More Friday Photos

Sr. Sanchez, who got us safely there and back

Friday Fun

Today was a day that was full - but not with teaching.

We went off to UTP after checking out of the hotel, passing a gorgeous colonial church and other interesting sights.

Maritza sporting her
"Susan Special"

Girls on the move

 We arrived and settled in.  The audit team went off to do their work and I did some work.

Then, Nicolas and Euclides came by to take me out to try to find a diabolito or devil mask that the Azuero peninsula is famous for.  These masks are used during the feast of Corpus Christi that takes place in June.

We looked high and low and didn't find them until Nicolas asked and was directed to the home of one of the makers of the masks.

What a treat!

He didn't have any at that moment, but he did have one that he was about to paint.  I paid him for it.  Turns out he was working on making dolls for the birthday party for the nephew of one of my friends at UTP.  Small world!  He will paint it so it's ready by the weekend, and Victor will pick it up before coming back from Los Santos (his hometown)

The rest of the day was uneventful.  Back at the UTP Regional Center, I worked on my blog since I was way behind, and helped Elba edit a table for her dissertation.

We left to return home about 5 but stopped en route to dine, which took far longer than expected.  I finally got home about 10:30 exhausted and ready to sleep, but I did preparation for David and didn't actually get to sleep until 2 am.

Here are some photos of the devil masks and their creators (And if anyone can help me figure out how to manage these photos on Blogger, I'd love to hear!  They act as though they are haunted...)

My mask 

It's Back! (Thursday)

Today was 100% better than yesterday.  Thankfully!

We arrived at the UTP Regional Center in Azuero bright and early today.  The team was fanning out to conduct the audit, but first, of course, there was the mandatory group photo.

(L to R)  Elba, Geralis, me, Maritza, Nicolas, Euclides

There was only one class here at the UTP Regional Center in Azuero, although originally two were scheduled.  I spent the morning working on earlier blog entries (being very behind!) and worrying about my Spanish.

Lunch was great, and put me back a big $2.65.

Then, appropriately fortified, I went off to teach.  At first I was a bit concerned because it was mostly first year students - the very ones who were so tough yesterday.  But there was an important difference - this time there was also a professor in the classroom.  I think this helped with crowd control.

And it went fabulously!  I think it was the best class of the whole trip.  No confidence lapses, no stumbling around, no frustration - just teaching.  In Spanish.  IN SPANISH!  (OK, in Spanish-ish)  I didn't need a lot of help with words, and I handled everything myself without having to have someone else discuss slides or concepts.

Best of all, the class stayed engaged the whole time and it felt wonderful.

So THIS time, the smiles are real.

 

Unfortunately, however, I felt quite ill by the time we got back to the hotel.  Perhaps it was the cookies Elba and I ate for sustenance while the team was doing their evening audit.  Perhaps it was the fried chicken.  Perhaps it was the heat.  But whatever the reason, I was unable to attend a grill put on by the Director of the Center (Rats!) and I went to bed with no dinner - just some sips of ginger ale.

But I was happy even so because the day had gone so well.  Indeed, I think this was the best class of all

Shaking confidence (Wednesday)

Today was a bad day and a great reminder of how it's hard to get your confidence back if it starts shaky.  Which it did today.

I was excited as we left the (amazing) hotel in Santiago.  After all, the first 2 classes went wonderfully and I was keen to have similar experiences in UTP Veraguas.

It was not meant to be.

The morning group filled out the surveys for the audit/accreditation team before I started.  The group was huge - probably 100 or so and most in their first year at UTP.  It would be safe to say that they weren't there because they wanted to learn about UX.  At all.

The course started but "the natives were restless."  Jostling, chatting, texting, and other challenging behaviors everywhere.  Plus bored stares and body language.  It felt as if the entire room just wanted to be elsewhere.

Maybe because of this, or perhaps something else (what?), my confidence in my Spanish faltered.  I spoke haltingly and with even more errors than usual.  I made judgment errors - like trying to explain what "Conceptual design" was - a totally unnecessary and extremely complex concept to introduce to an already fractious group.  I stumbled more.  I had to turn for help more and more.  Let's just say it wasn't going well.

And then El Decano came in and told us to stop.  Now.  Really.  NOW because the checkout time at the hotel was noon.  So, racing through the final slides, the class ended.  It felt like crap.

The afternoon was somewhat better although still not great.  There were older students - third and fourth years - and they were definitely more engaged, but there were several (one girl in particular) who were disruptive.  I wish I had felt that I could ask them to leave - but I had not checked this out in advance and was uncomfortable doing it without being certain that was OK.

So although I'm smiling in the photo with Nicolas, I was crying on the inside.

It was a hot night, and I didn't want to sit in the cafeteria, so we sought out Sanchez and sat in the van while the others finished up.  As self-medication, I made a necklace for Sanchez's wife.  Which he liked a lot.

And then, we hurtled into the darkness again with the wonderful Sanchez at the wheel.

On into another day...

Time, Interviews and Rain. (Tuesday)

Tuesday was totally different because I was not teaching.  We started the day eating at the market - a simple but yummy meal.  Plus there was a fruit stall nearby where we could stock up on yummies.

I had a number of errands to do - for myself and for others on the team, and since I was the one who was free, I had a chance to go do them and explore David a bit.

First, I had to go to renew my data plan so it wouldn't lapse.  Sanchez (our driver) helped me find the mail center for +Movil ("MasMovil") my carrier.  I had to get a number from this interesting display

and then wait.  And wait.  And wait. Finally, my number was called and I found out that to add money to my data plan I first had to buy regular cell phone time, and then pay for the data from that.  

