Yesterday I arrived fresh from a day of no sleep and multiple plane flights into the steamy arms of Panama. From the plane I caught glimpses of the rainforest spotted with slash and burn areas, pastures full of what looked like Brahman cattle, and the imposing skyline of the city.
Once here we (all 48 of us) were immediately ushered to the orientation center, placed in our respective villas, and then subsequently oriented for a couple hours. Our dinner was one of many traditional Panamanian meals: rice, beans, steamed veggies and some caramelized platanos. The birds are leggy with long necks; they look more like the sons and daughters of dinosaurs here. The pajaros in the palms outside the villa sound like pet-shop budgies.
I haven't experienced any culture shock yet, but I'm in a closed community where everyone speaks English to a degree. I had a nasty realization when we took a oral language proficiency test today and I couldn't remember the word for pretty nor most conjugations that I will be in a bit of a state when I first move in with my host family on Sunday, but I am confident in the Spanish I have, and will scrape by. At first Spanish will be a blunt axe that I will hack away at people's ears with, but eventually voy a tener el espanol bonito como una mariposa en la primavera. I'll buy some Paulo Coehlo and other authors que tiene palabras muy lindas, and learn from them. And everyone else.
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Excellent! A safe arrival in Panama and evidence thereof! :-)
ReplyDeleteI can already tell that I'm gonna have a lot of fun words to look up and translate from your postings (however often you'll be able to do them). Spanish is such fun! Maybe if I ever get off my lazy ass and practice, then I'll be able to supply some Spanish conversation when you get back, so you can transition back to English more slowly. Good luck starting off, though!
Later, gator! Be safe!