Panama Update #46
September 12, 2008
Nikki returned yesterday and has been getting some rest, although returning to the boat on Sunday for another week will be pushing it. She could definitely use more time to catch up on the work and recover before heading out again. I think the field work she was doing was very strenuous with hiking through unchartered territory in the jungle for long hours, carrying rocks back to the ship, and getting rock samples from swimming around the coral reefs in the Caribbean. She has a lot of interesting stories to tell about her time in the Kuna Yala (San Blas) region and eventually we will post some of the pictures she took there but it will probably be a while since the pictures were taken on a work camera rather than our personal one. The Kuna are basically a self-governed people, with a separate governing structure from the rest of Panama. Before they left for the trip they had permission from the overall Kuna Chief, but each individual tribe also has to give permission. So before they enter each particular area, they have to meet with the village elders and explain why they are hiking around and taking rocks. Some have not allowed them to take rocks because it would upset the various spirits for different reasons. Hopefully Nikki will write some of this down that I can pass along. We are thinking of going back to that area for a vacation later in the year because she says it is amazingly beautiful. It is getting more and more developed for tourists, but is still very pristine and the local indigenous culture is still well preserved. The guide that is translating for their group (the Kuna have their own language) is Nikki's roommate on the ship and we could hire her to show us around.
This afternoon I had an interview with the Berlitz Language School. They are, of course, a famous language school around the world. This branch is located in the downtown/hotel/banking area of Panama City and they serve business executives and other employees in the area. They were very interested in having me coming to work for them, but there are some problems with it such as low wages (about $9 per hour), unpaid training for 2 weeks, and no guarantee that they will give you several hours in a row. From where we live, it doesn't make good sense because of the cost and time for transportation. A lot of the wages would be eaten up in taxi fares and waiting time. The advantages are that the hours would be very flexible. For now I will most likely decline and stick to tutoring more in this area.
