Be Like Che!

When I last left you all, I was in freakout mode. This week has alleviated much of the stress that I was feeling. La Mica´s ecological station is beautiful, the whole ¨no internet¨thing is okay for now, and it´s not more than a vertical 5-minute hike to the town that I´m doing my research in.

The first day in Panama City was very interesting. The night that the six of us (that flew out of MCI in KC) got into town was one of the final nights for Carnaval. We stood in line for about an hour before the police searched us and let us in. It was pretty awesome: there were people dancing on the street (many of them drunk), kids running around and a lot of loud, loud music. The next day was fairly uneventful; we met Julie, our main contact with La Mica, and after breakfast we hung out and waited to see our St. Louis friends at the airport. While hangin out, I decided to take a walk and was accosted by a prostitute named Ebony, who was upset that a) I didn´t have a lighter and b) that I didn´t have any money. No gracias, Ebony.

Right now my feelings for the trip are very much biased. I´m having a great time and I´m enjoying just about everything we´re doing, so it´s hard for me to really analyze what´s happening. There´s a pact for either controlled shaving or absolutely no shaving among some of the guys, and there´s an ongoing rumor of a "no bathing" contest as well. Half'jokingly, I´ve said that I´m going to have somebody put my hair into dreadlocks if my mop gets gross and long enough...so far, so good.

Anyway, thanks for reading and next week I´ll probably end up talking about our next destination: Kuna Yala.