Bienvenidos a Panamá

Hola!

I have currently been in la Republica de Panamá for 27 hours.

My first whole day has been filled with getting accustomed to hearing Spanish, eating new and interesting food, learning and sharing.   But tomorrow brings another whole day of being active, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.  In a nutshell, I feel extremely lucky to have this language of dance as both a medium to express myself and to have the opportunity to share it with others.  Here are 5 of the many things I learned today in Panama:

1- People are always willing and able to help

2- Children are energetic balls of fun, talent, patience and stamina

3- Zanahoria means carrot… and nananja (orange) zanahoria juice is very interesting

4- Panamanian people are extremely passionate and spiritual.  On October 21, Catholics thousands make a pilgrimage to Iglesia de San Felipe in Portobelo to witness Christo Negro (the Black Christ)

5- Power in numbers is very, VERY real people- with 9 students and a combined total of 8 years of high school Spanish (and about 15 years of French) the Movement Exchange students from SMU and FSU have combined forces and made a great curriculum for the kids we’ll be teaching this week

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”

Total hours danced:  3

Total number of sunscreen applications: 1 (definitely going for more tomorrow)

Number of times lost: 0 (proud)

Number of Spanish words pronounced correctly: >30

Number of fried plantains eaten: 0 (I’m expecting a dramatic increase in the coming days)

Number of times saying Lo siento, no entiendo (I’m sorry I don’t understand): >13

Number of smiles seen: An overwhelming amount

Total earnings: ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!

Additional photos: