Reality Begins

We made it here to the apartment in one peace.  I’m not saying  not with out a little bit of a hassle of course.  We e-mailed back and forth to Ricardo, our landlord who promised us a smooth transition into our new apartment at 2 in the morning when we got into Panama.   The people who were supposed to do their job of getting the key to the right person (the night watch reception at the hostel) and have that ready for our arrival didn’t quite do their job so Justin and I, at 2am in Casco Viejo stood outside the hostel arguing with the reception girl who had no clue about anything.  She seemed to be in a dream state and Justin and I were slightly freaked out not knowing what to do at that time of night  in the middle of Casco.  Finally I asked to at least let us in the lobby of the hostel so we can wait until the morning when the right person with the key was to arrive.  There’s a bit more to that story but to shorten things up we ended up in apartment number 20, the apartment we requested by the next day. 

    It’s 6 stories up, we’re on the top floor in the biggest unit in the building.  We were told that it was only a one bedroom but to our surprise it’s a two bedroom, great size kitchen with a bar counter, and huge balcony over looking the streets of Casco.  We are extremely pleased and for $400 a month we feel that we pretty much have one of the best deals in all of Panama City.  With that said, it’s not perfect but for our budget, we don’t think that we could afford anything better! 

    Since we’ve moved in it’s been non-stop settling in, getting the apartment a little more organized, working on the website, getting used to our new video camera, and of course, networking with our new Panama friends.  So far we’ve got a really cool friend base..  Let the shout outs begin!

1. Blayne- Super Gourmet owner who is down to hang, party, shop, cook, whatever!  He’s got an awesome pup named Vegas who we get to play with as well as an insanely large group of friends who he loves to introduce us to.

2. Kent- Our realtor friend who seems to be everywhere and know everyone.  He’s loads of fun, very knowledgeable, and loves Panama!

3. Dave- Luna’s Castle Owner.  He was our first boss here in Panama.  He was over in Bocas del Toro when we were there promoting for his hostel/bar Mondo Taitu.  Now he’s based in Casco a few blocks from us at his other hostel called Luna’s Castle. He is now the proud owner of the next hottest bar in Panama called Relic.  He’s a super chill guy with an awesome outlook on life. 

4. Ozzy- I befriended her a few months ago.  She met my brother Adrian last year when he was traveling throughout Panama.  She’s a Panamanian chick that gives me some laid back girl time but she can also party with the boys! 

 

We’ve also met some people the last time and this week that we’ve been hanging out with a few times.  Maybe they will make my next shout out list.  People here are helpful, fun, extroverted, and have a great outlook on life.  I’m excited for more networking as we progress in our Panama Lens business.

   Things have been going well getting started and we are about ready to produce our first video.  We start this week!  : )

 

Wish us luck! 

  Love,

  Mara

I guess we're In it for the long haul

Coming home to see my whole family all at once was very special to me. It’s been over a year and a half since we had all been in one place/country. Adrian has been studying in London, at the London Business School since September, Evan had been in South Korea, teaching English since last April, and I have sort of been all over the place but to choose one I’d say Panama. My parents were thrilled to have a full house once again and enjoy the company of the kids. We were happy to be home with them as well as some good home cookin’.


It was incredibly special to get dressed up and all go to Victor and Gloria’s wedding on June 27th. We had an awesome time hanging out with Adrian’s old friends from college that we’ve known for about 6 years now. Lots of drinking, dancing, and laughing occurred, as expected and we left the hotel we stayed in the next morning feeling exhausted from partying.


Adrian and Andrea didn’t get to stay much longer after the wedding because they had to return back to England and get back to reality. It was a short and sweet visit with lots of fun playing tennis, soccer, basketball, eating, dancing, and partying.

After they left I packed my bags (what else is new? lol) and headed up north to visit some friends in NYC as well as my cousin Jenny who recently moved there. Justin met me there and we had a wonderful time hanging out, walking around, buying equipment for our business, as well as tons of eating! : ) I had pizza every single day I was in NYC. I swear since I’ve been back in the States it’s been a non stop eating fest! From NYC I hopped on the bus to CT and Justin picked me up for the 4th of July weekend with his family. Where he’s from in Connecticut is absolutely stunning and in the early summer time, when it’s not too hot out, the breeze is perfect, the towns are charming, and the people are super friendly. Not to mention that his family was very warm and welcoming to me giving me such a great impression of where he grew up and how he was raised. After a few days of being up there with them I found myself not wanting to leave. The only driving force for me to get my butt out of there was the fact that my parents who love me very much would be devastated if I spent more time with his family than mine. Hehe, but I did love my time up there. Returning home was nice. I find myself being a homebody when I’m actually here (which really isn’t much these days). I like hanging out in my room, going through old pictures from my past, and dancing around my bedroom like I’m a teenager again. It’s weird how much I revert back to being 16 when I’m home again. That’s how I know I need to find my own way and place in this world away from where I grew up.
Now I’m all packed up and ready to move into our apartment in Casco Viejo on Wednesday evening. To be honest I’m very excited to start this out. I’m 23 and ready to start this adventure they call the “Real World.” So far life has been beautiful for the most part and hopefully Justin and I can continue whatever lucky streak I’ve had thus far…