Panama City

So, as all the schoolchildren return to school, my summer ends as well. I'm in Panama City now -one of the many legs of my long trip home. I finished up at the orphanage and InglesTec yesterday and got on an early flight this morning. I got to go on a tour today and see several cool parts of the city. Also, the Panama Canal is AWESOME.

But, my hotel isn't exactly in the greatest 'hood and all the people here seem a bit touched in the head, particularly compared to Davidians and Boqueteños. Also. now that its dark I{m told I shouldn't go outside around these parts. So, I{m about ready to come home.

¡Orphanage Update! - I went to Casa Trisker for the last time yesterday. I was a little bit bummed. To our surprise, most of the children were there and not in school. When I asked how come no one was in school the kids responded that there papers were not in order. So, that means the employees didn't arrange the proper paperwork to re-enroll the children in school.

On Thursday, we held a charity quiz night at the bar and raised $140 for the orphanage. In two weeks we raised a total of $240 for that and the GEM Project. (Guess who was responsible for the quiz content¿?)

I was quite excited to bequeath the baseball equipment and football to the boys yesterday. I was hoping I could give it to them directly, but after speaking with Bob and Pat, we decided it was best if I left it with them. That way they wouldn't break anymore windows or hurt any of the younger kids. Also, that way it won't disappear. Bob and Pat are highly suspicious of the Trisker employees and think that they often steal items donated to the orphans and bring them to their own families. Bob and Pat have donated unbelievable amounts of time and money to the kids there and have never once heard a thank you from the staff. They bought numerous toys for the kids for X-mas this year which they are now unable to find anywhere on the premises.

I found out a little but about the background of my boys. Angel was born when his mother was only 14 years old. She was allowed to live in the orphanage along with Angel. However, when she turns 18, which is fairly soon, she has to leave. She has to find somewhere else to go. Angel{s mother also suffers from some type of mental handicap. I also found out that mi sobrino Juan was actually born in Trisker. His mother is also a resident.

I'm going to miss those boys. The other day most of the kids were at the beach, but Angel was not allowed because of 'porto malo' - bad behavior. I was kind of proud of him for some reason. Ha!

I'm going to say my prayers and go to sleep. Thankfully there is a squad of police officers who mill about the area and often times chill in the lobby.

More Amazing S**t About Panama

CCB seems to have had a pleasant gala evening in St. Lou. Too bad we couldn't have included some bits from Panamania. I'm sorry I haven't added to the blog lately, but I've been incredibly busy lately. Well, I've lost my sunglasses and my ipod is finally dead so I'm about ready to head back to the good old US of A. But, in the brief time I have remaining I will try to put up those posts I promised. So, without further ado here is "More Amazing S**t About Panama".

As I have mentioned before, Panama is the banking hub of Central America. And they take their banking pretty seriously. So serious that each bank in Panama (even in a small mountain town like Boquete) has a an armed guard in a bulletproof vest and metal detector stationed outside each branch during banking hours. I was reluctant to get to close to take a photo, but that's one of the guards there. If you want to make a deposit or withdrawal or even to make change, they give you a once-over with the wand, pat you down and then let you in.


Here is the machete rack at the local grocery store. They have an assortment of machetes of various sizes and uses at affordable prices.



Observe the price. A 2 1/2-foot-long machete will cost you $3.60. I'm not kidding-I didn't pull that price tag off of some other product like Corn Flakes. The supply is pretty plentiful and maybe the machete lobby is particularly powerful in Panama City so that may be the reason for the low, low prices. Let's compare with a box of Corn Flakes...

That's right machetes are cheaper than Corn Flakes.


In addition to machetes they also have Hamm's beer. To you this might not mean anything but, my father drank this for years before it was discontinued in New York (or they stopped carrying it). I must have fetched my father roughly one thousand of these over the years. New York distributors stopped carrying it around 1995/1996, so I never really got to have one. They are about 55 cents here and they don't taste too bad. Otherwise I haven't seen since they disappeared. They still have the same can.

This is hard to see because it was taken at about 1 in the morning. April and I were coming back from the bar on a Saturday night and we saw this pickup cab pull up around the corner. And all the people who were waiting for it at the bus stop crossed the street to get in. More and more people (almost all Indians) kept approaching the cab. I began to feel terrible because there wouldn't be enough for all of them and this was probably the last cab they would be able to get for the night. However, the driver spent about 10 minutes on the seating arrangements and he fit every single person. There literally must have been 15-20 people in that vehicle and I was amazed. Then he took off towards the mountains and we waved goodbye.

It's Up!!!

Currently on the North wall in the West corridor of Givens Hall on the campus of the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University stands my graphic journal from my entire year of 2009. All of the intriguing stuff I collected from 9 different countries this past year is on display in a chronological mapping till the end of March.
If there is two things I learned while pinning up... and collaging and binder clipping and readjusting my exhibit, one is to not underestimate my ability to hoard shit, and the second is the collective value of friendship. This is a rare and awkward cheesy cameo for me on CCB but friends really do bring out the best in you and ultimately want to help you succeed.