The process was as follows:

1.  Add prepaid time to phone --> Press *166# [code on the card] # Send/Call (depending on the phone)

I had to add $15 USD - so I had to do this twice - once for a $5 card and another time for the $10 card - no such thing as a $15 card, even though this is the standard rate for data)

2.  Now, move money to data plan --> Press *456# Send/Call

3.  A menu comes up with Blackberry (1) or Other (2) - choose 2 then click "Reply" in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

4. Another menu comes up - choose the length of time for the data (30 days) --> Reply" in upper right hand corner

5.  Another menu comes up - discrete purchase (1) or ongoing/continuous (2) - choose 2 and click "Reply" in the upper right hand corner one last time.

!*%#!

Fellow HCI'ers and others, tell me - is this an intuitive process?  I was mighty glad to have someone who could explain this in English while doing it.  I now have it safely documented in my purple book!

Next was the Farmacia for a friend, and then the fun part, a quest for beads.  Unfortunately, almost all of the beads available in Panama are plastic - this is true in Panama City as well - so I had to try several places, but finally, upstairs in a "Sederia" (a store that sells many things - for parties, for crafts, etc.) I found a few (and I mean a very few) stone and glass beads for new necklaces - this time for Maritza and for Sanchez's wife.  Plus some taiga beads - I haven't seen these before so I stocked up.

Back to UTP we sped.  Once I got there, I found out that there were 2 Ngobe-Bugle people - one a student and one a gardener on staff - who were available to meet with to interview.  This was intended to help add context to the research that Aris and Lydia are doing.  We were saddened to find out that they were pretty much assimilated into mainstream Panamanian culture, speaking Spanish in the home, being out of touch with migration patterns, and such.  I totally understand this.  After all, the Ngobe-Bugle are an indigenous peoples who have been marginalized and relegated to remote impoverished places in the Comarcha - a sort of reservation.  But it is also kind of sad to see the loss of their language and culture.  It also underlines the need to actually spend time in those remote areas and to work closely with people who can help us understand what is happening, and also who can help us find culturally appropriate ways to co-design if technology proves to be a useful tool to help provide access, learning, and healthcare.  If.  IF.

And then, the skies opened. Lightening flashed followed almost immediately by loud, booming thunder.

And rain.

Lots and lots and lots of rain.  The torrents were so loud they drowned out conversation.  And almost immediately, they filled the drains and flowed like rapid rivers through campus.

How to get home?  Even with an umbrella, in this downpour of epic proportions, there was no way we were going to get into the Dean-mobile without getting drenched.

Or was there?

Brilliant Sanchez to the rescue!  He had found a place to park under an awning that covered the entire van!  Yes, there was a huge, deep puddle on one side, but the other was only a little puddle (amazing given the downpour) and one by one, we were able to get into the van basically dry - OK, a bit damp around the edges, but basically dry.

Whew!

We wondered if it would be possible to rive, but that was selling Sanchez short.  He negotiated the roads, puddles and all, like the champion driver that he is.

We sped through the night as the rain abated, past villages and schools and homes.

And dogs.  Lots and lots of dogs.  Many were asleep in the now-dry road.  Others were walking nonchalantly across the street, seemingly blissfully unaware of the hurtling van.  Sanchez had his hands full avoiding them all, as the rest of us gasped and applauded his skill.

On through the night we traveled and finally, we reached Santiago, our resting place for the night.

 
And for dinner?  Why, sanchoce of course.

Monday en Español!

It takes a good breakfast to fuel up for the day and ours was great.          

Then we hurried over to the first Regional Center of this visit.  I should explain.  The whole reason we are on this journey is because the Deans and their team must conduct an audit of 3 of the Regional Centers (Chiriqui in David, Veraguas in Santiago, and Azuero in Los Santos) for accreditation.  I am along to teach about UX in each location.

In Spanish (en Español)  <gulp!>

So this morning, off we went to the Regional Center in David.

First we met with the head of the center and decamped in his office for the next 2 days.  The team used the space to conduct interviews and meetings.  He had all kinds of interesting things in his space.  On the walls were photos, paintings and a colorful swag of souvenirs.  On his desk was a display case with many different types of currencies - many of them quite old.  It was a lively and colorful office and I immediately liked him!  It was just the kind of office I used to have and, although some would say it was cluttered, to me, it represented a life well lived and enjoyed greatly.  I imagine that each of these things has a story.  Just like life I suppose.

Meanwhile, across the hall, I was teaching. En Español!  OK, so it was broken at many times and there were many errors, and there was help when necessary (I even asked the students/professors to correct me and to feed me words - which they did with gusto), but I DID IT!  Yes, the afternoon session with the students went more smoothly than the morning one with the professors, but I actually managed to communicate, tell stories and even a joke or who - all in Spanish - in both classes!

And, as it turns out, it was also the third "El Dia de Las Trenzas" - Braid day!  El Dia de Las Trenzas is celebrated the third Monday of the year as part of Black Culture month  Some years ago, braids were banned in schools, because they were deemed inappropriate for school by the Minister of Education.  There was widespread discontent, especially in the Afro-Panamanian community was much anger about the ruling.  They launched a campaign to disobey the ruling by sending their children to school with braids.  Eventually, the Minister of Education had to acquiesce.   

Needless to day, after such a day as this, I was exhausted.  I almost skipped dinner but was glad I didn't.  Our whole table ordered the wonderful Panamanian soup,  Sancoche.  Rich chicken broth with pieces of chicken and vegetables with rice on the side.  The perfect "comfort food" to cap such an exciting and exhausting day!  So we were off to bed immediately thereafter.  And I was so tired that I was asleep almost before I made it to bed.