Friday, July 31, 2009

Coming home for a few weeks then going down to Colombia for unspecified time period.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

It's Been a While

Dearest Friends and Family,

I am well aware that my blog entries are the highlight of many of your days and you look forward to them more than anything else in life, so I sincerely apologize for my lack of communication in the last few weeks. But really, less blogs is good because it means I have less time on my hands...

Right now I'm really, really looking forward to Adriana and Cassandra coming and I can't really concentrate on anything else because these are two extremely exciting and important guests. I've vacationed individually with each and now I get to vacation with both at once! When they are here, we will partake in all kinds of activities, such as dancing at authentic Panama discos, watching the sunset on the Amador Causeway, exploring the Casco Viejo bar scene, hiking/birdwatching deep in the rainforest, getting tan on the lovely white sand beaches of Isla Grande while indulging in a fruity/tropical cocktails, and the mandatory if somewhat boring visit to the Panama Canal. Yes, we will do all kinds of romantic and exciting things.

There are so many foreigners in Panama....in fact, there are probably more native English speakers in Panama City than the entire metropolitan Miami area. It's like I'm living in backwards, dirtier Florida. Panama is definitely one of those places where you have to know how to enjoy the small things in order to enjoy living here. It's such a flashy, hot, load place...but don't worry young cousins, it's a pretty fun place to vacation...

Monday, July 6, 2009

Valle de Anton

Went to el Valle de Anton this past weekend for a fourth of July party at my boss's house, and feel a little bit better about decision to move to Panama. Panama City might be a third tier, unappealing place, but at least there are beautiful, interesting places not too far outside the city.

I just need to remind myself that no matter where I'm living I will always think there's something better because that's just the kind of person I am. And I really can't imagine being back in the U.S. either.

It's almost as if Panamanians go out of their way to be as inefficient as possible. There's an obvious easier way, but they choose the most time consuming, ridiculous, illogical route possible. Sometimes, when I'm standing in line for way too long, I just want to yell, "This is why you're still a third world country!!!" But that may not be well accepted. Then again, I live my life in the least efficient, most illogical way, so who am I to complain?

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Bogota






































Usaquen: A really cute, colonial style neighborhood in the middle of Bogota. There area lot of quaint little shops and restaurants. It's a big nightlife spot and during the day, it's full of families for the most part. On Sunday, cuenteros (story tellers) come and people sit around listening. If I lived in Bogota I'd probably want to live here.

Monserrate: The highest peak in Bogota. Great view of the city. There's a little church and well known restaurant up here. But it's so cold...I haven't gone up in a long time though.


Zona T: One of Bogota's major party zones. Extremely expensive highend party scene.

La Candelaria: It's really falling apart and there's grafitti on almost every house, but it still has its charms. Lots of cool cafes and bars. It's more of a college student/Bohemian hangout, but a lot of artists and writers are moving here and renovating the old houses. The Iglesia de Carmen that you see in the background is one of my favorite churches in the city.


Ciclovia: One of the coolest things about Bogota is that every Sunday, all the mainstreets close down for biking and walking. During the week, a lot of people bike because there's a lot of biking trails around the city, but Sundays there are group excercise classes, performers, and hundreds of thousands of cyclers.