I just want to send out Merry Christmas greetings to all. I´ll be spending Christmas here in my community in Panama. Not quite sure what the plans are. Something about the tropical climate makes it feel not quite like Christmas, but I´m looking forward to seeing new cultural celebrations.
Merry Christmas to all!! Feliz Navidad!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Development Theory
So, I’m in Peace Corps. Thus, I am in a “third world,” “underdeveloped” or “developing” country. Here’s my International Relations/American University opinion of this experience.
I am not in a “third world” country, in whatever negative, patronizing connotations that might hold. If you think I am surrounded by huts, famines, and big-bellied parasitic children, I am not.
Instead, let’s think of “developing.” Developing countries, in the true active sense of this word, are moving from the rural to the urban. from subsistence to money-making agriculture, from isolated to connected, from illiterate to educated, from poor to middle class, etc. There are many indicators of development. Some of the key elements of “developing” countries are falling birthrates, increasing education, urbanization, professional jobs, and infrastructure. Ports, roads, railways, airports, telecommunications infrastructure are all being developed.
Thus, we come to my site. This was the view from my front door this morning:
That’s right. The road is a coming. Now, my site wasn’t like some where volunteers have to hike in. We had a paved road. It was old and full of potholes, but cars could come through. But, in Panama’s development, new roads are important. Thus, I often heard of this “ruta sur” or road that would connect Cerro Punta and Boquete and would pass through town. This will change travel time from like 4 to 1 hours between the two towns. I spent one week out of site in a training seminar. When I arrived back, about 3 feet of my yard had disappeared. Two days ago, another couple feet were gone. Tubes lay in the streets, dump trucks pass by every half hour. Unfamiliar construction workers holler at me. Heavy machinery and equipment appeared in the streets.
Development was happening.
Now, noise is everywhere. Knick-knacks fell off shelves and my walls shook like I was in an earthquake. As I walked to the store this morning, people in my community had paused mid-morning and huddled together to watch the machines at work.
This road will cut transport time substantially. It will be a much more efficient route between two large cities. Transport in and out of my town will be better. More tourists will begin passing through my town. We will have the opportunity to open restaurants, sell items, and make more money. Yet, the traffic will be higher and faster. No longer will I be able to stroll the streets, stopping to visit my neighbors. My town will become merely a town along a highway.
Development is happening.
I am not in a “third world” country, in whatever negative, patronizing connotations that might hold. If you think I am surrounded by huts, famines, and big-bellied parasitic children, I am not.
Instead, let’s think of “developing.” Developing countries, in the true active sense of this word, are moving from the rural to the urban. from subsistence to money-making agriculture, from isolated to connected, from illiterate to educated, from poor to middle class, etc. There are many indicators of development. Some of the key elements of “developing” countries are falling birthrates, increasing education, urbanization, professional jobs, and infrastructure. Ports, roads, railways, airports, telecommunications infrastructure are all being developed.
Thus, we come to my site. This was the view from my front door this morning:
That’s right. The road is a coming. Now, my site wasn’t like some where volunteers have to hike in. We had a paved road. It was old and full of potholes, but cars could come through. But, in Panama’s development, new roads are important. Thus, I often heard of this “ruta sur” or road that would connect Cerro Punta and Boquete and would pass through town. This will change travel time from like 4 to 1 hours between the two towns. I spent one week out of site in a training seminar. When I arrived back, about 3 feet of my yard had disappeared. Two days ago, another couple feet were gone. Tubes lay in the streets, dump trucks pass by every half hour. Unfamiliar construction workers holler at me. Heavy machinery and equipment appeared in the streets.
Development was happening.
Now, noise is everywhere. Knick-knacks fell off shelves and my walls shook like I was in an earthquake. As I walked to the store this morning, people in my community had paused mid-morning and huddled together to watch the machines at work.
This road will cut transport time substantially. It will be a much more efficient route between two large cities. Transport in and out of my town will be better. More tourists will begin passing through my town. We will have the opportunity to open restaurants, sell items, and make more money. Yet, the traffic will be higher and faster. No longer will I be able to stroll the streets, stopping to visit my neighbors. My town will become merely a town along a highway.
Development is happening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)