Only a very minor improvement.
No church.
No opening of the door.
A bit of WhatsApp and a Skype call, but otherwise, no human contact.
Finished the write up for the class of the "Purchase Process" visits
Caught up with the blog.
Glad to be going back tomorrow because I am starting Spanish lessons (being optimistic!)
But for now, Good night.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
It's too hot for a cold... or is it? (Saturday)
The rainy season has arrived with a vengeance! At unpredictable hours of the night and the day, the skies open up and the rain is so torrential that it makes it almost impossible to drive. There is always flooding in the same places. And traffic always snarls almost the instant the first drops hit.
Last night, the storm was spectacular. Thunder booming an instant after lightening licked the nearby hills with its snaky tongue. It rained torrentially for a very long time. Even after the worst of the storm had rumbled off into the distant, the jolts of light and the flashes of light continued for hours. Even using the mythical Panamanian scale of Thunderstorm Violence, this one was a doozy.
I got my candle and lighter ready in case the electricity went, although luckily it did not.
So I sat and watched the storm, nursing my glass of cold Mandarin Orange Spice tea (my new favorite beverage) and watched a rom-com, nursing my new cold symptoms.
That's right. The departmental cold has struck. It's hardly surprising, given that just about everyone is sick. Some, like my next door neighbor in the office, Addys, are very sick.
There are a number of different theories as to why people seem to succumb to illness right after the rainy season arrives.
- It's just because the weather has changed.
- It's because there are viruses that are dormant during the dry season but which reappear with the rains.
- It's because it's a different bug each season.
- It's an illusion (this is definitely NOT true)
Unfortunately, today I was going to go take the subway with my friend Martha, and later, to meet my Fulbright friend who I've never met in person at a trendy tea shop. But alas, neither was meant to be.
Instead, I drank yet more tea and taken lots of Zicam - zinc and vitamin C - to try to combat the symptoms. And I do feel marginally better, although I don't know how I'll feel if I try to do anything more energetic than sweeping the apartment (which caused me to break out in a sweat!) and doing the laundry. Pitifully little.
We'll see if I'm feeling well enough to go to Balboa Union Church tomorrow. I sure hope so because it may be my last time to see Gracie and Gerry before they head up to Minnesota for 3 weeks. Yes, you heard that right. Minnesota. As I mentioned in a previous posting, they are from St. Paul!
But in the meantime, I'm keeping quiet and taking care of myself. In fact, I think I might try a cup of hot Mandarin Orange Spice tea with honey to tackle my hacking cough. Yes, that sounds great.
Stay tuned...
Into the Field, Into the rain (Thursday)
Today, I gathered the initial field data for my class's exercise that we'll carry out next week.
The premise is that we are doing an early concept assessment for a new "company", "The Speedy Bead." This "company" will provide high quality beads (something that is hard to find in Panama) quicker than they are available from e-railers in the States like eBay or Firemountain Gems. In addition, they would come quickly, with low shipping rates - something that is impossible if you buy from outside Panama because there is no reliable post, so things must come in through a freight forwarder in the US, which is extremely costly and takes quite a lot of time.
The "data" I gathered today is background for this exercise and represents the current purchasing process of beads in Panama City. My friend, Lydia, went down to Avenida B, the rather rough area where Don Chicho and Casa Lieu are located. There, she picked out beads, and demonstrated how she puts together sets of beads for projects.
I wrote up this information for the class to read before Wednesday.
On Wednesday, we are going to go to Lydia's home where I will show them how to do an ethnographic visit - using all of the methods we use. She will show us where she keeps her beads, how she plans and executes a project and what she does with finished projects.
Then NEXT week, we will do another Affinity Diagram - this time using ALL of the colors of Post-its that we have - of the data we will gather. Again, it will be in the hallway. Again, it will stimulate interest (I hope.) And it will serve as the basis for paper prototypes of the website that the class will create and test.
I'm very excited!
