panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: July 2016
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016_07_01_archive.html
Monday, July 11, 2016. Things I'll Miss (And Not). My flight back to the US is scheduled for September 2. That’s less than 8 weeks away! On the other hand, I’ll miss all the produce – coconut water and oranges from my front yard, cacao freshly processed from the finca. Avocadoes and pineapples and mangoes and passion fruits and yellow bananas – all from here. Being “special”. Just a handful of recent pictures that also represent things I’ll miss…. So many baby animals in the campo. And, of course, Arcadia.
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: May 2015
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
Tuesday, May 26, 2015. Project Management and Leadership Conference with Angel was fantastic! He was so excited about it that he wanted to share the experience with everyone back home. So he asked the conference facilitators if they could hold the same conference in Quebrada Pastor - and they agreed! Then he went home, got 10 signatures of people who wanted to attend, and decided which were the most important sessions. I didn't really have to do anything - which is exactly how it should be! After PML, I ...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: April 2016
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016_04_01_archive.html
Sunday, April 24, 2016. This aqueduct project is a marathon. I mean, I assume the metaphor is accurate. I’ve never run a marathon. Guess you’d have to ask my brother, the ultra-marathoner, what that’s actually like ( https:/ steeplesandsunglasses.wordpress.com/. Happens by doing and seeing – not by reading and writing (much to my chagrin when I want to draw them a diagram) – so working together on this infrastructure project is a vivid way to learn that sense of empowerment, ownership, contro...We’...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: May 2016
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016_05_01_archive.html
Saturday, May 7, 2016. Mom told my brother and me once, after we asked why there is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but no Children’s Day (as in, Why do you get presents an extra day each year and we don’t? That it’s not about getting presents, it’s about being able to honor someone else. Everyone has a mother and a father to honor, but not everyone has children. This way, no one gets left out. With love – Happy Mother’s Day! Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). View my complete profile. Http:/ Nick.Sopchak@blo...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: Wrapping Up
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016/08/wrapping-up.html
Wednesday, August 10, 2016. It’s time to say goodbye. I’ve had to write my own Description of Serve, the official document signed by the Country Director that explains how I spent my time in Peace Corps, used primarily for job application but also stored in the Library of Congress (cool! This is the Summary of Accomplishments on mine:. Ms Litofsky facilitated community members’ organization of a Project Management and Leadership Conference In-Site to improve leadership skills of 16 leaders of 5 com...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: November 2015
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2015_11_01_archive.html
Tuesday, November 17, 2015. The longer I am here, the more I am reminded that, in the end, people are people. We may have cultural differences, different ways of doing things, different means, different ways of expressing ourselves – but we are overwhelmingly alike. I think this is one of the primary lessons of being a Peace Corps Volunteer – or any experience that immerses you in a foreign context. It’s Panamanian holiday month! Visit to Renacimiento, the neighboring community, to spend Flag Day with Ch...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: June 2016
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016_06_01_archive.html
Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Willy Heidy Organic Chocolates. Like a few other individuals in Quebrada Pastor, I wanted to shine the spotlight on Willy, who has also played a huge role in my life here. And why sell cacao bars in Almirante when you can get a better price selling them to tourists on the Bocas Islands? And isn’t it easier and more reliable to sell to regular clients (the tourist industry), ensuring a consistent demand, than just selling to random tourists on the street? And do let me know if yo...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: August 2016
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016_08_01_archive.html
Sunday, August 28, 2016. Farewell party) at Ema’s was beautiful. As beautiful as the universal value this family has come to represent – not just to me, but to all of their visitors. Ema presented me with a gift – a nagua, the traditional Ngäbe dress – made especially for me, custom fit and the colors of my favorite of Elsa’s naguas: yellow and red triangles on black. Looks like fire in the night. You decide the symbolism. (Photo below.). When my parents arrived at Ema’s house, tired from the hike ...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: Pride and Tolerance
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016/08/pride-and-tolerance.html
Sunday, August 28, 2016. Farewell party) at Ema’s was beautiful. As beautiful as the universal value this family has come to represent – not just to me, but to all of their visitors. Ema presented me with a gift – a nagua, the traditional Ngäbe dress – made especially for me, custom fit and the colors of my favorite of Elsa’s naguas: yellow and red triangles on black. Looks like fire in the night. You decide the symbolism. (Photo below.). When my parents arrived at Ema’s house, tired from the hike ...
panamaponderings.blogspot.com
Panama Ponderings: Willy + Heidy Organic Chocolates
http://panamaponderings.blogspot.com/2016/06/willy-heidy-organic-chocolates.html
Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Willy Heidy Organic Chocolates. Like a few other individuals in Quebrada Pastor, I wanted to shine the spotlight on Willy, who has also played a huge role in my life here. And why sell cacao bars in Almirante when you can get a better price selling them to tourists on the Bocas Islands? And isn’t it easier and more reliable to sell to regular clients (the tourist industry), ensuring a consistent demand, than just selling to random tourists on the street? And do let me know if yo...
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT