Friday, May 28, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Panama: Day 1
Well Friends,
It is time to start my day by day blogging about Panama. This will probably go the way of my Israel blog posts and only be updated about once a month or so. But I will at least get started.
Day Zero: February 15
After a fun-filled weekend watching my sister play basketball during the St. Charles tournament, I returned home and packed for Panama. I was not able to fit all of my things into one bag, so I had to search the house for a good sized duffle bag. I found one and soon after had my bags packed a ready to go.
The evening of February 15, I began my travels by boarding a train bound for Kirkwood, MO. It was quite fun trying to deal with a hiking backpack, a large duffle bag, and a small personal bag filled with everything I needed for two months in Panama. Fortunately, there were not too many people on the train so I was able to put my backpack in the seat next to me instead of in the overhead compartment. I wouldn’t have been able to lift it high enough to put it there anyway…
I arrived at Kirkwood on time, surprisingly. My grandmother was there to meet me, and we drove to her house. Since she had to get to me to the airport by 4 a.m. the next day, we did not stay up too late.
I awoke not-so-bright-but-very-early the next day. We drove to the airport. I was freezing since I was dressed for the tropics where it is not as cold as it is in Mid-February Missouri. When we got to the airport, Grandma walked me to the American Airlines check in point. Since it was early, she left as soon as I saw someone I knew waiting in line.
The check-in line didn’t open until 4:30 so I spent about 15 minutes waiting for it to open up. Once it did, I got my tickets and headed for the security lines. I was feeling pretty confident since it had been less than a year since I had traveled internationally, so I actually remember what I was supposed to do. A few of the people who had never flown before were uncertain about what they were allowed to bring in their carry-on luggage, but eventually they got every thing figured out and we boarded the plane.
We flew to either the Atlanta or Miami Airport (I don’t remember which…). It was a pretty short layover. The only exciting thing was that we lost Ethan for a little while, and we were a little concerned that he might miss the plane. We managed to find him, though, and everyone in our group made it onto the plane.
We landed in Panama City. That was pretty exciting. Getting through the airport was easy. We met up with the people from KC. They had arrived the day before. Julie gave us sandwiches. We got on a bus. We drove to La MICA. Then the real fun began.
The sun was beginning to set when we arrived so they wanted us to hurry getting to the station so we would not have to walk the trail in the dark. (A darn fine thing I didn’t have to walk in the dark that day. I probably would have gone home.) We started walking, and since this was my first introduction to the trail, plus I wasn’t in super good shape, plus I was dehydrated, plus I kept thinking about the fact that I was going to have to walk this trail if I wanted to go anywhere, I wasn’t particularly happy. To be completely accurate, I was a little freaked out. I was proud that I didn’t have a panic attack, but I was very close.
Things didn’t get much better once we got to the station. We had dinner, chose our beds, put up our mosquito nets, and then we had to turn the generator off because they were short on gasoline due to Carnival. So it was 9 p.m., and I was stuck in the middle of the tropical dry forest in the dark.
I could go into more detail, but I really don’t like thinking about it. I wasn’t really having a good time. Fortunately that changed, and I did enjoy my time in Panama.
It is time to start my day by day blogging about Panama. This will probably go the way of my Israel blog posts and only be updated about once a month or so. But I will at least get started.
Day Zero: February 15
After a fun-filled weekend watching my sister play basketball during the St. Charles tournament, I returned home and packed for Panama. I was not able to fit all of my things into one bag, so I had to search the house for a good sized duffle bag. I found one and soon after had my bags packed a ready to go.
The evening of February 15, I began my travels by boarding a train bound for Kirkwood, MO. It was quite fun trying to deal with a hiking backpack, a large duffle bag, and a small personal bag filled with everything I needed for two months in Panama. Fortunately, there were not too many people on the train so I was able to put my backpack in the seat next to me instead of in the overhead compartment. I wouldn’t have been able to lift it high enough to put it there anyway…
I arrived at Kirkwood on time, surprisingly. My grandmother was there to meet me, and we drove to her house. Since she had to get to me to the airport by 4 a.m. the next day, we did not stay up too late.
