We arrived safely and on time (thank you American Airlines) at the Tocumen International Airport this afternoon and made our way over to our hotel in Panama City.
What should have been about a 30-minute drive to the hotel turned into a 1-hour and 15 minute adventure due to some very heavy rush hour traffic in and around the city. But, no worries, as the prolonged trip allowed us to take in the area a bit more and get a better feel for where we will be working over the next five days.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we got settled into our rooms and then met with an editor, Luis, from La Estrella, a Panama City-based newspaper (Here is a link to the paper's website).
This is when I experienced what I expect to be the first of many times I will have difficulty communicating with someone here in Panama.
What do I mean exactly?
Well, I don't speak Spanish, and Luis doesn't speak English. While I wasn't able to communicate with him directly (which I'll admit was frustrating), my three classmates (Natalia, Alcione and Ligia) were each born in Spanish-speaking countries and are each fluent in both English and Spanish. They were very helpful with translating both ways and allowing me to at least have some sort of interaction with Luis.
From what little I could understand and what I was told by the girls, Luis was very helpful and will be an integral part of our trip. He will be setting up appointments with sources and even traveling to some sites with us. It really is a blessing that someone so well-connected to the area is willing to help out so much. It should really improve the quality and depth of our work.
After dinner, Luis led us on a walk around the city (which is somewhat similar to downtown Miami) and educated us a bit on the local surroundings.
That's all for today. Tomorrow the real work begins as we're heading to the Panama Canal Authority for an interview with the ACP's head of environment, Oscar Vallarino. He is a big part of my and Natalia's first story dealing with the widening of the Panama Canal and how it might affect the quality of drinking water for residents of Panama City and the surrounding area. More on that tomorrow...
Buenas noches!
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