JoJo

Here's the Colorado Times Recorder's weekly round-up of protests and political events for the week of Feb. 13 - 18. #fyp #foryoupage #colorado #politics #Ice #midterms #protest #events #denver #boulder #aurora

After a fun night I returned to find an in invader 😉😂 I was sooooo excited and happy to see my sister (& Lars)! We caught up for a bit then excused ourselves to bed. This next week is gonna be a fun one!

Our waitress wore a hat painted in Venezuelan flag colors w/ the words "por fin" & excitedly told me how happy she was Maduro was out. I can appreciate her excitement to be rid of a corrupt dictator & also hold that what the US did was very likely illegal & has unforeseen (or foreseen) consequences

I spent the afternoon chilling with Imby, then made my way to dinner with my other new amiga, Marlene. We went to Fren! and had lots of tasty food & fun conversation.

We also talked about our own hobbies and she shared her embroidery with me. It was so wonderful to connect and I know I made una nueva amiga!

I stopped by a little art gallery. The attendant was super nice. We talked in bits of Spanish & mostly English about the artist & his subjects: Panamanian women wearing Tembleques (floral looking head pieces made out of painted fish scales) & Pollera (beautiful & intricately embroidered dresses.)

As I was leaving the school, there was a small procession of cars flying Venezuelan flags & honking. I could hear such celebratory processions sprinkled through the rest of the day & evening .

My last class was fun. We did some listening exercises, and on break several teachers were in the room joking in uproarious laughter! After break another teacher was talking through some art that showcased aspects of Panamanian culture, so my teacher and I joined the lesson.

🇵🇦 Panamá Day 9: Woke up to the news of the US's abduction of Maduro & his wife. As soon as I arrived at Spanish School, my teacher - a Venazulan immigrant - had a lot to say about it (en español.) I think I comprehended at least a bit.

A friendly lady selling bread came over to chat with the men & noticed me knitting. She spoke great English & shared how she had lived in the US for a while.

After she & eventually the man with the dog left, the other guy who was near me struck up convo in bits of Spanish & English.

Around 7pm though I was itching to move a bit more. I went for a bit of a walk and then landed at a park that was poppin' on a Friday night! It was fun listening to a couple of older gentlemen chat near me. One had the cutest little shitzu dog.

I spent another couple hours after lunch teaching crochet. She is really catching on and picking it up quickly! I feel like she built the confidence today to carry on on her own 🙂

I eventually made my way home to chill out for a bit with Imby.

The dad whose daughter I'm teaching crochet bought me Thai for lunch as a thank you! I ordered boba & was surprised to get a bucket of boba! (not sure if the English alliteration was intended but I love it!) Took my food back to the school & ate on their patio. A nice view and very tasty food!

🇵🇦 Panamá Day 8: A really good day today! My Spanish lesson was fun and built more confidence. It felt more conversational with my teacher which is exact what I needed. I also met one of the other students and she asked if I'd like to get dinner tomorrow and practice some more. I was like hell yeah 😹

By the time super rolled around I really didn't want to cook. I was surprised to realize that a nearby fancy-ish Italian pizzeria was open so I made my way there. The food was decent and I treated myself to a glass of wine (a rarity for me.)

The rest of the night returned to super chill.

After perusing of the gift shop, I made my way home. I was proud of myself for being able to negotiate the taxi down to a reasonable price in Spanish & knowing actually what was reasonable.

Back at the apartment my energy levels dropped through the floor so didn't do much the rest of the afternoon.

After IMAX, made my way to the viewing area. Was a bit anti-climactic, but grateful to catch the last ship of the morn moving through the old canal & another in the distance going through the newer canal. The next boat wouldn't arrive for another couple hours & I wasn't about to wait around for it 😂

🇵🇦 Panamá Day 7 (New Year's Day): Made my way to see the Panama Canal. As I arrived the IMAX line was forming so decided to see it first. It's a 45min intro to the Canal and its (very polished up) history narrated by Morgan Freeman. Worth the watch but requires a pretty decently sized grain of salt

I was also surprised to learn that they did not bother Imby in the least. In fact he was more interested in watching them than me 😹 He is such a special and wonderful cat!

I spent the night hanging around with Imby! We made it to midnight & wow was it worth it! Soooo many fireworks and they lasted for ages! They were still popping of as I went to bed around 12:45!

I tried to find some pizza for dinner but all the shops had already shut down. I definitely appreciate that businesses actually close for the holiday here!

Came back to Imby home for a lunch of leftovers, then made my way to the Friteria and supermercado again to stock up on supplies before the Holiday closures. After I returned I went up to the rooftop to scope it out for fireworks that night. It was so nice up there with incredible views!!!

🇵🇦 Panama Day 6 (NYE): Bit of a struggle to pull myself outta bed, but I did & made it to Spanish practice on time! Imby however slept basically all day to prep for late night excitement!

Had another great lesson! They do leave me quite exhausted and overwhelmed by the end, but it's so worth it!

Back home I finished my Spanish homework and played with Imby some more. He is my little buddy here 😻

In the evening I went back to Fren! Eat & Chill to try their Venezuelan Arepas that my sister recommended. They were of course so delicious, along with the jugo de papaya en leche (papaya smoothie) I ordered!

On the walk home I picked up a pastry for a little treat while I worked on my Spanish homework. Imby napped while I studied and did some other life admin stuff on the computer.