Blog 1

As May was quickly passing, and we were headed into the month of June, I realized I needed to really start to plan for my trip to Panama.  However, the fact that I was going to Panama did not really sink in until I was on the plane from Miami to Panama.  It was when I was sitting on the plane when I really started to wonder about Panama City.  I had told all my friends and family I was going to Panama for three weeks, but until the plane ride, I never really put much thought into my expectations.  On the plane ride, when everything started to sink in is when all my perceptions of what I thought Panama City was going to be like came to me.  When I thought about Panama, I pictured a very poor country with a lot of trees and dirt.  I pictured some pretty beaches and the sun to be very hot.  I did not think there would be many cars or buildings, and we would be in the jungle taking care of people in a small shack of a clinic.  I did not think Panama City would be anything like an American city, and I thought the people would be very in tune with their culture.  I expected them to be living in tiny houses without any air conditioning.  I also thought I would never find anyone speaking English in Panama.  I was also very scared going into this experience, not sure how anyone was going to react towards us.  I thought it could be like Mexico, where there are a lot of gangs and drug related crimes.  With this in mind, I was very surprised when we saw the airport of Panama City.  It looked like an actual international airport, with terminals and several other planes around us.  We got off the plane and there were stores, just like in America, except everything was in Spanish.  When we get through customs, we go outside to see all these cars and taxis outside of the airport.  Driving down the road there are billboards and highways filled with cars.  As we headed towards Panama City there was a few tall buildings on our left hand side which I thought was “Panama City,” however I was completely wrong.  As we keep driving there is a huge city ahead.  The buildings are all tall and they have name brands stores like we have in America.  The only thing that was exceptionally different was the driving, because anyone can really drive wherever they please.  Another thing that surprised me was the grocery store, I did not think they would have many of the things that our grocery stores at home have, however they had many of the same brands from gum to cereal to soda.  I came to Panama thinking we would not eat anything but rice, but this was not the case.  Finally, where we stayed in Panama City blew my mind.  At the City of Knowledge, we had Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and the rooms looked new and clean.  The people wore normal clothes and were all very nice to us.  We went out to dinner on our first night, and it was very good!  I was not surprised by the foods at the restaurant, rice and your choice of meat.  The next day we went to the Panama Canal and it was awesome to see!  I could not believe how big the boat was that we got to see travel through the canal.  After the canal we went to Casco Viejo, which is an old city.  It was very pretty and at one point we got to look across the water and see Panama City.  That afternoon we packed up and headed to Chitre, Panama.  We took a bus there, and this is what we will be using for transportation for the rest of our stay here in Panama.  On the drive to Chitre I could not believe all the hills, mountains and trees.  It was so different from Florida because we are used to seeing flat land and much of their land is the very opposite.  We definitely took a scenic route.  After being in Panama for a couple days a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I expected this country to be a whole lot different than it really is; I think it is going to be a great next few weeks!!