November 27, 2011

I love turkey. But turkey is not as popular here as in the states and I do miss it. You can find it, but for a price. But this was a turkey week! Wednesday, we had a turkey dinner (lunch for Latin people) at 4:30 after school. It was fun. But one of the “North Americans” got up and explained to people what Thanksgiving means to those of us from the North. Out of about 40 people, just a handful of us were from the states. Most though, had stories of being in the states and seeing people celebrate Thanksgiving. It holds very positive feelings for people here that a day is actually set aside for giving thanks. Some do celebrate here, but not like in the states. Possibly because November is just so packed full of Panamanian holidays, they really don’t need more. Three Independence days, a memorial type day, then Mothers’ Day the first week of December (a day off where everything is once again closed down). SO, we did have school all day on Thursday. Just seems strange to get up and go to work on Thanksgiving. Then on Thanksgiving Day, we went to a “SMALL” gathering of about 90 or so of us. We had a wonderful traditional meal and ate at tables set up outside. Ahhh, to have my traditional dinner while in shorts and a sleeveless tshirt. Only had to worry about bug bites and not frost bite. After we got home, we started laughing because Wayne realized that we were probably the oldest people there. We don’t feel as though we are older than MOST if not ALL. That is a good thing. But when a lot of my friends are pregnant, you gotta realize that you are older.
There was no school this past Monday. Once again, like last year we have had too much rain, and there is a water shortage??? Yep, go figure on that one. Technically there is a reason. I just find it really funny.
No Black Friday here (thank goodness from the stories I hear). Friday is just another normal workday for people here.
On Friday, we went to our friends’ place and they had left over turkey we munched on. So three nights, three turkey dinners. I was happy!
Had my first Spanish lesson. I just have to learn. I realize that I have learned a ton since being here. What is frustrating is that I just can’t “hear” it nor can I put together a correct sentence. But give me a multiple choice test and I can ace it. But that is not going to get me very far. I have a few phrases that I can say very well. Apparently, I say them so well that when I use one of my phrases, the other person starts talking me to like I understand. Then I can’t even pick out a single word. Hopefully I get better and fast!
I am off school Monday. It is the third Independence Day for November. Crazy. All the RED/WHITE/BLUE decorations in the mall are getting mixed up with the RED/GREEN Christmas stuff. Then, it is also graduation for the public schools since their school year ends in a week and their “summer” break is until March. Too many colors!

November 18, 2011

TOTALLY weird day….totally weird! There was a conference at a local university about using technology in the educational setting (the typical academic process here is memorization). Several months ago, I met the head of education for Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge, which is a technology / education park) that asked if I would present there. Hey, I thought it would be interesting to say the least, so I agreed. Got up and looked for something to wear, knowing I needed to look a LOT more professional than when going to school. All of my “big girl” clothes were moldy! They had been stuck in the back on the closet for months. Had to run a quick load of laundry. My nicer shoes had to be wiped clean, because there was mold all over them, not having been worn for months and again in the back of the closet. So, I got ready to go. Was picked up by a 21 year old. She was born here and was about to graduate from college, but she was disgusted with the way the professors instructed their classes. She was presenting from the college students stand point, me from the educator point of view, and a gentleman who owned a lot of businesses in Panama and talking from the “we don’t have the skilled workers stand”. Now what anyone “really” said I do not know as it was all in Spanish except for me.
At the conference, I needed a translator to translate my English presentation into Spanish. When I spoke, I had to use short sentences and few words, so he could translate to the audience what I was saying. I had this presentation that I wanted to give, but had to reduce it to just a few words. There was a question / answer session afterwards. I kept looking at the translator and seeing if there was a valid question or just a comment that needed responded to because he had to listen to the question in Spanish, then translate it to me. I was totally dependent on his ability to translate. I am standing at the microphone, watching the audience (70 people ???) just staring at me. They had no clue what I was saying and I had no clue what they were thinking. When they introduced the business man, all I got from the introduction was University of Illinois. That did not get lost in translation. So it was fun to talk with him later since we for a few years lived only 20 miles apart AND he could speak English.

Really, whoever said three times was a charm? We have a U.S. address that we can receive packages which are then forwarded to us here in Panama. We rarely use it, because once it gets to the Miami address, we have to pay to have it shipped here plus any customs charges. But it does come in handy in some situations. So, we had a small package coming. About the time we figured it should be in Panama, Wayne went to the freight office to get it. However, the office was shut down, totally. So he (silly thing to do) walked up to where the business was, thinking there might a sign posted saying they had moved with a new address or anything. Of course, nothing. So, he came home (can’t call on the phone - still that language problem) and searched on the internet. Yes, they had moved and found a map to the new location. So we went out looking for this place. It was nowhere to be found. Came back and realized the map was wrong (typical). Found another map and went out on Saturday morning to look for it. Now, you have to understand there was NO address, you just you turn off a main street at certain business, look for another business that faces their offices and it is next to another business. So indeed, (like a big treasure hunt), we DID find it (or so we thought, since there was absolutely no sign identifying the business), but they were apparently closed on Saturday. So Wayne returned during the week (this was TRIP NUMBER 4) and finally picked up the package. Now, there are two ways to look at this. One is to become totally frustrated or the other is to solve the mystery and have one more challenge conquered.
We went to a store we haven’t been to before this weekend. I was shocked when I saw this sewing machine in there (see picture). The store had all the modern “stuff” you would find in any store, here or the USA but one of these sewing machines? Then I realized there are probably a lot of tribal people that need to sew that do not have electricity where they live. Guess they would come in handy for home w/o electricity.

