Seis Pensamientos del Momento

1)  Food -- in Cameroon, it was rice and beans.  In Panama, its rice and lentils. 

2)  Things I am Tired of -- links to articles on the sidebar about wives and girlfriends (WAG) of athletes while I'm trying to read the sports page.  Who gives a sh*t?

3)  That's a Switch -- I'm living with a host family whose members all have smartphones while I have a dumbphone.   

4)    Quote of the day -- I think Buddha once said that life is suffering.  Life is pain.  Or as Sgt. Barnes would say, "Shut up and take the pain!  Take the pain!"



5)  Music in my head -- Jonathan Richman's True Love is Not Nice, U2's Elevation and Bruce Springsteen's Badlands. 

6)  "… and that has made all the difference."

Panamá

Well, I've now been in Panamá for a few weeks -- a week in the capital and some weeks at post.

So far, things have been going well.  Some thoughts:

1)  Húmedo -- its quite humid where I am even during rainy season.  The fan is almost always on in my room.   My mom says it sounds like Manila.  Or my post in Cameroon.

2)  Los Contrapartes -- My counterparts seem motivated.  I just talk to them about some of my ideas and they run with it.  I don't get the "We can't do that" answer.  Of course, its still early, but hopefully we can keep things moving. 

3)  Teléfono Inteligente -- I returned my smartphone after 1 day.  Well, I couldn't actually return it for some strange no-return policy reason.  So a fellow PCV, who felt sorry for me, bought it from me.  The smartphone was just too much.  The only fancy feature I wanted on the phone was a flashlight.  Back to using a dumbphone.   

4)  El Cuerpo de Posh? -- at my post, I have constant electricity, a cellphone network, a decent internet connection and running water that's potable.  Oh, and street lights.  Yeah, pretty posh. 

5)  La Musica -- current song in my head, Richard Thompson's Keep Your Distance: