Finally in Panama!

Prior to coming to Panama I had never been out of the country (outside of a cruise to Cozumel, which barely counts). I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew that we were going to a less fortunate country and that I would see things different than the United States but I wasn’t sure how much poverty or how much difference I would see. I really didn’t think that there would be a huge difference, especially in Panama City. I also had my boyfriend influencing my thoughts prior to coming. He has been to India and was telling me the type of poverty he saw there. After I heard about his crazy stories from India (people going to the bathroom on the side of the road and using palm frawns to sweep the floor in the hospitals) I decided to look up pictures of Panama myself. After seeing pictures of the city and beaches I figured we were going to something similar to Florida. I was extremely excited to come to Panama and to travel outside of the country for the first time.

Once we arrived to the airport I was surprised at how small it was compared to any airport I had ever been before. Going through the airport it was as I expected, all in Spanish and confusing! When we finally got into the bus and headed towards the City of Knowledge I wasn’t too surprised by what I saw around me and expected the houses to look a little smaller and poorer than Tampa. Although once we went through the first city the buildings that people actually lived in shocked me! Some looked like they were going to fall over at any minute. I also did not expect to see so many clothes line drying. That definitely took me by surprise. I especially was not prepared to see these types of buildings because we were in a city and not in the rural areas we were eventually going to be heading to. After seeing the way the cities we drove through looked I was anxious to see how Chitre would be since it was the “rural” area we were going to be staying at.

After staying in the dorms, which were very nice, I had a hard time picturing what our houses would be like in Chitre. The house is not as bad as I was worried it may be but it was a shock to have no central A/C! Chitre is a more rural area than I’m used to but overall Panama and Chitre have been similar to what I expected prior to arriving here.