The Worlds Collide

One of my favorite moments from George on Seinfeld was him having to deal with his two separate worlds – Independent George and Relationship George – coming together. No one wanted to see Liar and Bawdy George die, did they? Over the past 20 months, the quirky concept rang true with me. I had two separate worlds – Peace Corps Panama Dylan and United States Dylan. Outside of a brief visit by my cousin, the worlds never collided.

That’s not to say, unlike George, I didn’t want them to, they just hadn’t had the chance … until this past month.

As I mentioned prior, first my sisters and brother-in-law would come, then my parents. And, with that, my worlds would collide. They would come to my community, meet my Panamanian and Gringo friends, and enjoy Panama. Oh yeah, get to see their loving brother and son.

All this happened and a whole lot more.

I planned the trips with the thought that they would get to experience the real Panama – the interior. That meant riding buses, dining at fondas and having a drink at a cantina. We also went to see beaches, mountains, Carnival, coffee farms, a Panamanian baseball game and indigenous cultures.

And, yes, my parents and I went to see the Mira Flores locks of the Panama Canal. To me, it was probably the least interesting thing we did. After all, the Canal is not the part of Panama that I know.

On the flip side, the best time I had during the two visits was a simple dinner (Carnival was a close second). When my parents were in and staying at my house, I had invited the family I lived with for my first three months while in my new community over for dinner. My mom was going to make a nice American dish for them. So they came, Sergio, his wife Clari and their two adorable kids. Overall, the dinner was fantastic. The food was tasty. The conversation was, ok, a bit awkward, after all I had to play the role of translator. But ultimately, two worlds perfectly collided.