Panamá... Una Otra Vez

Hola a todo el mundo!

So... if the headline of this post wasn't enough of a clue for ya, I'm back in Panama. I have promised myself that I will upkeep my blog while I am here, which for me translates into at least 2 blog posts to satisfy the three people who might actually take the time to read this (thanks Mom, Dad and Nan!).

In true Victoria form, I arrived in Panama... 2 weeks ago, and didn't give a large amount of forewarning to my larger social circle of the impending trip. Mostly because the idea of organizing my own going away party seemed like a lot of work (especially for a trip that will only be 2 months), and also because there's a small part of me that kinda likes to be seen as mysterious (kind of "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" curious, circa 2016).

You may be wondering what I'm doing back here... and also what the heck I've been up to since my last post... a year and a half ago. I believe the last year of my life in grad school can be summarized in the following illustration:

So yes, I am still working on my Master's thesis... moving along to the next question...

Why am I back in Panama, you ask? Well, I am doing a 2-month internship with a scientist here on water quality analysis in the Bocas del Toro province of Panama... and because we haven't published anything yet and I'm still in the throes of data analysis that's all you're gonna get for now, but also this meme because it explains academia better than I do:

Moving right along, because you will probably get sick of my mimetic obsession (P.S. these memes are borrowed from Shit Academics Say Facebook page, which helps academics procrastinate on the internet when they should be writing... and no, I am not getting paid to publicize for them, I just like their stuff!)

So! What have I been doing over the past 2 weeks when I haven't been in the lab working? Wellll, on my first full day here, after work, I played soccer with a great group of fellow scientists and their friends... and their friends of friends. Basically anyone remotely tied to the Smithsonian in Panama via their 3rd cousin is invited along. Super fun. But have I mentioned the weather? It's Panama, so think hot. But also think humid. And it's the "wet season" (which Panamanians also call winter, but that invites debate from a Canadian, so I'll not go there)... so this means- you guessed it- more humid. Now, take your poorly acclimatized Canadian self, throw in some good ol' fashioned tropical heat and a bucket of humidity... and go play soccer for an hour. Long story short, I was basically a blob of sweat by the end of the game (but we won, yay!).

Now, fast forward 24 hours, and myself (along with a group of fantabulous individuals from the Smithsonian) are out on the town to get in some dancing. Woot woot! (Fun side note: "Wepa!" is the Latin American Spanish version of "Woot woot!" and sounds a lot cooler too...) We went to Teatro Amador, where they have a beginner salsa lesson, followed by an hour or so of live Latin music, and then the DJ gets funky with some merengue, reggaeton and then gets weird with some electronic mixes (my musical bias may or may not be shining through here). Here's a photo of our lovely crowd, which I did not take, nor edit, and therefore take no responsibility for the quality:

So, I feel like I've been blabbing an awful lot, and this may be attributed to the 2 almond milk hot chocolates I made myself about an hour ago, so I shall try to shorten this ever lengthening soliloquy and give you pretty pictures to look at (believe it or not, I am trying to take more photos... some days are better than most days).

So, fun things that have happened that may or may not include pictures:

-I saw an armadillo coming home... and then I saw him again a week later around the same time. I have decided to call him Arthur (and no, I do not know if it's male or female, but my brain thought it was a male at first, so that's what I'm going with). Arthur is camera shy and moves like a bugger when you want to share his face with the world... therefore this is the only photo I have:

-I also saw a sloth outside of our apartment/dorm complex (also known as "La Jaula", or "The Cage", due to the bars on the windows). I don't have a photo because it was storming like mad and my phone camera didn't want to zoom in properly

-I went to an Irish pub. In Panama. Yeah, I know. Some people were going, and I thought "Well, why not?" Um... don't go to an Irish pub in Panama, it's weird. BUT, take pictures along the walk, case and point:

This is probably my first really successful selfie attempt. Maggie is also working in the same lab, but she's spending most of her time in Bocas doing field work. I'll get to see her again in a week or so though!

