"Do not go where the path may lead..."

Written August 27th, 2013 When Peace Corps told me I had less than a week to come up with $300 in order to qualify for the global funds assistance for my project, I was a little nervous because the stakes were high. I needed that funding in order to build ANYTIME in the near future. However, I also felt confident that it would come through because 1. My friends and family are awesome and 2. That is, after all, how everything else goes. Somehow it all works out eventually here in Panama despite…well, everything. With some luck, divine intervention, and cashing in a lot of good karma I knew the last couple hundred dollars would come through. But I never expected what actually happened. The day after I posted my funding challenge on Facebook, my newsfeed was flooded with reposts by my friends, family, and by people I haven’t seen or talked to in years. In the month of August, this blog had over 400 page visits. And the part that took my breath away: on Monday, August 12 th , ju...

Written June 28th, 2013 I use the acronym GAD quite often. It stands for Gender and Development and is the umbrella program for all things youth, gender, and sexual health. Each year GAD has 2 camps for kids from all over the country. This year, there were way to many kids who applied to go to camp than slots, so a few PCVs took it upon themselves to host 2 more. While both my kids from Playona were able to attend camp in the first round, I did not. This time around, I was invited to be a counselor. The coordinator for this camp wanted it to have a camping feel to it, rather than hosting at a conference facility with dorms. At first I was admittedly not excited about it. I LIVE camping, why do I want to go halfway across the country to continue to not have electricity or water? Because Parque Nacional Omar Torrijos is beautiful. It is up in the mountains where the temperatures get really cold- mid sixties! The views are spectacular, and on a clear day you can see both the ...

Written June 25th, 2013 The gringos are here! Only, they weren't gringos, Well, 3 of them were. Brigada Quetzal arrived about 2PM on Friday the 21st in full force. 250 some 15-17 year old students from 56 different countries, mostly from South America and the European Union. And of course, the 3 gringos. (2 were from Illinois, 1 from Florida.) It blew my community members' minds when they found out that all of these people weren't my closest friends and family, they they didn't even know me, and that they weren't even from my country! "But Amber, that is so confusing, they all look like you!" The students were accompanied by 20 international journalists, 15 group leaders, and about 25 border police. I sat on my porch with Danielle and Ben and watched the group on my soccer field grow over the course of 3 hours as canoe load by canoe load arrived. By 5pm the field had become a sea of tents and teenagers. At first I found the sudden surge of peo...

Written June 22nd, 2013 If you asked me about the organization of my community, I would laugh at you. We are a hodgepodge bunch held together with chewing gum, string, and luck. I can't schedule a boat for even an hour in advance and the equivalent of a city council meeting is announced the morning of by beating the metal hubcap with rebar an hour before dawn so as to catch people before they go to work. Planning ahead is a difficult concept to grasp. So when I got back to site on June 12th and random people started telling me that Playona would be hosting 300 gringo students for a few nights, I point blank didn't believe them. Then one   morning, 4 border police showed up on my porch asking for my help, because 300 teenagers were coming for 2 nights and 6 meals. I could no longer write off what my community had been saying for 3 days as wrong. The gringos were coming, in mass. Still, in the village of Playona, no one moved. By Monday June 17th, with just 4 days ...