June 19, 2011

I usually don’t have any problem “leaving”, but I really hate to be “left”. And that is what life is like being an expat. People are always leaving. The beauty is that new people are always coming, but it is tough to say good bye to friends. The last day of school was this week. There were several leaving. It was a good year. I wasn’t challenged as much as I like to be challenged, but the school was great, the teachers were great, the kids were great. All in all, it was a good experience. Looking back, I can’t believe the year is over.
I spent Thursday afternoon with a friend who has lived in Panama for many years. Interesting, as I discovered several thing about the working culture. It seems as though the country almost rewards laziness and irresponsibility. If you are fired from your job, you get a great severance package. If you quit, you get half of that package. You can be just a totally irresponsible worker and it is difficult to get rid of you. Someone said you had to miss six Mondays in a row before they have grounds to fire you without severance. Granted, the severance packages appear good, but the salaries are so low that they really aren’t that much.
A few of us walked to a local “fonda” near the school on Monday for lunch. Fondas are little restaurants run by the locals, usually in a simple small building or shack. You are “taking your stomach in your hands” to eat at one, though. On the way, we noticed a few trees growing up right in the middle of the sidewalk. Looks like the road had been torn up to lay some pipes yet, when they got to the sidewalk, they must have just dug under rather than cutting through the sidewalk and repaving it. So, eventually the sidewalk collapsed. Then, a few weeds must have started growing in the mess, yet no one ever bothers to pick up or dig them out or even repair the sidewalk. Needless to say, over the years trees have developed. Anyway, the food was absolutely delicious at the fonda and CHEAP. Yet, you are still taking a risk. There are absolutely NO HEALTH codes, no inspections to make sure food is prepared safely, at these places.
So three days of vacation are over. Like every summer break, time FLIES. Most everyone that goes to the states has already left. This place really clears out so quickly. With only 6 weeks of “summer”, people scatter almost immediately.