Brendan was a great attribute. I don't think there is a greater love-hate relationship between anybody else in the world. We tend to heckle and exchange barbs all day. In the end he was happy to tee up all my crap

Saint Joneaux (JB Dowse) as always was a positive inspiration and assistance.

This is Jordan Elyse Adsit aka PIE! I'm sure you recognize her, I was lucky to have her in both Helsinki and Seoul and she was unlucky to have me as her roommate both semesters. Ha! We had a blast! I'm sorry if she appears a bit blurry in this photo but that couldn't describe her mentality any better. She is such a fast, efficient worker and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to help me pin up. She's a great designer especially while helping, thanks Pie!


Nick helped with supplying some of the materials


My history professor from Seoul was visiting our school and program, he enjoyed the exhibit.


I'm really happy with how it turned out and I'm certain my friends had a fun time putting it up, certainly more fun than me. Thanks also to Anna Lask, Shirley Banker, Willie Mak and Vaclav Malek.

More Pictures

Here are some more pics. There are still a bunch more to come. I apologize because I know its either feast or famine with these pictures (usually famine). But it takes just about forever to upload the damn things and I've been really busy otherwise. Give me a break, will ya? Jeez.

Terraced farming. It's hard to tell how steep it is from the photo but thats a Double-Diamond at least, I assure you.
You better cut out that cock-a-doodle-dooin' little fella, or I say- I say, I'll make some pollo McNuggets outta yous.

Coffee pods.

Coffee beans.
Juan Valdez.

Bird.
This was from a hike we did. That's the volcano.
Monkey.
Super Bowl Sunday. Pooch. Futbol Americano.
Some Indian kids staring at you with those eyes, peering deep,deep, all the way down into your soul. When they look at you they know your secrets.

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Carnivale Update: On Monday evening I went a-walkin' and came across a softball game being played by some locals (the teams were made up of males and females ranging in age from about 8 to about 50, it was amazing). Within literally five seconds of watching I was asked if I wanted to play. Of course. I hustled into left field. It turned out to be a good acquisition for my squad as I went 5-f0r-5 with 3 RBIs and two nice plays in the outfield. The game almost ended prematurely when our only ball went into the river, luckily our savvy outfielder headed it off downstream to pluck it from the water.

On Tuesday we went to Dolega to see what all the fuss was about. We found Dolega, normally an empty, dusty outpost on the way to David, swarming with human beings eager to get some sinning out of the way. The local music hall was throbbing with people and the aforementioned unfathomably loud salsa, merengue and Spanish rock music. Behind it there was a miniature stadium for cockfighting. This was like the Madison Square Garden of cockfighting; it was well-lit with terraced seating and had a sort of chicken lockerroom and weigh-in area. But, it probably had more spectators than a Knicks game (Daaaammnn - Zing). We watched for a minute or two then determined it wasn't a particularly interesting thing to watch.

While observing some of the dancing, two interesting gentlemen approached us and offered me a seat to dance with Nancy. They were pretty drunk and seemed unable to speak English or Spanish. They were nice fellas but defnitely odd. One of them even straight up asked me if they could have Nancy but the other told him that she was my girlfriend. We decided that was a lie we could live with so we ran with it. We also determined that they were authentic Latin American drug dealers albeit on a very miniscule level. After we'd had enough of them we slinked away and hopped on the bus back to Boquete and that was our Carnivale experience.

State of the Blog

In the coming days I will try to get some good posts and pics up. The last few days were a bit disorienting; I had to postpone a trip to Bocas Del Toro this weekend (because I had to do someone's job for them) and now we have a ton of new volunteers with us. So, we may be busy and it may be difficult to get access to the computer. The day finds me in a bit of a bad mood because we couldn't go to the orphanage today and there are no English classes today or tomorrow because of the holidays. I'm also dedicating some comp time to the ol' soul-crushing job search.

But, I promise I got some good material forthcoming, including "More Pictures", "David: City of Wonder/City of Blunder", "More Amazing Stuff About Panama" and "Mas Que Un Amigo (More Than A Friend): The Tale of a Schoolbus Named Andresito, Jr." I actually have a lot of photos but they are currently stuck on April's camera or they are in my email and I can't get them to load properly.

Also, Carnivale is here and is a monumental event in Panama every year so expect a blog on that. How monumental is it? Put it this way: One of my students explained that when he was younger his friends used to pawn cherished posessions and sell their own blood to get money so they could travel for their Mardis Gras celebrations. This is a culture that takes their partying seriously. Nearby Dolega is supposed to have a wild Carnivale party. I may have to check it out.

