Arrival in Panama

Today I, along with most of my cohort, arrived in Panama City!! After two full days of Staging, training in the Let Girls Learn initiative (sadly, there was not a surprise visit by Michele Obama), and group bonding, we set off for Panama. A missed flight, frantic efforts from the Peace Corps and our group leaders, visa troubles, and 24 hours later nearly all 48 trainees are in Panama. I spent two days in Alexandria, VA for training and orientation. It was a great opportunity to explore Old Town Alexandria and DC. I even watched the fireworks from the National Mall on what should have been my last night in America for a while. Despite some cloudy weather, the show was spectacular!! The next morning (July 5) we flew from DC to Atlanta and missed our connection to Panama City because of a 3+ hour delay leaving DC. The fun began around 7:30pm and we scrambled to rebook 48 people to Panama as soon as possible. By 1:30am, almost everyone had been rebooked in smaller groups and we headed for a hotel. A mere 3 hours later, my group was back at the airport ready for round two. We were flying to Orlando and then to Panama City. Luckily, we had smooth flights and got to Panama City by 4pm on July 6. Other groups flying through New York, El Salvador, and Mexico City ran into more problems and, as I write this post, they are still en route. It was an interesting start to our Peace Corps training! Our cohort is staying in Ciudad de Saber (City of Knowledge) until Sunday to do more training and finalize paperwork. On Sunday, I will meet my host family that I will spend the next 10 weeks living with. It has been an exciting and eventful few days!

Peace Corps Panama G79