A semester in Panamá
Monday, April 30, 2012
Being a tourist ain't half bad
In that sense, Panamá sometimes strays outside of my comfort zone. Before coming here, I couldn't imagine living in a country (as an adult) without speaking the language. Every time I met someone in the U.S. who spoke Spanish and little else, I'd think about how isolated they must feel sometimes and that I simply must learn to speak their language. Nothing makes me feel more like I fit into the negative stereotypes for Americans than the fact that I don't speak Spanish. There's only so much I've been able to learn in 3 months given that all our classes are conducted in English.
Throwing all those worries aside, there's a reason people travel with cameras around their necks and only enough of the local tongue to stumble through purchasing souvenirs. It's FUN, and visiting a country is the fastest way to educate yourself. So, when the only fluent speaker of Spanish decided not to join the other students in the city to rent bikes at the Causeway this afternoon, I thought: what the hell. Today, we're truly tourists. We're not from here, our knowledge of the language is limited, and we're going into the city to do touristy things. So, I put on the "Balboa" tank I bought in Bocas del Toro, donned my white sunglasses, and stuck a pack of gum for later in the back pocket of my shorts. Sure enough, we had trouble finding taxi drivers who only slightly overcharged us, we had to ask questions of strangers a couple times, and we had as much fun as tourists seem to!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Carnaval at Penonomé!
"Then, as I was scanning the bottom shelf at the end of an aisle, I spotted the word 'ANDRE.' The relief I felt was like seeing an old friend while on a hunt for the correct train in the subway station of an unfamiliar city; my dear friend Andre appeared unexpectedly and showed me exactly where to find the champagne we so desperately craved. We purchased a bottle for his troubles, plus a bottle of strawberry champagne from another company."
Next, we went to a lovely semi-natural pool. DM and I explored the creek aways downriver before returning to swim and take some great pictures with the group. Later, we went to a beach where we rented a little thatched roof that had 2 hammocks underneath. I read a little bit more of Absolute Beginners until a resort-promoting man came by and I eventually left. He decided I looked "smart and serious," which seems to be the only opinion of me a Panamanian ever offers! In this case, I think I looked so because I was focusing on trying to understand what he was saying in Spanish without participating too much in the conversation.
Later, we had dinner at some place in Penonomé that JL highly recommended, and I ate garlic chicken. I'm trying to eat as much garlic as possible, operating under the unproven theory that mosquitos will stay away if I build up enough garlic in my system. Later, we went to an eight-dollar outdoor concert. We had beds to sleep in, albeit only 2 for 5 girls!
The next morning we re-donned our almost-dry bathing suits and headed to Carnaval. The line was long and culminated in a thorough search of our persons for weapons, but admission was free and the streets were packed. On the Sunday of carnaval in Panamá, people throw water on anyone they see outside. If you find yourself drying off and want water thrown at you, raise your arms and shout "A-gua! A-gua!" I really enjoyed the music and joy of everyone around. Although if we'd been in Panama City for Carnaval, it would have been a disaster since we had enough trouble sticking together in that crowd as it was! At home, we returned to our projects in earnest.
LC, me, and YL are soaked and happy at Carnaval! |
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wonder, and Panama.
As of last year, scientists know of over 1.2 million eukaryotic species out of a predicted 8.7 million ± 1.3 million. Yes, these figures are the inspiration for the title of this blog, although I expect that fewer than half of my posts will have anything to do with biology. I hope to write in this blog of the wonder I find in many places, including but not limited to the talents and humor of others, the beauty of text, and the magic of stories.
For three weeks now, I have been studying with a semester abroad program at the aforementioned STRI. Panama is amazing, and I am far too lucky to be here. This will be a blog of my infatuation with Panama; I will either fall more deeply in love with this place or one day move on.