That's right, I'm 30 now, 30 + 1 week! As many of you know, I haven't been living in the community of Hato Chami for a little while now. I was asked in June if I would come help plan training for the incoming group of volunteers, so I more or less moved to Panama City on July 1st. I am sharing an apartment in the city near the Peace Corps office.
I went back to Chami for a week at the end of July, and it was fun to hang out with my beloved community members, and I spent the work doing an informal arts & crafts camp with some of my favorite faces there. As I left that week, I promised to come back up and celebrate the big 3-0!
Originally Ben and I talked about going all out - going someplace exotic, far-out, having a big party or something of the sort, but on further thought, what more memorable way to celebrate such a milestone than by spending it in a remote indigenous village in the mountain cloud forest! So, on Saturday the 14th, I got on a bus out of Panama City bright and early and traveled all day to get up to Chami. (I've had SUPER bad luck traveling long distances lately - another story - and the chiva broke down on the way up). I spent the night in town, and then the next day I baked a cake and took it down to Balbina's restaurant.
Her family and our landlord's family came, we ate a little, sat around, talked and laughed, ate cake and got chocolate frosting everywhere. Juana & Marizin (two of the young girls) ran all over town in the rain to try to find balloons for me, with no luck, but when they got back they decided to be creative and make their own pinata.
The girls took an empty rice bag and filled it with candy and flour - you CAN'T have a good pinata without flour in Panama! They then proceeded to throw it all over me! I was COVERED! It was a blast. That's turning 30 in style. I don't think I'll ever forget this birthday. It was a day filled with my new Panamanian family, my best friends in the area, some awesome kids, and Ben. Not much could have made the day better. My parents asked me what gifts I got this year, and I realized I didn't get anything. Nothing material at least, what I've really gotten is the most amazing experience of my lifetime. So cheers, and many happy years to come!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Lisa's Peace Corps Reading List
After several requests, I'm posting my Peace Corps reading list. One of my personal goals for my Peace Corps service was to read 100 books - I'm just past that mark, and have read quite the variety of books. From this list, you'll probably be able to guess some of my moods, some of my favorite authors, some projects I was working on, and some of my future career thoughts! For the record, I only read ONE book in training, the rest is in the nearly 2 year period since. Enjoy!
1. Touching My Father’s Soul by Jamling Tenzig Norgay
2. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
3. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
4. Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
6. The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan
8. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
9. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
11. The Cloud Garden by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder
12. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
13. The Path Between the Seas – The Creation of the Panama Canal – 1870-1914 by David Mc Cullough
14. Under the Banner of Heaven – A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
15. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
16. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
17. Crossing Zion by Keith Mark Johnson
18. My Friend Leonard by James Frey
19. Sand in My Bra & Other Misadventures Edited by Jennifer L. Lee
20. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
21. Good to Great by Jim Collins
22. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain
23. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
24. Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
25. Exodus by Leon Uris
26. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
27. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
28. Night by Elie Wiesel
29. Two Ears of Corn by Roland Bunch
30. The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights by John Steinbeck
31. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
32. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
33. Merle’s Door by Ted Kerasote
34. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
35. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
36. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
37. QB VII by Leon Uris
38. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins
39. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
40. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
41. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
42. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
43. Marley & Me by John Grogan
44. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
45. A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain
46. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
47. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
48. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
50. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
51. Organic Coffee by Maria Elena Martinez-Torres
52. The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
53. Emma by Jane Austen
54. The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
55. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
56. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
57. The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
58. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
59. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
60. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
62. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
63. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
64. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
65. The Long Valley by John Steinbeck
66. The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols
67. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
68. Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut
69. The Known World by Edward P. Jones
70. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
71. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
72. Career Diplomacy by Harry W. Kopp & Charles A. Gillespie
73. Inside a U.S. Embassy Edited by Shawn Dorman
74. Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2, Edited by Melissa Brayer Hess, Patricia Linderman & Marlene Monfiletto
75. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
76. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
77. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
78. Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
79. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
80. Left for Dead by Beck Weathers
81. The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky
82. A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
83. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
84. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
85. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
86. Living Poor by Moritz Thomsen
87. Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain
88. Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
89. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
90. Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
91. Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
92. Black Boy by Richard Wright
93. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
94. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
95. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
96. Harry Potter y La Piedra Filosofal by J.K. Rowling
97. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
98. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
99. The Human Stain by Philip Roth
100. Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut
101. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
102. The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
103. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
104. The Tailor of Panama by John le Carre
105. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
We still have lots we should blog about, so look for future posts on Ag-Biz seminars, the Business Plan Development seminar, what I'm doing now in the office/what we're staying to do, our last few months, etc!
1. Touching My Father’s Soul by Jamling Tenzig Norgay
2. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
3. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
4. Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
5. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
6. The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan
8. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
9. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
11. The Cloud Garden by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder
12. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
13. The Path Between the Seas – The Creation of the Panama Canal – 1870-1914 by David Mc Cullough
14. Under the Banner of Heaven – A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
15. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
16. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
17. Crossing Zion by Keith Mark Johnson
18. My Friend Leonard by James Frey
19. Sand in My Bra & Other Misadventures Edited by Jennifer L. Lee
20. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
21. Good to Great by Jim Collins
22. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain
23. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
24. Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
25. Exodus by Leon Uris
26. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
27. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
28. Night by Elie Wiesel
29. Two Ears of Corn by Roland Bunch
30. The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights by John Steinbeck
31. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
32. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
33. Merle’s Door by Ted Kerasote
34. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
35. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
36. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
37. QB VII by Leon Uris
38. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins
39. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
40. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
41. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
42. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
43. Marley & Me by John Grogan
44. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
45. A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain
46. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
47. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
48. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
50. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
51. Organic Coffee by Maria Elena Martinez-Torres
52. The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
53. Emma by Jane Austen
54. The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
55. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
56. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
57. The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
58. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
59. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
60. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
62. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
63. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
64. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
65. The Long Valley by John Steinbeck
66. The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols
67. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
68. Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut
69. The Known World by Edward P. Jones
70. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
71. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
72. Career Diplomacy by Harry W. Kopp & Charles A. Gillespie
73. Inside a U.S. Embassy Edited by Shawn Dorman
74. Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2, Edited by Melissa Brayer Hess, Patricia Linderman & Marlene Monfiletto
75. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
76. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
77. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
78. Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut
79. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
80. Left for Dead by Beck Weathers
81. The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky
82. A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
83. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
84. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
85. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
86. Living Poor by Moritz Thomsen
87. Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain
88. Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
89. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
90. Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
91. Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
92. Black Boy by Richard Wright
93. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
94. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
95. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
96. Harry Potter y La Piedra Filosofal by J.K. Rowling
97. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
98. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
99. The Human Stain by Philip Roth
100. Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut
101. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
102. The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
103. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
104. The Tailor of Panama by John le Carre
105. Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
We still have lots we should blog about, so look for future posts on Ag-Biz seminars, the Business Plan Development seminar, what I'm doing now in the office/what we're staying to do, our last few months, etc!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)