Peace of the Pie

In June 2010, I quit my job so I could bike around Europe for the summer. I planned to return to San Francisco in September. 'Sure the economy's rough,' I figured, 'but I'll find something.'

Friday, July 25, 2008

An emusing story

I manage to fool most people most of the time, but those that know me well enough know that I have moments of breathtaking stupidity. So to most readers this is not shocking news, but it again proved itself in an interesting way recently. The newly paved road has brought more and faster traffic, so I decided to give talks at the nearby schools about highway safety because most of the students walk along the road everyday. I also wanted to put signs up near the schools to tell cars to slow down. Every student could submit a drawing about highway safety, and the winner’s would be included in the road sign. So far, so good.

I gave the talks and collected the drawings. Nowhere that I could find in Panama prints or laminates on a large scale, so I had the posters made when I was back in the States, and I don’t mind saying, it was not cheap. The signs looked good though; ‘MANAJE CON CIUDADO’ (drive with caution) they commanded. Only one problem though, it’s spelled maneje. I only finally bothered to check after I’d given four of the six signs to the schools, not before I presented any of the signs, and certainly not before I made them. With no one to blame but myself, I didn’t get that upset about it. I had made that mistake so long ago that the desire to fix the problem overshadowed the obvious truth that I and only I created the problem in the first place. I got some white and black paint and found that they stick reasonably well to a scuffed laminated surface, so I think I’ll be out of the woods as far as leaving behind a lasting tribute to my incompetence.

The strangest part about it though, is that no one corrected me. I’m still trying to figure out why exactly. Elementary education standards in rural Panama aren’t that high, so I wouldn’t expect any of the students to call me out, but I presented these road signs at the schools, in front of dozens of teachers. Even with education slipping in the US, I would like to think that one couldn’t slip ‘DRAVE WITH CAUTION’ by the average elementary school teacher. So either no one noticed, which is a bit of a frightening thought, or some of the teachers did notice and didn’t tell me. Maybe they are having a laugh at my expense, but more likely they saw the official-looking signs, saw me presenting them, and, even though it didn’t look quite right, didn’t fully trust their judgment against mine.

Around Cerro Iglesias, as Phil Conners said, I’m kind of a big deal. I’ve written in the past about how strange of a thing I am here, but the life of a Peace Corps volunteer is also as close to being a celebrity as I am bound to experience. People seem to know where I am and what I’m doing all the time, many more people know my name than I know theirs, and nearly everything I do inspires curiosity. I realize how pompous that sounds, but I’ve felt that way for a while and most volunteers would agree. What this latest episode adds to the paradigm though, is the realization that being the only gringo here endows me with the powers of Oprah Winfrey. If I tell people to read The Poisonwood Bible, they will because my opinion holds intrinsic value. If I spell potato with an e at the end, people will nod along and assume they had it wrong. If I parade around my new traffic signs, not even the honest little boy in the crowd will point out my naked ignorance.

Photos: one of the posters in rehab, a drawing I recieved for the competition, spelled correctly, and my house, newly exposed for all the world to see (my neighbor decided to cut down all his coffee plants and banana trees).

1 Comments:

  • At 3:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    How very Panamanian of you to let it roll off your back like that Adam. =)What can ya do? Can't wait to see you!
    -Corinna

     

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