I Know I have been in Panama for awhile when...

• My hair looks like that. [Actually it's a bird's nest that a woman was wearing as a wig at Balsaria this year.]
  
• I own a variety of utensils but I still only use the spoon.
• I eat everything out of a bowl even though I own plates.
• I went to my first live music tipico (traditional Panamanian music) dance last month and I already knew all of the songs from the radio.
• Dry leaves are trash and must be burned compulsively.
• I brag about my pets’ hunting prowess.
• I cook pasta but I’m still not full. So then I cook some rice.
• I find myself acquiring new clothing with sparkles and bedazzle glued on to it.
• My sleeping habits depend on the lunar cycle.
• Crowing roosters don’t wake me up.
• I buy dog food in 1 or 2 pound bags. The cat eats it too.
• Small children don't call me gringa because I'm just Bechi to them. Sometimes it breaks my heart to think about how I've been their neighbor for their whole conscious lives, but that they won't remember me in a few years.