Casi Dos Meses

1)  Throwback For my Mom -- something that's religious and that doesn't involve me hiking volcanoes or crossing the Mexican border:

Semana Santa in Guatemala a few months ago

2)  Reduce, Reuse, Refuse? -- I was at a shopping center in the regional capital and I told the cashier I didn't need a bag for my purchase.  She said store policy requires that I accept the bag.  En serio?!

3)  Speaking of Bags -- Well, I guess the former SF tour guide is not a total D-bag after all.   She owned up to her racist comments and apologized.  She said she would like to work with the Chinese community to mend relations.  Hmm... not sure how she'll do that, but it should be interesting.  She should probably do something that doesn't involve a microphone.

4)  Quote of the day -- "What I do know is there are 12 presidents in Africa who credit a Peace Corps volunteer with starting them on the path to the presidency."  Paul Biya is probably not one of them.  Mind-blowing fact:  Peace Corps has been in Cameroon for 50+ years and during that time, Cameroon has only had 2 presidents.

5)  Teaching English -- my colleagues at my partner organization wanted me to teach them English in a classroom type setting so I willingly obliged.  It was a short class, but it was quite fun.  I think I've found my calling.  Either this or selling recycled crafts.

Who Doesn't Love Parades?

1)  Paul Allen -- Seahawks owner gives $100 million to fight Ebola.  Nice of this billionaire to give back to society some of that $390 million that US taxpayers paid to help build that football stadium in Seattle. 

2)  Internet Commenters -- I sometimes read articles just so I can see reader comments, usually the ones that are Most Liked.  Not sure if that's good or not.  Anyway, the comments for a cyberstalking article were kind of funny while the ones for the Zero Waste Wedding were surprisingly negative. 

3)  Photo Op -- A Parade in Chitre in honor of the city's founding:

4)  Throwback from Cameroon -- taking a moped on a long trip through the bush with a buddy is probably not a good idea.

5)  Throwback from Cameroon #2 -- PCVs Justin and Lauren at the same place at the same time.

El Ambiente al Puesto

1)  Clean Up Day  -- cleaning up the streets at post with students and teaching them to separate recyclables from the trash.

2)  Sugar Cane For Your Soda

As the song goes, "I can see for miles and miles and …

3)  Enviro Ed --  teaching elementary school students how to reuse/recycle plastic bottles.

4)  Laptop Case Update --  my laptop case made out of potato chip bags/candy wrappers is almost done.

A lot of these potato chip bags/candy wrappers have the recycle sign even
though most of them end up in the landfill.  Ironic, don't you think?

5)  Alligator Tears? -- This baby alligator is looking sad probably because of everyone dumping their trash in it's lake. 

Please donate.  Or just stop littering.

¡Alla La Vida!

1)  Spanish Subtitles -- Lately I've been watching TV shows or movies without Spanish subtitles.  Its time for me to stop relying on subtitles.  There's no subtitles in real life.  Either I understand it or I don't.  I need to figure it out for myself. 

2)  Cardio for the day -- planting plantains with some students:

3)  Songs to air drum to -- Rancid's Journey to the End of the East Bay, Smashing Pumpkin's Cherub Rock, U2's All I Want is You (the live version), The Police's Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.  I need to meet a drum teacher in town.  Supposedly, there's one who plays at church. 

4)  Three News Articles -- A short history of the media and the Washington team, the D-bag (former) tour guide, and an eco-friendly wedding.  Also, the headline (Reuse, Recycle, Romance) couldn't be any better. 

5)  Possible careers in the Philippines -- start a recycling business, teach people how to make recycled crafts, sell recycled crafts, teach (Latin American) Spanish or French (with a Cameroonian accent), teach English to Koreans (or other foreigners), and of course, Peace Corps. 

I Wrote a Blog Post and You'll Never Believe What Happened Next

Well, I posted it.  That's what happened next. 

1)  Side Gigs -- I was listening to my brother's senior recital from his saxophone playing days.  He had a pretty good original piece there.  You know, bro, Joshua Redman was accepted to Yale law school but ended up deferring.  The rest is history.  Just sayin'.

2)  Enviro Ed Topic? -- There's nothing like trying to read an article in Spanish about making plastic bags from cow farts.  If there is, you'll have to tell me.  I wonder what my counterparts think of this. 

3)  Dinero -- When I left Cameroon, I made the mistake of not converting about $200 worth of CFA into dollars.  So if anyone's going to Cameroon and you're passing by Panama or if I'm going to see you when I'm visiting the US, I gots what you need.  I'm just glad I don't have to exchange currency in Panama since I can use the US $ here. 

4)  Question(s) of the Day -- How is it that most of the supermarkets in my town (and apparently in most of Panama) are owned by the Chinese?  Supermarkets are so associated so much with the Chinese that the locals call the supermarkets 'Chino'.  e.g. "you can buy X at the Chino."  How have they come to dominate the supermarket business?  Are they all part of a business association?  Do they get incentives back home to set up shop in Panama?  More importantly, where did they learn Spanish?  Well, I suppose I can always just ask them these questions instead of wondering on my blog.   

An ethnic Chinese student in Panama with my counterparts.

5)  There's friends and then there's Facebook friends --  Every once in a while, I unfriend/block people on Facebook.  Although I realize now that that's a little harsh for some of them.  Some, not all.  I probably should've just unfollowed some of them.  Its just weird to be Facebook "friends" with some people I've never met in real life or with people I barely know.  Come to think of it, using words like "unfriend" and "unfollow" is weird.