Chabas

Adventure Time!

My favorite experience from this trip so far was going to the Emberá community located along the Charges River. First and foremost, it was simply beautiful. Looking at the landscape as we gently glided along the river in a cayuco gave me a sense of tranquility and contentment, something that is hard to find at home. It was also exciting, like I was en route to a great adventure in search of hidden treasures. I contribute this last part to my overactive imagination since I am not all that adventurous in real life.

A cayuco ride through the Charges River

Eureka!

The weather was permissible so we got to go on a mini hike to the waterfall. I saw a handful of exotic-looking bugs and animals, which only further confirmed that no, I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore. After scrambling over boulders and crossing streams (okay I’m exaggerating, they were more like big rocks and puddles) we finally got to the waterfall. After sweating up a storm, sitting under the waterfall could not have been more refreshing. I normally never immerse myself in natural bodies of water, but hey, I’m only in Panama once.

Pura Vida

Like a drowned rat.

I learned that when it rains in the tropics, it REALLY rains. Growing up in LA where it’s nice, sunny, and dry pretty much all year long, I was totally unprepared for the downpour of rain. A 10-minute ride to the village in the cayuco was all it took to get us completely drenched. We tried explaining the idiom “like a drowned rat” but it was lost in translation.  

With the leader of the community

A leader of the community welcomed us into his home, showing us great hospitality and calling us chabas, which means “friends” in the Emberá language. Manuel got us to help out right away, which made me feel right at home. Divided into groups of 4-5, we peeled and crushed plantains to make patacones, cut fruit, and made plates out of huge leaves. Sitting in a hut in the middle of a tropical rain forest making lunch while listening to the rain was quite a memorable experience.

Lunch prep!

Watching the rain, thinking about pineapples.

We promised Dr. Cousineau that we wouldn’t blog about daily mundane events, like how many pineapples we ate, but I’m going to have to break that promise and rave just a little about how delicious the fruit, especially the pineapples, are here.  They are simply divine. Just. Divine. They’ve ruined my taste for pineapples for the rest of my life. Sorry Dr. Cousineau…

Lunch was a simple meal consisting of patacones, freshly caught fried fish, and fruit. It was the most delicious meal I have had here in Panama, and I doubt I will ever enjoy fried fish as much as I did that day.

While we enjoyed our lunch, the leader and his family introduced us to their culture and community. I was touched that they wanted to share so much with us, completely ignorant strangers who were at the moment leaving wet stains all around their home. Pride and love for the culture and people were evident in their speech and I could tell they wanted for us to know more. And it challenged me, what do I have to do to sound like that when delivering the Good News?

Isaiah 52:7

 Chabas. 1 John 4:7-21.