Big news!! Peace Corps gives us cell phones!!
6576 1214 To dial from the states use 011 + 507+ 65761214
I can reveive calls for free and I´m pretty sure I get decent service in my site.
My address also changed slightly.
For conventional mail:
Joseph Goessling
Cuerpo de Paz / Panama
0834-02788 Entrega General
Republica de Panama
Well I´m finally off to my site for real. Its kinda scary know that my service is offically begining and that I won´t be around gringos for long periods of time. I´m also nervous because unlike my site visit there is no schedule now. I hope to stay busy to keep my mind off off of how different it is. Luckily I have alot of things I could be doing. They have a daily soccer game at 5 every day that is pretty competitive. I also have alot of work to do, the PC requires a lengthy community assesment to be completed as well as a health survey. This helps establish what work needs to be done in the community and is a measure of progress.
Lastly the community next to mine has all the money the design for a new aquaduct. They have alot more work to do before construction actually starts. Most of the aquaducts here are not really engineered, they just make sure the water source is higher than the town. I´m bringing an altimeter to roughly measure the elevations. This way you can do pressure calcuations to possibly change PVC pipe sizes and save money. I need to do this for the new aquaduct as well as the current one in my town that is having problems. All very exciting stuff.
In other news we were sworn in as official volunteers at a nice ceremony at the Canal Museum in Panama city. A representative from the Embassy was there as well as a few other government agency people and tons of current PC volunteers. There was only one other kid that wore a jacket. ( I was told before coming that I should bring a blazer for swear in... in reality half the kids didn´t even bring ties. )
We went out in Panama city to a bar called Unplugged that played tons of rock and metal music yet was still the happening scene. You could rent a hookah their for $5 bucks and there weas tons of vlunteers there to celebrate with us.. Beers were consumed and the most random guest showed up.
DREW from Villanova stepped out of a car while we were hanging out at the bar. I had no idea but he was travelling through the Americas, he had no idea I was doing PC in Panama. He was had just visited a guy on the rugby team Breslin who is doing PC in Guetemala. We caought up on a bunch of things and then said our good byes.
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2 comments:
God speed joe!!!
Wewill try the cell phone soon!!
We love ya!
Mom
Hello Joe:
It's Halloween today, so I assume you must be knee-deep in some sort of Day of the Dead activity in Panama.
I just caught up on your blog-congratulations on your swearing in, traveling to Boca and getting settled. I can't tell from the maps (Google is letting me down!) if Valle is in the Boca del Torre archipelago or on the mainland. Which is it?
The terrain reminds me a lot of both Guadeloupe (in the Carribean) and of equitorial Africa. Enjoy your time in the tropics; in terms of flora and fauna it is like another planet. I love the photo of the GIANT bamboo plant!
Your work sounds like it will be ample and interesting. It is interesting that previous hydro- work has been done with little planning. My understanding of working with water is that no planning usually doesn't work out too well! Hopefully you can help them out.
We were very interested to hear the opposing views on the canal from the native standpoint. The problem of corruption is rampant in developing nations (as well as the rest of the world, I guess...) and is frustrating from an ethical and practical point of view. When a person can see what could be and then sees that the progress is hindered by greed, it is demoralizing and disillusioning. Try not to let it get you down.
I am working on creating a blog for our upcoming trip (referral of a child expected this week!) to Vietnam (another long history of corruption...), so looking at your blog is helping me think of what ours should include.
We attended my brother's fancy Halloween party three days ago: Louis was a cowboy (a la Clint Eastwood in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'), Ted was a mummy and I was a scarecrow. It was a lovely time until a kid went through the wooden door of the cellar way. I guess that was a trick! Everyone recovered fairly quickly.
The only other news to report is that we finally have the new child's bedroom cleaned out and can start setting up the furniture.
Ted and I are headed to see an old Mendham friend and his wife in Las Vegas on Friday, for four days of hiking in the Red Rocks Canyon area. It will be nice to get back to the desert, even for such a short period of time.
Desert is most likely a foreign concept to you these days, sitting in the lush jungle. Enjoy yourself and learn all you can. As our friend who spent three years as a PC in Guatemala says, "The only way to change the world is one to one contact with others." Keep up the good work.
fondly,
The Minneapolis Gs
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