So I finished my first chapter of an attempt at a book about my PC service and realized I don’t really care to write a book about it. So I’m back to posting blog posts about my experiences. Going to post my first chapter at some point in chunks. For now, I leave you with a blog post.
Uncomfortable/Comfortable Silences
One of the many classes we took during our training revolved around whether an individual’s action is classified as personal, cultural, or universal. Originally I classified uncomfortable silence as a universal idea but came to realize later on that it was in fact not the reality; it is a cultural thing in The United States. On the other hand, in Panama, comfortable silence is culturally accepted. It is not uncommon for Panamanian’s to sit quietly, speaking a few words every so often, and then returning to silence.
At first this thought absolutely blew my mind and frustrated me to a great degree because I often found myself very uncomfortable in these situations. Over time, as I tried to adapt to this difference, I also begin to realize the awesome side effect of comfortable quietness, you don’t have to force conversation when there is none. When future situations arise where I’m too burnt out from speaking Spanish or can’t think of any more questions to ask, I can return to silence knowing that it will not negatively impact my interactions with community members.
Sensing the Rain
At some point we were sitting around the table relaxing as a slow afternoon typically goes. The host family’s sister who lives next door was over hanging out. At some point, the calmness of the situation was interrupted with her shouting some quick Spanish which I was unable to understand and she took off running home. I was in the middle of reading and stopped to look up, curious about what had just happened. I looked around, listened, and heard a faint sound off in the distance which grew quickly and was headed straight at us. I questioned what had just happened and the reply was rain. Within a minute, there was a downpour directly on top of us. I find this skill amazing and hope that in time I will have ears that will sense the rain and notify me of it before I’m standing with my guard down in the middle of the road, far from any shelter.
My Travels In 