Catching Everyone Up in Tampa

Because of the fact that we have been having trouble with our internet here in Panama, I decided to give everyone an update on what we have done so far in Panama. Within our first couple of days we took a tour of the city, including the Panama Canal, which ranks on one of the more interesting things we have done. It was amazing to see such a huge operation go through its process, with a ship of about 300 to 400 crates.

Once we started our classes, the days have been about the same. Our schedule usually consists of Spanish (which is extremely hard) from 8:30 to about 10:30 and then Doing Business in Panama (which is a very interesting class) from 10:45 to 12:00. Then we have a company tour from about 2:00 to 4:00 every day. So far we have gone to Digicel, Dr. Tinta, Insurance Company, Banks of Panama, City of Knowledge, and a flea market area (great for souvenirs!).
This past weekend we had our first break away from Panama City when we went to El Valle. Here we got to do some horseback riding, mud baths, and zip lining through the rain forest. It was really a great weekend and we got a lot of amazing pictures to go along with it. My favorite was the zip lining in the forests, not only was it my first time experiencing zip lining, but we got to do it over a rain forest.

Steven Schertzer
June 17, 2009