The Invitation

Too impatient to wait until I got home to open the mail, I asked my Mom to call me at work upon receipt of my Peace Corps invitation letter. After a roller coaster ride of preparing to accept an invitation into the Peace Corps (including seeing 6 doctors, discovering that I have an odd heart condition that baffles even the doctors, and selling my house as well as all of my possessions), I was more than ready to learn where my assignment would be. On the morning of June 7th 2007, my Mom called to announce that my home for the next 27 months would be...drumroll, please...

Panama.

Home of the famous canal and...hmmmmm...my knowledge of this country seems to end right about there. So, I immediately began to read about Panama- from Peace Corps provided info to Travel Books, Websites, and Volunteer Blogs. My readings (and imagination) have resultingly triggered the following concerns:

1. Getting lost in a foreign country (I purchased a map and a compass to combat my poor sense of direction)
2. Sickness (Parasites, Amoebas, stomach virus, snake bites, scorpions, mosquito-borne diseases, and rashes)
3. Food (I'm not a big fan of beans, rice, plantains, or fried food, which seem to be the major staples)
4. Missing friends and family (Get your passports now)
5. Belton (Inducing a 27 month break on our relationship of five years is a stress that will make or break us in the long run)
6. Too little/ too much luggage (2 bags totaling 80lbs plus one carry-on doesn't seem like much to live with for 27 months, but I wonder if an over-crowded bus or truck may leave me in their dust at the sight of my hefty bags)
7. The airport loosing my luggage (My compass and map will be in my carry-on)
8. I am not an outdoorsy person (I realize this is ironic for a Peace Corps volunteer, but I prefer working indoors with little dirt and few critters)
9. Safety
10. Language (Worried about not becoming fluent in Spanish quickly... and then possibly having to learn another language- a dialect of an indigenous tribe)
11. Latrines (Or even worse, a lack of one)
12. Male Dominated Society
13. Rejection by females of the community as I do not enjoy cooking or cleaning
14. Poor Job Performance / Not positively impacting the community (Some of my predecessors have big shoes to fill)
15. Peace Corps' Effectiveness (After a presence in Panama from 1963-1971 and then from 1990-the present consisting of 1,576 volunteers, there is still a large discrepancy between the rich and poor in Panama. Although well intended, is the Peace Corps making a significant impact?)
16. Funding my Peace Corps projects (I do not solicit money from those who have not indicated an interest; however, the Peace Corps suggests requesting funding from friends and family. Don't worry, I will not be asking you for money. Deodorant maybe)
17. Manuel Noriega (The dictator ousted in 1989 will be released from a prison in Miami on September 9, 2007, which will be my 27th day in the country. I have read that if he returns to Panama, he may be tried for murder. I have also read that he has influential allies and may instead return to politics in Panama)
18. Possible lack of Internet (There goes my philosophy that although I may not have all of the answers, I know where to find them. Wikipedia. Kidding)
19. Guilt of helping strangers when there are people I know that need help
20. Guilt of leaving the Panamanian community to return home to the USA, a country with so many opportunities

Have you ever read so much negativity on one page? With the exception of an excerpt from a Michael Moore book, probably not. And with a list like this, one might conclude that Peace Corps service in Panama just might not be the best match for me. However, the beauty and challenge of the Peace Corps, I believe, is turning the negatives into positives. Although the preceding list will be interesting in retrospection when my service concludes, the following list is the important list as it outlines what excites me about my impending venture and my underlying motivations for Peace Corps service :

1. A chance to positively impact the world
2. Challenge
3. Use of my degree and work experience
4. Segway into a career in International Human Resources
5. Spanish fluency
6. Meeting and learning from incredible people (The women of these Panamanian communities often give birth with no medical treatment- wow)
7. Appreciation of things I take for granted
8. Time away from computers and mounds of paper
9. Not driving
10. Siestas possibly (I miss naps. You know you do, too)
11. Latin Dancing (Hopefully any future Latin dancing experience will not involve an instructor running out of the room with a bloody lip like the last time. It was an accident)
12. Practicing the Buddhist philosophy of disattachment to material items
13. 48 vacation days to travel
14. Parts of Panama are a tropical paradise

I feel extremely fortunate to serve in Peace Corps-Panama. Although I leave for training in Washington D.C. in five weeks, my bags are already packed.

Peace Corps mandated disclaimer- The views on this blog do not represent the views of the Peace Corps.