When I arrived in Panama about a week ago, I had no idea what to expect. As I stepped off the plane in Panama City, the butterflies turned to nervous jitters as I realized this was the first time I was traveling by myself to a country what does not speak my language... Well not totally by myself, as I was accompanied by 3 other classmates who decided to come early also :
After spending a couple days here in Panama my first impressions are:
1. The people are crazy drivers. I'm pretty sure everyone where likes to play live frogger.
2. The food is amazing. Every restaurant I have eaten at has been AMAZING! I
even ordered a whole fish - eyeballs and all - at one restaurant. We
also quickly found our favorite place to eat in Panama City. It was a
crepes and waffle restaurant with the best crepes EVER!
3. The culture is thick. I really enjoyed walking through the city and
seeing the thick culture in the Panama City. I loved seeing the old
parts of town and walking through the markets with hand made crafts from
the natives.
4.The Panama Canal is awesome. It was not at all what I expected but pretty
incredible to read about the way it was build and the man power behind
it.
5. The country is beautiful. The land is beautiful here.
We took one trip to a place called Valley de Anton, which is a city
built in the middle of a volcano crater. The last half hour of our two
hour bus ride there was winding through the mountains and honking at
stray dogs to move out of the road. We were able to hike the mountain to
some water falls and swim in hot springs.
6. The poverty is heart breaking. I have been to a couple third world countries and am
amazed every time I see poverty like this. Literally living on a
mountain in a shack or simply tarps. They are so friendly and welcoming
but it breaks my heart to see the look of hopelessness on their faces.
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