Panama Update #61
October 5, 2008
Today's Panama Update is actually from Panama rather than writing from Miami like the last 3 entries. It still boggles my mind how strange modern travel is. This morning I was in Miami and then a short plane ride and a nap and I am back in Panama. Both places are warm and Miami was rainy yesterday like in Panama, but to be back in the rain forest in Panama is a little shocking at first, but not as shocking as I thought it would be. It actually felt like I was coming home. I never in my life could have imagined that going to Panama would feel like going home, but it is my home, at least for now. I think almost every person I came in contact with in Miami spoke Spanish or was bilingual, so in that regard it felt like Panama. The shuttle driver, hotel workers, taxi driver, store clerks, and restaurant workers all seemed to speak Spanish. I did not expect to be so immersed in Spanish when I went to Florida. I did a google search today when I got home and found this out: According to the 2000 census, some 47 million Americans speak a language other than English at home. The major city with the highest proportion of Spanish speakers is Miami, where two-thirds (67 percent) speak Spanish at home; a full three-quarters (75 percent) of Miami residents speak a language other than English at home.
The trip back went so smooth that I couldn't have asked for anything more. The plane arrived on time with my luggage and the taxi driver was waiting for me. My job after getting back was to eat, and restock my little suitcase with clean clothes and more vitamins. The taxi driver is scheduled to pick me up at 11:00 AM tomorrow and it's back to the US and meeting up with Nikki in Houston.
