CRW_9890

Originally uploaded by g[wiz]

Needless to say, the U Texas students had a blast on their last 2 nights in Panama. They all did quite well on their projects and unlike many other college students, these kids pulled 16 hour days of hard work to help out some folks in need from Coclé to Centro Madrono for 10 days of what is usually a festival of 24 hour debauchery (spring break). I know they had their share of good times along the way, but they worked their butts off and I’m glad I got to work with some of them and hang out with the rest.

I’m glad I let Tom know I was coming to Panama a few months ago. I got to take care of my own project and take on some volunteer work with a promising new organization called Global Business Brigades. I’m packing up all my things right now and making my last post before I hop on a Copa flight to Orlando later this evening. I forgot how much I really loved Panama the last time I was here. Panama, from a gringo perspective (or mine anyways), is a mix of frustration when dealing with some of the local businesses and absolute joy when it comes to the kindness of the local community in the Casco that I feel very close to. Panama is an exercise in patience and a lesson in recognizing the things we value in life. I can’t wait to get home but I hate to leave. I can’t think of a better way to feel after a week and a half of working, playing, swimming, climbing, hiking, negotiating, eating, drinking and most of all, being. Thank Tom for the great opportunity and help with my own project as well. Peace.

I arrived on Friday night to Tom’s bronzed and gleaming face, smiling at me amongst a crowd of Panamanians whose heights barely reached his shoulders. “welcome to panama, Brah!” I gave him a hug and we hopped in his pickup to head into the city. Panama City has changed tremendously in the past 2 years. The skyline is peppered with ominously unlit skyscrapers, all unfinished as of yet, though actively being built. Growth here in Panama is moving at a staggering pace with population increasing 10% annually in the last 2 years with an estimate of at least 7.5% in the next 2. The travel infrastructure of Panama City is getting a complete overhaul, from roads to transportations systems. In the next year, from what I understand, the Diablo Rojos will no longer be running. The city has already instituted a mandate to require all taxis to be painted yellow (many today are simply consumer vehicles with taxi signs on them). The loss of the Diablo Rojo busses and the visual similitude of the taxis will be a marked change in Panama City (as if it needed one).

My goal on this project was to photograph structures in El Chorrillo, but it looks as though there are some other elements to the city that will disappear in the next 12 months, that I should photograph now, before they are gone. So I went from 1 project to 3 in a matter of seconds as Tom filled me in on the status of Panama City’s progress towards 1st world-dom. I’m very excited to be working with Tom and the Global Business Brigades on their small business improvement project right here in Casco Viejo. We’ll be working with a small merchant who sells tourist goods and who has designed a wonderful t-shirt series that he is trying to sell through other merchants. His shirt is the best I’ve seen in Panama City and it is reminiscent of the old crazy shirts designs- with the screen printing across the chest in a band. Classic Hawaiian style. The other merchant is a cobbler who is making shoes with a style variant of the Kuna Indians Mola patterns but with leather instead of cloth. I’ll update later today with photos…