Saturday-
16 hour bus ride, not 13. But it wasnt bad. I know you probably don't believe me but it really wasn't. The woman sitting next to me, Militza ( I put a picture of her on here) was a blessing. Maybe it's good karma because I helped an American girl when arriving to Costa Rica, but Militza stuck by my side and made sure I was safe and comfortable the whole time. We talked and slept the whole ride as we had pitstops and crossed the border. Crossing wasn't so bad but thank God I had her. It wasn't organized well and also it was at night, had just stopped raining and I may have been a little more vulnerable without her. We got off the bus in Costa Rica, got our passports stamped for exiting, then we had to walk on our own, barely one block, to the other side where the bus meets us. Then we get stamped ENTERING Panama. A man offered to change my Costa Rican money (colones) to dollars (Panama uses US dollars), and Militza made sure I didn't get ripped off. Then he asked me to follow him to get the money changed (he already had my money) and I was a little nervous. I followed him a little but was reluctant. Realistically it was barely ten bucks so I thought who cares? I looked behind me and Militza was RIGHT there, glaring at the man. She asked him where he was going and he said "No no, dont worry. Im looking for my cousin who has the dollars." It was fine and I got my money but man was I glad to have her on my side. When we parted, she gave me her card and said to call if I needed anything at all.

Sunday-
My luck continued when I stepped off the bus at 4 45am and Natalia, a Brazilian aquaintence I met through a friend, was right there waiting for me. We took a taxi home, and she showed me a tiny room with only space for a small bed (they took out all the kids' toys of the playroom for me), the computer so I could write my mom that I made it, and offered me any food in the fridge. I wrote my mom and went straight to sleep.

A few hours later we started the day. From their window, they showed me the entire city (from the 21st floor ) and the canal. I can see the Panama Canal from their window!! Also it's the area with the most international commerce where a lot of companies pass through, therefore... A lot of things are CHEAP. Cheaper than Costa Rica, to my surprise. Natalias two kids, Yasmin (5) and Khalil (3) are SO cute. I'm being forced to practice Portuguese because the kids dont want to speak Spanish to me. Thank goodness Natalia speaks pretty good Spanish because that's our common language even though it's neither of our first language. It's making me more excited to go to Brazil and speak Portuguese!

A few interesting things so far I´ve noticed are the poverty RIGHT outside the city and the painted buses. 2 minutes away from all of the skyscrapers and international banks are really rundown apartments with clothes hanging out the windows and small dirt roads in between the complexes. Also, unlike the Americanized , uniformly painted buses in Costa Rica, I LOVE how the Panamanian buses are painted in bright colors, with mural-like designs like famous people, settings and quotes and phrases. Natalia explained to me that they're currently in the process of taking out all the old painted school buses and replacing them with new, more conformed buses. She thinks it's an insult to the culture and takes away from the "Panamanian way."

Monday- We took Yasmin to school then went and saw the canal. It was so cool, of course there's a whole museum and giftshop for tourists but the history of it is the most amazing part. And the impact it's had on global business and foreign commerce. And go figure, we met another Brazilian. I thought he was American because he was white and blonde, but he's from Porto Alegre, which is where I'm going in Brazil! Small world...

Tuesday- Today's my last day here so I ran errands, sent post cards then was desperately looking for wi fi. I have to say, while there is so much international business and most things are in English, it's amazing how crazy the guys are about sporty clothes and blue eyes, I feel so awkward how they look at me like I'm the Queen of England. Anyway, it was a quick but great trip. I had a great time with the Brazilian family and Im more than grateful for all their hospitality and laughs. I hope the rest of my trip is with people like them.