3rd Day of Work (june 13)

Today was pretty uneventful in terms of work. I went to the main Embassy building to finally receive my badge and for a security briefing. I met some of the other interns who hopefully we will be able to hook up with over the course of the summer. On the way there from my building I had a very lively conversation with my driver and another Embassy employee. Of course the entire conversation was in Spanish so that was great and I understood all and they understood me too. They said I spoke very well and that with continued practice and conversation like that I would definitely be fluent by the end of the summer lol. Anyways, they gave me insight into some Panamanian foods that I have to try while here. They also told me about some of the clubs to go to, Ladies Night (Thursdays) and Open Bar Night (Fridays), about the good restaurants and other spots I should visit as a tourist of the country. It was quite interesting. I also took some good pictures during the drive of the countryside and certain points in the city so stay tuned for those pics as well. At work I shadowed the officers/clerks while they were interviewing applicants for visas and learned so much. There are so many different types of visas that it would probably take weeks to truly learn all of them without reference however I’m sure with repetition and practice it could come even quicker. From my basic surface level knowledge before starting this internship, I knew it was hard to obtain a visa but I did not realize the full extent/scope of the process. There are a lot of documents required, a lot of money required, a lot of time required. Each application costs $100 and if for whatever reason you get denied you have to pay that amount all over again when you renew the process. Now mind you, the average wages in Panama are $10-15/day so that’s around $450/month (on the high end) and if you have to drop $100 on an application there is not much left. God forbid you have children or other living expenses. For some, the application can be denied simply because they do not have the original of a document required upon submission of their packet. It is not sufficient to have the copy of the original because you must have the original and the copy. Others may get denied if there is suspected terrorist or negative activity related to their name. They may not even know that something negative is attached to their name but if it pops up in the system then the officers are obliged to revoke the passport/visa from future travel. I finally received my computer ID and password so tomorrow I will be able to log in and access the Internet/computer…praise God! It only took 3 days but patience is a virtue, right? Actually, I had a good conversation with the IT lady who gave me my computer access. Again, a convo in Spanish so as yall can see I truly am trying to improve my skills by forcing myself to speak in Spanish and not English whenever possible. Of course, when I get hung up, I revert back to English but at least I’m trying. I spent much of my day scanning documents into the computer and inputting data into the database and that was pretty much my day. Unfortunately I was not able to accompany the supervisor on the jail visit today to Colón even though I wanted to because he said this was one of the worst prisons and I wanted to see it. Call me demented I don’t care :-)