This is the view along the Cinta Costera, a must walk if you ever go to Panama City!

-I met up with Bgirl Maybe and Bboy Nomuf (old friends from last year) and went to a breaking jam on my first weekend here. It was super fun and helped remind me that I am rusty as Hell and need to get myself to a breaking practice ASAP to brush up. There were photos taken, but I don't have one yet... this will be a theme this trip, I think. I need to start badgering people to share their photos with us lazy-to-document-our-lives folk.

-I have joined a Cross Fit gym. I know, I'm one of "those". Please don't judge. Well, actually, judge away, I don't really care. The gym is a 1 min walk from where I'm living and it's super convenient to get a work out in. I do not have a photo to illustrate this, because I have not yet progressed to taking "gym selfies", though I feel like this might a prerequisite to doing Cross Fit, I'll have to look into that...

-Halloween is a thing. For those of you who know me, I have recently really gotten into Halloween in the past few years. I had been planning my costume for this year, since last year. Unfortunately, I had not been planning on being in Panama. Sooo my costume idea had to be put on hold. Last year I was a zipper-faced zombie:

I will forever be inordinately proud of teaching myself (read: watched a LOT of Youtube videos) how to make fake blood and use liquid latex to glue a zipper to my face.

This year, I was the far more intimidating "I found crappy sticks of cheap Halloween face paint that I now need to make something out of" zebra girl:

I joined the land of the technologically adept this year and got Instagram, so I could make fun photo composite things and show "The Process" of my transformation. I'm so cool.

I then proceeded to join a rowdy bunch of scientists at the Hard Rock Hotel for what I was promised would be a "mind-blowing" party. I think my definition of "mind-blowing" and theirs, differed slightly. Fun fact: electronic music is a thing some people find enjoyable... and these people also happen to DJ at the Hard Rock Hotel. Lesson learned! That being said, it was still a fun night, and this group was a fun one to spend the night with:

-I practiced painting other people's faces (also with limited Halloween makeup, so give me a little leeway for that!)

Damn, hard to tell, but Ximena on the left, has super cool cat eyes

-I met a dog. This thing is cute as Hell and is my new pet while I am here. No, I don't remember his name, damn... I used to. Alright, stand by for name recollection.

-For those of you who don't know, November is el Mes de la Patria in Panama, which is basically a month of Independence days and holidays. This means parades and parties and craziness. It also means all of this during the wet season, while it rains every day, with varying degrees of "Oh sh*t, that was close!" when it comes to lightning.

These photos were taken in Casco Viejo, which is a really pretty (albiet tourist-y part of town)

The ladies! Las rubias! AKA- the group that sticks out like a sore thumb cuz we're all so pale,we practically glow, and we're blonde!

I love the colours of the parade and the dark sky contrast, so cool!

Mandatory chair freeze pose.

Well, that basically takes us right up until today! For now, I shall leave you with some fun things I have learned in the past 2 weeks I've been here:

If you want to sound like a Panama gangster, ya know, get down with the 4-1-1, the youth slang as it were, here are some fun translations of "How are you?":

Que Xopá? (Pronounced "Kay zo-pah")
Que lo que es? (Pronounced "Kay low kay s""

Some things you may also want to remember as you stumble along your way in translating English-Spanish:

Number 1:

English: I am embarrassed

Spanish: Estoy avergonzado/a  [if you're a guy, it's avergonzado, it you're female, avergonzada]

It is NOT:

Spanish: Estoy embarazado/a [This means "I am pregnant"... not exactly the same thing!]

Number 2:

English: You're good? You're ok?

Spanish: Estás bien?

It is NOT:

Spanish: Estás buena/o? [This translates into the more colloquial "You down?" or "Your body is particularly attractive for certain horizontal activities". Uh huh. Also definitely not one you want to mix up for obvious reasons.]

Fortunately, I have not yet made either of these mistakes, but others around me have, and I'd like to learn from their mistakes! Take care with your translations people, until next time.

XO