This was an extraordinary hiking trip full of firsts. I have never ever before been hiking in Panamain tropical weatheron an active volcanoon a mountain higher than 2,500m It all begins at the Albrook bus station in Panamá City. In the night from Friday to Saturday at midnight, we take the bus to David, Chiriquí.… Continue reading Conquering Volcán Barú
Author: Dominik Muhs
Isla Grande
A sunny day, 30°C, and air humidity so high that breathing feels like waterboarding. Perfect conditions to go to the beach! Just some hours by car in the province of Colón north of Panamá City, you can find Isla Grande. This island is your typical small Caribbean island with clear waters and palm trees. From… Continue reading Isla Grande
ERROR 2999: Invalid preprocessor command specified
I am quite new to working with Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR) clusters. To do some large-scale data analysis, I built a Pig script and ran it on a local pig installation to verify its functionality. Works. Neat! Let's push it to the cluster and get some serious results on the large dataset! Luckily for my… Continue reading ERROR 2999: Invalid preprocessor command specified
The City of Knowledge
the US Army headquarters here in Panama City. After the US departure, the government founded a non-profit organization with the mission to turn the vacated facilities at Clayton into a center for knowledge exchange. Amidst the green beauty, you can see the buildings showing logos of the Red Cross, the United Nations, the World Food… Continue reading The City of Knowledge
Taboga – The Island of Flowers
During a fair on stipends and opportunities to go abroad at the UTP, I met some other interns and students of the uni! Amazing people from Portugal, Mexico, Honduras, and Poland. We had a coffee together and got to know each other. They are very down-to-earth and easy-going people. Before we each left for office… Continue reading Taboga – The Island of Flowers
Turning the Tides
A Monday. Got up early. Bought a Spartan breakfast (water and bread). Off we go to the uni! Work! Get shit done! Meet people! "Hoy está cerrado!". I stand before closed doors, next to me a wildly gesticulating and almost shouting security guard crossing his hands. Yeah, right. Today was a red-letter day! Ah, my… Continue reading Turning the Tides
New Lands
So today I moved out of Brigitte's house into the new apartment. Before coming here I had the choice between a single apartment with my own fridge and bathroom or a flat-share with ten other people with a shared bathroom and a community kitchen. I decided on the latter because I hoped to make some… Continue reading New Lands
A Helping Hand
Brigitte, my mentor, is an amazing person. She does not only give me a place to sleep. She also hooked me up with a SIM card so I have a mobile internet connection. That way I can now navigate around the city and cry for help on WhatsApp should I ever get lost. In order… Continue reading A Helping Hand
Come Fly With Me
This little series is about my "travel" to Panamá. I applied at IAESTE for an internship in the IT security department of the UTP (Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá). Here, in my Personal Panama Papers, I'll write down some of my experiences, problems, and solutions while I find my way into Panamanian society and hopefully some… Continue reading Come Fly With Me
Saxony Switzerland in Autumn
When you have the chance to study in Dresden, it's a must for every outdoor person to go hiking in Saxony Switzerland. It's only ~30 minutes away from Dresden and you can get there for free with your semester ticket if you're enrolled at the local uni, Technische Universität Dresden. Whether spring, summer, autumn, or… Continue reading Saxony Switzerland in Autumn