Panama Update #66
October 13, 2008
We both arrived back in Panama City yesterday as scheduled. I arrived on-time at about 7:00 PM and the immigration line was huge (about 100 people or more) and moving very slowly. It took about an hour and a half to move through it. I wasn't in a hurry, but our poor taxi driver was waiting for me very patiently. He then drove me back to our apartment and said he would have some dinner and drive back to get Nikki, who was supposed to arrive at midnight. He said he would take a nap in his car until she arrived. We really like this driver a lot so we gave him a cap and a shirt we had gotten at the Geology convention in Houson.
While in Texas I started thinking about when we would return to Minneapolis. I talked it over with Nikki and it looks like I will make a return reservation for June 6, 2009. We don't know yet if Nikki will stay a little longer or not. I have been here a little over 3 months now and while I was in Houston realized how emotionally challenging for me it has been to live here. Before I left for Panama I didn't think it would be a big deal to be away for a year, but now I am realizing that it has not been easy. I think the biggest challenges are being at a long distance from friends and the convenience of transportation and finding what you need easily in the stores. Also, we had a comfortable house and I had a nice job. These are all adjustments that I am adapting to. The people in Panama that I have met, for the most part, have been very welcoming. I want to make good use of the year down here and not feel like I am just killing time. It is really a nice opportunity to learn a language, catch up on some reading, and do some writing. My goal for today was to stay positive so I jumped in right away and went out to the school where I have helping out for a couple of hours a day. That helped me feel purposeful and the Yoga classes begin again tomorrow. It is a really a sort of strange experience to make another country your home and feel comfortable and find what you need. It causes you to think about what is really important to live a purposeful life.
