MOISES / CUERPO de PAZ / PANAMA: Community Integration

The first 3 months of Peace Corps service is dedicated to community integration. It’s important for me and my community members to feel comfortable with each other before starting to do any kind of Environmental Health Work. What has helped me relate most to my community members is to share their food, use body language, exchanging English and Emberá, and always taking up an invitation.

Food is nothing short of an ambassador in cross cultural integration. When community members see that I enjoy their food, it makes them happy that I am enjoying the same things that they enjoy. Furthermore, the food that I eat is fresh from the river or the jungle and absolutely delicious! I was a vegetarian before I came to the Peace Corps. However, I've made the decision that when I am in site that I will accept any plate of food that is given to me. How can I turn down a plate of food from a host family, that on a whim - invited me to live with them for a month? I don't look at this as defaulting on my values as a vegetarian, but rather being humbled by the family that wants to share their food with me.

Not only do we share the same food, the time spent together before eating is also important. When I enter a house, they immediately offer me a chair, which I take. As the conversation progresses, I eventually move to the floor and stretch out. I try to use my body language as a way of letting them know that I feel comfortable in their house, which lets them feel comfortable with me.

Learning Emberá has been a lot of fun in site. I have been learning the words that I would use most often in a day: how are you, where are you going, how did you sleep, I'm going to bathe, this is delicious, etc. They always laugh and get excited after we finish a short exchange in Emberá. Everyone in site asks me to learn English. I was hesitant at first, because I didn't want to be seen as an English teacher. But then I realized that English was something that they wanted to learn about me, the same way I want to learn about them. This led me to visit houses and offer to speak English, which has always been a hit. I will say that they are more interested about my work and me afterwards, simply because we had fun together.

Being invited to anything by anyone is an opportunity to integrate, have fun, and get to know my community members. When I show interest in what they are doing, they are excited that I am there. From going to an activity at the school, going hunting, harvesting platano, going to church, gutting various animals, or bathing someone's daughter in the river, these are all ways for us to feel comfortable with each other. There have been days when I get invited for 2 breakfasts, come back from working in the fields only to leave again with someone else. I never say no to anything. If they ask me to bring my camera, I let them use it. Most of the times that I'm out in the pueblo or in the finca, I have 10 people laughing at me. Of course I can't throw machete, row a piragua, or wash my clothes like they can! It's a great way for them to teach me something.

Now that the first 3 months are over, it doesn’t mean that I’m integrated, this something that I will be working on for the next 2 years. What we have achieved over the last 3 months however, is a new way of understanding each other.

Game on Nov. 3rd - Panamá Independence Day

Pulling the piragua into the jungle

Wading through the jungle

Helicopter lands to deliver food sacks from the government

Rice field

This is the first Casicque General of the Comarcá Emberá-Wounaan. He is responsible for starting the Comarcá in the 1970's. Quite an achievement for someone with no formal education.