First week in Training

This week, my first week living with a host family an hour outside of Panama, has been a continual test of adjustment. I originally started this blog post but lost it due to an error with my tablet... thinking I should have brought a computer but I'm making do with what I got. Anyways, on to the more important stuff. Transitioning overall has been absolutely amazing. I've made great progress in the areas of Spanish, culture, food, and adopting to the standard of living in Panama.

I am quite proud of the level of Spanish I've been able to achieve or have had while living in America but didn't realize that I had it. I have been able to help others translate back and forth between English and Spanish and have also been able to have meaningful conversations with my host family. My host brother and I have had several hour to two hour long conversations on many different topics.

Similarly, with my language learning, I've taken a great interest in the community. I've spent several nights after classes playing football(soccer). I was also able to partake in a local Spanish party/dance event. The event goes all night but after a long day of traveling to and from the city, I was only able to dance until 9pm at which point my body dictated that I head home and sleep for way too many hours.

Another area of moving forward rather rapidly is my apreciation of the food. When we were first asked to fill out a questionare about what food we'd like to eat in our houses, I marked that I didn't want fish but once I arrived and my host family questioned me once more, I said I'd try everything at least once. A few days ago I ended up eating sardines and macroni for lunch and a full fish for dinner. Not my favorite meals but I managed and I'd eat both again.

I think the change in standard of living is a great challenge for many people such as not having running water, a bathroom inside the house, air conditioned rooms, or an active wi-fi connection. Somehow I've managed to adopt quite quickly. Surprisingly I'm more bothered by the internet access than I am by the hole in the ground for a toilet... haha.

That's about all of an update I've got for now. Time to head off to my afternoon technical class.

Hasta luego.