I awoke not-so-bright-but-very-early the next day. We drove to the airport. I was freezing since I was dressed for the tropics where it is not as cold as it is in Mid-February Missouri. When we got to the airport, Grandma walked me to the American Airlines check in point. Since it was early, she left as soon as I saw someone I knew waiting in line.
The check-in line didn’t open until 4:30 so I spent about 15 minutes waiting for it to open up. Once it did, I got my tickets and headed for the security lines. I was feeling pretty confident since it had been less than a year since I had traveled internationally, so I actually remember what I was supposed to do. A few of the people who had never flown before were uncertain about what they were allowed to bring in their carry-on luggage, but eventually they got every thing figured out and we boarded the plane.
We flew to either the Atlanta or Miami Airport (I don’t remember which…). It was a pretty short layover. The only exciting thing was that we lost Ethan for a little while, and we were a little concerned that he might miss the plane. We managed to find him, though, and everyone in our group made it onto the plane.
We landed in Panama City. That was pretty exciting. Getting through the airport was easy. We met up with the people from KC. They had arrived the day before. Julie gave us sandwiches. We got on a bus. We drove to La MICA. Then the real fun began.
The sun was beginning to set when we arrived so they wanted us to hurry getting to the station so we would not have to walk the trail in the dark. (A darn fine thing I didn’t have to walk in the dark that day. I probably would have gone home.) We started walking, and since this was my first introduction to the trail, plus I wasn’t in super good shape, plus I was dehydrated, plus I kept thinking about the fact that I was going to have to walk this trail if I wanted to go anywhere, I wasn’t particularly happy. To be completely accurate, I was a little freaked out. I was proud that I didn’t have a panic attack, but I was very close.
Things didn’t get much better once we got to the station. We had dinner, chose our beds, put up our mosquito nets, and then we had to turn the generator off because they were short on gasoline due to Carnival. So it was 9 p.m., and I was stuck in the middle of the tropical dry forest in the dark.
I could go into more detail, but I really don’t like thinking about it. I wasn’t really having a good time. Fortunately that changed, and I did enjoy my time in Panama.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Reflections of a Recent College Grad: Part I
I graduated last Saturday after a week and a half of no responsibility. It was every college students dream. Finally, a chance to be in college without that pesky homework to work on. My choices were sometimes less than responsible, so I will spare you the details, but I don’t regret anything I did. I got a chance to get to know some people I hadn’t met before (despite that fact that we had a plethora of mutual friends). I am grateful for the time I got to spend with them and with the friends that are now much better described as family (wow, that was sappy…).
Having the opportunity to live the irresponsible life for a while has given me much more to think about as I reflect on my college experience. I am trying to avoid what-ifs and regrets about things I did not do and instead concentrate on the positive reality of what I did do. Most of these what-if scenarios revolve around people I have met during the past two weeks (or knew before, but not as well). I am sad about missed opportunities to hang out over the past four years, but I am trying to remind myself that we are made of our experiences. Had things happened differently, I would be a different person. At this point in my life, I am actually pretty content with myself, so I am trusting that it was for the best that these people did not come into my life until now. After all, it could have been worse. I might not have met them at all.
Having the opportunity to live the irresponsible life for a while has given me much more to think about as I reflect on my college experience. I am trying to avoid what-ifs and regrets about things I did not do and instead concentrate on the positive reality of what I did do. Most of these what-if scenarios revolve around people I have met during the past two weeks (or knew before, but not as well). I am sad about missed opportunities to hang out over the past four years, but I am trying to remind myself that we are made of our experiences. Had things happened differently, I would be a different person. At this point in my life, I am actually pretty content with myself, so I am trusting that it was for the best that these people did not come into my life until now. After all, it could have been worse. I might not have met them at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)