Here are some pictures our manager just sent to us from our workshop with the youth!

P.S. Excuse formatting on this blog. This disclaimer will apply to everything from here on out...

Well, we started off this week with a bang by attending the local “Hosanna” evangelical born-again church.  The service was held in a large two or three story indoor amphitheater which centered around a massive stage which held a fully dressed out gospel choir and full band of around 15 people, with drums, guitars, electric keyboards, trumpets, saxophones, and I don’t know what else. I’m not sure exactly which spirit I felt, but between the touching tambourine rhythms, the crooning choir, and the passed-out patrons (they would gather around the stage while the music was blasting and the pastor would begin touching them on the foreheads for a while and then push them/let them fall to the ground) I definitely felt something.  It was definitely an... “enlightening” experience.

We continued our religious education by trying to visit the synagogue across the street from the LDS ward we attended, but it was closed.  I was able to get a picture of McKay in front of part of the building before a security guard came out and told us we couldn’t take pictures. 

We’re hoping to continue our religious tour by visiting the Baha’i Temple (one of only seven in the world!) as well as an Hindu Temple, so I’ll keep you updated on those ones.

Most of the week was then spent organizing dates and times and materials for the workshop we will be teaching, but I did have the wonderful opportunity of taking some time to get a haircut.  The following picture attests to the importance of having a well-rounded grooming and styling vocabulary BEFORE going to the barbershop:





I decided that I was either lacking in language skills to say I wanted just one inch off on the top and trimmed on the sides (I have just over one inch remaining...) OR the wonderful young lady who cut my hair really only knows how to do one kind of style.  The problem is I look more like a Scottish NED than a native! (“NED” stands for “non-educated delinquent” for those of you unfamiliar with UK slang.)

We took one day for ourselves this week and went to an island called Taboga which is just off the mainland from Panama City about one hour.  Here are some pictures of the trip:

Arrival at Taboga, the Island of Flowers

Welcoming crew! (Not really, they were just there to unload a shipment of... well, I don't really know, but they unloaded it real good!  I wasn't sure if the man in the yellow rain jacket was wearing anything else underneath... I wouldn't have! It was hot enough with just my umbrella over my head!

< A local basketball court.  Apparently they were regional champs! (Which I can't imagine is too hard living on an island.) The hoops were conspicuously missing, so I'm not sure what they are the champions of exactly.

A little beach friend.>

This was a beautiful little island! Almost anything growing was covered in flowers, and you can't beat the view of the ocean and beach from pretty much any part of town.

And the view of the city from the island is incredible!  This picture doesn't do it justice by a long shot.  Panama City is immense.

I've never seen a place where the sidewalks were as wide as the street!




Religious imagery (shrines, figurines, murals) was EVERYWHERE in the city.  I don't think I saw a single building with out some religious item attached.




I was great to see that they even appreciated the Mormons by putting one of our pamphlets next to a statue of one of their virgins.










The local cemetery was impressive.  I enjoyed seeing how each tomb was for a specific family, but they cover the space of about one and a half plots that one person would normally take up in the US... I'm not sure how they fit everyone from the family in there!








I will admit that I was a bit concerned when I saw that there were a few open ones left empty.  I couldn't help but look around to make sure there weren't other "visitors."  I was actually kind of surprised at some of the things people stashed inside of the open tombs, old doors, a boat, some work buckets, work supplies, and mostly all kinds of trash.  It was interesting to see tombs like this next to immaculate, well-groomed and cared for graves with tons of flowers surrounding them.  It gave me a lot of questions, like who owned the plots, what the process was for making room as years went on, etc.

The squeamish may wish to avert your eyes for the next pictures, or find yourselves a leaf....  I came to realize that even though it is called The Island of Flowers, it has a dark side as well.
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I witnessed someone get hit by a car!  I saw him jump into the road and thought he might be able to dodge the oncoming truck, but unfortunately he mistimed his last leap. He didn't survive.

I also saw the remains of a death by electrocution.  The authorities are still trying to decide if it was a suicide or lynching.

 Back to more pleasant things, they LOVE decorations.
I was impressed by the ornate styles of many of the doors and walkways.  This walkway was made all of pink colored shells.

I local street shop.  If you aren't sure what to buy, just move your head around a bit and I'm sure something will come to you. (I guess stringing your wares up outside can have some advantages.

 Just some shots of around town.

This was the sunset we returned to along the Amador Causeway.  And the delicious ceviche we refreshed ourselves with after a long day. (Ceviche is seafood "cooked" in a lemon cilantro juice. I'm

 not sure if it is actually heated and cooked, or if something in the juices "cook" the meat, but it's great!

And the resulting sunburn from going around all day on an island and forgetting to bring sunscreen. (Sorry Mom, I promise I was listening when you taught me that life lesson...)

Well, that was Taboga.  I thoroughly enjoyed that trip, but I'm now suffering the feeling a snake has when it's time to change skin.

