Written Sunday 4/8/12
So for this second week of school, I was working with my PC assigned counterpart and another teacher in the colegio (secondary school). Unfortunately I was not previously aware that they had Thursday and Friday off from school, so it was a short week with them, but I was definitely impressed by some of their teaching styles, and I think with them, I will be more of a resources of activity ideas. But it was nice to also get to know the colegio a little bit better.
As the weeks go by, I'm coming to an understanding that the currently schedule I'm working with is not going to be sufficient to help the teachers like I want to. I think I'm going to end up alternating between schools every other trimester. That way I'll have fewer teachers to concentrate on and will be able to devote more time to each. I'm planning on running this idea by them in the coming month, so hopefully they will think it's a good idea!
This week, as you probably know, is Holy Week, ending in Easter tomorrow. Pesé is known for its re-enactments of The Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. It started last Friday with a mass for the Viernes de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows) and procession of the statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene. It was really nice - the women went with the statues of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene in one direction around the town, and the men went with the statue of Christ in the other direction, then we met basically behind the church and sang some songs, then went around again, pausing at certain points to read some Scripture. I had a hard time understanding it all, but it was definitely a nice thing to experience.
Then of course Sunday was Palm Sunday. Everyone met at one end of town, passed out the palms, the priest said a few words, then we paraded through the town with the statue of Christ on a donkey (well, it was actually a horse) to represent his going to Jerusalem.
Thursday was supposed to be the Last Supper, but it actually started raining this week (Mother Nature must have a calendar, and when it says that the rainy season starts in April, she knows and on April 2nd I had my first real panamanian thunderstorm), and it rained pretty hard all day and through the night on Thursday, so they did both the Last Supper and the Crucifixion on Good Friday. It was definitely impressive to see, and when Christ died and said "My God, into your hands I commit my spirit.", the actor collapsed against the ropes holding him up to the cross and three fireworks were set off super close. The sound was deafening and really added to the emotion of the moment. It was definitely impactful.
There was a lot of family in town as well, so it was nice to meet more of Bruni's family - they are all very nice and say if I am every in their town/city (Chitre, Chorrera, Los Santos, Panama) that I am welcome at their house, so it is nice to have an extended family here! Her brother and his family who came down during the Sugar Cane Festival were planning on camping at the river that we had previously gone to, but since it was raining so much, they just camped in our living room. I also had some PC friends come into town on Friday, though unfortunately they couldn't stay through the re-enactments. We thought they started at 1 or 2... they didn't start till 4. So when you're relying on public transportation, you have to go when you can get rides. But it was great to see them nonetheless and show them around Pesé!
Finally came Sunday where there was a short procession with the images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene before the mass. It was a typical Easter mass, I believe. Plus they baptized 12 babies! Apparently having your baby baptized on Easter is a big deal here. It was a nice service, but getting up at 6:30 after staying up until midnight was a little rough.
In other news, I'm just preparing for another week at school, trying to get over being sick (I may go to the doctor tomorrow... I've had a cold that's zapping my energy for about a week now), and searching for housing to rent starting in June.
Hope everyone back home had a happy Easter. I missed being there with everyone, especially my friend Paz who came all the way from Colombia to visit!
Love from Panama
P.S. Check back in a few days - I'll add photos!
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