bienvenidos a Panamá

I have now arrived and begun to settle in Panamá.

The first day here was orientation, meeting the other students studying abroad with ISA (pronounced, as "ee-sa," by our program director Vanessa), and learning how to take a taxi (flag 'em down, ask the price for where you're headed, only hop in if it's a reasonable price). We also checked out Albrook Mall, the main mall (at least in our area).

My homestay is awesome. I live with my Señora, Mama Cachi (Casilda, or just Mami), and her son Ciro (a graphic designer, about eight years older than I am). Ciro's cousin Anita also lives with us (and another cousin is in and out). I share a room with another student, Raphael. The family also hosts a tourist's hotel on the first floor of the house, where travelers come and go.

Mama Cachi speaks only Spanish, but is very patient and happy to speak to us. She makes breakfast and dinner for us every day, and talks with us for as long as we like. Ciro speaks English and Spanish, but understands that we are trying to learn Spanish, and is very supportive, correcting us and speaking to us in Spanish as much as we speak to him in Spanish. He gives advice on how to make the most of our time in Panamá, and last night he took us out on the town and showed us places to hang out in Casco Viejo (Old Town Panamá City).

Today, seis of us went to la playa at Veracruz. We had a lot of fun! Raphael and I climbed on top of an island full of trees--it looked exactly like the lion-turtle island in Avatar: The Last Airbender! It was awesome.

Now it's late, and the neighbors are having a party. Looks like a lot of fun, but I am beat and ready to rest! But that'll have to wait until things quiet down a bit more.

transitions

I am now readying to embarking on the biggest part of my time away from Loma: study abroad in Panama City. But before I get there I want to take a minute to reflect on my summer in Washington, which has now been over for more than a week. The summer has been wonderful. I determined from the start I would make the most of my summer, and with help from my new friends, I feel as though I did. This summer, I climbed mountains, laid on beaches, and wandered cities (and towns). I met new friends from all over the western US. And I was able to learn a little bit more about myself.

I am a planner. I enjoy making plans, organizing my future and my present (and my past!), and attempting to engage others in plans. One of the greatest gifts my new friends gave to me was telling me they appreciated this about me. Most of us interns did not really know anyone else in Sequim, so it was hard to find things to do. I took on the responsibility, fairly early on, of trying as hard as I could to make things happen, whether trips to the beach or just lunch at work. At times I got a bit carried away, or communications could get a bit hollow (the newsletter mode comes all-too-easily to me), but still at least two of my new friends made a point of mentioning they appreciated my efforts—that they thought this was something good in me.

This recognition was a turning point in the way I think of myself—that my goal of planning to hang out with others to help them and me actually worked for some people, at least sometimes. At this point I could look at myself, and call myself a planner, and take pride in it. Which is kind of funny, because I think the last time I was so deeply affected (positively, anyway) by a person’s opinion of me was when Ryan Womack told me I was pretty mellow (a trait I also take pride in, and which balances out my strong planning tendencies when I let it).

And now, I am moving on to the next stage. I have made plenty of mistakes this summer, but now is a new beginning. New faces, new friends, and (inevitably) new mistakes. I must make sure to learn from the experiences I’ve had, and continue to grow and change. Off to Panama City! ¡Hasta luego, Estados!