July 2, 2010

Yet another day of “waiting” for the cable guy, the gas guy, the maintenance man to fix our washer, and most importantly, the Internet Company. No go. No one is this country seems to understand what customer service is. The people are sweet and friendly, but apparently no one has ever heard of even decent customer service.
Ace gets to go on lots of walks. The area around here is beautiful. We live in “The City of Knowledge” which was an old Army base. All the housing and buildings in the entire city were built back in the 50’s and were old army housing. Most buildings are multiple apartments and still have the look of the 50’s. Lots of palm trees, tons of green, and beautiful flowers. Just across the street from the neighborhood is the canal. There are numerous sports areas, sidewalks, playgrounds for the kids, but you can see how the weather is really tough on metal playground equipment. It is a fabulous place for our walks.
I found the little Chinese market that people have told me about that sells plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Vegetables, my favorite food, are difficult to grow here because of the heat. But I did find lettuce, so life is a lot better. Got my first fresh pineapple yesterday and it is marvelous. But the grocery is a tiny shack along the road. Never would I even think to stop there had not someone told me it was the place to go. Let’s say it isn’t a Krogers. If Krogers is a 10 on the scale, this place must be a negative 10. But people were friendly and produce looked good, so all is well.
Had to go out to dinner last night (remember no gas, so no stove). Met a delightful gentleman at the restaurant and we sat and talked for hours. I think he must have noticed the “deer in the headlight” look Wayne and I have and could overhear us speaking in English. He was so excited to talk to someone in English himself. He has lived in Panama for the past three years, so he gave us a lot of insight into our “new home”. I don’t think we have ever in the US met someone in a restaurant and sat and talked for so long. Funny, as he grew up in the Tuscola IL area where we lived for 10 years. Who would ever think you would meet someone in Panama that knew where Tuscola was? And his mom was the nurse years ago at USI where Wayne worked. Small world.
Got our washer fixed Friday morning!! I was so excited that I started washing clothes right away. My smart husband reminded me that we have no dryer since the gas people haven’t shown up for the two promised days they said they would. Now we have a lot of wet clothes. What to do with those?
Carrying your passport with you at all times is mandatory here. Anyone can be stopped at anytime with a request for identification. Panama has an illegal immigrant problem as well, mostly from Columbia.
Now for another day of WAITING for these “promised” service calls. Thankfully I can come to the church to log on for a couple hours and stay wired to the world.