Here I am in Panama! I had an awesome plane trip over here. I sat next to a guy named Eduardo and he sat next to a girl named Beatriz. I spoke English and a little Spanish and Beatriz spoke Spanish and a little English. Eddy, who sat right between us, spoke both fluently. It made for a fun time, and it made me realize how much Spanish I've got to learn. Flying in a plane always gives me a new appreciation for the world. The clouds were ridiculously cool-looking and the sunset was one I won't forget. And now I want to go to all the islands I saw from the plane (we flew over Jamaica and the Bahamas).

We arrived in Panama City at 9:40 last night. I had met a girl named Brennen in the Newark airport, so we found each other and made it through Customs. (Customs was pretty easy...perhaps a little too easy...) As we walked out of Customs there was a man standing there with a sign that said: YWAM. After minimal introduction, we found that his name was Emilio and that he spoke Spanish and a little English.

We followed him to a white truck and threw our stuff in the back. He asked if I was hungry, and I said, "Yes." So we stopped at an "On the Run" and as we walked in I remember that my parents had said I should be careful of the food. I looked up and saw the pop in the picture with ice in it, so I decided against that (even though in hindsight I think the ice would've been fine). I did order a chicken sandwich, though. The server took one of the twelve or so paddies laying in the display case. They looked like they may have been sitting there for a while. He slapped one on the bun, loaded it up with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and moyonaisse, and proceeded to toss it in the microwave for a few seconds. As I watched him load it up, my parents' warnings of food safety and never eating things that had been sitting out for too long echoed in my mind, and I felt like I was watching him throw together my own personnal case of Traveler's Diaerhea (TD) or some other ailment. However, Emilio was right next to me and we had gone out of our way to get some food so I didn't want to seem like some wishy-washy American. I took the food and brought it to the truck. I took a few small, sheepish bites but then decided against eating any more of the chicken. I ate the bun but threw the patty away...and I'm still alive with no TD!

Anway, we drove out of Panama City and into the jungle with Emilio stopping twice and turning off the truck lights to show us how PITCH balck it is. He turned off the road and pulled up a steep driveway (for a second I didn't think the truck would make it). We unloaded and two guys came from around a building and helped Brennen with her bags. I followed the first guy (whom I recognized as Nathaniel from a picture on the internet) up the steep sidewalk towards an unkown destination carrying all that I had brought for the next five months, the sounds of the jungle and the heavy night air all around...this has got to be poetic on some level, I thought.

Nathaniel showed me to my bed, which is in a room full of aluminum bunks. He said I could get up whenever I wanted and that breakfast was at 7:00. I went to sleep with a smile, having satisfied much of my desire for adventure.

Brennen is one of the 12 or so other people doing the DTS (they call us DTSers). The ages of range from 18 to I'd say about thirty or forty. There are two couples here, both from the states (though one of the wives is from here in Panama). Brennen's from Kentucky, Katie's from LA, Ilene is from Norway, Dana's from Georgia, Jan from the Netherlands and there are a few more people coming.

We walked to San Vicente, a town about a mile down the road today. I bought two bottled waters ($0.29 each!). Most things seem to be cheap. The area is sort of run-down with potholes and stuff in the roads. It rained for about two hours today and it's really humid here, too.

I'm really loving it here! The people are good at making you feel loved, which is nice. Right now, it's evening and we're sitting on a porch-type thing around a table. A few of us were watching a soccer game between the US and Honduras (the US won 2-0). I here a guitar around the corner so I think I'll check that out.

I'll let you know what happens tomorrow. We're supposed to share testimonies and start digging in to the juicy stuff so to speak.

Until next time, Adios.