Alex Shalman . comPractical Personal Development

After reading about all the fun Tynan and Todd were having with their Life Nomadic project, I decided to see what it was like for myself. The idea was brought up, and the plan was concrete all within a couple of minutes. I’m not that difficult to convince, and a fun adventure is not something I’m quick to pass up.

During the trip I made up for some lost sleep, wrote blog articles from 6am - 8am (more on this later), and read about Kabbalah (it’s interesting).

As the airplane was descending to Panama city, I was struck by the beauty of the plush greens that constituted the landscape. A big difference between Newark airport, one that made me realize I wasn’t home anymore (and that’s awesome!). I also noticed the canal on my way down, and it’s something I’ll try to see during my weekend mini-retirement here.

Right out of the airport the locals were very friendly. The cab driver told me all about the carnivals that are going on here right now. They’re known to be the second largest in the world, and I’m definitely going to see them before I leave. Unfortunately this wasn’t on this year’s bucket list, which just means there are other really interesting things I’m planning to do.

As soon as I arrived at the apartment we went to eat a La Mireya’s vegan restaurant. The food was delicious, and the service was out of this world. The owner’s (a Chinese couple), were very friendly as well. One of the workers went out of his way to open doors for us, and came by to take away each plate as we finished it. The full meal came out to $4.40 which was very cheap for the amount of food I got. I didn’t take pictures at the restaurant, but I will next time.

When we got back to the apartment, we set up my wireless internet, and decided to throw some balloons off the 13th story window. The 36″ balloons, when filled, contained at least 20lbs of water (don’t quote me on that). Note that no humans were hurt in the throwing of these balloons.

The rest of the evening sounds like it’s going to be really fun as well. First the guys are making me do intense Cross Fit exercises with them. If you don’t know what that is, you can learn more about it at www.crossfit.com. Since all Tynan and Todd eat is vegan food, tonight’s dinner will be at the infamous Casa Vegetariana.

One of my favorite activities back home is Karaoke. This past November I rented out a private room at Tinga Tinga Karaoke in New York City with some of my friends. We’ve also done a few weekend nights at Japas Karaoke & Bar. That’s why tonight’s trip to the world renowned Star Light Karaoke & Lounge is going to be right up my ally.

What exactly was the point of this trip? Spontaneous, adventure, learning experience that took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to experience new things. More to come on this soon.