¡Bienvenidos a Nuestra Aventura!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Freeloaders

A few archived shots of the critters that freeload off of our good will (and dropped food).






Brian, trying to take a nap on the floor. "Big Cat" and "Mi," trying to take a nap on Brian.
















Brian, trying to read. "Mi," trying to read over Brian's shoulder.














They are relentless.











While we can't figure out how she breathes when she does this, "Big Cat" faceplants when she sleeps, covering both her mouth and nose with whatever she's sleeping on. Bizarre.












This is "Big Cat's" new addition to the family, so we'll from now on be calling her "Mama Cat." The kitten is extremely cute and is growing surprisingly fast. After only 4 weeks, he's actually as big as "Mi" who seemed to stop growing after her/his (we can't tell) second month.















Not a cat, but a monkey we met at a Panama cigar shop. Yes, that's a diaper/leash attached to its butt.












This chicken hides its head somewhere at random times. I'm not sure why, or what it's head is doing, but it sure looks strange to come upon a chicken standing in one spot with no head.





AAAHHHH!!!

This is "Mi" (short for "Minchi," which means "cat" in Ngabere). While we do have other pictures of her on our blog, we thought that this one is the grossest and most true-to-life. (note, her face had been painted by our host-family, which neither added nor took away from her natural appearance)


The Hira

"Hira" is basically a Panamanian word for tour, or walkabout. While Amanda was in Panama City for a few days for a meeting to discuss preparations for 12 new trainees that will be soon descending on our site for a week, I hit the trails and hiked for a few days around the middle of the comarca to visit a few friends' (Rob and then John) sites. The trails, while incredibly steep at times, were also absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful and I had a great time.








Hiking down to Rob's site. I wish the photo did the view behind me any amount of justice but, like trying to convey the awe of the Grand Canyon through a square, it may be best left to your imagination.









I met Juaqine Rodrigues on the trail to Rob's site, and had a very interesting conversation with him that helped the time fly by. Behind him is where he lives. Not bad, huh?









A view of Rob's front porch. Rob, whose father is a structural engineer by profession, built this house with the help of his community. Even the boards, table, and radio were all hewn from surrounding trees with some local's chainsaw. Just kidding, the radio was actually carved using a pocketknife.















A view from the walk to John's site. Due to its elevation. and that we're in the middle of the rainy season, every vista was painted with the mist that you see rolling in the background. It was cool and beautiful, until the rolling mist turned into a thunderstorm and soaked me to the bone for an hour!








John, in the house that he built. While you may notice that there are no windows in his place, the bamboo walls let in a surprising amount of natural light, and are more than enough to read by during the daytime.







The inside of John's house, including the hammock where I slept the night in total comfort. It was also a good thing that John's bamboo walls allow for excellent ventillation as we made a mean bean 'n rice combination for dinner that night. With jalepeños.










On the walk back from John's site with Michael, his host-brother. The background is what John gets to see every time he comes home. Wow!











Final view leaving John's site. I definitely look forward to my return.







We have AIDS (info that is)

Over the past few weeks we've been in site for a surprisingly little amount of time, moving this way and that around Panama while helping out with training incoming groups and presenting AIDS information to interested communities from here to there. Actually, we've only given one STD/AIDS presentation (charla) so far, but Amanda, myself, and our two friends Casey and Jessica have plans to bring the charla country-wide to as many communities as we can. It's a great excuse to travel and see more of Panama while spreading the word about a subject that so few people seem to know very much about (at least in the deeper indigenous areas). So in short, its a fulfilling way to see other communities that we probably wouldn't otherwise find an excuse to see. It also serves as a nice way to fill time until we realize all of our funds for Cerro Brisa Latrine-Fest 2007. Hopefully the funds arrive soon, but until then we are keeping ourselves quite busy (in between reading all the great American classics, of course) and trying to help people along the way.























Look closely but don't touch! This fuzzy looking caterpiller can deliver an itchy, burning sting that can reportedly send small children to the hospital. Then again, small children can send small children to the hospital, so consider yourself doubly warned!





















Amanda, presenting the AIDS charla to a group of about 25 teenagers and young adults from Guayabal, Casey's community.

























Another shot of Amanda in action. This group was a real pleasure to teach and already knew quite a bit more than we had expected they would. That's Casey, reaching forward, and Jessica, looking enthusiastic over in the corner.














The group.



















Jessica and Casey, on an early morning walk back from Casey's town after a few hard but fun days spreading AIDS awareness.