Some of the highlights:
- Eating sushi three times during my 10 day visit, plus amazing Italian food, dim sum, delicious seafood and fried fish on the beach, and ice cream EVERY SINGLE DAY
- The Panama City Half Marathon, which David and I ran on December 5th. It was definitely the hottest race I've ever done, but it was a great course and an awesome way to see the city by foot. They had PLENTY of water, which was necessary to keep us cool, and one of the coolest things was that around mile 11, they gave us sponges soaked in cold water! So I was able to take a mini sponge "bath" while running which felt amazing. His family also came to cheer us on, so it was nice to have their support which gave us an extra boost when we were getting tired.
- Drinking the tap water. Unlike Guatemala where 99% of the water is contaminated, the tap water in Panama is completely safe - and delicious. It felt so liberating to be able to brush my teeth, rinse my fruits and vegetables, etc. without ever worrying about getting sick.
- The warm weather! Although unfortunately it rained during almost my whole trip, it was warmmm. In Guatemala, when I get stuck in the rain, all I can think about is immediately getting to my cold house to change into dry clothes, and then still being cold, yet dry. Although Panama tends to crank up the air conditioning WAYY too high in stores, restaurants, etc. it was nice to not always be chilly.
- Visiting Chitré, which is a small city in the interior of the country (even though it is close to the coast, Panamanians refer to anywhere that isn't the metropolis of Panama City as the "interior") This town is really important because it is where David's family is from and where his grandmother and her nine siblings grew up. It was a four hour drive, on a nice, flat paved highway, where unlike Guatemala, I didn't have to hold on to the bar to avoid sliding off the seat during the bus's sharp turns around the mountains. We had a really nice, short trip there, where I met TONS of David's family, plus ate typical Panamanian food. It was one of the highlights of the highlights, because I got to see something different and meet so many people. I loved the "tranquilo" pace of life there.
- Having dinner with my former coworkers from Partners of the Americas and a bunch of the Latin American youth with whom I worked before joining the Peace Corps, who were coincidentally in Panama City at the same time for a big youth summit. It was so cool to see the kids that I worked with two years ago, plus my coworkers with whom I became very close. The youth were all psyched to see me and hear a bit about Guatemala, which was fun to share with them.
- Cooking "Pepian de Pollo", one of Guatemala's most traditional typical dishes, for David's family. Since there are no "typical" American dishes from the US, besides maybe grilled cheese sandwiches, I wanted to make something Guatemalan to share. It was my first time making it and actually turned out pretty delicious!
- Going to the 24 hour supermarket, where they had good ice cream, cheeses, snack foods like Goldfish and Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn (never before seen in Guatemala!), and other things like quinoa and brown sugar that I can't find here. I felt like I was in Disneyland going into that place...
- Blending in. Here in Guatemala, I stand out like a sore thumb, no matter how I dress, speak, etc. And in Panama, the people look like the "colors of the rainbow", as David described. There are white Panamanians, black Panamanians, Asian Panamanians, and everything in between. It was so nice to walk around and not feel like people were staying at me, or even hardly noticing me at all! Along with this highlight was feeling safe. David and I took nice walks at nighttime, which felt incredibly liberating. Here in Guate and even in my town, I don't like walking around after dark. And when we were in Chitré, we took a nice stroll the first night there, and saw a young girl sitting alone in the park at 9:30 pm, using her LAPTOP. I could not believe my eyes.
- Meeting David's family. It was so special to meet people whose names I've heard so much that I felt like I already knew them. I got to stay at his grandmother's house, where she has lived for 50 years, and see adorable family pictures.
As much as I enjoyed my trip, I missed small things about Guate. Like greeting everyone on the street, which is something that in the beginning, I struggled to remember to do, but have become very accustomed to now. And the local market, where I go almost daily to buy my produce. I love being able to inspect every piece of fresh fruit or vegetable that I buy, tasting samples to ensure their quality, and making small talk with the vendors. But in Panama, I bought everything in the supermarket, and missed my small town mercado. Also, while my Spanish has significantly improved since arriving to Guatemala, certain words that I learned here don't make sense anywhere else besides Guatemala/Mexico. I described something as "chulo" (cute) and David was quickly like, that doesn't mean anything here. So it is hard to know, when speaking normally, what makes sense in general Spanish and what makes sense only in Guatemala.
Only a few days before I departed for Panama, I celebrate my second Thanksgiving in Guatemala. It is my favorite holiday and a big tradition in my family, so of course I was feeling a bit homesick, but it was one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had, thanks to some Peace Corps volunteers in the department of San Marcos who organized a HUUUGE Thanksgiving dinner. I traveled six hours to reach their site, and the night before Thanksgiving, we had pizza, Chinese food, and ice cream cake to celebrate the birthday of another PCV, plus killed two turkeys (I did not do that part, but did watch squeamishly.) Normally I'd shy away from something like that, but I figured it'd be the only Thanksgiving I'll probably ever spend where I see the turkey get killed before consumed by 30 hungry people, and that it would make me appreciate more where my food was coming from. On Thanksgiving day, we prepared LOTS of food and dessert. My friends and I made 10 pounds of mashed potatoes before traveling, which was good because there was lots of work to be done the day of. Spending the day with my friend's Guatemalan host family and 15 other PCVs, some of whom have become such close friends, was really special, especially since we're all so far away from home. I couldn't help but tear up when we all went around the table discussing what we were thankful for, since I have so much to be thankful for this year. I will always remember fondly the two Thanksgivings I spent here in Guatemala!! Now, on to Christmas season :)
PCVs celebrating Thanksgiving in San Marcos
Preparing the food
Thank you Turkey, for providing food to lots of hungry people!
Getting into the Christmas spirit with David and his family, as they decorated the tree
Amazing seafood in Panama
Roughing it on my last day in Panama - Playa Bonita
Delicious fried fish
David and I, "reindeer" style
Running the Panama City half marathon
Loved the story about Thanksgiving - much for which to be thankful, no matter where we are or what we're doing. We live a charmed life compared to most people in the world, and it's good to remember that in times of difficulty. Anxious to hear more about your visit with members of David's family.
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