November 12, 2011

A job fair was held last week in Panama City. The country is in great need of skilled workers for tourism, technology, communications, construction and financial institutions. Panamanian companies representing the need for 15,000 jobs were there, but only 5000 people showed up for the fair. Meanwhile, the government had to relax immigration rules to allow over 700 people to come into Panama to work on the canal expansion. Generally, no company is allowed to hire more than 10 percent foreign hires. So, it is practically impossible to get a job here if you are a foreigner (usually). Now, they need over 11,000 new workers just for the hotel industry next year and there are not near enough workers. It is said that any Panamanian who “wants” to work, can work. Salaries are low (compared to U.S. standards), but adequate for Panama. One man who writes daily editorials here in Panama suggested that everyone running for an election in the states should be required to make a road trip to this country and see what they are doing “right” to keep the economy booming. Granted, this still is a Third World country with many problems that are unresolved. But, unemployment doesn’t seem to be one of them.

One more opportunity for workers is the new metro transit system they are building in Panama City. Goodness, the traffic, which is already terrible, is even worse with the streets torn up. Lots of road and bridge construction is happening. Just hope it gets done soon and solves some of the congestion problems. One of our friends who lives downtown mentioned that an apartment building (65 stories) that is close to her remains unoccupied. It is leaning!!! Several attempts have been made to straighten it up, but to no avail. Developers are also building an island in the bay in front of Panama City with a bridge for access. Then, a residential area will be created on the island. Can’t imagine how much those houses will be.
Last year, I posted some pictures of the flags around here. During the month of November, there are flags everyplace. November has a number of patriotic Panamanian holidays. It is really cool. This picture is in front of a Social Security building in our neighborhood. Originally, it was the hospital for Fort Clayton during the 50’s when the Army was stationed here. Actually, it was where Wayne was born. Another strange thing about these national holidays is that practically everything is closed - businesses, stores and restaurants. Not only for the holiday itself, but for the weekend after, as well. Not like the malls in the US, where there are always tons of sales and it is business as usual. Here, pretty much everything is closed.

November 5, 2011

Having not shopped in the states for quite some time, I am not really sure about the shoe styles anymore. But, in the pictures are the typical shoes of the typical Panama woman. They wear these EVERYPLACE. As short as the locals are, they really don’t seem all that shorter than I am. But, then the shoes are so high. Some news articles say there is a big problem with drivers having to let the ladies out of the car as close as possible to their destination because these extremely high platform shoes and the ever present broken sidewalks just don’t work together very well. But the ladies wear these to the grocery store, the mall, on the bus, literally everyplace. You see a bus stop with large groups of people. The ladies are all in jeans and these extremely high heels. Can’t imagine how they can walk in these, especially with their jeans, which appear to be sprayed on. They gotta be uncomfortable.
We went to the mall (stupidly) on Saturday, which was also payday. Coming down one hallway, we saw this long line of people waiting to get into the bank. You have to pass several guards before going in who have hand metal detector and they limit how many people can be in the bank at one time. Anyway, we ate lunch at a food court where we could watch this line. The 45 minutes or so we were sitting at the food court, the line just got longer and we saw very little movement.
Only two days of school this week. Lots of national holidays around the first of November. Day of the Dead (our Memorial Day?), Independence Day and Flag Day. All the schools in Panama were required to march in the parades that were Thursday and Friday to exhibit civic pride. It is fun to see the nationalistic spirit. That is something that I have not seen in the USA. This was the first year that International schools here in Panama were required to march. If you didn’t, you had to pay a steep fine. Our school got a free pass this year since we don’t have high school yet. Apparently, it is a big deal to really show well in these parades with a band or drill team, so the local schools practice, practice and practice. (needless to say, this is at the expense of school and learning). And we wonder why Panama ranks so low among the world’s countries in education? But, I have definitely come to the conclusion that it is worth appreciating a different culture, regardless of the warts. It is not the USA, but I cannot help but compare. At first, I thought everything should change, but have come to realize that it just is. It is what makes this country what it is. And I am blessed that I can actually experience the culture. There are way too many people in the world that never have that opportunity or take the opportunity.