Panamanian for trash

Someone sent this to me in an email. More than just a way that different words evolve, it is an example of how the ubiquity of certain things (in this case US trash bins) influence a language and culture, and also how languages influence each other.  The tinaco is a popular example when people talk about the American influence in Panama. Further, a tinaker is a stray dog (a dog that roams around the tinacos. The "ce" in spanish is a soft c so it changes to a k. tinaco-> tinacer-->tinaker. get it?)

In Panama, a tinaco is a garbage can. It is the only Spanish speaking place in the Americas that calls their garbage cans by this name. The name originated because in the early 20th century, the Americans owned a garbage pickup company called, Tin and Company.....and they had metal barrels that they would use to place outside each home for garbage pickup. The barrels said, "Tin and Co." The words stuck beyond the life of the company. They closed operations decades ago, but people still refer to garbage cans as "el tinaco." A simple colloquialism,but this example illustrates how words evolve in a language, and how different countries of the same basic language (in this case, Spanish) evolve different words for the same things.

Panama is not Cuba

As you know, the only other country in which I have spent a significant amount of time is Cuba. I have to remind myself that Panama is not Cuba.

I do not have to see everything, eat everything, touch everything, fill my senses with everything possible because I don't know when I will be back. I can come back to Panama whenever I want. I am not sure when I will be back, true, but I don't need  any special permission to return, just money to buy a ticket : )

The only downsides (kinda) about Panama not being Cuba is that I have no baggage weight restriction! US-Cuba-US I was only allowed 44lbs of luggage. That greatly limited what I took with me and what I brought back. Also, the Cubans I know expected me to distribute all of my material possessions among them under the assumption that:  I have. They do not. I should give.They should receive because I can replace... which helps the weight control of the bags but makes for very awkward situations when you have to explain why you want to keep your own things. ummmmm...yeah. *wooo sah. ok I am back*

So me and my expensively heavy 3 suitcases and my personal item (nope, not a carry on because I would have to pay for that) will be headed to the airport tonight. And tomorrow, I will wake up in the US, missing Panama.

on leaving.

...I sit here, staring at my suitcases, wondering how I can solve this puzzle using as little money as possible...

My energy is nervous excitement.
(and hunger. I am down to the end of my food and eating it sparingly is not working for me right now).

I am not excited to leave. I thoroughly enjoy my life here. I do what I want, within reason, when I want to do it, within the constraints of other people's schedules and tasks of necessity. I have a lot of freedom. I also have a lot of self-discipline. I think I could have done more. I could have been better at managing my schedule, done more interviews, written more, changed some things, blah blah, etc etc. Hindsight is 20-20.

I did over 50 interviews. Most of them took more than one sitting. Each sitting is an average of 2 hours. that is a LOT. I am ready for the next challenge: analysis and writing.

I am not excited to leave but I want to leave. Being in Panama means I am in "the field", which means I am not analyzing or writing, which means I am not any closer to completing my dissertation. You feel me??

leaving Panama => dissertation progress => closer to getting that PhD => closer to having a real life + real salary =? maybe coming back to Panama. ?

I need to be outside of this context to better reflect and understand this context.

I am also more than fed up with my roommates so I am ready to live alone! (again).
at 9:30am on Sunday, I will be back in the United States. for good? only time will tell *wink*

I did myself up real nice and stuff.

I went to a gala dinner on Friday night. Surprisingly, I had fun!  A man I interviewed was honored, and I danced the night away with this guy from Brooklyn and one of the new Fulbrighters (2nd pic). I think we were 100% of the young population lol.

I am still sick. I have some stuff to finish tonight so I can go to bed early because tomorrow is my last trip to Colon.

Enjoy these two pictures and I will fill in more later. As you look, notice how much hair I have grown and also   I hope you like my dress (I bought it final sale in March for my Fulbright semiformal.... then the event was changed to a business casual cocktail reception!! Let's all celebrate that I was able to wear it, thus saving you from hearing me whine!)

sick, but worth it. Canal and polleras. que panamena!

 I felt awful yesterday morning and suspected I had a fever, but there were two events I did not want to miss. In true Ariana fashion, I went to the events. and today I am home sick, leaving time to make this blog post.

In the morning I left from Pedro Miguel locks and went through a small piece of the canal to Cuelbra/Gaillard Cut, the most dangerous part of the canal construction and the place where many people lost their lives. Dynamite had to be used to blast the layers of rick, but the medicine used to fight malaria and yellow fever carried deafness as a side effect. I will not bore you with the details, but this trip was part of SAMAAP's "Know your Canal" (conozca su canal) week. Two small boats left from Pedro Miguel and after prayers, songs and speeches, we all threw rose petals into the water to honor the dead

I went home to eat, then left to Colon for the cultural Tuesday presentation. Apparently August is folklore month and there was a "fashion show" of sorts. It was an explanation of different polleras from different provinces! You know I love polleras. Here are a few pictures

I have more, but you will have to wait :)

I felt like utter crap on the bus ride home (so cold I was shivering and my teeth chattering) and was certain I had a fever when I got home. I was still shivering cold and my face was burning hot. I actually think I had a small fever that morning, but ah well. I couldn't make it in the air conditioned library today so I am taking today as a sick day. This is the last one I get so shivers or not, I have to go to the library tomorrow!

more good news- headed to the Big Easy!!

The panel we submitted for the American Anthropological Association national meetings in November (in New Orleans the weekend after my 30th birthday)

...

was accepted!!

whooooo hooooo

This is my first official conference participation!!! (I am not counting the AU public anthropology conference as official, or Mellon, or my Fulbright seminar... or other small conferences lol).

Now I have to write the paper lol (and buy a ticket to New Orleans) but I also get to add "session organizer" for our national meetings to my CV. Maybe I can do this scholar thing after all.

The good thing is this will light a fire under me to write this paper, which will be part of a chapter of my dissertation. I never sent in an abstract for that book, but little by little.

I thought 2009 was my year, Cuba+Fulbright, but when all of my important things were stolen I changed my mind. Maybe 2010 is my year! :)

“The key to change... is to let go of fear.”

I don't think I am afraid of many things. But there are definitely things that make me more than just "uncomfortable". Bugs. large animals. snakes. More relevantly, speaking to large crowds of strangers and speaking to large crowds in Spanish. I teach classes. That is ok. I am always nervous, but I am prepared. I do not like people looking at me.(as I explained in an earlier post) so you can imagine how uuuggghhhgh giving speeches makes me feel.

I love when people tell me my Spanish is good or any degree thereof. One woman said, "Your Spanish is excellent!" and I will now love her forever. I love that people think I am from Panama (unless there are Cubans around, in which case they think I am Cuban. I don't understand why) even after I open my mouth. I think my Spanish is functional with a strong American accent.

So one day after speaking for hours with the director for the Center of Panamanian Women, in Spanish, she said, "we are having an event next week at the University. You should be on the panel and say a few words."
Full of the good spirit that comes from a productive meeting I said, "Sure!"

Then I realized what I committed to and I freaked out.

I continued to freak out for days, until I realized that I never heard from her again. *sigh of relief* And I relaxed.

Then I received this:

Centro de la Mujer Panameña  (CEMP)

y  la

Red de Mujeres Afropanameña (REMAP)

Nos complace mucho extenderle una cordial invitación al

FORO

“Empoderamiento e Identidad de las Mujeres Afrodescendientes: Retos y Oportunidades”,

.

"AÑO INTERAMERICANO DE LAS MUJERES"

5 de agosto de 2010       5:30 p.m.

Auditorio de Administración Pública de la Universidad de Panamá.

(frente al Hospital del Seguro Social)

Objetivo: 

Visibilizar la realidad de la mujer afrodescendiente,

su identidad étno-racial y de género.

Panelistas :

Dra. Ariana Alyce Curtis : 

“Genero,  Raza  e Identidad Cultural”

Antropóloga.  Departamento de Antropología,  Area de Raza, Género  y  Justicia  Social de  la  American University en Washington,  D.C.

Dr. Carlos Minott,  

Proyecto “Derechos Humanos para Pueblos Afrodescendientes”

Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas, con la temática: Una Mirada a los Derechos Humanos de los Pueblos Afrodescendientes.

Lic Markelda Montenegro de Herrera,  

“Política de Equidad de Género y Mujeres Afrodescendientes”

Directora del Instituto Nacional de la Mujer con la temática: Inclusión de las Mujeres Afrodescendientes en las políticas públicas para la Equidad de Género en Panamá.

