It's all in Context

Day 55: My last day

Wow! It’s the END OF MY ADVENTURES here in Panama! I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a foreign country for SO long. I’ve learned so much not only in Spanish but also about myself. I learned patience, a new culture, and how to work hard these past two months.

Thank you VERY MUCH to my awesome family here in Panama, especially to my aunt and uncle who have cared for me during my stay. I am forever grateful to you both and I do not know how I could ever possibly repay you for all the food you’ve cooked for me, for treating me to dinner, for washing my clothes, etc. It must have been pretty tough to have an extra person in the house on top of your three children! I appreciate it SO much. I owe you both sea salt coffee and eggs benedict when you go to the United States!

I am ready to go home though as I have a project to take care of and friends to visit! I will never forget the fun, boring, and difficult times here in Panama. Good bye my favorite third world country; I will see you and my family back in December!

Day 54: Walking with purpose

Today was my last and final day at work! Woo! It was a very liberating feeling to finally be done with all of that. You can see some pictures of my coworkers on this post, albeit they were a little bit stalkerish..

I do feel that a thank you is necessary to all of the workers at Almacen Ciro even if some of them did make my life torture at times. For the most part though, they were helpful when I did not understand Spanish, were patient with me, and were always laughing. They are some of the liveliest people I have ever met and I will miss their weird antics(kind of). One of the people inside the store today just dragged his feet around as if he was working without purpose. He was just going through the motions, trying to get by, and waiting for the day to end. It made me think about my own ambitions and I feel motivated to make sure I end up in a happy place. Thank you to you too even though you’ll probably never see this. And if you do, you won’t understand it. Hahaha.

After work, my family took me out to some Cuban food today which was good. I ordered a Cuban Mojito and good thing I did because I don’t think it’s my kind of drink. It did pair really well with the meat I was having though. My cousin dared me to try this Ajichombo hot sauce which was supposed to be really spicy but it was a dud. It had great flavor though and I think I have some back in the states so I think I’m going to start using it in my food more.

My darn family didn’t let me pay for the LAST dinner meal tonight. I was pretty mad but they won so I guess I did a terrible job at being Chinese. I compromised with them and I bought them all ice cream but it paled in comparison to the meal I’m sure. I am going home tomorrow night! I cannot wait but I will miss my family a lot.

Day 53: 2 days left!

It was a pretty typical day today. Getting out particularly late but it’s okay as the thought of going home outweighs this minor inconvenience. I want to play games.. hahah -boring post-

Days 51-52: The Beach!

I haven’t updated for the past two days because I had no access to a computer or anything for 2 days. We went ot the beach on Saturday and left early from work which was really nice. I bought an apple pie from McDonalds here! While it doesn’t seem like anything spectacular, it really IS because the apple pies here are still fried instead of baked. Mad good. The more grease the better.

We went to the beach and stayed at my uncle’s beach house. There’s a nice little area with a pool and a beach area for the residents only. I requested a piña colada and it was goooooodddd. My cousins ordered an “amapola” which is the same thing as a piña colada just without the alcohol. I didn’t end up going into the pool on Saturday because I was tired and wanted to sleep.

On Sunday, I did end up going into the pool. It was hot out but it was super cold in the pool which was nice. I played shark with my cousins and we also had chicken fights. We ALMOST made a 3 man tower but it was just too much and our third man had to go eat lunch. I also met a bunch of relatives that I should apparently know…but I only recognized their faces and did not know how they were related to me.

I am sunburned on my shoulders.

Day 49: Your business is their business

Another thing I’ve been meaning to write about is how people in Panama are nosy! I usually watch the cash register at lunch time and people come in waves for some reason. Aside that, whenever an employee is helping the client and discussing the product, the other client waiting is attentively listening as if he/she were being talked to. Then if there’s some kind of problem, they just butt right in to the conversation as if they were always part of it and try to give some kind of solution. What kind of respect is that?! Phone conversations are NOT private either. If you’re on the phone, be aware that anyone and EVERYONE is listening. Don’t say anything dumb because they will give you crap for it right after you’re done or even interrupt you!

In the middle of an important conversation, they just pick up the phone, take calls, and attend to other matters.

