so, in the spirit of my last entry (which was cut short because my time on the internet cut out) i am going to write only about things that i like about panamá. here we go.


#1 okay, this is obvious for everyone who knows me. reggaetón. (duh.) some people say that it's boring and just the same beat over and over again. obviously they haven't had the life changing experience of seeing daddy yankee on stage with explosions and dancing hoochies in the background. i don't have a radio, so i am not sure what the radio stations are like (i don't know if they could beat la kalle) but i do hear reggaeton quite a bit. blaring out of people houses, in the background during technical training, at the kiddie dance party, on the bus, etc. and speaking of the bus, here comes number 2.

#2 diablos rojos. that's what they call the buses here. it means red devils. apparently they call the buses that because they have been known to hit and kill people. hmmmmmm...not so positive. but there are good things. in a very latin american fashion they drive fast, don't stop all the way (let's hope i don't fall out of one again), and, occasionally, people sell things on them. and of course, they blast music. actually, the other day i got on a bus full of school kids that was blasting a techno song with one line, girls who like sex are bad. ridiculous! and hilarious as well.

#3 light up bugs. i didn't have these growing up in the bay area, so i don't know the technical name. but they are awesome and when i don't have a flashlight, they help me find my way home. (okay, not really.) but they are still super cool.

#4 hair styles. ladies from chile, you will be happy to hear that the mini mullet is living on in panamá. you know i´m happy. even worse, women have them too sometimes. but it's more of a sculpted mullet on them, if that makes any sense. they have this tight curly hair that is like shaved into a shape of a mullet but is actually helmet like. oh, and the men line up their hair. which is something that doesn't happen enough in the states. but here, it's standard. ¡que bueno!

#5 ¡machetes! well, this just brings it full circle to daddy yankee and #1. but really, machetes are everywhere. and you can even bring them into the tienda or bank with you. awesome! although, if people get drunk and angry, there may be a machete fight. and those are deadly. some people here have seen them before. (bad, but, what a story to tell your friend back home.) i am thinking of sending a couple home for christmas to ray and tal. mom, do i have you're approval? (hahaha, yeah right.)

so yes, panamá has good things to offer.


in other news...


i got my site assignment! i'll be going to the coclé province. which is funny because a couple people had already started calling me coclé instead of coco as a joke. my town is actually kinda big (4,000 people!) and less than 3 hours from panamá city. my main job is to work with a youth cooperative.

i'm not so sure how i feel about the work. i came here to do business work and was really excited to work with panamanian entrepreneurs, and now i'll be working with an elementary school group instead. i do love youth development, but i don't know if that is what i want my work here to be about. i thought that would be more my escape from work. but we'll see. when i get to visit the community in a few weeks i will get to know more about what exactly the group does and how i will help. so for now, i'm not too excited or anything, but i'm not totally upset either. like i said, we'll see.


lastly, we're going to travel for the next 2 weeks. i get to go to a bunch of places all over panamá as part of my training. it should be fun. so no one will probably hear from me until october, but i should have some good pictures and stories by then.

miss you all!!!!!!!! love you!!!! and, email me updates!