Tipico, My Site, and Lost Birds

It's Friday night and I'm sitting in the hammock watching what they call Tipico Music on the T.V.

While wearing traditional Panamanian hats, singers or “cantadores” sing/battle against each other. Pointing and rhyming seem to be some of the most important aspects of the show. Singing does not. It definitely takes skill and I know if you were to throw me on stage I would have major difficulties belting out what they are, but I'm pretty sure I can keep a tune a little better than they can. That said, there is also the possibility that the point is to sound like you are screaming and whining at the same time. I would go as far to say the more whining, the better. I might be able to get used to this if I knew what they were saying. I don't mind the music, and the fact that they are battling on stage makes this great to watch.

On to more important matters, I got my site placement today. If that means nothing to you then you haven't read my other blog postings. My site placement is where I'm going to be for the next 2 years of my life in my Peace Corps service. Drum roll please......its the same site I went to go visit in Bocas Del Toro. Well that wasn't very climatic. Even with the advantage of knowing what the site is going to be like because I've been there, I'm excited. The place was nice. They grow and make chocolate, there is a pretty nice river with a vine swing and waterfall, there is already a wooden house on stilts that the volunteer before me built, the people are Gnobe and I will get to learn a language that less than 10k people know, and it is only boat ride away from some really nice beaches.

It's a good place to be and as Brian, the volunteer before me put it “you don't have big shoes to fill”. This is partly true but I give him credit for building a pretty nice house and working with the chocolate group to find outside buyers for their chocolate. Things I'm already planning on changing or accomplishing in the site:

For the House:

1. 
   
   Bigger loft. Its pretty small
2. 
   
   Buy a horse
3. 
   
   Make it so I can jump on my horse from my porch. Its stilted
4. 
   
   Build a shower
5. 
   
   Install solar panels
6. 
   
   Build another catchment system

For the community:

1. 
   
   Work in the school and try to teach
2. 
   
   See if getting a tourism project or group going is possible
3. 
   
   Look into getting a more refined chocolate together for sale
4. 
   
   Packaging for the chocolate
5. 
   
   Get other aid groups in for other types of projects
6. 
   
   Work on trash cleanup

I'm sure there are other things that I will want to do but for now this is a rough draft. I definitely need solar panels because there is no power in the community and a shower would be nice. I don't mind washing my clothes in the river and using the latrine and taking showers in the waterfall isn't that bad. It is a little hike though and sometimes the river is too high to hike up. I also need to figure out the logistics of getting a horse. I know that the community has pastures for them but I would like access to my horse at all times. Will have to think about this.

On another note, someone knocked over the birdcage outside and the parrot that didn't have its wings clipped flew away. My host mom said that the remaining bird was really sad now that his companion flew away. I'm thinking he was alright with it. I don't know about you, but if me and my closest friend are locked up somewhere and he has a chance to get the hell out I'm telling to do it. Don't wait for my dumb ass just because I can't walk. The remaining bird wasn't sad. It was just reveling in all the extra space it had now acquired.

It didn't last long. They bought a new parrot for the for the lonely one. I pretty nice white one. It just sits there looking out at the world and my host mom said that its still stunned from the bus ride. I believe her because I feel the same way every time I get off the bus. Now both parrots stare at each other in disbelief. The white parrot doesn't know where the shit he is and the old parrot that failed to escape is confused as to why his buddy came back a different color. I'm just confused as to why the parrots don't speak Spanish. They don't actually speak anything with makes me think they are not parrots at all, but just small birds that made bad life decisions. If they could talk I think I know what they would say............”Get me the hell out of this cage, I'm a damn bird. I'm supposed to fly”. And thinking about this not only makes me glad that I can talk, but I have the smarts to leave my cage...