But as for my current host family, they are definitely a very different family than my host family in my training community. The one difference I noticed immediately – they are not used to having Americans around. I thought I had some adjustments when I first got here, but the families that we’ve been staying with so far have mostly had volunteers in the past. I am the 5th trainee that has stayed in Reyna and César’s house, so they have gotten used to some of the peculiarities of Americans. But this is a whole new experience for my new family.
It’s also a little bit difficult for me to figure out what is cultural/regional, and what is just particular to each family. Of course I know there are habitual differences between families in the US, so of course there are here as well. But the issue is that I don’t know the culture well enough to know what is what! In my new host family, they speak really loudly and try to talk over each other if they want to say something. My host mom also kind of tuts/hisses at me if she wants my attention or just uses hand signals to try to tell me things. But guess what – the hand signals are different than what we do in the US! So half of the time I don’t know what she’s trying to say. But I’m trying to be patient and ask her to speak slowly.
The accent here is a lot harder to understand than with my other host family as well. They drop SO MANY of their ‘s’ and ‘d’ sounds. But I’m learning quickly. I want to try to keep my Spanish proper though, so people can still understand me from other countries. I think their accent down here equates to a really strong southern/country accent from the states. Basically people from the country/small towns in any country around the world are hard to understand. But I’m getting better every day. I can basically follow conversations in real-time now! Woohoo! Big accomplishment
There are also a couple of people in the community that I’ve met and I really like. When I first arrived, one of Susi’s friends – Marta – was here at the house. Since then, I’ve seen her several more times and have gotten to know her. She is super sweet and I like her a lot. I hope we can become friends and hang out some – she’s about 27, so it will be nice to have some friends closer to my age! I also met a woman named Wendy who lived in the US for about 5 years and was married to an American and has 2 children (in their 20’s) who still live in the US, so she speaks great English and seems very willing to help me in any way she can. The last volunteer that was here in my site stayed with her, so she knows what PC is all about! There are also a ton of family members in Pesé – I can’t keep up with them all! Lots of cousins and extended family. I’m sure I’ll figure it all out eventually.
Coming down here has been a lot of ups and downs. I’ve had a couple of somewhat down days since being in Panama, but I’ve overall been really happy and been able to work through any issues I’ve had. But being around people who aren’t used to Americans, who are more difficult to understand, who have many different customs than I do (like personal space/voice level), and not being around all of the other people in PC Group 70 has been a big adjustment. I’ve had multiple mood swings per day – one moment I’ll be really happy, then a couple of hours later I’ll be a little upset and frustrated. But each day is a little better by adjusting to things.
I’m coming to appreciate our training community and families more and more and and starting to learn that this is the reality of a PCV’s life. But I’m still happy to be here overall. Pesé is absolutely gorgeous – it is my favorite city in Panama so far, and I am soooo lucky in that. The people are also really nice – I just need to get to know them! And they me. So it will take time. And I’ve got 2 years of it!
Some awesome things that Pesé has:
Bank branch – even though it’s not my bank, at least I know I can get cash if I seriously need it immediately
Bus stations – (don’t get a big fancy idea of this in your head. It just means that there are places where buses leave) direct buses to Panama City which take about 4 hours, and buses to surrounding communities
Parks – there are 3 parks that I have seen so far – one is in the middle of town and just has some benches and green area, one is a playground and a basketball court and some benches, and the third just has a few benches and a little playground. It’s nice for the community to have these places though. And they are all in good repair!
Center for children with disabilities – Anita, the wife of the regional deputy (Popi), is the president of an association that helps children who have learning disabilities such as ADD. This is such a wonderful community asset, and I hope that they are taking advantage of it. I hope to be able to promote this during my time here.
Free internet! My community has free internet throughout the town! I can’t get it in my bedroom (the ciderblock walls probably have something to do with that), but if I go out on the porch, it works great! Such a wonderful resource!!
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