Dra.  Alma Jenkins Acosta,   

“Mecanismos para la inclusión de las mujeres afrodescenientes

en el Sistema de Naciones Unidas”

Oficial de Programas Multipaís e
Iniciativas con Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes
UNICEF TACRO

Licda. Janina Walters,  

Mujer Afro identidad y Expresión Cultural.

Directora de la Fundación Arnold Walters   y  Red de Mujeres Afropanameñas REMAP.

Then I REALLY freaked out.(no, I am not a doctor yet. one day soon!) I wanted to back out. I wanted to come down with something suddenly. I did not want to give a 15 minute talk to a room full of strangers in Spanish.
But it was too late to back out, as I received this email the day of the event. I went to do an interview that morning, came home and wrote something. I read it out loud (a few times really) and just had to go with it.  What was the worst that could happen, I asked myself.
No one would understand me. No one would listen. No one would care. They wouldn't like what I had to say and I would never be invited again. Nothing grave, right? so I sucked it up and left.

at least I was wearing one of my favorite dresses and my favorite black pumps. If no one understood my words, they at least had to respect my outfit :)

Here is the scene:

I obviously do not have pictures of myself on the panel. I should ask for some though.
anyway:

it was GREAT!! Really really great and I am so happy I did it!

I spoke about some of my experiences in this project where women did not want to be interviewed because they didn't think they had anything to contribute but instead referred me to their husbands. I spoke about a particular project I reviewed where the female principle investigator asked the interviewees a number of questions about their father but nothing about their mothers. My message was that although oral histories and informal sharing are important, we cannot neglect our own voices in the official academic record, and that as members of society, we do not have to wait for works specifically about women or specifically about blacks and/or black women to lend our experiences.

I also spoke about my fear of public speaking in Spanish, but that no one else had these experiences that I just spoke of and I would be a hypocrite if I was not willing to share them : )

I heard "si. asi es" "asimismo es". "exacto!" while I was speaking. that really relaxed me. Although I was the only panelist that read from the podium, I think the audience appreciated that I had a message and a [concise] point. (the person who spoke before me went on for 30+ minutes...)

Many women came up to me after the event was over to congratulate me, to share stories, to ask for my contact information.

While I did not say anything earth shattering, I was sooooooo proud of myself for getting up there and saying anything at all. I tripped over my words a few times, but no more than I do in English.

The next day the US embassy somehow learned that I took part and scolded me for not telling them. They wanted to come and bring the embassy photographer and everything. I am happy they didn't! lol I would have been embarrassed.

Now that public speaking in Spanish is something I have done (successfully!) it is something I know I can do. Sooooo that was my fear. and that is how I triumphed!

frustrations of fieldwork

I don't really need any more interviews. I want to tie up loose ends but that is about it. However, someone approached me wanting to be interviewed so how I can say no?

we were supposed to meet at noon today, so I did not plan to spend the day in the library as I wanted.
I call at noon, he asks can we make it 1:30.
I call at 1:30, he asks can we make it 3:00.
I call at 3:00, he asks can we make it 4:00.
I call at 4:00, he says he is on his way to the city now.

He has a meeting at 5:30. It is now 4:30. He is not here. I did not go to the library. And I still have a headache from yesterday!
*sigh*

asi es la vida mia, mi gente. asi mismo es.

tough on corruption? or only on the opposition?

Here is an English language article about the conviction of the former attorney general:

http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/1548-panamas-suspended-attorney-general-gets-six-months-commuted-jail-sentence-.html

Panama’s suspended attorney general sentenced to six months jail

WEDNESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2010 22:36

 In a five to four decision after two hours of deliberation, Panama’s  Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 11) condemned suspended Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez,to six months in prison for for authorizing wiretapping  while investigating a prosecutor accused of receiving a bribe. 

The sentence involves six months' imprisonment and disqualification from holding public office for four years. The jail sentence was switched to a fine of $4,000 which she says she will not pay
"They are corrupt administering justice." She said, through tears, shortly after the verdict. The crowd including family, friends and lawyers who worked with her applauded.
The condemnation comes amid a scandal over wire tapping at the Office of Administration. But unlike Gomez, who authorized the interception to prosecute an act of corruption, Oscar Ceville of the Administration; accused of violating the privacy of subordinates has not been accused of a crime and continues in office says La Prensa.
Her defense team announced it will present a petition for review.

