Feliz Año

Feliz Año is how you wish someone a Happy New Year (Feliz Navidad = Merry Christmas), and we are really looking forward to a great one. This year of 2009 will be our only full year in the Peace Corps, supposing as I do that at the end of two years we´ll be dying to have our first baby and our work with the Ngobe will be so successful that they won´t need any more help from volunteers. Here are a few things we are looking forward to over the next dozen months.

We have moved into our own shack and are having fun outfitting it. Setting up a home on a Peace Corps budget is only slightly less taxing on the finances as it is back in the states. Although we lack the urge to have everything that makes our lives a little easier, it is still not cheap to buy a bunch of new stuff when you have very little income. We need to find a whole kitchen set including a stove and storage containers (strong enough that rats and cockroaches can´t chew through), build our own kitchen table and bed-table-thing, and pick up a load of new, dry food to get started. Luckily, I´m happy to buy some new tools, albeit the cheapest on the rack.

Lisa has been very easy-going about going without, I think because she is so excited about having complete control over our food and meal times. She is happily planning on cooking with only one pot, one frying pan, and one burner. We have not been able to find a gas stove with an addition oven built in, but that hasn´t dampened her mood one bit. So far, we´ve had two dinners in our house, and both involved macaroni and cheese. Somehow, we forgot the white rice!

Even without express permission, it looks like we might be able to build our own house, if we are so inclined. It also appears that the prices might be low enough for us to afford the raw materials. While we only have a few months left of summer in which to complete the building, one doesn´t need as solid a structure in the topics as we would back in the temperate zone.

The Ngobes in our immediate area really seem to be taking a liking to us, and us to them. We are finding friends in all the surrounding communities, and so far we´ve managed not to disappoint them. Of course, our work is just getting started and we´ve hardly had a chance to demonstrate all of our skills and determination, but it all still looks promising. Each day, our calendar is filling up more and more. Its getting to the point now that people are realizing they can´t just pick a day on their own before talking to us because it´s not likely to be free. And these are all just getting-to-know-your-organization meetings.

And speaking of friends, not a week had gone by in the new year and already we had some Estadounidense (Americans) come and visit. Ian, Josh, and Scott from Fairbanks, Alaska made the trip down for Christmas and New Years, and we were able to meet up with them at the Interamericana. Actually, they had already arrived from an adventure in Bocas del Toro in their own rental car while we did not get back from a New Years Eve and New Years Day visit to our old host family from Santa Clara until midnight.

The next day, we headed up to our site and showed them around. They got to meet a few Ngobe, try out a meal or two, some Seco, and see a bare-shirted, bare-knuckle fist fight. Scott even spotted the first scorpion in our new house, and it had eggs when we chopped it open. It was really fun to sit back and tell stories by candlelight and by under the bright, unobstructed stars. It was the kind of thing that only .05% of tourists will ever get to see; the Comarca Ngobe-Buglé is still not listed in travel books so most don´t even ever hear of it. Of course, there are very little amenities that travelers are used to. We had a ball anyway, and thanks guys for bringing the booze and cigars!

We are also looking forward to other trips from friends and family. While most are still in the early scheduling planning stages, Lisa´s parents have bought their tickets for April. Hopefully by then our Spanish will be passed the most painful stage (really, it feels like that is already passing) because they have some elaborate plans of seeing much of the highlights this little country has to offer, and they want us to tag along! We are really looking forward to seeing some more of the historical or ritzy parts of Panamá.

We certainly are anticipating an exciting and productive year ahead of us. Hopefully, you guys out there have as much in front of you. Of course, if you need a little adventure, get a hold of us and arrange a trip to the end of Central America. We are down here and would love to share it with you.