I was once in the middle of a conversation and one of the salesman yelled at me, “Hey did you get my merchandise yet? Did you hear me? Did you get my merchandise yet?” It’s like no one else in the world is more important than me me me me me. What also bugs me is that no one seems to mind! What a different culture.

Day 48: Hand me downs

I was eating dinner today as my aunt was cleaning up some toys that the kids were playing with today and she said “Did you know this toy was yours, Alec?” Instantly, I responded with “OHHH! I KNEW IT LOOKED FAMILIAR!” And then she also said, “Remember that table upstairs? The one that’s a two sided bench?” That was also yours! Once again, the blurry memory became a solid realization. 

She was also telling me about how my grandma bought me these pajamas when I was little. My cousin had worn them, my other cousin had worn them, and even ANOTHER cousin is wearing them now. Apparently, they’re in really good condition too! What the heck? Then she goes down a list of things that has gone through the family. Shoes, pants, toys, more clothes. Jeez. They’re indestructible! My uncle jokes that MY kids are going to wear them one day. Hahaha

Day 47: Whistling

Whistling(verb):to utter a shrill clear sound by blowing or drawing air through the puckered lips. I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for a while but I keep forgetting. It just happened to bug me a lot today.

I don’t know if it’s just the area I work in or if it’s Panama but people whistle here A LOT. And it’s not the kind of whistling where you hum along to a tune or are just bored; it’s to grab your attention. It’s annoying. I feel like I’ve been transported back into some primitive time. Who whistles anymore to get your attention? I’m only 5 feet away. You can say my name again or repeat what you just said. I didn’t hear you the first time. I’m not a dog so don’t treat me like one. The guys also whistle at hot girls. C’mon, really? Show some class.

At any rate, I have finally hit the one week mark! I’m looking forward to seeing my dog! Oh. Yeah yeah, and my family too. Hahah

Day 46: Suspended from school!

My cousin got suspended from school for a day because he was fighting with another kid. My first question was “Did you beat the crap out of the other kid?” He did and then my second question was, “Was he bigger than you?” Unfortunately, he beat up a kid 2 grades lower than him. Very disappointed in him.

What’s also kind of weird is that my family here doesn’t really seem to care much that he did it. He still has his blackberry, he’s still playing games, and the like. It’s not my job to parent him but doesn’t that seem kind of unusual? Also, his suspension is not an “In School Suspension” meaning he gets to stay home the entire day. He didn’t get any homework from school either. Now…as far as I’m concerned, all kids WANT to do is skip school. How is this a punishment again?

Day 45: In the middle

I don’t know why but I had a lot of energy today…I did all of my work and finished by 5:15. Good stuff.

I was working on my one page writing sample in Spanish for my study abroad application  and I asked my aunt to look it over. I told her in particular to not change any of my vocabulary or a lot of my sentence structure because it needs to represent me. I don’t want it to look PERFECT to the point where that if they accept me, I end up getting put in an internship that requires tons of writing or a position that requires extreme fluency. She told me at the end of correcting it that it was very understandable but you could tell that it was not written by a native.

And that’s when it kind of dawned upon me that I probably will never be fluent in Spanish. I am still learning new words everyday, still trying to understand what people say, and still learning how to express myself. I guess my Spanish skills aren’t bad for only having studied it for 5 years as opposed to my Panamanian counterparts who study English from first grade but sometimes I wish I knew more. I will probably never pass nothing more than “high proficiency,” and thus, stuck in the middle.

Days 43 and 44: All we do is eat!

I ended up miss counting the days as I was blogging every day or so but this post accurately reflects the days that I have been here. (I think)

Saturday was a normal day at work. I had to babysit my cousins because my aunt and uncle went to a wedding at night. They were well behaved so it was nice to just mess around on my computer. 

Today, Sunday, we went out to a Sheraton hotel to have a brunch! This friend of my aunt and uncle’s is a food critic for a company and she was allowed to invite us and others to have brunch with her! The company paid for it and everything. The food was a buffet and the seafood was SUPER FRESH. It was delicious! I loved the grilled octopus. They also have REALLY awesome desserts. That, paired with a nice hot cup of coffee was just the way to make my afternoon. The adults kept talking and talking! We ended up staying there for about..3 to 3.5 hours. Oh well. More coffee for me!

I didn’t take any pictures of the food from today but I’m posting old pictures of the Peruvian food we had on FRIDAY. Yum.