Monday, June 14-Sunday, June 20th (week 3)

Have you ever spent the night at a friend's house, or visiting your parents, and when you wake up you look around, expecting the same things you think should be there to there, to be there.... and it takes you a few seconds to realize you aren't in your own place, and you have to also understand where you are and why you are there? After you are fully awake, and after the initial thoughts of "OMG! I've been kidnapped!"disappear, you laugh it off and slap yourself in the head for what just happened.

Well, that happened to me EVERY DAY this week. The sounds and smells of big city traffic- horns, clunky motors, brakes, more horns, and exhaust- are not something I awake to every day in my home in Tallahassee, where my backyard is woods and my neighborhood has 20 houses in it, tops. Yet here, they became my morning alarm letting me know the city was awake and I should be too! Also, the sun lent a hand also in letting me know it was time to wake up- shining through my 10th story bedroom window and, heating up my room to an unbearable temperature within minutes of rising (so much so I soon bought a $50 fan and lugged it all the way home as soon as I could). It seemed strange to leave my home in the United States to live in a supposed "developing nation" and go from hearing crickets at night to nightclub music and traffic.

The highlight of my week was traveling to Darien this week, where I gave my first seminar to a group of teachers at the "Instituto Meteti de Darien". The teachers came from the entire province of Darien, some traveling more than 5 hours by bus and/or boat to attend this seminar. The only thing with training in Panama is that here it is not considered rude to pick up a phone call during a meeting or just leave or come hours late. That was kind of frustrating because I am used to silencing cell phones and stuff... nope! not here! I am still not sure if that is a cultural thing, teacher thing....not sure. But overall it was fun! I went on the trip with the Vice Precident of Civitas Panama, the teacher in charge of Civitas Panama on a national level, and our driver. On the way back we bought some fish on the side of the road, kind of random.

Still adjusting to life in Panama City...