Converting to Conversions

It is my understanding, that the United States is one of four countries in the world that uses the English System to measure units. Other countries include Great Britain, Liberia, and Burma. Because Panama is not any of the four countries listed above, I will have to learn a whole new way of measuring using the metric system.

The first time I went to Panama a few things stood out to me. First off, I was terrified that I saw signs for speed limits saying 100km. "Wait, we are going 100 units per hour!?" I frequently had to remind myself that we were traveling at speeds relative to kilometers and not miles. After some research I realized we were really not driving above any speed out of the ordinary: 100 kilometers is roughly 62 miles.

This is the Pan-American Highway in Panama.
Picture not taken by me

I also remember seeing the price of gas. Because I associate gas prices in relation to gallons I could not believe initially how inexpensive gas was. The person who was driving us around quickly reminded me that these units are not gallons, which actually resulted in gas being more expensive in Panama compared to what I was used to.

People ask me all the time what the weather is like in Panama. I say it is around 85 Degrees Fahrenheit year round. I realized earlier this week that I did not know what the average lows were for Panama. So I looked and this is what I found:

                                       

It probably would not be so bad except the temperature units are not familiar to me. Rounding up, the average high temperature for January through April is 90 Degrees Fahrenheit while May and December are around 87 degrees and the rest of the highs for June through November are 86 degrees. The lows translate to be 77 degrees most of the year, except for April and May when the lows are 79 degrees.

As I hear measurements in the metric system, I am trying to force myself to think about what that means relative to the measurements I know. I imagine that eventually the English Measurement system will become more and more foreign to me. Until then, I will have to adjust to how the majority of the world measures everything.