Bienvenidos a Panama!

Going to make this short and sweet, but I really am impressed by this city of Panama. It is a very busy and self-sustained community, and I feel welcomed by many of the Panamanian people here. The language barrier is a little difficult, but I am slowly picking up some of the language and remembering words that I have forgotten. It was really amazing to see how the Panama Canal works, and I was in awe at the complexity of the construction of the locks and the amount of time it took to construct the whole system. It took 20 years just for them to dig and clear a way through the mountains between the Pacific Ocean in the South and the Carribean sea in the North. Also, the amount of digging they had to do was enough to dig a hole from one side of the Earth to the other, and a few miles beyond! I'm really excited to experience the clinical settings in Chiriqui, where we will be traveling tomorrow by bus. I'm so glad to have this opportunity!