Be Like Che!

When I last left you all, I was in freakout mode. This week has alleviated much of the stress that I was feeling. La Mica´s ecological station is beautiful, the whole ¨no internet¨thing is okay for now, and it´s not more than a vertical 5-minute hike to the town that I´m doing my research in.

The first day in Panama City was very interesting. The night that the six of us (that flew out of MCI in KC) got into town was one of the final nights for Carnaval. We stood in line for about an hour before the police searched us and let us in. It was pretty awesome: there were people dancing on the street (many of them drunk), kids running around and a lot of loud, loud music. The next day was fairly uneventful; we met Julie, our main contact with La Mica, and after breakfast we hung out and waited to see our St. Louis friends at the airport. While hangin out, I decided to take a walk and was accosted by a prostitute named Ebony, who was upset that a) I didn´t have a lighter and b) that I didn´t have any money. No gracias, Ebony.

Right now my feelings for the trip are very much biased. I´m having a great time and I´m enjoying just about everything we´re doing, so it´s hard for me to really analyze what´s happening. There´s a pact for either controlled shaving or absolutely no shaving among some of the guys, and there´s an ongoing rumor of a "no bathing" contest as well. Half'jokingly, I´ve said that I´m going to have somebody put my hair into dreadlocks if my mop gets gross and long enough...so far, so good.

Anyway, thanks for reading and next week I´ll probably end up talking about our next destination: Kuna Yala.

Trimester 1: Report Cards

It's time to get to Panama, and I've never felt more unprepared in my life. It's mutually frightening and masochistically fun. The "well, we'll see" side of me harasses the part of me that needs to be prepared. I've come to the conclusions that I'll be coming up with questions on the plane (here's hoping somebody has a Spanish dictionary for me to reference), and that my frustrating uncertainty is something I have to live with, at this point.

Aside from the slight paranoia that (hopefully) we're all going through together, I'm looking forward to get out of snowy Missouri. I've graduated from the "prepare for the tropics in the tundra" trimester of the Panama program, and here's how I think my grade card should look:

History: Good. Talks a lot, and often comes off as pretentious...but cute.

Biology: Satisfactory. Answers in a "spray and pray" method, and breaks pestels, or mortars. Not sure which.

Advanced Preparation: Needs improvement. Habitually procrastinates before realizing something's due the next day. "When's the plane leaving? Oh, Monday. Oh, wait...tomorrow Monday? [Expletive deleted.]"

Team Sports: Good. Looking forward to being with the Panama group, happy at the lack of douchebaggery...and the excess of coolbaggery.

Sleep Management: Poor. Needs to improve, before waking up tomorrow for the plane. [Either brilliant segue or very cliche] Safe travels everybody, see you in Panama (unless you're Marc, in which case I really hope you're in Kansas City). Salame, US!

"Eyesight, Insight and Foresight"

Sundays, I've noticed, are the only days that the bitter grip of the Kirksville winter relaxes. Today's no different. Sure, there's some snow (with plenty to come) but other than that it's absolutely wonderful. My final week here is going to be filled with reading and biology write-ups, but doesn't have much in the way of stress...until I get home. Still plenty of things to buy and I'll need to wrap up some stuff with my independent study, and THEN I'll be ready for Panama.

My last week in the US...that's weird to think about, but it's a good weird.

Short-Form, Goats, and Vampires

I joined Tag Improv, the TSU comedy troupe, last semester and it is literally my favorite thing at Truman. As far as things at school go, it's gonna be the thing that I'll miss the most while I'm away in Panama. The last show that I got to take part in was for Alpha Phi Alpha's "Gold and Black Week." It was a really fun show, and was the first show for our two newest members. We stuck to short-form games ("Whose Line is it Anyway?" style), which was fun and wasn't something I'd done since high school. I pretended to be a guy in Cameroon with a goat fetish and the host of a party with Twilight's Edward, a rotting (talking) apple, and a midget. It was fun, but you probably had to be there to get the full awkard and humorous effect.

Shamans and Sha-womans

As the second week is wrapping up, I'm learning more about my fellow "Panamaistas," but almost as importantly, I'm learning about what I plan to do when I'm down there. My independent study started out as an idea more than anything.

'Okay,' I thought, 'I'll go down there and interview people. Then I'll, like, write about it and stuff. Easy.'

That was my thinking until I realized Sunday that in order for me to complete a project, I had to design it first. Going into a foreign country, in which I have no experience, and where English is surely more difficult to find than Spanish or indigenous languages, without a plan...is not a good idea. So, I spent the majority of this week constructing a feasible plan, or at last an idea of a feasible plan. Here's what I've come up with:

Primarily through interviews, I will document the varied oral histories of the villages around El Cope and Omar Torrijos National Park. I'm going to see if, through these interviews, I can draw upon generalities that will tie these different and unique villages together. Right now, I'm feeling as though I'll find out that life was quite different before and after Torrijos crashed and disappeared into the forest (this is, of course, assuming that I can find plenty of villagers that experienced life pre-Torrijos).

The "icing on the cake" will be the interviews with the shaman. I want to understand the cultural and historical impact, and importance, of the local shaman. I plan to use this information as an example of the fading importance of shamanism in world cultures.

I feel fairly accomplished, so far, but there's still plenty that I need to do. Maybe I'll start working on my Biology homework. Or maybe I'll get some dinner. We'll see what the night has in store...but given my choices, it seems like it will be riveting.

Ice Breakers and Self-Awareness

Normally, I hate ice breakers. The "get to know each other" parts of classes are always my least favorite parts. That being said, it was nice to get to know the people that I'm going into another country...

Our self-awareness projects were interesting and a nice way for us to learn about one another (and ourselves). The presentations ranged from revealing to comical to a little bit "emo." Our group presentations helped me to get to know my fellow History majors, and now I'm even more excited to go to Panama, given that I know more than one other person.

My Independent Study project looks like it will consist of a series of interviews with the indigenous population in order to compile information about the cultural history of the regional groups we'll be in contact with. I've begun my preliminary research, and I'm realizing that I've still got quite a bit to do. This will be a pretty busy week!