Snapshots

Hello from Duima! A lot has happened in the past two week - yet at the same time not much at all. My life has slowed down dramatically. It has been the change in culture that I have been looking forward to. I spend my days with people, talking, sitting, playing. I read a lot and am learning to speak an ancient language. My feet are constantly caked with mud and I bathe from a bucket - this is my life now! I'm learning to enjoy it. It hasn't been culture shock but more like slipping into a cold shower - an adaptation and something that is eventually refreshing. Here are some clips from my past two weeks. 

Fall Everywhere

If I’ve talked to you personally in the past month, I’ve probably lamented to you about how much I loathed missing the autumn season. Green Bluff in Spokane, the beautiful colors in Houghton, the rainy days and pumpkin spice lattes of home. Well, I found a little bit of fall in tropical Panama, as well.

Corn in part of subsistent living here. They eat it fresh, they eat it dry, always ground up. Fried into empanadas or cooked into juice, they just don’t go without it. One afternoon turned evening I spend time with the family I live with desgrainando the dried corn from the husk. Think, shucking. I methodically rubbed my fingers hard over the kernels until they loosened from their place and fell off, and did so until my fingers were blistered. I loved the mindless work as a way to pass the time. I sat silent mostly listening to the chatter of the women around me. I noticed, too, the wonderful color of dried corn. The red, yellow, gold and orange tones that overtook the husks and then laid in mounds at my feet once removed. It felt like fall. Every once in a while I’d pop a kernel into my mouth to gnaw on. I realized how remarkably similar the flavor of candy corn is to actual corn! You probably won’t get the same effect from a kernel from your bag of popping corn, I think the secret is in the freshness.

Finally, the cooler temperatures and rainy weather of our wet season do make some leaves fall. One day as I was playing soccer with some children I noticed the crunch of the leaves beneath their feet and the sun felt crisp on my face. It felt good.

Coffee and I are on speaking terms again.

I had come to spend the afternoon with one of my neighbors when I saw she was sitting with a large plate of coffee beans, manually removing the skins. Finally, someone who makes their own coffee! I was so excited. I helped her finish pillaring then watched as she roasted the beans on her three stone fogon fire. The beans changed from a light tan to a deep brown.  As she left the beans cool the hut filled with the aroma of coffee. If I closed my eyes I could have been in Olympia Coffee Roasters, or Batdorf and Bronson, or any other of my favorite fine coffee establishments. I was enriched. Later, she ground the beans and we partook of the transformed fruit. Still over-sweetened, and she was no certified expert roaster, but the freshest (and environmentally friendly) cup I’ve ever had.

I kill spiders now. Big ones.

Remember my story about me being terrified of the spider in my room when I first got to Panama? Not I kill spiders like a champ. They stand no chance when I have a piece of a 2x4 in my hand. I killed four similar to this one while cleaning my current room in my host family's house.

I always was a sucker for a blue-eyed boy.

Yes, this is my kitten. He has no name and is currently still with his mother, but we will be best friends soon enough. He will be my companion, my friend. When I was younger a cat was the first real pet our mother allowed my sisters and I to have. When I was upset, he was the only one who really understood. I can't wait to take care of him. In two years, he will be the best souvenir from Panama ever! Like I said, he needs a name. Help me out! Something silly and American would be fun, something that sounds even funnier with a Spanish accent. 


One more thing... I want your comments! I unfortunately can't keep close contact with everyone BUT I want to know who is reading my blog. Drop a line, give me your thoughts, just say hello - anything! It gets lonely out here and it comforts me to know that my friends are being a part of my experience through my blog. I love you all!