Desde
la entrada anterior, mi español ha mejorado, pero todavía estoy preocupado del
dialecto de panameño.
I feel more comfortable in my weekly conversations with
Rosmery and José, but they do not speak at the rapid pace nor with the
swallowed speech pattern common of Panama City. (For an example, here is a link
to a Panamanian comedy skit show, La Cáscara).
I’ve been told by other people who have lived in Panama, and who speak Spanish,
that the dialect is pretty tricky to grasp.
*14 was the suggested number of passengers, I have been in one of those taxis with as many
as 20, not counting chickens).
The great news is that all the advice from former student
researchers says do NOT try to start interviewing or seriously working on your
research within the first 3 months. The reason being that it takes about that
long just for you to get accustomed to the new city you are living in, and to
mold your research plan to the people and the places you are going to come
in-contact with. When I think about being in Kampala, Uganda, it took me until
about the 3rd month to go through most of my stages of culture shock
and to really get the hang of the city and its people. If I had tried to start
my research prior to that, I would have wasted mine, and a lot of other
people’s time.
So what’s the plan? January 14, I arrive in Panama City in
the evening. Rosmery’s sister, who is and English professor at the University
has generously offered to pick me up from the airport (still to be confirmed,
though). I will stay at Luna’s
Castle for a few weeks, meanwhile looking for apartments. The Wednesday after I
arrive I have a required meeting with the U.S. Embassy. Other than that, I will
rapidly be attempting to meet up with anyone and everyone I have been
in-contact with the past year, starting first with my affiliation. I know the
first few weeks will probably be the roughest, though I hope to not bore you with
a bunch of emo posts regarding how much I don’t belong and miss home more than
I ever thought I would, blah blah blah.
I’ll try to write again before I leave, but if I don’t, this
next entry should be from Panama City, Panama! (and should be a whole lot more
interesting)