el valle y la playa ~ the valley and the beach

Esta fin de semana fuimos a un pueblo se llama "El Valle de Antón," un valle hecho por una caldera enorma millónes de años pasados. Viernes, visitamos un Zoo se llama "El Nespín." Era poquito mejor que Summit, si sólo porque su tapir era disponible por fotos (digo, podría verlo y sacar fotos). También, tenía un ave se llama "faisón dorado," un pájaro muy bonito. Después del Zoo fuimos a los Pozos Termales, donde nos relajamos en los aguas saludables. En la noche fuimos para mirar el partido con Honduras en la televisión, y jugamos fútbol en los calles.

Sábado, escalamos una montaña se llama "La India Dormida," porque su perfil parece como una mujer durmiendo. Según leyenda, ella espera su amor, quién nunca regresó para ella (por la guerra? porque no le enamoró a ella? no sabemos porque). Rafael, Miguel, y yo caminemos más adelante que las otras, y regresamos mas rápidamente que ellas. Regresamos a la cuidad esa tarde, y en la noche miramos una película.

Hoy, Rafa y yo fuimos a Palmar para surfear. No había muchas olas, pero sentí muy tranquilo estar en el agua. Ahora, estoy muy cansado pero contento. ¡Listo por una semana nueva!

~~~

This weekend we went to a town called "El Valle de Antón," in the Valley of Antón, an ancient caldera (collapsed volcano). Friday, we went to "El Nespín," a locally-owned zoo. It was a little bit better than Summit, the zoo in Panama City, if only because its tapir was actually available for photos. They also had a bird called a "golden pheasant," which was absolutely wonderful in its bright colors. After the zoo we went to the hot springs (Pozos Termales), where we relaxed in the healing(?) waters of the pools. That night we watched the futbol game with Honduras, and played futbol ourselves in the streets.

Saturday we climbed the ridgeline of the valley, at a point called "La India Dormida," the sleeping Indian,  so called because the ridge profile looks like a woman sleeping. According to legend, she waits for her love to return, who never returned (because of war? or because he didn't love her? we don't know why). Raphael, Michael, and I traveled farther over the ridge than the others in our party, going all the way over and returning through a different path than they did. We returned to Panama City later that night, and I watched "The Wizard of Oz" with some of my friends. I forgot how much I liked that movie. Special attachments, especially after we performed it (more or less) in high school with PA.

Finally, today Raphael and I went to Palmar to surf. There weren't a lot of waves, but it was relaxing to be on the water. I've missed being able to go out. As usual, this is the part where I say "I should go surfing more when I get home," which is true, but we shall see if i take myself up on that offer.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful weekend, the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation, of large group time and small group time. Now I am tired but content, and ready for a new week of adventure!

cerro ancón and Pipeline Road

¡Hola, todos!

This weekend has definitely been a change of pace. Friday morning I went birdwatching at the famous "Pipeline Road" with two new Panamanian friends, Susana and Pedro. It was so much fun getting out into the forest with people who really love it (she's an eco-tourguide and he's a first-year bio student birding extraordinaire). They were able to point out plants and birds and identify them, so I ended up learning way more than I could have otherwise. It was a blast. It also gave me a chance to reflect a little more on what interests me, and I realized being a volunteer naturalist or science educator would be something fun for me, even if just short term.

Today, four of us ISA students climbed Cerro Ancón, or "Ancon Hill." We got only slightly lost along the way, discovering a picnic area that we were informed is not currently open to the public. At the top, we found beautiful scenery, awesome views of the entire city. Definitely a sight to behold; pictures forthcoming when I steal them from my friends.

On our descent, we stumbled across a strange, mostly empty village. There were brightly colored buildings and a large empty parking lot--it felt like we'd discovered the ghost of some old theme park. But people were around, so we went and asked someone where we were. She explained we were in the "Villa Afroantilla" or something like that, a tourist stop commemorating the cultural groups brought together to forge the Panamanian identity: for this group, this included people of African descent, indigenous people of the peninsula, and the people of the interior/mestizos. Our guide then showed us around the village, telling us about the people of Bocas del Toro and the stories of the indigenous peoples throughout Panama. It was a fun little surprise, discovering the little village. I even got to have a little hojaldre before we left, a yummy central american bread that I think we ate in Belize, too, under a different name.

