What an amazing day! I left last night on a red-eye to Houston where I had about a 4 hr layover, then on to Panama City. All went smoothly and, except for some turbulence (OK, severe turbulence) coming in and out of Houston, the flights were great,
Once we landed, I cleared Immigration and Passport Control and exited (with 3 ENORMOUS cases plus carry-on) to find Dr. Victor Sanchez, Director of International Relations for UTP, waiting to pick me up in - luckily - a large car. What a lovely man he is! He was so gracious and generous to help me with my Spanish and to explain a little about Panama and Panamanians. He saw me up to the apartment - a cozy spot that's just perfect for my stay!
After he left, Nitzia and I covered all of the details, including counting the number of towels and spoons for the inventory. While we tried to get my credit card to go through (note to self: make sure to handle this with the bank BEFORE leaving for outside the US!), I beaded up a quick little bracelet for her - what fun for me! About the time the credit card finally went through, it was done. :-)
Nitzia left and I started settling in before realizing I needed to lay in some food. I flagged a cab, asked "Cuantos?" ("How much?") to go to the Super 99 ("Super Noventa y Nueve") up the street. I had my shopping cart and a list in my head (the one on paper was conveniently on the dining room table in the apartment) and had a blast wandering around the store for about 2 hrs - it was so interesting to see the brands and to contemplate what I wanted to eat in the near future. I realized as I walked up and down the aisles that I haven't spent 4 months "alone" (e.g., without another person living under the same roof) since before I met David - in 1997! Wow! It's been a LONG time!
Supermarkets are always great fun for me. I love figuring out what everything is - although here, that wasn't much of an issue because there were so many "American" brands. In the "old" days (and in some parts of the world, like China, still today), it was fun to guess. I would sometimes play a game with local colleagues where we would go to the grocery store and they would pick something that I had to figure out. It was often quite hilarious and the guesses quickly would grow increasingly preposterous as the objects got "stranger" (at least to the stranger).
I just returned, put everything away, and made some supper.
And the most amazing Karla Arosemena just pinged me on Skype. She's sorting out the schedule. I'm excited about what lies ahead for so many reasons, with Karla being a really important one. Every time we have spoken it's been interesting and exciting. What a remarkable person she is! I can't wait to meet her in person. Soon. Sooner. Soonest!
But, now, as I sit down to write this, I am finding my eyelids drooping and my body starting to feel a bit sluggish, as I am yawning and trying to fight sleep. I won't be able to do so much longer, so I will end this day's entry with thanks to all who have made today possible - both over the process of applying for this post, preparing for it, and making it happen - all the way to today, when I actually landed. And of course, dear reader, to you for being with me on this journey.
Good night!
