Have you ever had a big change in your life? Maybe you have moved to a new school or a new state or even just a new house. Maybe you had to make new friends or get used to different weather. Moving to a different country presents many similar challenges. When I moved to Panama in September (about six months ago), it took me a while to feel settled in my new surroundings. But I met a lot of wonderful people along the way. Now, I feel I am a part of many communities here in Panama and that I am home.
Panama City is a very big city and when I first moved here, it was difficult to make friends. Even though I didn’t have friends in the beginning, I still wanted to learn about my new community. So, I explored it myself! I walked around the city, learned how to use the metro (like the subway in New York), found new restaurants and coffee shops and did a bit of hiking. I found that this time alone was very valuable. I took a couple Spanish classes to brush up on my speaking abilities, signed up for a gym membership, and started doing yoga every day. It was important for me to get into a familiar routine when so much was changing around me. The most important part to integrating into my new community was speaking Spanish as best as I could. I am almost fluent, but not quite there.
