Whatever, Y.O.L.O., Crocs

Typically you travel to a place, observe the clothing, think "cool" or "weird" or whatever you think, and then you get on a plane and go home. Besides the fact that I still haven't gotten on a plane and gone home, I've also thought "hmm, that makes a lot more sense than what I'm wearing right now." And so I started wearing... (In order of my decision to start wearing them)

Sombrero and Man Purse

Sombrero - Month 3

This was an awesome unexpected gift from my host dad. I'd say in a store, it would have cost about $70 which is a pretty legit sombrero. Sombreros are pretty popular in many formal events such as dances, work meetings, etc. and I've used it on many occasions. Also important is the fact that I have a huge head and I've avoided hats in the states almost completely. However, this sombrero was custom made, as are all sombreros, and fit me perfectly.

Man Purse - Month 3.5

My neighboring volunteer during training lived just behind my host family's house. We'd typically have over the fence conversations, similar to Home Improvement, after classes ended. One day he arrived home with a man purse. I'd never imagined wearing one even though many Panamanian youth about my age wore one. I was jealous of his bag so shortly thereafter I purchased my own. It was amazing. Women, I need not explain to you, but men, oh my. Imagine all the things you need, in a bag!? For those times you don't have enough crap to fit in a back pack but don't want to fill all of your pockets with clutter, there's the man purse. The photo above has my first man purse.

Cutaras - Month 5

These are basically fancy sandals made of leather that are used in formal settings for Panamanians. For a while they were my default shoe. I went to shower, hiked, visited the Peace Corps office (Which is crazy strict about dress attire but these were cool, as well as most sandals), and walked around town with them. Socks suck. Also closed shoes suck. You have to wash the socks, by hand, and critters like to hide in closed shoes.

Man Purse Version 2- Month 12

I got myself a much cooler man purse while working in a friend's community. They are known as chacaras and typically they're woven together from a cloth-like material or old plastic sacks are torn apart and woven together. They're great since they never mold and if they get wet, no worries. They've served quite well for my work days on the water system where I'm typically getting pretty dirty.

Knockoff Crocs - Month 15

I swore I'd never wear Crocs. Until my flip-flops broke one day while I was away from home. I went to the store and I could get another pair of flip-flops, which were bound to wreak havoc on my feet, or buy a pair of crocs. Of course the only pair that fit me was pink. Whatever, Y.O.L.O. (you only live once), crocs. I instantly fell in love with them. They had cushion, didn't easily allow rocks to get trapped between the shoe and my foot (like cutaras did), offered more traction than flip-flops when walking back to my house after a shower, were great to hike in, etc. Besides the fact that they're not acceptable in the Peace Corps office, I wear them all the time.

Thinking to the future now, I’ll probably never wear this stuff after Peace Corps, but you never know, Crocs are just so damn comfortable.