I was raised with great parents. They guided me through life but never forced me to do anything that I truly didn’t want to. Among the things that they thankfully didn’t try and force on me was religion. I was able to believe what I wanted and let my mind wander and absorb all the information possible.
I have never been to a church service in the United States, I have attended funerals and weddings but never sat and listened to a preacher praise the word of God. One of my best Panamanian friends down here is Simon. Simon is a devout Evangelical, he goes to church 4 days a week and is always asking me to come and join him. I have now attended church 3 times and still feel a little skeptical of the whole thing. The Evangelical church is one that is very strict and has many rules regarding clothing and behavior.
My parents were smart enough to raise me with the common sense, do the right thing and to treat others well. In fact I am sure that my brothers and sister will agree that it had a great role into shaping us into people that always want to help others. This was accomplished without any strict rule system and a basic freedom to do what we wanted. The one thing we did have were good role models to lead the way.
I don’t want to offend anyone with my comments about church but I was raised in a country with free speech and believe I have the right to state the way I feel. Having to begin with a warning is one of the reasons that I am wary of the church. I am not able to state my problems with a church without making people angry. They take what is told to them and just believe it as true without ever questioning whether they believe it or not. Then when someone says something contradictory it is a sin and they are shunned.
During one of my three visits to the church with Simon I was told by the preacher that I was not a son of God because I hadn’t been born (religiously) and did not praise the Holy Spirit. Well, if I am a good person and try my best to help everyone in need is that not enough? I do drink alcohol and they consider that a sin, but if I am not hurting others while doing it how can it be so horrible. In excess it could be harmful to the body but studies even show that a glass a day can actually be better for you. If I have a girlfriend I am faithful to her. Being raised in a complete home has raised me with the idea that one man one woman is the way to live. Having respect for others is yet another thing I learned from my parents.
So what I am trying to say is that if I live a good life, I respect others, I try to help those in need, and I treat my body well isn’t that a good life. I believe so. Therefore why does every religious fanatic believe it is his or her job to tell me or anybody else that they are not living a correct life? I don’t go running around telling them that they shouldn’t believe in God, or that they shouldn’t be going to church. Everyone has a choice. Freedom of religion is another right that I was raised with and I believe that includes the right to choose no religion.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
A Vacation Home
Two weeks home and it felt like only hours.
After spending two weeks at home I am sufficiently tired and full of food. I don't know if I reached my goal of gaining 5 pounds in two weeks but I was really close. I ate enough sushi in one night to last me a year and finished my last day with INN-N-OUT for lunch and Pizza for dinner. Quite a way to go.
I was busy every day that I was in California, I got to see my beautiful sister get married. Welcome to the family Ryan. I got to see my friends from Ventura, the beach, and USC. I didn't have quite enough time to see everyone but don't worry I will be back in another year. For all of you that I did not get to spend some time with it just gives you more of a reason to come down to Panama and spend some time in the tropics.
The main reason for the trip was my sister getting married. The wedding was everything I am sure my sister imagined. The ceremony, which was done by my brother Zach was beautiful, the reception was full of dancing and drinks. It was great that a lot of the extended family from Wisconsin was able to come out and enjoy the beautiful California weather and some time with the long lost shulergang of California. As for other activities I was lucky enough to score some of that epic El nino surf I had been hearing about. The last four days of my trip included head high surf with low wind conditions. Neptune truly painted a wonderful picture for me to enjoy.
I was happy to see everyone and learn that you all seem to be doing well. I hope that I got the message across that I am really enjoying my Peace Corps experience. I spoke to everyone that asked and answered the question " What are you doing down there?" a million times. It was nice to know that everyone was so interested in my life and very supportive and excited for the work I am doing.
Back in Panama now and sweating like crazy. Of course it is also rainy but I am here with friends and ready to start working again after my two weeks vacation home.
After spending two weeks at home I am sufficiently tired and full of food. I don't know if I reached my goal of gaining 5 pounds in two weeks but I was really close. I ate enough sushi in one night to last me a year and finished my last day with INN-N-OUT for lunch and Pizza for dinner. Quite a way to go.
I was busy every day that I was in California, I got to see my beautiful sister get married. Welcome to the family Ryan. I got to see my friends from Ventura, the beach, and USC. I didn't have quite enough time to see everyone but don't worry I will be back in another year. For all of you that I did not get to spend some time with it just gives you more of a reason to come down to Panama and spend some time in the tropics.
The main reason for the trip was my sister getting married. The wedding was everything I am sure my sister imagined. The ceremony, which was done by my brother Zach was beautiful, the reception was full of dancing and drinks. It was great that a lot of the extended family from Wisconsin was able to come out and enjoy the beautiful California weather and some time with the long lost shulergang of California. As for other activities I was lucky enough to score some of that epic El nino surf I had been hearing about. The last four days of my trip included head high surf with low wind conditions. Neptune truly painted a wonderful picture for me to enjoy.
I was happy to see everyone and learn that you all seem to be doing well. I hope that I got the message across that I am really enjoying my Peace Corps experience. I spoke to everyone that asked and answered the question " What are you doing down there?" a million times. It was nice to know that everyone was so interested in my life and very supportive and excited for the work I am doing.
Back in Panama now and sweating like crazy. Of course it is also rainy but I am here with friends and ready to start working again after my two weeks vacation home.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Paradise Found
John Milton may have written that Paradise has been lost, well I am sure that I have just found it.
The Carribbean coast of Panama is lined with several island chains that are full of postcard worthy beaches. Many of these have been discovered, settled, and sold to gringos who in turn develop them into luxury hotels that try and seperate you from the environment. The island I visited is still untouched.
