One Year in Panama

As of today I have been living in Panama for a whole year. On May 2, 2012 I stepped off a plane into a blast of hot and humid air, wondering what I had gotten myself into. Oh, how far I’ve come since then. Let’s take a moment to look back on a few of the lessons (or just random facts) I’ve learned about Panamanian life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the past year:

1.       There are only three times each day: hot o’clock, lunch o’clock, and dark o’clock.

2.       The rainy season changes everything.

I spend a lot of time watching chickens

3.       A plastic bag of frozen sugar juice is always worth the ten cents.

4.       Ahora means anything but “right now.”

5.       Fried plantains go with everything.

6.       A coconut falling on your head is a legitimate danger.

7.       Never bathe in the river at night.

8.       Endangered animals are delicious.

9.       Always keep your machete sharp.

10.   Just pretend you know what you’re doing.

11.   Roosters are the most terribly annoying creatures on the planet.

12.   Don’t worry, it always works out somehow.

13.   The bus will get there when it gets there. If it gets there.

14.   Kids are experts at getting fruit out of trees.

15.   Palm branch roofs are extremely flammable.

16.   English is a really bizarre language.

17.   Your mosquito net is a night time force field.

18.   The jungle will swallow anything if you leave it long enough.

19.   Build people, not monuments.

20.   Hold onto the small successes.

And the list continues to grow each day. This past year I have been on a path of mountains and valleys. I’ve had bad days, and really great days. There have been days when I’ve felt that I shouldn’t be here, and days when I’ve felt right at home. Through everything God has been teaching me his own lessons, when I choose to listen. One that keeps showing up is just how relational we are meant to be. I have to rely on my community every day just to survive out here. It’s exhausting mentally and emotionally to develop relationships with people who are so different from me. But I feel a push to always reach out to these people more, to pour myself out into them. That’s something I will continue working on for my next year of life in Panama.

Kids are always the easiest to talk to