Gomez was appointed on January 3, 2005, by then-President Martin Torrijos. She was suspended from office on Feb. 5 and had five years to complete her term. She became the second prosecutor since the military dictatorship to be sentenced and expelled from office. The first was Rogelio Cruz, in 1993.

the day. in pictures

too tired to make a real post. Here are some pictures from an insomnia day. sunrise. sunset. night. still awake!

what is black and white and read all over?

[I am so distracted by world news. around the same time as US desegregation, Guatemala was going through their trouble with the whole world for electing a socialist president, Jacobo Arbenz. One headline that broke my heart said that Arbenz felt he could reach an agreement with Eisenhower. I just wanted to say: nooooo! they are going to overthrow you!! They don't want to negotiate! But it is 2010 and it is too late. There was also a lot of news about Fulgencio Batista and Cuba, murmurs of revolutionaries. *insert foreboding music* The Cold War was sooo fascinating. Anyway. I digress...]

Today's library goal was to get newspaper articles regarding desegregation in the US and the Panama Canal Zone. 

Essentially, after Brown vs. Board of education and US desegregation, the Panama Canal Zone allowed Black Americans to attend the white American schools (as this article explains. I like this picture. yay me). This says nothing of non-Americans who lived in the canal zone, right?  Most of them attended different schools. To avoid complete integration (both color and nationality), those English language schools were soon changed to "Latin American Schools." The language of instruction was changed from English to Spanish. You can imagine how that affected English speaking children of West Indian Canal Zone workers, their English speaking instructors, and their general socialization via education. It was not just a language change. It was a system change.

I found a few good articles about that so I left happy.

Panama was also struggling with a serious mosquito problem. It still is, but here is a cartoon of the school racial desegregate era [sorry. I do not know why it is loading sideways. and I do not know how to fix it]

the teacher is congratulating the student for not discriminating in their labors, unlike other schools!

the tricky thing about transcriptions= Spanglish

Some of my interviews are in English. Some are in Spanish. Very few are in only one of these languages. I work with Panamanians of West Indian descent, many of who speak/know English. Even a majority Spanish language interview will have a few English words here and there. I am in Panama. Even people who speak English throw in a Spanish word here and there. When, where, why, and how people change languages is important to me.  This is what we call "code-switching"


Here is an example: The chombos and then the costeños which is the afro colonials they will call us chumecos they can’t say Jamaican they say chumecos y para mi me dicen chomba. No lo tomo como una ofensa sino lo que me hace es reforzar eso es decir me identifico ya saben que soy orgullosamente panameña pero de descendencia afro antillana.


Right in the middle of the sentence, the language changes. The whole interview is this way. Interesting, yes. difficult to transcribe? yes lol


food is a common switch like this woman:
los domigos eran rice and peas and coconut (laughing) y habían chicken and chops. ¿qué macaroni?!  como que. Y eso para mí fue un choque allí. 


Soooo if people are doing my transcriptions, I need to make sure they have a familiarity with both languages, even if one is predominant. As I am looking at transcription services, I have to assess which recordings are in one language only.


and that is where I am.


*if anyone is looking for PT work and wants to transcribe, just let me know! lol  *

I have blacks in my family, but I am not black or African descendant

I think I alluded to this chunk of interview in a post waaaay back when. This woman is all over the place in her thoughts about blackness, national identity and personal identity. Everyone has some black in them. I am not black. My dad's family has blacks, but not West Indians. I am afro-desendiente. Everyone has some black in them! No one can say no to this census question!  She was thinking out loud.

I am sorry for being lazy, but I am just going to edit the google translation and paste the original Spanish below. Ise tired today!


A: But if it's true what that politician said that everyone has a little black ... Because the question asks if anyone in this household is black or African descent. Do you believe that some people say ah. I'm not black but I am of African descent, then: Yes Or think people will say I am not black then: no.
I am black but probably there are blacks in my family. I'm not of African descent but in my family by my father, there are blacks. They are not West Indian but they are black.
A: The question says black or African descent. And when people say yes, that's another question for the African, Caribbean, colonial-
Oh good. In this case, yes. Exactly. In my very particular case, I think so. Colonial black.
A: Ok good. But when they knock on your door, are you going to say yes I am of African descent or will you say no?
EHHHHHH. African descent, yes? (Slowly answers and raises a question like voice). I am of African descent. Because if you look at my physical ... (voice trails off)
A: But that's the thing because the person doing the census can not say no. Yes! You (Layla laughing) you are of African descent! I'm going to change your answer!
Yes No. I will say yes because I am visibly of African descent in that I have no factions in white or Indian. My face is black. I can not say no, I'm not African. Yes, I am of African descent.The family of my father is black. Yes I really am of African descent. Yes (said in a questioning, Uncertain tone). Actually yes.
A: Let's see what happens because I think, and it is my personal opinion that more people will say no.
But here in Panama is that nobody can say no. It has everything-is that no one has established roots. In my very particular case, my aunts are blond with blue eyes. The sisters of my mother. But in the case of my dad, his family is black, completely black with straight hair. And I am a mixture of all of them .. nobody can say I'm not because yes we are! We have some black, some Indian, and unfortunately, some Spanish. But yes we have it all. Everyone. The nose, eyes, hair, or whatever, but I have it all. Even people who are sometimes very very white, tend to have black relatives somewhere. Then nobody can say no, I'm not. I do not know. Hopefully people are smart enough not to get carried away if you're black, you're white or not? Just talk about our tradition and our heritage. I think that really is important. What it is we really are. A mixture.

A: Pero si es verdad lo que dijo ese político que todo tiene un poco de negro… Porque la pregunta dice si alguien en ese hogar es negro o afro descendiente.  No cree que hay gente que dice ah pues. No soy negro pero soy afro descendiente, entonces: Sí. O cree que la gente va a decir no soy negro entonces: no. 

No soy negro pero probablemente en mi familia hay negros. Porque yo no soy afro descendiente pero en mi familia por parte de mi papa, hay negros. No son afroantillanos pero son negros.

A: La pregunta dice negro o afro descendiente. Y  cuando la gente diga que sí, hay otra pregunta por decir africano, antillano, colonial—

Ay bueno. En este caso sí. Exacto. En mi caso muy particular, yo creo que sí. Negros coloniales.

A: Ok bueno. Pero cuando le toque su puerta para decir esa pregunta, ¿usted va a decir que sí soy afro descendiente o va a decir que no?

Ehhhhhh. Afro descendiente, sí? (answers slowly and raises voice like a question). Si soy afro descendiente. Porque si se observa mis características físicas… (voice trails off)

A: Pero es auto—esa es la cosa porque la persona que está haciendo el censo no puede decir, no. Sí! Usted (Layla laughing) usted es afro descendiente! yo lo voy a cambiar!

Sí. No. En el caso personal le voy a decir que sí soy afro descendiente porque visiblemente se ve que yo no tengo facciones de blanca ni de indígena. Mis facciones son negras. Yo no puedo decir no, yo no soy afro. Sí soy afro descendiente. La familia de mi padre es negra. Sí yo sí soy afro descendiente. Sí (said in a questioning, uncertain tone). Realmente sí.

A:  Vamos a ver que salga porque yo creo, y es mi opinión personal que más gente va a decir que no.

Pero es que aquí en Panamá nadie puede decir que no. Es que todo tiene—es que nadie tiene establecido de donde viene. En mi caso muy particular, mis tías son rubias con ojos azules. Las hermanas de mi mama. Pero en el caso de mi papa, su familia es negra, totalmente negra con el cabello liso. Y yo que soy una mezcla de todos ellos.. nadie puede decir no soy porque si somos! Tenemos algo de negro, algo de indígena, y desafortunadamente, algo de español. Pero si lo tenemos todos. Todos. La nariz, los ojos, el cabello, o lo que sea, pero todo lo tenemos.  Hasta las personas que a veces son muy muy blancas, al final tiende terminar que tiene parientes negros. Entonces nadie puede decir no, yo no soy. Pero no sé. Ojala que la gente sea suficientemente inteligente para no dejarse llevar por si eres negro, eres blanco o sea no? Simplemente hablen de nuestra tradición y de nuestra herencia. Yo creo que a lo largo es importante. Lo que somos realmente es ésta. Una mezcla.