Panama Update #52
September 23, 2008
Yesterday the school that had offered me the very first job in Panama City called. I had turned them down several times because I was set on finding something part-time. Also, it was a middle school math and science position, and I was more interested in high school at this point in my career. I took a taxi out to the school this morning to discuss what they had in mind. The school is located across the Bridge of the Americas in a place called Howard. There is no traffic in that direction because all the traffic is going the other way, toward downtown. It was only my second time crossing that bridge (story was told in blog #41), which is the main connection between north and south once the canal was dug. In a way, it is the link between the continents. Until 1999 there was a huge US military base in that area. Because of that there are some very nice neighborhoods which are still very cheap. The area has not been developed much yet, but I have read that big plans are in the works. There is a huge Dell computer building and many other large international companies are planning to move there and a whole city will be built for the new influx of population with housing, shopping , etc.
The job is helping tutor in a 7th math class for 2 hours a day that has a lot of students who need extra help. The taxi ride is 10-15 miles, but only takes about 12 minutes to get there. We will try it on both sides for a while and see if I can be of some help. I start tomorrow.
