and visit with people, before going back to the city on Tuesday, December 24^th, aka, my birthday to fetch my Best Birthday Present Ever.

Right around noon, Tristan and Jennifer arrived for a visit of about 6 days! We stayed in the city and wandered Casco Viejo, ending with a celebratory birthday dinner at a nice restaurant before turning in early for the night. At about 5 AM on Christmas morning, our ride arrive to bring us to San Blas, where we spend the day and the following day reading and relaxing on the beach, snorkeling with fish and corals and fish and squid and sand dollars and sea stars. There were uncountable stars in the sky, and little phosphorescent critter-algae-stars in the Caribbean Sea. It was incredible, as anticipated, and T and I saw a waterspout stretching from the clouds to the water, very near another of the islands.

On Thursday, after some logistical difficulties because Panama, we made it all the way back to my house where I introduced T&J to my familia panameña, and we walked around town to see the sights, plants, leaves, and decided to head to El Valle on the following day.

Bright and early on Friday, we bussed with all of our luggage around and up to El Valle where we stayed at a hostel at the Orchid House with my PCV friends Julie and Nate. We saw the true freak-of-nature square trees, La India's profile, the mercado, and visited the thermal hot springs and got volcanic mud facial masks. In the evening we went out for pizza with PCV friends, and spent the evening playing games and generally chilling.

Saturday saw us back to the City, where after depositing our belongings, we went out to visit the Canal at Miraflores, where we went through the museum and watched a huge cargo ship moving through a set of gates.

That evening, we had a final meal of Indian food, and on Monday morning, we went to the airport where I very reluctantly left T&J to take their flight back to the Frozen North.

I went to spend the night at my friend Catherine's house before going back to the city Just Once More, to ring in the New Year with a whole bundle of PCVS in a hotel in the center of town. We watched the Times Square Ball Drop, and then ran between our set of hotel rooms watching about 20 different fireworks displays in different parts of the city.

2014 began with a bang, and the first couple weeks saw me packing up and moving out of my house in preparation to leave service at the end of February, and as I write this, I've been living with my host family for nearly 2 weeks, and have just over a month left in Panama!

December 2013 part 1!

December was a fun-filled, action-packed set of 31 days!

As I said in my previous post, the month started with a AIDS awareness flashmob, COS conference, and a brush with fame and fortune, all in the first week or so. As the month progressed, I had a spell of temporary insanity, which involved 2 more trips to The City to be in the movie.

On the anticipated Sunday mentioned in my last blogpost, I went with an Argentinean friend I'd met on that first occasion, and we sat and watched boxing matches, cheered and boo'ed silently and loudly, and did more of the same as we were moved hither and yon between the floor seats and the bleachers and this side and that side. While standing in line, we met with a friendly Spaniard who'd just moved to Panama the day before, and who heard about the movie by a casting guy visiting the hostel where he was staying.

Monday, I tore myself away from the glitz and glamor to try to be a responsible PCV and made the trek back to Santa Rita.

But not for long.

That night, I received a phone call from Castinglady asking me (aka, gringa) to come in on Tuesday to be in an airplane scene, which after about 20 minutes of soulsearching, I decided to do. However, a scant 5 minutes after I'd decided go, she called me back to rescind her offer, but said I could come in and do crowd scenes on Wednesday anyway.

Bright and early Wednesday morning I arrived at the meeting point, bussed to the filming location, and waited in lines for several hours to register, eat breakfast, be costumed, and get made up. (My jeans are movie star jeans!) I met the Spaniard from Sunday again over breakfast, and he pointed out 6 or 7 other participants from his hostel and talked about this and that until they started getting ready to film and the extras-director-guy put us in different sections.

After being moved here and there, sometimes by entire section, sometimes in smaller groups, I was picked in a selection of about 12 to be in the lobby of Madison Square Gardens! My role was to sit on a bench (with a side effect that my shoes showed, and so I was given a pair of fabulous purple platform heels) and talk to a fellow who turned out to be a German hostel-mate of the Spaniard, who spoke English and Spanish, so I didn't get a chance/the necessity to work of the courage to try unearthing mein Deutsch. But, I got to spend several hours talking to this fellow, because that's what the extra-director guy kept telling us to do. The actually exciting part was when Robert de Niro entered the scene, literally and figuratively :-D This scene was his entrance into the stadium, and as my friend and I had stationary orders near the door, he repeatedly walked within several feet of us, and on a couple takes, was standing in close proximity! Robert de Niro looked at me. Highlight!

After we finished that scene, we went back into the main arena and did more of the exciting cheering and booing etc, and this German and I took turns napping on each others shoulders, because it was that exciting...and about 10 PM, having started the day around 8 AM.

I went back for the final day of filming in this go-round on Thursday, and met yet another fellow from the same hostel as the Spaniard and the German, this one an older gentleman, possibly American, with a fantastic white goatee and mustache. We talked through scenes and movements, and although it didn't have the same excitement level as the previous day, it was entertaining enough, I got to wear my purple platforms again, met more interesting people, and I can officially and literally say, “Been there, got the t-shirt.”

and that's enough of that, so TBC with Tristan and Jennifer's visit!