Mike and Amanda Smith, two of my friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers met Rogelio, a man in their town that has 25 acres of coastal property on an island called Escudo de Veraguas. Rogelio runs a small fishing business from Escudo and has a couple small houses he uses for his employees while they are working. After talking to Rogelio for a while he mentioned that he could take Mike and Amanda out to spend a couple of nights on the island. Nobody lives there permanently! A couple of houses for people that fish or hunt lobster but they are only there a couple of months out of the year. Mike and Amanda asked if they could bring some friends and Gretchen and I were lucky enough to be included along with Brandon and Jacey two of Mike and Amanda´s friends from the states that were visiting.
Three hours on a dug out wood boat with a 40hp motor and we arrived to our own little paradise. Aside from three of his workers, there wives and children we were the only people on an island that is over 225 acres. We arrived and were instantly in aww, green everywhere, torquoise blue water with coral and fish. We swam all day the first day and found little hidden beaches to relax on. Some of which I am sure very few peaopl have ever enjoyed. One Beach you actually had to swim through a little cave to get to. AMAZING. We finished the day with some wine and a freshly caught and prepared fish dinner. He literaly caught the fish in the front yard and cooked it for dinner.
Day two he gave us a complete island tour. We saw sloths, birds, and plenty of fish. We would occasionaly stop`at one of the countless beautiful beaches to enjoy a little time in the water but after a while we could choose because there were literaly too many. After a walk on a long beach and a good sun burn we were all ready for a little nap and chose our repective locations under a nice tree to dose off for an hour or two. While the others were a bit sunned out I took Rogelio up on an offer to go fishing. I went with two of his workers, Auriel and Chicho to go trawling for some fish. I caught three Benito before we filleted one and went after something bigger. It wasn´t too long before we had a 30 pound wahoo on the line and it took all three of us to get him in the boat. While a 30 pound wahoo doesn´t sound like it would be too much of a fight try to imagine that we were doing all of this with line in hand. We didn´t use any fishing poles the whole time and all three of us sustained some type of injury before I successfully knocked it over the head with a peace of wood and we could get him in the boat. We called it a successful trip after that and returned back to the house for another fresh cooked fish dinner and wine by the fire.
Amazing. Gorgeous. Pristine. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO
Don´t worry I took a lot of pictures and will be sure to share the beauty with all of you.
The Carribbean coast of Panama is lined with several island chains that are full of postcard worthy beaches. Many of these have been discovered, settled, and sold to gringos who in turn develop them into luxury hotels that try and seperate you from the environment. The island I visited is still untouched.
Mike and Amanda Smith, two of my friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers met Rogelio, a man in their town that has 25 acres of coastal property on an island called Escudo de Veraguas. Rogelio runs a small fishing business from Escudo and has a couple small houses he uses for his employees while they are working. After talking to Rogelio for a while he mentioned that he could take Mike and Amanda out to spend a couple of nights on the island. Nobody lives there permanently! A couple of houses for people that fish or hunt lobster but they are only there a couple of months out of the year. Mike and Amanda asked if they could bring some friends and Gretchen and I were lucky enough to be included along with Brandon and Jacey two of Mike and Amanda´s friends from the states that were visiting.
Three hours on a dug out wood boat with a 40hp motor and we arrived to our own little paradise. Aside from three of his workers, there wives and children we were the only people on an island that is over 225 acres. We arrived and were instantly in aww, green everywhere, torquoise blue water with coral and fish. We swam all day the first day and found little hidden beaches to relax on. Some of which I am sure very few peaopl have ever enjoyed. One Beach you actually had to swim through a little cave to get to. AMAZING. We finished the day with some wine and a freshly caught and prepared fish dinner. He literaly caught the fish in the front yard and cooked it for dinner.
Day two he gave us a complete island tour. We saw sloths, birds, and plenty of fish. We would occasionaly stop`at one of the countless beautiful beaches to enjoy a little time in the water but after a while we could choose because there were literaly too many. After a walk on a long beach and a good sun burn we were all ready for a little nap and chose our repective locations under a nice tree to dose off for an hour or two. While the others were a bit sunned out I took Rogelio up on an offer to go fishing. I went with two of his workers, Auriel and Chicho to go trawling for some fish. I caught three Benito before we filleted one and went after something bigger. It wasn´t too long before we had a 30 pound wahoo on the line and it took all three of us to get him in the boat. While a 30 pound wahoo doesn´t sound like it would be too much of a fight try to imagine that we were doing all of this with line in hand. We didn´t use any fishing poles the whole time and all three of us sustained some type of injury before I successfully knocked it over the head with a peace of wood and we could get him in the boat. We called it a successful trip after that and returned back to the house for another fresh cooked fish dinner and wine by the fire.
Amazing. Gorgeous. Pristine. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO
Don´t worry I took a lot of pictures and will be sure to share the beauty with all of you.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Panamanian Easter Egg Hunt
So I know its not Easter and I know they're not eggs but I organized a project to entertain, protect, and hopefully educate a few of the kids in my town during there summer break.
There is no electricity in my site, therefore many people use batteries for radios and flashlights. after these batteries have been used the people simply throw them out the windows of their houses like the rest of their trash. Some end up in the trash piles others in the creeks that run throughout the town. What these people don't realize is that while these batteries are sitting in the water or in the forest they are contaminating everything around them. Including the water they bathe in.
So I designed a project in order to take all of the batteries out of the environment and place them within cement of a tower that a radio company is building right outside of my town. I told all of the kids that for every three batteries they brought me I would give them a piece of candy and the kid that brought me the most batteries would receive an entire bag of candy. The kids heard candy and got excited. The result from the contest were more than I imagined but after 8 dollars and 5 pounds of candy I successfully removed 1148 batteries from the environment and encased them in cement. The winning kid brought me 161 batteries.
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