Hello from Panama City

The school at Cerro Cruz, about an hour from my house






So, here I am in Panama City. I am getting my midterm medical exams done, which have so far consisted of getting my vitals checked (my bloodpressure is excellent, my temperature refuses to rise above 96.2 degrees whatever that means, and my weight has maintained itself at 131 pounds), a TB test (hope I don't have it, but it's possible-- so far the little spot is looking kind of purple, I don't know what that means either), a visit to the dermatologist for acne prescriptions, and a dental cleaning.

I have been wandering around trying to become familiar with the bus system, but it seems like half the time I still don't know what I'm doing and end up taking the wrong bus and having to take the taxi because I ran out of time, or getting on the right bus, then thinking I'm on the wrong bus and getting off, when in reality I was on the right bus the whole time but it was going a different route. So I have ended up taking some scenic tours of Panama Viejo and Clayton these last couple days, unintentionally. I also have ended up going to the same area like 5 times in the past 24 hours. I went to pay for my stay in the Decameron resort next weekend. Then I found out that the dermatologist is like three blocks away from Decameron. Then I forgot my letter to the pharmacy so I could get my prescriptions, so I had to go back to my hotel room and then go right back to the pharmacy. Then I thought I saw the hospital where my dentist office was for today's appointment, but I was mistaken due to the fact that Metrocentro Mall and Metroplaza Mall are two different malls that are fairly close to each other. So I ended up having to take a taxi to find the other clinic. I have wasted a ton of money on just wandering around like a crazy gringa who generally has a pretty good sense of direction but who is a complete airhead. At least I didn't get lost. . . and I'm getting tons of walking done still even though I'm not in the mountains!

I have also been trying to get all the odds and ends stuff done while I'm in the office because I don't get here very often. I am preparing handouts for my series of life skills workshops that I will be doing during the next few months in the high school, picking up stuff and turning in forms, all that kind of stuff. It's great to have free internet, printing, and copying! All this would be costing me tons at the internet cafes. I just made like a whole ream of paper into handouts, and that's only about half of what I need so far.

I had a better week last week, I think I was just experiencing PMS last time when for some reason everything just seems impossible, when at other times you can just let it roll off your back. So I just kept plugging away even though I really didn't feel like it, and I actually got some positive results. Yamileth, one of the English teachers at the high school, has invited me to help with her English classes. I have been waiting for somebody to invite me do that for a long time now, because I didn't want to force myself on them. Also, I have been invited to help out with a new woman's artisan/food productor group that is just getting started and will be recieving some funding from Proyecto Ngabe-Bugle. I think I will cancel the community classes because I keep having turnouts of one or two students and it's impossible to have a successful course that way. I can make better uses of my time. Although not really a sustainable activity, I went for a day to the school at Cerro Cruz to teach them one english class, and they all greeted me with "Happy!" when I came (which is what I taught them last time), see photos above of them doing the action and saying happy.