From there, we took a short cab ride to the Fish Market, to at last try the obligatory ceviche. It was good, as expected, and now I can check that piece off my list and get back to my normal veggie-and-grain diet.

And now there's one more adventure before the weekend ends: birdwatching early in the morning with Panama Audubon. It should be fun, though definitely a different feel than yesterday. Enjoying my attempts to engage with Panama in ways that are meaningful to me. And hopefully to make plenty of new friends along the way! ^_^

integrating into Panamanian life

I've been moving around a lot over the past several months, so making friends has been a challenge I've had to confront repeatedly. Since coming to Panama, I've mostly been hanging out with the other ISA students--US students studying abroad in Panama for the semester. This is great, but I really want to reach outside this circle and make friends with other people too. The other ISA students like to go out to bars to hang out and meet people. I enjoy going out with them, but it definitely feels weird at times since I don't drink. As time went on I was starting to feel isolated. I began thinking-- even if I did manage to make new friends at a bar, they were going to be people who wanted to hang out at a bar (duh). So if, as I contend, that's not really my scene, why was I making it my primary social activity? The answer is of course "because that's what the others were doing." When I stopped and thought about it, I realized the obvious: if I want to make friends, I should start doing things I actually like doing.

With this simple change in perspective, I have begun to take note of what things I like, so I can make it a point to do them. For example, a few weeks ago, several of the other ISA students and I went wandering through the city, and found a number of street food carts. I started a language exchange with someone who lives in Ciudad del Saber (where my school is). This weekend, several of us went to a beach and hung out with a friend from FSU. On a hike in Gamboa, I made friends with the naturalists, and this weekend we are hoping to go bird watching at the famous Pipeline Road. I looked up meeting times for the local Audubon Society. And this past weekend I went on a beach clean-up and made a couple of new friends. And I started talking to a vegetarian blogger here in Panama, whom I hope to meet up with in a week or two.

Meanwhile I am growing excited for my return home (which is still several months away). I am excited and nervous about exploring the relationships I have in San Diego, figuring out how to engage in friendships outside of the bubble. But when I think of the people I have kept contact with during my time away, I realize the richness I have waiting for me.

But for now, it's time to make the most of my present, exploring and sharing with the people I meet here.

the revolving door of post-college plans: an open letter to my academic advisers

Dear Dr. Lupo and Dr. Mooring,

As I continue developing my plans for post-graduation (I've always, as you both well know, been a planner), I feel like I change my plans for what I want to do every seven days. This time I'm not freaking out about it, but I want to give you an update on the places my mind has been wandering and seek your advice as I move forward.

First I was thinking I'd study some kind of Ecology, which I narrowed down to coastal ecosystems. I had wanted to do some more hard science so I could make a claim to have an "expertise" of sorts in a scientific area before moving on. But as I looked at the options available, the kinds of things professors were studying, etc, I realized that science for the sake of science is not as interesting for me as I thought it was. I enjoy it, but I can't see myself focusing in on something specific like a community of clams or a certain marshplant. Then I spoke with recent Poli Sci dept grad Rachel Christensen, who started asking me about my Mexico involvement, and I remembered how much I love the people and organizations and issues I've been involved with at the border. The thought of leaving that world and those communities made me sad, and I began to wonder what I could do that could be a boon to environmental and community organizations around the border, or even at the Tijuana Estuary itself.  I broadened my search a little bit to consider watershed management, which at Univ. Wisc. Madison includes a broader community component, which would lend itself to work at the Tijuana Estuary. This drifted briefly into water resource engineering, which also looked interesting.

But as I was sitting in my "Geography of Transportation Systems" course here in Panama, I couldn't help but take heed of the butterflies in my stomach right before each class. I mean, I am seriously PUMPED whenever this class gets ready to start. As I began channeling these feelings into notes about the kinds of things I am interested, I was reminded of a list I made in Dr. Lupo’s class in choosing a topic for a research paper for our Scope and Methods class. The list was called “things that interest me, politically,” and I came up with public transportation, waste management, environmental justice, education, renewable energy, livable communities. The same list came up again when I was trying to come up with an Honors topic. Writing this list for the third time, I realized that all my interests are united as ways people are engaging to live together in cities and communities, and in the resolution of failures to address these issues. With this new vision of what interests me, I know that if I were to study ecology, I’d want to study urban ecology. But moreso than that, I’m beginning to wonder if urban planning or a similar field might be for me, either as a career path or at least a topic of study.

