So, as noticed by my long absence from this blog, I have been off in Panama, being busy.
Few pieces of good news -- I was offered a position with the PR company that I have been interning with over the past few months. I have just started my visa paperwork, which has been an absolute nightmare to get together (my advice on moving abroad: don't do it unless it's REALLY worth it). In my case, as they say, vale la pena.
Also, I am driving! The parental units finally decided to ease their worries and allow me to drive on my own, though I had to wait until the car title was switched over and etc, etc. Surprisingly, the world has not exploded because I am driving, much to the shock of all here. Yes, Panamanians don't drive well, in general, and don't know how to use turn signals. But neither do people in LA, so I'm used to it. And there is traffic here at almost all hours of the day...also like LA....hmmm...
Living in El Cangrejo has had its ups and downs, but, overall, I'm pretty happy here. I go out sporadically with my friends here and try to enjoy life. I've met so many wonderful people that have been nothing but completely welcoming with me. I know that I've never had problems making friends in the past, but I am still surprised that I was able to get to know so many people here in a short amount of time.
My Spanish is getting better and better everyday. I can easily make hair appointments, run errands, and converse more or less well about my life. Oh, and of course, I have to use it at work and at home most of the time. This, most of all, has been the biggest surprise to me. I guess it was inevitable that I would pick up the language quicker while living here, but it still amazes me how much and how quickly we, as humans, can learn.
Weather has been extremely hot (sorry, Northeast US). It's nice not to have to tailor my outfits for the cold. I've stayed in the city most of the time, though I was able to go out to the beach a few weeks ago.
I'll hope to keep this updated more frequently in the upcoming months. The truth is that I have been REALLY, really busy at work, which has been great (if you know me, you know I'm happiest when I'm working) -- but this also means that I haven't given much thought to keeping up on posts and all of my posts lately would have been "Worked a long day today. Am exhausted. Goodnight." Really. But I'll try to be a bit more consistent.
Here's a pic of me and my friend Nadya at Manrey last night, to send off this post --
Oh and some Panama culture --
