Panama's Patriotic Days

November is a month full of holidays in November, six to be exact.  And when you have six holidays in one month- plus any other unofficial festival that might be going on- well, the country seems to just be on one long break.  

On the agenda of things to celebrate are:

November 2   - Day of the Dead
November 3   - Independence from Colombia
November 4   - Flag Day
November 5   - Columbus Day (And seeing as though he named many cities in Panama...)
November 10 - The Uprising of Los Santos against Spain (Literally translated as "The first scream of                           the saints)
November 28 - Independence from Spain

Needless to say, there are plenty of celebrations throughout the country and though I was sad to miss my town's festivities, it was really neat to be in the national capital for these patriotic days.  

Flag Day, November 5, was the big party day, and I was excited to have another Bocas volunteer around to celebrate with!  Zoe and I meandered along the Cinta Costera, munched on delicious street food, and took tons of photos of stylishly clad marching bands and kids in typical Panamanian dress. Having spent my entire first year in an indigenous site, I thought it was really neat to see the more Latino side of Panamanian Culture.  

And can you believe those stilettos the band girls march in?!  

That time I snuck out of the hospital to get a chocolate shake...

I always associated Pneumonia with cold weather and a weakened immune system, so you can imagine my surprise when I, proud owner of an immune system of steel and resident of the ever-tropical Panama, came down with that very ailment this past weekend.

My dad had been mentioning my pesky cough for the past three weeks or so, but until last week that was the only sign I had that something bad was in store.  Sure enough, after a week of work-related travel, I got so sick that all I did was hole up in a hotel and sleep for two days straight.  When my prescribed antibiotics weren’t alleviating any of my symptoms, the Peace Corps medical team decided I needed to be hospitalized. 

Before this past weekend, the only times I had been in a hospital were to visit other people, so naturally I wasn’t excited to change that.  Add to that my fear of needles (it’s pretty ridiculous, guys) and the prescribed IVs and I was not a happy camper.  It all ended in a warm bed though, so my Pneumonia-ridden self couldn’t complain too much. 

That was last Monday.  By Tuesday I was ready to break out for a chocolate shake, and subsequently did.  Wednesday held the same, only this time with a veggie-burger to accompany my sweet escape.  By Wednesday I was also smart enough to know the hospital food was not to be counted on, so that day’s escapade included a little trip to the supermarket, IV bag in hand. 

After what felt like much too long, the doctors let me out on Thursday... with the condition that I be placed on a medical hold in Panama City for 15 days in order to be really, really sure that I'm 100% better and won't re-infect my lungs when I get back to site.   

So what is a budget constricted Peace Corps volunteer to do in one of the most developed cities in Central America for over two weeks?  In addition to hopefully being productive (internet! electricity!) I'm hoping to scope out all of the free and cheap activities the city has to over and experiment with all the food I can't get in site.  Of course, I'll be blogging all along the way.  At least I'll leave this experience, hopefully, as a semi-expert on Panama City.

Panama City Adventure

Last weekend we had a scavenger hunt assignment in downtown Panama City so that we could orient ourselves to the nation's capital.  After completing a few random tasks such as finding the hospital, Peace Corps approved hotel, and an awesome ice cream parlor, we had free time in the city. 

Panama is definitely a business city, and it was a little hard to figure out where to go at first.  After some time deliberating, my group decided to split a taxi ride to Casco Viejo- the historic downtown.  

While Casco Viejo was Panama's main city in years past, after the canal was built in the late 1800s/early 1900s, Panama City moved to it's current location.  After that, Casco Viejo became pretty run down and lost its charm, but there is currently a renovation project aimed at restoring the area and bringing back its historic beauty.  

Casco Viejo is definitely a tourist place now, but there are still run down buildings and areas scattered about.  

Overall, Panama City was a fun day trip, especially since we got to enjoy some first world pleasures like air conditioning and ice in our drinks!