Brigading For A Cause: Global Brigades Panama Day 2

Written by guest blogger Bethany Bowen

Day 2 started at 7 a.m. and I felt surprisingly well rested; in fact I slept really well the whole trip. After eating breakfast we started driving to the community. It took us about six hours to get there, but the length didn’t matter because it was absolutely the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen. Seriously, pictures don’t do this place justice. There was greenery everywhere, mountains, and random waterfalls.

At the start of our 5th hour of driving we saw a sloth, yes a three-towed sloth, crossing the road. Our driver almost hit it and then we stopped to turn around and go find it. Our drivers called him (we decided he was a boy for some reason) “gato perezoso”, which literally translates to “lazy cat”.

We finally arrived at Rio de Este around two in the afternoon, and tried to get settled in. We were staying in the school; a concrete building with open holes for windows and doors. The people in the village, the Ngobes, were very shy. When I would try to say “hola” they would look at me like I was out of my mind. At this point, I got really nervous about the success of our brigade. We took a tour of the community; most homes were made of wood and had thatched roofs, there were three stores, a volleyball court, and a community building. The children were very curious about the “mirri ginnis”, this is the Ngobe term for Americans, and they started following us everywhere. My friend Scott showed them his camera and seeing themselves on the screen fascinated them. I loved this moment because young kids in America are the exact same way.

Next, we had a group meeting with the community to introduce ourselves and talk about why we are here and what they hope to gain from us. There were a few people in our group that spoke Spanish fluently, but all in all, the language barrier was very difficult. After the meeting we had a Ngobe lesson. A Ngobe man was trying to teach all of us Ngobe, but he was speaking in Spanish. It was so confusing I almost couldn’t concentrate. We did learn basic phrases like "hello", "neontore", and "how are you," "moutouno", and the next day the community seemed to be happy that we were trying.

Turning my black thumb to a green thumb on Earth Day

I have no green thumb. If there’s a term for having a black thumb, I have it. Years of being wiped out with allergies have kept me from becoming one with nature. During spring, my entire face looks like a cartoon balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors. When I leave my house. But until they design Kleenex boxes that match my handbags, I'll be gardending indoors. Hey, watching Nate Berkus do a backyard makeover totally counts.

Enter in Hubby. He has the greenest thumb I know, and loves working in the yard. He calls it his therapy/time away from me. Way cheaper than a marriage counselor. He can tinker in the yard for hours, and sometimes, well most of the time, he boasts about the color of our grass compared to our neighbors. Out loud. Where they can hear him.

I recently read an article that plants help purify the air indoors. Meaning, they help clear out toxins and help with allergies. So I added “get house plants” to the honey-do list. Mr. Martha Stewart jumped on this task. An excuse to spend hours at Home Depot, and find decorative pots to match our house was too much to resist. He also loves the taco stand out front.

Looking at the beautiful plants all around my house, makes me so happy. Not only did the air immediately start to smell different, they have added some “décor” to the house. Tops of cabinets and corners that have remained bare due to my lack of creativity are now brimming with green. I’m kicking Hubby he didn’t do this years ago.

To up the décor and down the toxicity in your home, buy some plants from this list. And leave a comment and let us know which ones you bought.

Photo caption 1: Peace Lily
Photo caption 2: Rubber Tree

Wear Your Fat Pants to The Chef’s Table

I’m a self-proclaimed foodie. I come from a long, line of gourmet cooks, and Liz could have easily been a competitive eater that still looked good in a bikini. Totally unfair. Nothing gets past my palette – nothing. I’m the one at the table that finishes the food on my friends’ plates. And yes, I have done this the first time I’ve met someone. Hey, sharing is caring.

So it completely works out that I have friends who own restaurants (two and counting), and that they are not too embarrassed to have me come in.

This was the case last night, when I went to The Chef’s Table, owned by my friend, Kay Hill, and her husband, the Chef, David. One look at the menu, and I knew I was done for. I wanted every, single thing on there, but there was no way 10 appetizers and entrees would fit at the bar (that overlooks Chef David at work). Considering the place is packed to capacity every night, I had to order only what would fit in my personal space. And my neighbor’s.

I proceeded to order and consume Beer Battered Pesto Fries with Gruyere Cheese, Sauteed Del Rio Botanical Lacinato Kale with Garlic and Malt Vinegar, Beer Battered Halibut Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream, The All Natural Painted Hills Burger with Carmelized Onion and House Made Pimento Cheese with Dijon Aioli, House Made Banana Tarte with Chocolate and the Bacon Brownie. With cheese on my face and red wine stained-teeth (there were several glasses), my application to The Biggest Loser was the last thing on my mind.

The only thing Chef David did wrong is marry a vegetarian. Watch you talkin’ about, Willis? Well Willis, I’m talkin’ about his super gorgeous, business savvy, yoga instructor wife doesn’t eat meat. Which means she doesn’t sample everything he makes. SHAMEFUL. WASTEFUL. SADFUL.

Oh, Chef David, why? When you could have been just as happy with a less poised, less classy carnivore like myself.

For directions on how to run your rump over to The Chef’s Table, go to their Web site. Reservations and fat pants recommended.

