The Panamanians themselves are a friendly, generous, loving bunch. I will remember colleagues with whom we worked; some awesome, self-motivated students, determined to learn English; and our loving host mom, Gladys, who welcomed us into her family for the past two years. She has been the greatest blessing of all. I am also proud of Panama as a nation. Last year saw a hotly contested presidential election. A peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another took place without incident. (Contrast that with Iran.) Though Latino culture is macho-oriented, women serve widely at all levels of government in Panama. Women are professionals: business people, doctors, bankers, pharmacists, accountants, professors. The same is true of Jews, Arabs, Jehovah's Witnesses, blacks, indigenous and Chinese.
Jackie Wald writes: One backpack, one duffel, two years. That's how I started my Peace Corps Panama experience.
Jackie Wald of Dallas: Mission accomplished
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, March 7, 2010
SANTIAGO, Panama One backpack, one duffel, two years. That's how I started my Peace Corps Panama experience. Now it's the home stretch. A sense of accomplishment we did it! Some readers of my previous columns have asked: Did you ever feel like saying, "Forget this! I can't do it! I'm outta here!" Answer: Oh, yes.
In pre-service training, in the first host family home, when we had to shoo the chickens out of the latrine and dodge their droppings before we used it, I thought, I cannot do this.
When the scorpions would hide in the folds of the towel and strike before I knew what happened, I thought, I cannot do this.
Hiking in remote Peace Corps communities during the rainy season, clothes sticking to skin, when mud was ankle-deep and mosquitoes were breeding and hungry, I thought, I cannot do this.
But we didn't leave. What made us finish our service? Panama is blessed with beautiful mountains in the west, Caribbean and Pacific beaches, and colorful cultures and traditions. The Panamanians themselves are a friendly, generous, loving bunch. I will remember colleagues with whom we worked; some awesome, self-motivated students, determined to learn English; and our loving host mom, Gladys, who welcomed us into her family for the past two years. She has been the greatest blessing of all.
I am also proud of Panama as a nation. Last year saw a hotly contested presidential election. A peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another took place without incident. (Contrast that with Iran.) Though Latino culture is macho-oriented, women serve widely at all levels of government in Panama. Women are professionals: business people, doctors, bankers, pharmacists, accountants, professors. The same is true of Jews, Arabs, Jehovah's Witnesses, blacks, indigenous and Chinese.
Panama runs its own canal, in its own sovereign territory. This was not always the case. I vividly remember the political battles in 1980 back home. The Carter-Torrijos Treaty of 1979 had stipulated return of the canal to Panama at the end of the century, which gave the GOP plenty of ammunition. ("Dump Carter, Keep Our Canal.") There was always the underlying message that Panamanians were not capable of managing the most vital shipping lane in the world. Some unfriendly nation would wrest control of the canal, paralyzing global commerce, the naysayers claimed.
None of that has come to pass. The canal traffic is fascinating to watch. It seems well managed. It runs smoothly, day and night. Amplification of the canal is under way, and it will accommodate larger ships by 2014.
Still, Panama faces many obstacles in its path toward being a developed nation. That is why a Peace Corps presence assists in agriculture, environmental protection, business startups, coffee production, tourism and academics. Our help is especially needed because the enormous income generated by canal traffic is not put toward sustainable development throughout Panama.
Sen. Chris Dodd (Peace Corps 1966-68, Dominican Republic) has said, "Each Peace Corps volunteer we send abroad brings with him or her another chance to make America known to a world that often fears and suspects us." We who return from that service are strengthened with firsthand knowledge of the world.
I know that I am richer for having come to this nation, for having lived alongside its people, for showing that Americans care, that we are willing to give of our time and expertise to help them achieve more.
Jackie Wald of Dallas has served as a lecturer in Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at SMU. She and her husband, Michael, have volunteered to serve in the Peace Corps in Panama for 27 months. Her e-mail address is jwald999@yahoo.com.
