Mi Apartamento

Yesterday I moved into my new apartment. Thanks to the relative of a woman I met through a mother of a friend from grade school (I really must make a flow chart), I found my new digs in no time! It is insane that in a world this big, having a connection as obscure as that can help so much. But here I am, writing this post on my new balcony.

Gracias to Heather, who put me in contact with Ane, who connected me with Andres, my new roommate. I now live in a wonderful apartment in the city with two roommates for way cheaper than I thought I would have to pay. I'm not having much culture shock here, but I know I'm going to get reverse culture shock when I get back to the states and can't find an apartment this nice for $350 a month. I even splurged and decided to pay the extra $50 per month for my own bathroom. (I'd like to thank Abbey from Luna's Castle for helping convince me of that decision).

So how about a tour: We begin with the bedroom...

Here is my bedroom. It's a little bare, but soon I can fill it with Molas from the Kuna and with art from the rest of Panama.  The bed is a trundle bed, so I better get some guests!

Probably the second best part of this room is the amount of storage space! Two full closets is way better than what I have at home.

Of course the best part is my own bathroom and shower. I took a warm shower for the first time in a week today! Of course sometimes the cold showers were perfect in the hostel after being outside all day, but I don't have a problem with the added luxury.




The Living Room:
Through the short hallway outside my room, (where Andres and James' rooms and bathroom are located) is the living room/dining room. the left-hand picture below shows the couch and the door going in to the kitchen and outside into the apartment building. The photo to the right shows the view in the opposite direction, where you can see the balcony.

La Cocina (The Kitchen):
The left-hand door from the living room takes you into the kitchen/laundry room, which is fully furnished. I hope to start using the oven and stove soon, maybe even take some cooking classes/find someone who wants to teach me. Beyond the kitchen is a washing machine and room to hang dry clothes. Speaking of, that's on the schedule for tomorrow!

Miscellaneous Updates:

While the last few posts have been about settling in, making friends, and going to the beach, I feel it is also important to express that I am making a lot of connections and inquiries regarding my actual Fulbright Research (Just so you know your tax dollars are not going to waste). I will be meeting with an organization working with Kuna with albinism this Thursday and I hope to start planning a trip up to Kuna Yala in the next week or so. Beyond this, I have begun reconnecting with people whom I first connected with months ago via email. I believe I will spend some of the money that I will be saving from rent to take an intensive Spanish language course. Though I have definitely improved, I am not where I would like to be in order to conduct interviews.

Of course I will also continue to take advantage of the multitude of things this city has to offer. A wonderful example being that today I went to eat lunch at a Chinese restaurant with my friend Michelle, who is thankfully fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, as the menu was only in Chinese. We then went to a mall where the Chinese New Year festivities were in full swing. Standing in the crowd of Panamanians from all backgrounds, we watched one man of Chinese descent singing Elvis, as people of latino, chicano, africana and european descent sang and clapped along. As the day wore on, the events became more Chinese-focused, with a fire-breather, traditional singers, a dragon dance and much more. Coming from a melting pot of a country, it was still amazing to see so many people from so many different histories coming together to celebrate a new year. (Sadly I forgot my camera, but I will post a link to my friend's blog soon).

Here's to the year of the Dragon! (Which is incidentally my year!)