Diagramming Affinities (Wednesday)
All week long, I have been meeting with my students as they have done (semi) in-depth interviews (IDIs) of between 30 and 60 minutes to accompany the short (10 minute) interviews they did when I was away. We met with people and spent time with them as they showed us how they use the web, especially to find information about education.
Today, we analyzed what we found from these interviews plus a comparative web site analysis that they also did. Those of you in my profession will recognize an Affinity Diagram, but for those of you who are not, here's what we did:
Today, we analyzed what we found from these interviews plus a comparative web site analysis that they also did. Those of you in my profession will recognize an Affinity Diagram, but for those of you who are not, here's what we did:
- We wrote each observation on a different post-it note
- Then we went into the hallway and started with a "seed" - one of my notes.
- We compared a second note to this one and put it either close or far away depending on how similar or dissimilar it seemed to be
- We contented the process until we had posted all of our notes
- Then we looked at each group or clump and further organized that into sub-clumps if it seemed that there were such sub-groupings
- We labeled each and then we "walked the wall" to move things as necessary
This is what it looked like when we were done:
 |
| Close up of one clump: The needs of high school ("secondaria") students |
We generated quite a lot of interest as we worked. People came by, asking what we were doing, talking about how they could see doing something similar themselves and generally showing interest.
It was only partly because we were using colored post-its (though everyone has been coveting these!)
It represents a very different way of thinking about organizing information, a much more flexible and visual (not to mention physical) way to play around with different groupings and to try on different ways of organizing content.
(And just wait! We have an even better - and certainly more colorful - Affinity Diagram coming - stay tuned)
Ballots and votes (Tuesday and Wednesday)
The administrative staff (above) and the faculty (below) voted for representatives to the administrative and academic councils. There were poll watchers and everything!
But I have no idea who won. Perhaps they do?
Proof! (Monday)
Coffee, Costa Rica, and Rolling Home (Saturday)
Once again, we got up early, though not quite as early. I headed to the showers first of all, and there were the Ngobe women getting ready for their days. I returned to the room and packed everything up - not difficult since I never really unpacked. The guys took all of our luggage out to the bus before breakfast and we trooped to breakfast.
Then we climbed in the bus and went on our way. Onto the Pan American highway and into David's outskirts where we picked up Anna who was to guide us today and several professors from UTP-Chiriqui in David. Then we climbed up into the mountains again. This time, Elba had an antiemetic from Anna which really helped her endure the climb. Winding and laboring up, then quickly heading down just to turn and climb again. Once again, no AC - except in the rainy bits.
We arrived in Rio Sereno in sunshine. I recognized the main street - the shops, the people, the traffic. It felt really good to be returning somewhere that I knew. We turned up to the border patrol and the official border crossing. There, we immediately all queued up for the one toilet in the border patrol! How funny!
While they were waiting, several of the lads posed with one of the Border police.
We walked up the muddy road to a station similar to the one we went to yesterday, except that this one was on the Costa Rican side of the border. It was still under construction. There, Anna explained what they were doing there.
Then we climbed back in the bus for our final descent.
Down we went, not stopping at the coffee fields as we had hoped because by now it was late, and the rain had started in earnest, no longer a gentle drizzle but rather an energetic downpour.
We reached David and dropped off our local colleagues, and then hurried back to get as far as we could before nightfall. Unfortunately we didn't make it as far as we would have liked. We bumped and slewed and shuddered across Chiriqui and then on into Veraguas where we took a brief pit stop in Santiago again before we hustled back on the bus to make tracks.
On through the dark we rode. I had decided to make bracelets for the girls on the trip and was almost done, but I worked most of the way across the country to get them all done in time.
As the time grew later and later, it seemed that we sped up. And so we did. The driver was only authorized to drive the UTP bus until midnight! So we raced the clock. And pulled into the entrance to UTP at exactly midnight! By this time, the gates were already locked, and most of the people who were there to pick us up were locked in. But with our arrival, they opened the gates and let us all out.
Wonderful Elba's cousin and aunt had driven to pick us up and they delivered me to my doorstep. A long but fruitful journey.
