Every Sunday after church for the Catholics the party starts in San Andres, some men get started right away and head to the cantina to drink their lunches while their wives head home with the children. But the majority of people head to the stadium to watch the league soccer games. San Andres has an all start team, currently in 3rd place in the local league. This past Sunday we played against our neighbors San Francisco and tied, holding our 3rd place ranking.
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| Hello Mama! |
Everyone comes out to watch and celebrate, people bring food to sell, there is a bar, and people even bring their pets. One family brought a mama pig and its 12 piglets to enjoy the festivities. The most popular thing to eat at these events is the local delicacy Sao (pickled pigs feet). But they sell all kinds of other Panamanian fried treats as well. I'll stick to my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, thank you!
The diet here is very strange. With such an abundance of water the people sure don't drink much of it. When inquiring about this I found out that they worry that if they drink to much water they will pee too much. Mmmmmm, fear of urine, okay..... They prefer a sugary concoction called Chicha, soda, juice or beer :)
Also, kids don't like PB & J's, I find that very strange; and also that they would prefer to fry their banana instead of eat it raw.
I live in a fishbowl here, everyone is watching my every move, and so when I went about snacking on raw green beans and celery sticks people went into a comical frenzy thinking it was so strange that I ate vegetables raw, like a rabbit. I hope to start giving “charlas” (mini seminars) to the community on nutrition. Other than the diet the people here are quite healthy, hard workers, very beautiful and intelligent. I have a lot to learn from them, and I look forward especially to learning about farming and agriculture here as well as experimenting with my own garden.
Next week I will be teaching 10 1 hour classes per week, incorporating environmental education and conservation into art classes and PE classes. I am really looking forward to jumping feet first into working in the school (kindergarten to 6th grade).
Life is good, I am feeling healthy and happy! As always, miss you all and glad to see nearly 300 people read this blog. I truly feel loved!
"There are three ways of trying to win the young. Ther is persuasion, there is cumpulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at them, that is a hook without a worm;you can say "you must volunteer," and that is of the devil; and you can tell them, "you are needed," that appeal hardly ever fails".
-Kurt Hahn (founder of Outward Bound)
Top Ten ways that you know you're in Panama:
10. the little girl sitting next to you in the chiva has a pollito in a shoebox and no one gives it a second glance
9. you think that $3.00 is expensive for a box of cereal
8. you've learned to ...like cold showers
... 7. you swim in your clothes
6. you start to like fried hot dogs
5. you alternate between constipation and diarrhea
4. you ask for more rice at mealtime
3. you buy bedazzled jeans
2. you think that 22 people in a pickup truck is no big deal
1. you don't open the freezer after ironing (Panama has a rare disease that only exists here, it is called Pasma, people believe that when mixing hot and cold causes everything from stroke to paralysis to so much more - whoever invented this and sells the pills at the store is making a fortune. Don´t worry doctors don´t believe in it either, but if you ask any local or try to disbute it your in trouble)!
10. the little girl sitting next to you in the chiva has a pollito in a shoebox and no one gives it a second glance
9. you think that $3.00 is expensive for a box of cereal
8. you've learned to ...like cold showers
... 7. you swim in your clothes
6. you start to like fried hot dogs
5. you alternate between constipation and diarrhea
4. you ask for more rice at mealtime
3. you buy bedazzled jeans
2. you think that 22 people in a pickup truck is no big deal
1. you don't open the freezer after ironing (Panama has a rare disease that only exists here, it is called Pasma, people believe that when mixing hot and cold causes everything from stroke to paralysis to so much more - whoever invented this and sells the pills at the store is making a fortune. Don´t worry doctors don´t believe in it either, but if you ask any local or try to disbute it your in trouble)!
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