As for the rest of the week, we finally set some dates for teaching the workshop and will start this week.  We had a chance to do a practice run with the first part of the workshop in a mutual activity of about 30-40 youth, and it went pretty well, but let me tell you, it's been a while since I've taught teenagers, and that's all I'm going to say...  I think I'll do better with the adults this week.

Welcome to Panama

First week in Panama, and everything is, well, PERFECT!!  I love it here, the warmth, the humidity, the people, the city, the crowded (yet air-conditioned) buses, the other crowded, un-airconditioned, hole-in-the-floor, bachata-blasting buses (I have a feeling that my love of buses will wear off in a bit... don't worry), everything is great.  We got into Panama Friday evening, and literally immediately after stepping off the airplane walking through that square little tunnel the humidity hit me in the face.  Then I had my first full conversation in Spanish outside of the foreign language housing with the person who checks my passport... luckily I passed and was welcomed to Panama by two great members in the area, Gerrardo y Jose.  They pick up the returning missionaries from the airport a lot, so they were asked to come pick us up as well.  After picking us up, they took us to our apartment, which is in a pretty nice part of town. (We actually have our own washer and dryer in the apartment, something I've never even had in my college experience... and I get to have it in Panama? Spoiled!)  After unpacking, I fell asleep, exhausted, but I made sure to first turn on the air conditioning, and even then I woke up sweating!

(The first picture is of the view from our living room window towards the city.  On the other side of the city you can see the forest start.  We are on the edge of the only national park on the world that is within the bounds of a city's limits!! I'm hoping to go catch a sloth or something one of these days.)

The next morning McKay (my internship partner) and I acquainted ourselves with the neighborhood and met the office manager for the LDS Employment Services and Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) Center here in Panama (the employment and perpetual education fund programs are combining, so we don't really know what the office is supposed to be called, so I'll probably call it a lot of different things).  Her name is Rixela Landero de Cabrera, and I look forward to working with her.  We also met the missionary couple, Brother and Sister Checketts, who work here for the PEF.  They were a great help in telling us about the bus system (and not just because they were able to explain it to me in English).  Later that day I had probably my best experience in Panama in the first day when the little abuelita at the cash register asked for my ID when I used my credit card, and when she looked from me to my picture and back again she said in her broken English, "You is BEAUtiful."  Hehe, especially since McKay is quite dark skinned and dark haired (he looks Indian to me, but his dad is Samoan) I am getting a bit of my fill of celebrity here.  Everywhere we go I'm made so aware of being the only light-skinned, blonde haired person here, but don't worry, not everything thinks I'm as good looking as our cashier at the checkout, so my head won't get too big.

That Sunday we were able to find the church without any problems and I enjoyed getting to know some of the members there.  Monday was our first day of work, and we found out that we will need to take charge of working with the stakes to be able to organize the times that we will be teaching the employment workshop.  We also found out that we will need to learn and teach the self-employment workshop as well... I'm pretty intimidated about needing to teach people how to start their own businesses... I'm making sure to ask plenty of questions. We'll see what happens when the time comes to teach that workshop.  We also are working to organize an open-house of the employment center here to help ward leaders know what resources are available to the members, and our manager wants us to help with finding more volunteers for the center through the membership here in Panama.  With all of the projects going on we're staying pretty busy in the center.  We hope to start teaching our first workshop in the coming week or so.

Even though we've been super busy in the office, we've also had some good time to explore a bit of the city one day, and for our friends Gerardo and Jose to take us around to see the Panama Canal and a bit of the Amador Causeway.  The ingenuity behind the canal is mind-blowing.  The idea and execution seem so simple yet so complex all at the same time.

So far, one of my favorite experiences was when we stopped by at a small shop to get something to eat when we were exploring the city.  When the lady at the register paid me back she gave me a couple coins and some dollar bills (luckily they use the dollar here!).  I didn't look at the coins, assuming that they would cover the change I needed to get back, but when I counted the one dollar bills, there wasn't enough.  I explained that I didn't think I'd been given enough (trying to be as polite as possible, especially since I didn't want my
unpracticed Spanish to get in the way) but she kept insisting that I had been given enough.  She then showed me that they have a coin here that is worth a dollar.  Apologizing profusely, I told her how embarrassed I was, and explained I had only been in the city a couple days and wasn't familiar with everything yet, then I sat down.  She came over a couple times showing me the different coins they had there and explaining how much they were worth.  She said it was ok that I didn’t know everything and that she understood because she was from the Dominican Republic and had only been in Panama for four months.  We talked for a while and she told me about her family and how she was working here because pay was better than in the D.R., but she said it was hard to be living here alone with strangers.  Even though it was a small conversation that started because I was just ignorant, I really enjoyed that experience.

Wow! I just realized how much I wrote! Sorry!  I guess I can really talk when I put my mind to it (and have the time.)  I'll make sure to take more pictures and I'll write again... maybe next week, but no promises.