Tuesday, 19 April 2011 20:21
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 April 2011 20:29
Summary: Panama makes large strides in certain arenas while taking dangerous steps back in others. Freedom of press and corruption taint Panama’s reputation in the world market whereas economy growth and emerging markets produce impressive headlines. In the spirit of globalization, Panama often overlooks its own vibrant culture, however in terms of pure numbers, the country appears, and now has appeared for roughly four years, on track for great success.
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I've never really considered myself an animal lover as much as an animal eater. Before I got to Panama, I had safely restricted wild animals to a faraway land: the pages of magazines, the plots of TV shows, and the false fronts of toy stores where stuffed elephants and toucans ran my dad around twenty bucks. 
It was reasonably late in my life that I discovered there was a name for my fear of crowded places. And more specifically, the term agoraphobia, upon stumbling over it recently in my Spanish-English dictionary, gave validity to what my family had always considered a silly and embarrassingly illogical concern.
Not long ago, when seated in a pretty outdoor café with a friend, I was asked "what's one thing you want?" I pondered the question for several moments and asked for some clarification but it got me nowhere. "Yeah, you heard me" she said. "What's something thing you've been wanting lately?" Yes, it was a question that I had entertained all my life, but oddly enough, no one had ever confronted me about it. I had never been forced to make a final decision, and for that reason, I may have spoken prematurely. "A metal detector" I said. "A really good professional metal detector."
