Well, I’ve had my first “issue”, I guess you could call it, since being in Panama. I woke up Thursday morning with my head itching pretty badly and with bumps on my arms and my stomach. I just treated it with Cortizone cream, but it didn’t really get better, so on Friday I called the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) and he told me that I should go to the Clinico Saturno in La Chorrera. The PC teachers’ driver, who is also the coordinator for host families and a lot of the logistics for our training communities took me to the clinic. I was worried about going with my language abilities, but it turned out that I didn’t even really need his help (which was encouraging about my language abilities). It was definitely a comfort to have someone there who knew what was going on. The doctor thought it was an allergic reaction to something, but wasn’t quite sure what. She ended up giving me 10 days worth of Zyrtec, a cream to use before I shower for 5 days, and then another one to use when I need it and am itching or something. She was nice, but I think was just treating the symptoms since she really didn’t know what caused it (and neither do I). But overall, not a bad first-sickness experience. Today it's much better, I'm not sure whether that's from the medicine or just from time, but I'm glad for it, either way!
Other than that, some of us had a movie night last night and *tried* to watch Lara Croft on a laptop. With about 10 of us and lacking speakers, it was a bit of a struggle. But it was fun nonetheless. Today we’re heading into the city again for more meetings at the office.
Since I have a little bit of time, I’ll also give you guys a basic run down of a few other things about my life here. Every morning I wake up usually around 6:30 or 7:00. I’ve learned to sleep through the dog and chicken noises in the night, but the roosters still wake me up when they start crowing around 5. I take a quick shower – either a normal (though cold) shower, or a bucket bath if there isn’t running water. Bucket baths really aren’t bad! At least I don’t have to stand under the cold water if I’m just washing my hair. Then I eat breakfast with Reyna. Usually this is bread with some butter and/or cheese, and sometimes I make a couple of eggs to eat with it. This week I’ve actually had some Frosted Flakes for breakfast! Then I go to my Spanish class where we usually focus on vocab and conversation, but we have covered some grammer points and verb tenses.
Then I walk back to my house and have lunch with Reyna, and sometimes César if he isn’t working or sleeping (he works until 1 or 2 am sometimes). This week I had a Panamanian specialty – arroz con pollo. Basically it’s a spiced rice with some veggies and shredded chicken. It was pretty good! Then in the afternoons we go to the school for technical class. This week we had some PCVs with us – they always give us great insights and tips, which is the most informative for me.
Lastly, some news from Panama. Some of the indigenous people have been blocking the Pan-American highway (known as the Interamericana aqui en Panamá) in the Chiriqui province next to Costa Rica. They are protesting the government trying to start a hydroelectrical plant. The basis of their protesting is that the plant will ruin their environment without giving them any benefits, but from the government's point of view is that it would generate a lot of revenue. But blocking the highway is a pretty effective means of protesting because it blocks all of the traffic on the main route through the country, preventing tourists, food, and anyone else trying to get through. It will definitely be interesting to see how it turns out.
I’ll leave you guys with another only-in-Panama saying:
You didn’t have hot water today? I haven’t had running water for 3 days!
But life is still good here in Panama!
Besos!
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