My husband got our Vonage phone working down here, so he can receive “work” related phone calls from the states. It costs us to call out, but it’s free for people to use his local US number and call us. It is great for me because I need to have Dr. Schaefer call every morning to get instructions regarding the way that the math is being presented “TODAY”. Having not taught math for 18 years, I am not up on the new math standards and I refuse to do it the OLD way. It is really fun for me because my little girl “saw the light” today in class. And to be quite honest, she has never understood the concept by memorizing rules. So, believe me, Dr. Schaefer is right!!!
Again I had the opportunity to get my own cab. Guess you could call me an expert now. Being told that you don’t “ask” how much the ride is. Just get in, and give the cabbie some money when you get out and walk away (keeping in mind being fair). So what “should” have been a 2 dollar ride (yesterday, I was charged 4), I just handed the driver 3 dollars today and walked away. Doubt that it always works so easily. They have what they call the “blond” tax. Illegal, yet happens all the time.
Florida State University has a campus very close to our apartment. I wandered over today and ended up talking with an administrator. I could have sat and listened to her discussion on Panamanian schools, education, and technology all day. She was a wealth of information. I love meeting new people and hearing “their” stories. The university has an English Library. I guess it is the ONLY English library in Panama from what someone said. It is opened to the public. Anyway, to make a long story short, I really don’t think there were many (if any) books at all that were younger than I am. Yes, I miss the Sharonville library that Wayne and I visited weekly. But that is there and we are here, so tough. Things are different. We didn’t come here to have the same life.
Wayne had his first governmental bureaucratic experience during the first step in trying to get his Panamanian citizenship. Per our lawyer, this is one of the more “efficient” government departments to deal with. However, even though he had an appointment, Wayne had to wait nearly three hours for a 15 minute interview about why he was applying for citizenship, who were his parents were and even furnish the full names of his grandparents on both sides, plus countless other questions. The entire interview was conducted in Spanish, but fortunately, the lawyer was there to translate. Meanwhile, everything is handled by paper (lots of it) and must have signatures of certain officials at just about every step of the way. Wayne now has to go back to get his picture taken (it couldn’t be done during this visit, because the next signature could not be obtained today). Then, he returns in about three weeks to pick up his final documents. Once he has his citizenship, then, a more complicated process (that involves less efficient departments) will start on getting my visa so I can stay for the year. Can’t wait. But without my visa, we have to leave the country every 90 days for 72 hours. The school can get me a missionary visa but since Wayne can get his citizenship (since he was born here) it give us a lot more opportunities and apparently makes life a lot easier living in the country. You can have dual citizenship in Panama. I can’t get it but our boys can. But I should be able to get a visa easier this way. Of course, nothing is easier here when dealing with this government.
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