Then we climbed in the bus and went on our way. Onto the Pan American highway and into David's outskirts where we picked up Anna who was to guide us today and several professors from UTP-Chiriqui in David. Then we climbed up into the mountains again. This time, Elba had an antiemetic from Anna which really helped her endure the climb. Winding and laboring up, then quickly heading down just to turn and climb again. Once again, no AC - except in the rainy bits.
We arrived in Rio Sereno in sunshine. I recognized the main street - the shops, the people, the traffic. It felt really good to be returning somewhere that I knew. We turned up to the border patrol and the official border crossing. There, we immediately all queued up for the one toilet in the border patrol! How funny!
While they were waiting, several of the lads posed with one of the Border police.
We walked up the muddy road to a station similar to the one we went to yesterday, except that this one was on the Costa Rican side of the border. It was still under construction. There, Anna explained what they were doing there.
Then we trooped back down to the border crossing, where we posed as a group. Those photos are supposedly in a shared Dropbox folder and I'll add one once I have it. But for the moment, these will have to suffice.
From there, we walked down and into Rio Sereno itself. Some of the kids picked up snacks at one of the many M/S stores.
 |
| (It was the best photo of the parrot, not of the woman, however) |
Then we climbed back in the bus for our final descent.
Down we went, not stopping at the coffee fields as we had hoped because by now it was late, and the rain had started in earnest, no longer a gentle drizzle but rather an energetic downpour.
We reached David and dropped off our local colleagues, and then hurried back to get as far as we could before nightfall. Unfortunately we didn't make it as far as we would have liked. We bumped and slewed and shuddered across Chiriqui and then on into Veraguas where we took a brief pit stop in Santiago again before we hustled back on the bus to make tracks.
On through the dark we rode. I had decided to make bracelets for the girls on the trip and was almost done, but I worked most of the way across the country to get them all done in time.
As the time grew later and later, it seemed that we sped up. And so we did. The driver was only authorized to drive the UTP bus until midnight! So we raced the clock. And pulled into the entrance to UTP at exactly midnight! By this time, the gates were already locked, and most of the people who were there to pick us up were locked in. But with our arrival, they opened the gates and let us all out.
Wonderful Elba's cousin and aunt had driven to pick us up and they delivered me to my doorstep. A long but fruitful journey.
High up, high on the mountain... (Friday)
Friday dawned very early - as in 5 am. We all trooped to the showers and I noticed a number of Ngobe-Bugle women both in the bathroom and working to sweep, cook, and clean. Then I remembered that we were staying in dorms run by the Jesuit Foundation of Nuestra Señora del Camino, which is dedicated to improving the lives of the Ngobe-Bugle. Their objective is to provide "creative alternatives to improve housing and food security and to reduce maternal and infant deaths among the Ngobe-Bugle." So it was hardly surprising that they were there.
The students excitedly explored the beautiful grounds which were jungly and lush. They eagerly tromped up and down, while Elba and I decided to forego the tour. Instead, we sat briefly in one of the many chapels on the grounds, and then sat and talked.
After breakfast, we piled into the bus and headed up the road above San Felix. Up. and Up. and UP. The bus struggled and at times was barely moving - or so it seemed. The bus driver had us open windows so he could turn off the air conditioning in the bus.
The hills were dotted with settlements and everywhere the clothes lines were decked with Ngobe dresses. It was a gorgeous day as we climbed higher and higher. We passed people walking up and walking down the steep incline.
Men and women. Fathers, mothers carrying infants, children. Young girls and babies. Sons walking behind their fathers.
We reached the hamlet of Kato Chami, where we were due to meet the women from the UN who would be our guides, and also to pick up lunch. School was out, so there were kids playing instead of being in class.
The sun was hot, so we went back into the shade of a building. Soon, a pickup came and several Ngobe women piled out. They quickly went to what turned out to be the toilet.
Back in the bus, soon, we were engulfed in a cloud - one of those hugging the mountains. Then out into the sunshine again as we climbed above it. The countryside was gorgeous and as we reached the top of the mountain, we could see for miles.