Photo caption 1: Me with a wine-stained mouth with Kay Hill (left).
Photo caption 2: Part (yes, only part) of my fabulous meal.

Brigading For A Cause: Global Brigades Panama Day 1

Written by guest blogger Bethany Bowen

To start off, I would like to introduce myself: my name is Bethany, I’m a junior Marketing major at Texas A&M University, and I’m still trying to figure out what that means for my future (suggestions are always welcome). A few weeks ago, I traveled to Panama with the Texas A&M chapter of Global Business Brigades. We visited the small indigenous community of Rio de Este to help people in the village start their chocolate business. That was the entirety of the information we knew when we left for Panama; needless to say we learned a lot during our brigade. I will be blogging about each day of the trip, but I would like to begin with a quick explanation of Global Brigades and how the trip affected me.

Global Brigades is a student-led, development organization whose goal is to empower communities in developing countries. The Web site defines a brigade as “groups of passionate volunteers who mobilize towards positive social change.” There are 10 different types of brigades: medical, business, water, environmental, law, dental, architecture, public health, professional, and microfinance. The heart and sole of Global Brigades are the students who volunteer. There are currently 110 chapters from universities in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Ireland, and that number is always growing. I participated in a Business Brigade, and our goal is to help micro-enterprises in developing countries learn sustainable business practices.

Throughout the week I learned so many things including: how much Spanish I don’t know, how chocolate is made, the economy in a developing country, how to live without a toilet, what a peace corp volunteer does, that life goes on even if I don’t check Facebook every hour, how to apply concepts from my businesses classes to real life, and among many other things, I learned to appreciate life just a little bit more.

OK, now to start the recap. Day 1 began at 2:30 a.m.; I had to be at the airport by 3:30 because our flight left at 6. You would be surprised how busy the airport is at that time of the morning. After a brief layover in Miami, we arrived in Panama City around 3 p.m. By the time we had everyone’s baggage, met our Global Brigade’s leaders, Adrianna and Daniel, and had loaded the vans, it was time for dinner. We ate in Panama City and then we started a 5-hour drive towards Davíd. We learned that Davíd was only the halfway point to our final destination, Rio de Este; our group definitely bonded during the hours and hours of driving throughout the week. That was pretty much it for day one; it was a lot of traveling, and a lot of bottled up excitement for the job ahead of us.

Gavin de Becker's MOSAIC will save lives

Being a woman, safety is something that has always concerned me. I am alert in parking garages, I immediately lock my car when I get in, and when there is a male worker in my home, I have my cell phone in my hand and the front and back doors open.

As long as I can remember, I have always listened to my intuition. Whether it's a personal or professional matter, my gut has never led me wrong.

I have my mother to thank for this, who, years ago, bought my sister and I the book, "The Gift of Fear" by safety expert Gavin de Becker. There are so many things that from that book that I will never forget.

1. We are the only animals that will ignore our intuition and walk into the fear.
2. When a man says no, it's the end of the discussion. When a woman says no, it's the beginning of the negotiation.
3. Always listen to that "funny" feeling.

Today on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Gavin de Becker discussed his free, violence assesment program, aptly named MOSAIC. This program helps determine how dangerous a situation is in the workplace, with students, against judges, public figures and officials, and in spousal situations.

I encourage ALL women to read "The Gift of Fear", and if you know someone in a dangerous situation, encourage them to seek help by going to their nearest battered women's shelter, or calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

"People should learn to see and avoid all danger. Just as a wise man keeps away from mad dogs, so one should not make friends with evil men." - Buddha

Share your pain, share your joy, and especially share your love.

By guest blogger Natasha Raju

Terry Williams once said, “An individual doesn’t get cancer, a family does.” Two years ago, my mother lost her battle to breast cancer. She had been fighting against it for a year, and had successfully overcome it the first time she was diagnosed. However, seven months later she received news that the cancer had come back and spread throughout her entire body.

I was starting my sophomore year in college, stressing over midterms and trying to stay brave when I visited my mother. Looking back, I wonder why I even thought about choosing one over the other.

There are two things I learned from my mother’s battle: first, is that things always happen for a reason. In some twisted way of fate, there is a reason why my mother passed away and I am still searching for it. However, I do know that the person I am today is because of my experience with cancer. I learned to be stronger and know that there are things in this world that we have to overcome. There are people going through things beyond our imagination, and we should do what we can to make a difference for those in need.

The second is to always, always, live in the moment, and cherish the people you are with and appreciate them. So many times we take for granted the smallest gesture, whether it be borrowing sugar from your neighbor or sharing an umbrella with a friend in the rain. There are times I take it upon myself to make sure I tell at least one person everyday, “Hey, you are incredible! Thank you for being a part of my life.” I know it might sound silly, but you would be amazed at the response you get. Not only do you feel better, but you never know how much that small gesture means to someone else.

To say that I am still strong in my faith and have no qualms with my ordeal would be a lie. But, I do know that one day I will understand why things happened the way they did. For now, I will share the knowledge that life is short and we cannot live with regrets. There are people in our lives that don’t know how much we appreciate them, and we should let them know. Don’t wait for something tragic to happen in order to realize this. Share your joy, share your pain, and especially share your love.