And so, this brings me to where I am now. I am now wanting to explore urban planning (or other interdisciplinary fields studying cities and sustainability), and I am wondering how I can begin exploring if this would be right for me. Is there anyone you can suggest I talk to explore this possibility? To help me get an idea of what it would take to start in area like this, and what other possibilities are out there? I’m sort of starting over from scratch, while still holding on to a couple of leads from my previous search that sounded interesting.

Thank you very much for your help, and for bearing with me on this perpetually changing landscape called my mind. I hope you both are doing very well. As you might have gathered from the aforementioned butterflies, I am loving my classes here in Panama (all of them! It’s a blast). I have also made a number of friends, but so far most of them are from the States… so it’s a challenge to go out and make Panamanian friends that I need to take up next.

Respectfully,

Daniel Virden

isla grande

This weekend was my first out-of-town adventure.

As part of our program, we took a tour of the Colón area of Panamá, on the Caribbean side of the Isthmus, directly north of Panama City. We ended up visiting Fort Lorenzo (an old Spanish fort from like the 1600's), the Gatún locks of the Panama Canal, and the city (well, town... village, almost) of Portobelo. It was fun, but we spent a LOT of time waiting for the ships to pass at the Canal. Definitely got a feel of what it's like to live near the world's largest multimodal intersection.

At the end of our trip, I decided to go on to Isla Grande, an island further east from Portobelo. I stayed at "El Rey Jackson," a combination hotel-and-mini-mart. It was the cheapest place on the island ($30 for a private room with fan and air conditioning), but I did not feel 100% confident about the cleanliness of the bed or shower. Still, it was private, which was nice, as it meant I could store my stuff safely without a problem. If I stayed again, I would have stayed at the "El Hostal y Pastelería," or something like that, just to the left of the dock I arrived at; it's a little more pricey ($35 for a dorm bed) but seemed a little livelier, with employees who were willing to talk and hang out, and breakfast was included. Ah well.

One person I met was the proprieter of the "Hotel Isla Grande," a large, comparatively luxurious establishment with private lawn and beach of its own. He made a point of helping me get oriented on the island, and let me rent a snorkel mask for only five bucks. A coral garden sat ten meters off the shore (spanning both the public and private half of the beach), with beautifully colored fish darting among the brain and fan coral structures. It was beautiful!

While everything turned out alright, my initial impressions of the island were not great. (I decided the island was much more "Lago de Atitlan" than "Glover's Reef Atoll.") The island is pretty heavily forested on the interior, with several rows of concrete housing at the shore. Most of the paths are more like alleys, with stray dogs wandering every corner. And there was a lot of trash along the shore; at times I passed residents sweeping trash directly into the ocean. The beach itself (a narrow stretch of sand near the Hotel Isla Grande) was clean and pretty, but the "regular" shoreline near people's houses was lightly peppered with garbage. After I got in my morning snorkel, I decided to make my way back to Panama City, and leave Isla Grande behind.

Going home, I was forced to recognize the garbage is not just an Isla Grande problem. All through the ride home I passed various piles of garbage or thin blankets of it along the side of the road, sometimes burning, other times simply persisting. I think to myself, "I want to fix it! I want to change something so that this beautiful country does not suffer from so much trash!" But litter and waste management is such a diffuse problem. Neither public action events (big clean-ups), anti-litter campaigns, or massive infrastructure developments can make a significant difference on their own. If people don't litter, where will they put their trash? And where will it go from there? And why is there so much single-use and disposable materials anyway in this country if there's nowhere to put it?

Which brings me back home to the states, where we still face litter, and problems with waste management, or even more dramatically with waste water and nuclear waste. Waste management is such a crazy problem, and I don't even know where to begin to change it. But I don't believe it is "just cultural"--this is a combination of major human challenges that we will need to face over the coming years. How can we generate less waste? What will we do with the waste we produce? And who will make these decisions?

With these questions weighing heavy on my mind, I returned home by way of Albrook mall, where I ordered a pizza (in a box that was thrown away) breadsticks (on a paper plate, wrapped in foil, with a plastic cup full of sauce), and a cinna-bon (on a paper plate, with a plastic fork) (and also a pack of individually-wrapped granola bars). Such  a stark contrast, reminding me that I, myself, am part of the problem. By weight I still generated more waste than the glass coke bottle I brought home with me to recycle. So for now, at least, I resign myself to continue as a cog in the machine, disupting none of waste-machine whose wheels I turn.

