Paseando en Panamá

I have been able to get out the past couple weekends and do some truly Panamanian things, well, at least things that are truly in Panamá. I went to a music festival a couple weeks ago that was hosted in Casco Antiguo (The Old City) which offered 6 or 7 stages of Panamanian music and other various styles from around the world. My favorite had to be the French Folk Rock which I did not understand in the least, but it got me moving out of my seat. I went with some Peace Corp workers and friends from Tocumen, so it was a nice mix of people.

Last weekend I went to a baseball game in Chepo with my neighbor, Manuelito, and his wife. Our local team of Torti was playing against Margaritas, a town about an hour and a half from Wacuco. So it was a good drive there and back, but well worth it. To me, it is pretty enjoyable to go to a baseball game here in Panamá because most of the game is in English. They use pretty much all the same words like strike, ball, home run and the sort, but with a spanish accent which just makes it all the more fun for me. And frustrating at the same time. For example, I went into a store one time to get a Tylenol. I also for medicine for headaches and they seemed to not know what I was talking about, so I named some brands like Advil, Tylenol and they started at me blankly. Finally the girl behind the counter says, ¨Oh, do you want this?¨ And guess what it was, a packet of Tylenol. But, the pronunciation is so different it sounds almost nothing like it. So, it can be angering at times when you are not familiar with certain words and the people just laugh or stare blankly. But, its ok, im getting over it. Anyways, we lost the baseball game, but it was entertaining. And there was almost a brawl because of a horrible call the umpire made, but it still made for a fun night out of the campos (rural area).



Here is a photo of some kittens that were recently born here in Wacuco in an old oil drum. Don´t let the picture fool you, they are ferocious animals!