CURRENT MISSION

Watching tomatoes grow. Hanging out in the hammok. Learning Embera. Hablando español como un jefe. Teaching. And just living the life of lujo in the Darién

ABOUT ME

I am a Peace Corps volunteer here in Panama. I am working in the povince of the Darien and it is a life of lujo. I work in the CEC-community environmental conservation- sector here in Panama. I am trying to get the folks in my site to use thier natural resources in a more sustainable way and also I teach environmental science in the school. I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with two degrees. One being a BS in Film and Video Production, the other a BA in Spanish Language and Literature. I have already been in country now for eight months and know most the ins and outs of Panama. I am reserved at first but can echar cuentas once I get warmed up. I enjoy having company over. Especially now since I am in the sticks and dont get too many vistitors. I am an outdoors man and am in my element when I am on a bike or on a trail. Back in the states I never went anywhere without my pocket knife: down here it is my machete.

PHILOSOPHY

Your only as good as your name and what folks remember about you. Not that I didnt know that before hand but that was one of many things that was stressed in my film classes. That and the rule of thirds, white balance, etc. I am an Eagle Scout so I try to live by the Scout Oath and Law. Pretty easy and straight foward. I am also an Athiest. But I am not a dick about it. If you have faith, good, if not, good, too. I dont really know what I am here for. I know that at the moment I am here to grow stuff and improve soil quality. After that, travel around some more? Begin plans to rule world? Hope that the zombie apocolypse comes to fruition and implement one of my many zombie plans? Dont know. And my credo is Home is Where My Hat Falls. I cant stay in one place too long. I got an itchy foot and a rambling bone. At times my home was the back of my car, sometimes a tent, a bed in a hostal, a large bed in a nice hotel, my own bed in my apartment, or the bed at my parents pad, but until my hat falls and I lay down, itś only a place.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I want to have folks over. I am in a pretty far out place. Literally and figuratively. I want to share the culture that I am immersed in with others, and show off a side of Panama that no tourists will ever get to see.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I dont have any. One of my friends is one and suggested I get in on this. I also read an article recently in our Peace Corps paper about the philosophies of Peace Corps and Couch Surfing and how they are close. And I thought it would be cool to give this a shot and host some folks at my pad.

Interests

I enjoy waterpolo, but there isnt much of a place to play that game down here. My first job was a bike mechanic when I was 16 and I have fixed up several of the bikes of children in my site. I have began reading, a lot. Especially now since I have a light bulb in my apartment and can read for as long as I chose now. I have gone to several vacunaderas, where a bunch of hombres brand, vacinate, and de-horn cows. It is pretty exhilerating stuff. I also do a lot of trail running, since the paths around my place are nothing but trails. Most days I am usually just watching tomatoes and cucumbers grow as I try to get my pilot gardens going in site. It can be rather slow at times, and that is when I just stake out my hammok and watch the river roll by. I love road trips. But here, I cant really drive, and I dont really want to. But back home I was making trips everywhere. I felt in my element with a full tank of gas, the music blasting, and my elbow cutting the wind.

• culture
• literature
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• running
• boating
• reading
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• surfing
• trail running
• track and field
• law
• science
• volunteering
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Dude, this list is an abrideged version.
Movies-
Star Wars-4-6-The ones with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
Green Mile, Anything with James Cagney, most movies with Tom Hanks, except for the one with him and the dog, and Philedelphia-that one is just too hard to watch. High Fidelity, Empire Records, The Wall, Tommy Boy, Help, any of the movies with DeCaprio-hate me if you will, but I didnt like the Titanic-, Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, James and the Giant Peach, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, any of Quentin Tarantinos stuff, as well as all of the Cohen Brothers' work.

Music- Everything-soul, classic rock, metal, and most importanly, blues.
Al Green, Amon Amarth, Alice in Chains, Arcade Fire Avette Brothers, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Bill Withers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Buffalo Springfield, Bruce Springstien (cant talk bad about the Boss), CCR, Cowboy Junkies, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Junior Kimbrough, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, BB King, Marvin Gaye, the Who, Ramones, John Prine, OCMS, Motor Head, The Clash, The Killers, Modest Mouse, the Gorillaz, Reverand Horton Heat, the Eagles, Joe Walsh, I can go on for a while...

Books-
All of George Orwells works, all of Stienbecks,all of MArk Twain, Avaś Man, PRince of Frog Town, All Over but the Shouting, 100 Years of Solitude, In Cold Blood, the Flashman series by George McDonald Frasier, Fight Club, Survivor, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Water for Elephants, the Five People You Meet in Heaven, Pillars of the Earth, Ulysses, Farenheit 451, A Brave New World, Doors of Perception, A Walk in the Woods, The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, Salems Lot, the Stand, Mercy,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was on a boat floating down the Rio Congo to another communtiy when an alligator felt like coming next to our boat and give us a hello. I witnessed a massive land slide during the freak floods of October and watched a whole monte go by the way side and take a bridge with it. Monkies, they are every where. I have never seen one except for the ones in the zoo, and these were, just hanging out by the road while I was on a run. That was pretty cool.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you Spanish. Not Spanish Spanish, but Panamanian Spanish. I can only compare it to Cajun French, or how cajuns speak English down in Louisiana. Its all mashed up and sounds are garbled and missing letters. I can also get you on the track to learning embera. That is an indigenous language that is spoken around my site. I am also learning it, so I would be good to have a study partner. And Campo Cooking! How many people do you know can flip pancakes with a machete? I can tell you it aint many. Cooked with wine before? Have you tried Seco? That will knock your food up a notch. And I would like to share a pot of my Boy Scout Dutch Oven Cobbler.

Countries I’ve Visited

Chile, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Panama, United States