Meanwhile, here is a mini-post:

On Thursday before I went to David, I hiked way the hell up into the mountains. In addition to some awesome sweeping vistas, I saw some interesting wildlife up there. On the side of the road I saw a bit of roadkill. It was a toad the size of my foot (I wear a size 12 Nike), and its guts had been squished out of its mouth not unlike when you accidentally step on a packet of mustard or ketchup. Briefly afterwards, one of the badass hawks that patrol the area did a few loops no more than 15 over my head, which was pretty cool. By the time I headed back down I was feeling a bit skittish and thats when I encountered a 6 foot snake (black with dull yellow bands around it) crossing the road. It took its sweet time and I kept my distance. It finally slipped
into the grass and through a hole in a rock wall and I was on my way. Other reptile sighting: one day when getting dropped off at InglesTec, the taxi driver brought my attention to a being snooping about the office's backdoor. It was a big-ass, ugly-as-sin iguana the size of an overweight housecat. It's tail was at least as long as its body, if not more. I went in the front door and came out the back to show my colleague, Milsiades. The thing was hard to see on the gravely parking lot but when it saw us it ran away like former San Francisco 49er Ricky Watters (I know thats an obscure reference but that's what it reminded me of).

CCB Exhibits!

Hey, sorry to but in on brother Bucks Panamania, but I figured some good news couldn't hurt. So in case you haven't heard I am going to be pinning up an exhibit of an idea I had featuring my studies abroad!
I attached the PDF of my proposal, so you can figure out the idea. The plan is to have as little words as possible and get this... no photos! Sounds pretty ironic for me right? Well I am trying to portray what life/culture is like in the cities I lived in and visited, and instead of presenting my experience the way I saw these places (through the lens of my camera) I thought it would be great to see how the cities choose to present themselves.





I'm hoping the no photo's will make it more powerful. I am still working out some of the logistics. What do you guys think?

So if you are in Saint Louis around the 26th of February please come by Givens hall for the opening reception /happy hour. There will also be exhibits of student work from a couple of the abroad studios. My Parentalones are coming. Can't believe they are gonna make it to SLo MO!

...resume Panamania...

The Orphanage

Warning: This post will be more somber in tone. Also, no pictures with this one, sorry, we're not allowed.

On Mondays and Fridays I go to the Casa Hogar Trisker which is a state-run orphanage about 15-20 minutes outside of town. The kids range in age from 1 to 13. When you show up, many of the children approach you saying 'Tia' or 'Tio' (meaning 'aunt' or 'uncle') which is both hearrtbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Most of the kids were taken out of their homes by the government because of abuse or neglect. Also, abortion is illegal in Panama, so in many cases these are children whose parents simply could not afford to take care of them. Some of these kids have had it real tough, but they're pretty happy at the home for the most part. It's just unsettling to see various scars and burns on kids so young that were likely not acquired on the playground. I could get into it more but I won't.

While the government does a noble job of taking these children out of abusive or neglectful homes, they really don't do a great job of caring for them in the orphanage. Most of the employees are there to collect their check and at times are difficult to find. For example, I hit a kid in the face with a baseball the other day (you can imagine how great I felt after that) and I couldn't find anyone to help me help him. I picked him up took him inside then went to the kitchen to fetch the nino some ice for his bruised eye (I was thrilled the next time I came that he had no bruise and he grabbed a mit with the utmost alacrity and enthusiasm). The employees are basically government bureaucrats who care for the children with all the warmth and tenderness a DMV employee cares for your license plates. Much to my dismay I learned today that children have died in Trisker. The latest crisis there has been that the running water supply has been cut off/damaged and sometimes downright non-existent. This problem has persisted for ALMOST 3 WEEKS!!!

I could also go on and on about the bureacratic nonsense, but I won't.

OK, enough of the sad stuff. Most of the kids are tough as nails, but really good, cute, fun kids. I bought some baseball stuff down when I came and the older boys are usually psyched to throw the ball around. There aren't many grown, young men who come to the orphanage so when Oscar or I come they usually get pretty excited. I got a football today let's see how they like that.

Eventhough these kids don't have a thing in the whole damn world, it doesn't seem to bother some of them. I believe the happiest kid in the entire world lives in Trisker. Angel, who is probably 3 or 4 is one of the cutest kids I've ever met and I almost never see him without a smile. Him and his best pal Juan have more fun than anyone I've ever seen. He came up to me saying 'Aleseme' (I think, which I didn't know until later means, 'pick me up'). After I scooped him up once I had to do it for every kid in the orphanage. Now, I'm like a ride in the goddamned Magic Kingdom.

If I had the funds and was married, yadda yadda yadda, I would try to adopt little Angel and Juan. But, supposedly adoption is next to impossible for American parents in Panama. Sometimes I wonder if they would be happier at Trisker than in the States.

Anyway, I have to head out right now.

On a lighter note: Way to go Saints!