-
City Tours and Traveling Mishaps – From Panama to Medellin
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – Fitzhugh Mullan For those of you aching for more blog posts, you’re in luck. I’m covering a lot of ground in this one. Enough Spanish for One Month For my last Friday in Panama city I skipped my Spanish classes and played tourist for the day. Don’t judge me. I wasn’t just playing hookie because I didn’t want to go to class (which I didn’t). I also didn’t plan my Panama City flight itinerary very well. My arrival in Panama City was on a Sunday afternoon. I then had class all week, and a flight out to Colombia…
-
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out. So I would just scream. – Temple Grandin Language Frustrations I had a frustrating week. And it made me kind of cranky. It’s my last of four weeks of Spanish classes. I switched locations for the last week to one of the language school’s other locations in Panama City and arrived here on Sunday. In concept, this was a great plan. I see more of the country beyond the mountains of Boquete, expand my Spanish experience with variety of teachers, and change up my…
-
Making Friends
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” -Tim Cahill Weekend Excursions Where has the time gone. I’ve been in Boquete for the better part of three weeks now. My first week went slowly. The school didn’t have many other students below the age of 75 so I had a lot of alone time with a bottle of wine and the streets of Boquete to keep me company. I did get a lot of exploring done early on. But I have to admit, I was also getting a little lonely and ready to meet new people. My primary human interaction over the first week was 5 hours a…
-
Practica! Practica!
I’d hoped the language might come on its own, the way it comes to babies, but people don’t talk to foreigners the way they talk to babies. They don’t hypnotize you with bright objects and repeat the same words over and over, handing out little treats when you finally say “potty” or “wawa.” – David Sedaris Learning Español It’s time to get down to business and into my Spanish classes. A one-on-one conversational lesson in the morning, followed by four hours of grammar and vocab work in the afternoon. For those of you that don’t like to add, that’s five hours of Spanish classes. Per day. Five days a week. …
-
Leaving and Arriving
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag First Stop – FLORIDA After departing DC, I began my travels at the popular destination chosen by many a well-traveled blogger – Cape Coral, Florida. It’s the sunny locale where my parents live as well as a whole bunch of other retired white people. It’s also not a bad place to visit or start to a big trip. The WiFi is fast, the weather is always sunny, and no one ever goes hungry or in need of wine. The Marmos are also pretty good at being incredibly patient and putting up with my stressed out shit for a…