Then a quick turn to the right, down a bit of a hill and stop. It's the end of the road. And there is the center we have come to visit. A bright shiny new building with a concrete floor and kitchen served as both a and latrines.
There, we heard very interesting talks about the programs to improve maternal health, reduce HIV-AIDS infection, increase education and deal with health issues stemming from the annual migration from the mountains to the coffee plantations in western Chiriqui (Panama) and Costa Rica, as well as other issues that result from this migration We heard from several very interesting Ngobe-Bugle people - this young man described how they have a computer in his school, but, upon more conversation with him, Elba and I found out that they haven't been able to use it yet since they are waiting for Microsoft Office. (Lydia told him about OpenOffice)
We also heard from these young women as well as others.
The students excitedly explored the beautiful grounds which were jungly and lush. They eagerly tromped up and down, while Elba and I decided to forego the tour. Instead, we sat briefly in one of the many chapels on the grounds, and then sat and talked.
After breakfast, we piled into the bus and headed up the road above San Felix. Up. and Up. and UP. The bus struggled and at times was barely moving - or so it seemed. The bus driver had us open windows so he could turn off the air conditioning in the bus.
The hills were dotted with settlements and everywhere the clothes lines were decked with Ngobe dresses. It was a gorgeous day as we climbed higher and higher. We passed people walking up and walking down the steep incline.
We reached the hamlet of Kato Chami, where we were due to meet the women from the UN who would be our guides, and also to pick up lunch. School was out, so there were kids playing instead of being in class.
The sun was hot, so we went back into the shade of a building. Soon, a pickup came and several Ngobe women piled out. They quickly went to what turned out to be the toilet.
We asked for permission to take photos of the women of course, and they agreed. And while we were there, we asked a bunch of questions about their experiences with mobile phones, computers and the Internet. Then the woman in the orange dress asked for a copy of the photo. It turned out that she had an email address too! So I sent the photos to her - though I had no internet access until Saturday in Santiago.
Back in the bus, soon, we were engulfed in a cloud - one of those hugging the mountains. Then out into the sunshine again as we climbed above it. The countryside was gorgeous and as we reached the top of the mountain, we could see for miles.
Then a quick turn to the right, down a bit of a hill and stop. It's the end of the road. And there is the center we have come to visit. A bright shiny new building with a concrete floor and kitchen served as both a and latrines.
There, we heard very interesting talks about the programs to improve maternal health, reduce HIV-AIDS infection, increase education and deal with health issues stemming from the annual migration from the mountains to the coffee plantations in western Chiriqui (Panama) and Costa Rica, as well as other issues that result from this migration We heard from several very interesting Ngobe-Bugle people - this young man described how they have a computer in his school, but, upon more conversation with him, Elba and I found out that they haven't been able to use it yet since they are waiting for Microsoft Office. (Lydia told him about OpenOffice)
We also heard from these young women as well as others.
We had expected there to be 10 women to meet with Elba and me as part of our initial needs assessment, but only one woman was there. It turns out that the women needed to get their husbands' permission to attend since there were men present. The woman who came no longer has a relationship with her husband (although he still lives with her). We asked a number of questions with the help of the young man above since she spoke no Spanish.
While we were talking with her, one of the girls who had spoken earlier, named "Anna", came over and wanted to make a necklace herself. So of course I opened up my bead bag and helped her find beads that were easy to string on elastic cord.
 |
| Martha from the UN |
Then, suddenly, it was time to go. Immediately!
We twisted and turned down the mountain. Poor Elba! She had felt ill on the way up, and had closed her eyes while I sang to her (at her request) This worked only to a degree. So on the way down, she moved to a seat where she didn't have to perch and where she could sit by the window which gave her lots of fresh air since they were opened on the way down. Until it started to rain. But she seemed to feel a bit better.
We hurried to try to get to Soloy before the health workers left, but alas, we were too late. The kids didn't have a chance to make an in-depth site survey, but they did find solar panels that appeared not to be working.
We returned tired but feeling like we had accomplished quite a lot. A very good day.
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