During my stay in Panama, I have been living host family. Living arrangements were made by the Internship program. Initially, I was only supposed to stay with them for the first month that I was in school. Eventhough the people I worked for had a condo and a room for me to stay in once I finished school, I decided to continue living with my host family. I figured that it would be more beneficial to me to stay with them so I could get a better sense of the Panamanian way of life and also improve my espaņol. Besides, who needs hot water, a swimming pool, a kick-ass cook, and a great panoramic view of Panama City from a condominium that occupied the 14th floor?! Nope, not me!
Seriously, I totally love the house I'm living in right now. It's a two story duplex type house. Each room in the house is painted with a cozy pastel color. The room I'm sleeping in is actually bigger than the one I have in Vancouver. My favourite room in the house is the outdoor patio. It's very quiet and I like to study and read there.
The house is located in the banking district of Panama - the future "Switzerland" of South/Central America. Everything is close by; clubs, bars, fast food, banks (of course), stores, bus stops, and , yes three, nudie bars. All this within a 5 block radius! (By the way, I've never been to the nudie bars here.)
The best part about staying with my host family, is the cost. The monthly rent covers everything. There's even a maid that makes my bed each morning - I couldn't believe it when I saw it the first time; I was like, "What the @&%! Who's been in my room!"
What's even better is the all things I get to play with: a copier, a fax machine, three printers(one color), a ZIP drive (don't ask if you don't know), a scanner(for all my photos), two computers (one is fully multimedia, with internet access too), cable TV, AND a Nintendo 64. There's a trade off though, I have become their personal, 24hr computer support person. I don't mind, of course.
My host family is great. There's two daughters who take me out all the time. My host-brother is underaged so he isn't really allowed to go anywhere, but we hang out sometimes; he's like the little brother I never had. My host-mom has her own business, so she's usually busy. They all speak Spanish to me to help me learn. Hopefully, I'll be fluent before I leave Panama. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about their dog, Argos. He's big and slow and sleeps all the time. He's currently covered with ticks. There are some that are the size of peas, bloated with blood. And when you squish them, they go "pop!".
This picture was taken on my 22nd birthday. Notice the cake and the BIG-ASS candle.