la economía de gracias

Esta mañana fui a la Iglesia del Nazareno en Ancón. Por este servicio, hicimos algo especial: cada persona leyó un versículo que fuera importante en su vida. Eramos veinte personas, más o menos (es una iglesia pequeña), y por eso todos podrían compartir. No preparé por este, y por eso compartí Filipenses 4:13. Es corto pero es muy fuerte, y me ayude leerlo a veces.

Después, la pastora le dio a cada persona dos pastillas (dulces), y dijo <<Coma uno de estas pastillas, y la otra va a dar a alguien en la iglesia que le ha edificado a usted.>> Entonces, cada persona, uno después del otro, levantó y compartió a quien le darían su pastilla y por qué. Era muy emocional, y cinco o seis personas lloraron compartiendo como Dios ha sido en su vida por la persona. Y yo también lloré poquito por las historias que compartieron.

Me algré de oír las historias de la iglesia, de ver como la gente ayude y ama como Dios. Algunos personas recibieron muchos dulces, porque han hecho muchas cosas importantes en la vida de su iglesia. A ver su pequeña fortuna de dulces, era un símbolo de sus vidas de servicio. Y algunas, cuando era tiempo para dar gracias a alguien, le dieron dulces a tres o más personas, algo que solo podrían hacer porque tan mucha gente ha compartido con ellas. Esa economía, una de gracias y amor, era un imagen de la reina de Dios en su pueblo, aquí en la tierra. Gracias a Dios por todo lo que hace, y por las personas que trae en nuestras vidas. Amen.


~

This morning I went to the Church of the Nazarene in Anvon. For this service, we did something special: each person read a verse that was important in their life. There were twenty of us, more or less (it is a small church), so everone was able to share. I didn't prepare, so I just shared Phillipians 4:13. It's short but powerful, and it helps me to re-read sometimes.

Then, the pastor gave everyone two candies, saying "Eat one of these, and the other you're going to give to someone in the church that has edified you/encouraged you." So, one after another, each person rose and shared whom they were giving their candy and why. It was very emotional, and five or six people cried sharing how God had been in their life through the person. I even cried a little, hearing the stories they shared.

I was very happy to hear the stories of the church, to see how people helped and loved one another as God would like them to. Some people received many candies, because they had done many important things for others in the church. Looking at their small fortune of candies, it was a symbol of their life of service. An some of them, when it was their turn to give thanks and give away a candy, gave candy to three or more people, something they could only do because so many people had shared with them. This economy of thanks and love, is an image of the Kingdom of God in his people, here on Earth. Thanks be to God for all that he does, and for the people he brings into our lives. Amen.

Mi Biblia, y la pastilla que recibí por amigo Scott en la Iglesia del Nazareno en Ancón.

bienvenidos a Panamá

I have now arrived and begun to settle in Panamá.

The first day here was orientation, meeting the other students studying abroad with ISA (pronounced, as "ee-sa," by our program director Vanessa), and learning how to take a taxi (flag 'em down, ask the price for where you're headed, only hop in if it's a reasonable price). We also checked out Albrook Mall, the main mall (at least in our area).

My homestay is awesome. I live with my Señora, Mama Cachi (Casilda, or just Mami), and her son Ciro (a graphic designer, about eight years older than I am). Ciro's cousin Anita also lives with us (and another cousin is in and out). I share a room with another student, Raphael. The family also hosts a tourist's hotel on the first floor of the house, where travelers come and go.

Mama Cachi speaks only Spanish, but is very patient and happy to speak to us. She makes breakfast and dinner for us every day, and talks with us for as long as we like. Ciro speaks English and Spanish, but understands that we are trying to learn Spanish, and is very supportive, correcting us and speaking to us in Spanish as much as we speak to him in Spanish. He gives advice on how to make the most of our time in Panamá, and last night he took us out on the town and showed us places to hang out in Casco Viejo (Old Town Panamá City).

Today, seis of us went to la playa at Veracruz. We had a lot of fun! Raphael and I climbed on top of an island full of trees--it looked exactly like the lion-turtle island in Avatar: The Last Airbender! It was awesome.

Now it's late, and the neighbors are having a party. Looks like a lot of fun, but I am beat and ready to rest! But that'll have to wait until things quiet down a bit more.