Isthmus of Music: Taking a Break from the Isthmus

November 1, 2014

As a birthday present this year, I was able to go home to visit my family for a couple of days. It was really nice to take a break from the heat and go home to some really nice weather. It was also really nice to see my family and spend some quality time with my parents.

At my Dad's house, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner since I would not be having that in Panama. It was delicious from the turkey to the stuffing to the sweet potato casserole. I also got to spend some quality time with my dogs. They were so excited to see me. I must say that I miss them a lot here in Panama.

My Mom and I went shopping for winter clothes which was really fun since I have been living in an eternal summer for the last 7 months. It was nice to look at sweaters and scarves and not cringe at the idea of wearing that in the heat. It made me really get in the mood for fall and winter, just in time to come back to summer in Panama.

On the way home from Panama, my flight was a little delayed but otherwise nothing crazy happened. On the way back, however, my first flight was slightly delayed which got me worried about my connection in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I made it just in time but did not have time to eat as originally planned. We got on the plane on time and were about to pull back to go to the runway when started to wait. We waited and waited when finally the pilot came on the intercom and told us that a light was out on a wing so we needed to fix it before we could go. We were assured that it was not a huge fix and that we would be taking off in no time. After about two hours of waiting with new assurances that we would be leaving very soon about every fifteen minutes, they finally told us that the problem was bigger than just the light and that we would not be able to fly.

I went through my communications with my job in Panama and with my ride from the airport- which is not actually easy when your Panamanian phone does not work out of the country. We all exited the airplane and went to the reception desk to be moved to a new flight. No one was there and after another half an hour of waiting someone came running from the gate saying that the plane was fixed and that we should all get back on.

This meant we needed go through security again, which we couldn't do because they took our tickets when we boarded the first time. We waited another two hours for the reception to print out new tickets for all of us. We finally made it back on the plane-by this time I was starving. I had not eaten since breakfast which was getting close to twelve hours ago at this point.

When we landed in Panama City, we had to go through immigration where we had to wait for another hour or so. Then I could not find my bags. I was about to cry when I saw them sitting off in a corner. Hurray! I finally made it out to the airport and found my way to my bed around 2:30 AM. It was a crazy day of traveling but I made it. I guess it is moments like these that teach you patience and to look at the world through eyes of joy. If you laugh at the situation, you have a much better day than if you get angry with your bad luck.

The next day I ate soooo much.