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)