I'm sitting in a giant mall in Panama city, using the demonstration internet to post this (that is my excuse du jour for still no pictures).  The internet is a funny thing.  Today we had an "Adventure in Panama City" which consisted of 5 questions we had to answer by going to a few spots in Panama City, using the busses, and pretending that we had decent senses of compass directions.  We had 3 hours to complete this task, but were done in about one, counting from when we actually started.  After, we -we being a small group of volunteers- decided to check out the old town, aka, Casco Viejo...aka touristville.  Really, it being a touristy area was rather nice at this point, not having heard anyone other than Peace Corps people speaking English since we got here.  Also, for the first time in Panama, we weren't the only fair, non-black-haired weirdos around.  Also, we got to have some different food.  Not that I'm complaining about what my host family gives me- it's delicious!  But variety is exciting.  I had a toasted chicken wrap at a little Italian-inspired cafe we found.  (Perhaps its a consequence of its being a predominantly Christian, or even Catholic, country, there aren't too many restaurant options open.)
But, it was lovely, with beautiful old buildings, a bit of construction, and a lot of burned out, formerly beautiful old buildings, which actually still were visually interesting.  We saw a fantastic panorama of the Panama City Skyline, the Pacific Ocean, fishing boats, and views boats awaiting their turns to enter the canal.  It was quite a day for sightseeing!  Also, we learned more about how the city is laid out, got more comfortable with the bus system, and did those things that were part of the Peace Corps obvious agenda.

Ok, so my friend and I had to head home from the mall- now I can probably get a picture up or two!  The mall is about 20 minutes outside of Panama City, at the National Bus Terminal.  My town is about an hour west of the City, a bit more as the busses keep stopping.  Silly busses, dropping people off and picking people up and delaying my trip ;-)

Finally, here are some pictures, for your entertainment/education/whatnot:
Un Catedral in el Casco Viejo:

 A view of the Panama City Skyline!

 Panama-style hutong (severely impoverished, crowded, dilapidated community in the middle of downtown, slowly being demolished and the residents displaced)

 My house!

 Little Folklorica dancers (folklorica being spanish for "folk") at the Feria in La Chorrera (main 'city' in my area now)

Well, it's been a week.

   A week ago today, I was frantically trying to be sure that I remembered everything that I wanted or needed to bring to Panama.  Now, I know that I brought too much...but honestly, I don't know what I would cut out, that would really decrease the amount.  I certainly haven't needed my fleece, but as soon as I moved that out, I'd probably get assigned to a site somewhere on a mountaintop.  Now, I'm living with my host family for our 3 month training in a town about an hour's drive from Panama City.
    We have gotten so. much. information.  En espanol, en Ingles (I'm trying to make my thoughts more Spanish than English.  It's hard, as I know relatively few words, but making progress!)  We have a relatively regular schedule now, where for some days of the week, most Mondays - Wednesdays, we have 4 hours of Spanish in the morning, and about 5 hours of 'technical training' in the afternoons.  My host family is very happy to help me with my Spanish (and they know my schedule better than I do- I'm definitely not their first volunteer).
    Some weekends, we'll be going back to the city for training at the PC main offices, sometimes we'll be doing site visits and eventually, site visits to our own sites!  We find those out in about 5 weeks.  In the meantime, every day my head feels full by about 10:30, and we have classes until about 5.  I'm trying to stay awake until 9 every day, but it's hard when I'm ready to sleep by about 7.  But, being up at 6:30 ish every morning helps as well.
   The weather is, as promised, hot and humid, though honestly, not unlike a Cincinnati summer.  Also, they have a lovely breeze here which is missing in Cincinnati so often.  And in addition, it even cools down after sunset!  So, I'd say they have better weather here than in Cincinnati, but there isn't air conditioning, so... perhaps Cincinnati is still preferable for weather.
   I have a big host family- bigger still counting the in-laws.  8 people live in my house, more nearby, and yet more in other parts of the town.  Not that the town is very big, about 2000 people, by a host brother's estimate.  There are 32 TE volunteers, and so far it seems that our families are all more or less related.  Everyone my host sister and I passed when we were walking around on Sunday seems be a cousin.
Our day in Miami was full of orientation information from about noon -7PM, and that was an accurate introduction to our future life.  Every day I can think of since then, other than last weekend, has been a set of meetings and presentations with the occasional interview from 7AM-6PM or so.
    On Saturday, though, we got a field trip to a local volunteer's site, east of Panama City, in a community of about 6000, where she works with 6 teachers at the local school.  On Sunday, we came here, to our training community, where we'll be living, or at least leaving our belongings, for the next 9 weeks.  Last night (Sunday), my host sister and I went to Mass, which makes the second Mass I've been to in my life- the other being in Quebec (service being in Quebecois and Latin).
     As I was saying earlier, we have loads of classes morning and afternoon, but also a lot of field trips.  Sometimes it seems like our host families are more an easy way for PC to feed and occasionally house us, than an actual cultural experience.  But at the same time, we've only been with our host families for less than 2 full days, and will only have been in Panama for a week on Wednesday.  Time flies in strange, incomprehensible circles.
I'll get pictures up soon, with luck, but in the meantime, I want to give the internet back to my host brother.  It's magically stored in a USB drive!  But apparently, I might be one of a very few people who have access at all here.  Woohoo!  Buenas noches <3

A New Adventure

Every trip starts with a plan.  Mostly, anyhow.  I am not planning my trip, as that is Peace Corps' lot.  I am getting set to spend the vast majority of the next 27 months in the lovely Central American country known as Panama, where I will be teaching English.  The country itself is conveniently situated around the Panama Canal, or at the very southern tip of the North American continent, if you prefer.

Since I'm not really planning this trip (beyond planning to embark upon it), I'll continue to the next step, which is packing.  Packing has been a lovely multi-layered riddle, as it requires me to decide what of my possessions would be most advantageous and/or necessary and/or desirable to have with me for 2 years and 3 months, and how to pack them into 2 checked bags, a carry-on, and my "personal item."  My primary luggage consists of a backpacking pack which has already wandered Europe (though not on my back), a wheeled duffle which was purchased for this adventure.

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, I board an airplane to Miami. FL, where I will officially become a Peace Corps Trainee.  (I'll be a full-fledged Volunteer March 15, barring unforeseen circumstances.)  On Wednesday, January 11, at 12:05 PM, I'll board another flight, this one to Panama City.  Tuesday marks the beginning of a long line of firsts for me- first time in Florida (though I'll be spending the time in the airport and an airport hotel, but I'm counting it anyway), and my first one-way ticket on that day alone.  Wednesday, my first time in a country south of the United States.  Thursday, I won't try to predict.