Fall just snuck up on me. One day I'm wearing shorts and getting a sunburn and the next, I'm pedaling to work at 6am wishing I were wearing gloves. Actually, with Louisville weather that continues to happen all in the same day. The high today is 83 degrees (that's 28 Celsius, for those of you so inclined) but the pile of orange leaves that has fallen on my car the tells me that fall is indeed here. While I have started to pull down my vast wardrobe of winter clothes accumulated through 4 winters in Beloit, Wisconsin, what I am really getting ready for is my year of tropical summer. Less than 14 weeks are left before I pack up and jet off to Panama City, Panama.
What is left to do? - Oh so very much
At the top of my list: Time with Family and Friends
10 months is the longest time I have ever spent consecutively away from home. Just being back in Kentucky, I miss my family in Mississippi and my friends spread out all over the country and the world. Each day, I worry a little about losing touch with so many people I love and care about. In just a few months I will be hundreds of miles from all of those people. While I believe that I will still keep in-touch with all those people, it will be hard not seeing them or not being able to call them for free on nights and weekends. However, due to the fantastic developments of technology, there is Skype and email fo' free! I'm not sure of the internet connections and bandwidth I will have, but so far I have done some of my best emailing when I have been out of the country, so please write me when I am abroad!
Until I leave, I have 3 more trips around the country that I hope to do: Austin, Mississippi, and Chicago/Wisconsin.
Second on my list: Continue learning Spanish
My "tutor," Rosmery Delgado, her husband and her mother have been amazing. They welcome me into their home each week, and we laugh and learn about one another for an hour to an hour and a half. It's the most fun I have had learning Spanish and I definitely feel more confident in my conversation skills. I still have a lot to learn in terms of conjugation and vocabulary, but I feel more and more confident that this will come as I live in Panama City.
Third: Finding a place to live
While this was a big concern of mine for awhile, I no longer am so stressed about it. Plan A was to find a furnished apartment in Panama City with a roommate. Now I think I will spend the first week or two in a hostel. My hope is to meet up with the connections I have made and to meet people in general. Once I know more about the city I think it will be easier to find an apartment and a roommate. Nevertheless, it would be a huge relief to know where I will be calling home before I get there, but I also feel like this just isn't realistic.
Besides these top three, there are logistical and bureaucratic things I have to figure out including a Visa, IRB approval for my research, and determining what is expected of me from my affiliation (once I get back in-contact with them).
I am thankful that for the most part I have had a relaxed attitude about everything, but as much as I am confident that everything will come together, I have to remind myself that it will only come together if I make it so.
