Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Niyo & Begui

Well, March has been a big month for me. Ken came to visit from Boston on his spring break. We spent 4 days in my site and 4 days split between Panama City, David, and points between. In my site we visited neighbors, measured the flow of some springs of water, and sang Ngabere hymns at church. Ken's Spanish enabled him to strike up lots of interesting conversations with the locals. Ken even started picking up some Ngabere language.  My community gave him a name in their native language: Niyo, pronounced "NEE-jo."  The last name is Kubabo, which means a person from Kubade, my area. It was so much fun in my community, Ken wanted to stay there rather than leave for a vacation at the beach! I, however, was ready to take a break away so we headed to the Gulf of Chiriqui on the Pacific Ocean. Ken got a mild bacterial infection so we had to leave the next day, but at the medical clinic we ran into some friends. Jim and Emma I. are a retired couple living in David, Panama, who work with missionary teams that visit my area. I'd met them a few months ago in my site! They generously invited us to spend a night with them; something that we didn't plan but God did. It was fun and encouraging to talk with them about their life and work. Finally we visited historic Panama City, observed ships passing through the Panama canal's locks, and encountered iguanas and a baby sloth at a park.

There's a lot to think and pray about in regards to the trip. It'll give us some strength to draw on in the coming months of long distance dating! It's also neat to be able to share my Peace Corps experience more fully.

Also, I and the other volunteers in my training group met for a week of classes in late March. Coming up in the next month, I'll help give a seminar on aqueducts,  host a frisbee event for kids in the area, and I'll present my community analysis to my community itself in a meeting on April 14.

Here are some photos from the trip:

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