Things that have happened in the past couple of weeks:
-My
teachers went on strike
-Shelby
came from the States to visit me!
-Going
away parties for my friends that got kicked out of the Comarca
-My
one year visit with the Peace Corps Office
-My
fellow East Siders and I ran a Frisbee Tournament for about 80 kids
Things
that are happening today/tomorrow:
-A
goat being killed at my house (this makes the third in the span of a year)
-A
radio show about Motown R&B
-Regional
Meeting in La Palma
It’s
been a crazy busy two weeks, and I’m looking forward to some hammock time in the
future once things settle back down!
There
have been so many things happening in the past couple of weeks, I barely know
how to process it all and report back to you blog-readers.
Mostly
I just want to give a shout-out to SHELBY LAKE for making the trip all the way
to Darien province to visit me and wish him the best of luck when he moves to Japan,
soon!
Now
the gauntlet has been thrown, so my Dad better make his way out here to visit.
(Has his passport come in the mail yet?!)
Having
visitors is so exciting. They give you an excuse to do touristy things. (For
example, I saw the Miraflores Locks at the Canal for the first time last week—even
though I’ve been in this country for a year and the Peace Corps Office is
within walking distance.) Having visitors is also a little mind-blowing because
the challenge is to see how much of your life you can fit into their visit. It’s
taken me over a year to get to know Darien (and Panama as a whole) as much as I
do at this point, and I want my visitors to get as much of that understanding
as they can while they’re here. But alas, the laws of the universe force me to
operate within the constraints of time, space, language barrier, my work
schedule, etc.
Having
a few family and friends from home read my blog on occasion is great. It’s
awesome! I get to share cool things about a country that I’ve come to consider
my second home (or third? How many homes does one person have?). At the same
time, there’s something about having your family and friends see things here in
Darien in real time that makes them understand a little more about what my life
is actually like. It makes them care a little more about learning the geography
and the culture of Eastern Panama. (Because otherwise, phrases like ‘My Darien bus
took the Corredor AND skipped Santa Fe today!’ or ‘Chenchito’s has BROCCOLI!’ mean nothing to
you.)
So
for this, hats off to Ebony and Shelby for having cared enough to save their
pennies and sit for hours in planes, cars and buses in order to learn a little
bit about my life here in Peace Corps!
To
all of you in the States, don’t think I have forgotten about you! I know it’s a
lot easier to skip the country and sleep on someone else’s floor under a
mosquito net when you’re young and have no responsibilities to kids or ‘grown-up’
jobs. You guys definitely do a lot to hold me down by reading my blog and talking
to me on the Skypes! I love you all!
Finally,
I want to give one last side eye to my father, Mr. Anthony Ray Kennedy, to
HURRY UP ON THAT PLANE TICKET! My neighbor keeps asking me when my dad is
coming to visit, and we’re getting antsy over here. When is that passport
coming?! Panama is excited to welcome the biological organism that provided 50%
of my genetic material and is therefore responsible for my existence as the
world knows me today.
Alright,
that’s the end of my rambling. I don’t have time to be typing this right now; I
only have 11 months left in Panama! My clock is ticking!
See
you guys later.
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