August 23, 2010

Went to Price Smart (which is the same as Costco in the states) the other day. Decided to eat lunch there. Their little snack bar is exactly like the one in Costco except Price Smart sells fried chicken as do most places in Panama. I was about 9th in line. Everyone in front of me got fried chicken and fries. Humm, you wonder why the people down here have difficulty with their weight like Americans. When I got to the counter to order and asked for Ensalada (Salad), I don’t think they knew what to do! At least I don’t ever have to worry they would sell out of the few they make daily. Also, we were bummed out because as large as the store is (smaller than Costco, though) they had run out of cases of water in small bottles, large canisters of peanuts, and peanut butter. Just simple staples that we needed to purchase this week. I have heard that if you find what you want, get a lot because there is no guarantee they will have it next week. I guess they often don’t order more until they run out, then place the order and it takes forever to arrive from wherever. Inventory is not in their vocabulary.
Found what I consider a “gold mine”. I needed a haircut and a friend suggested “Suzannes”. Suzanne has owned and operated her shop for 26 years, is Chinese, and is known for the fastest haircuts in town. And indeed, it was. 5 minutes for 5 dollars and I bet one of the best haircuts I have ever had. I only walked in with my one word, “corte” (cut) and my game of charades, but it got the job done. Another challenge faced head on!
Sunday, after church we wandered around downtown. Beautiful area, as you can see from the pictures. Sunday is the day to go into the city, since there is little traffic. I frankly don’t know what the locals do on Sundays, but they aren’t on the roads (thank goodness). But when Ace and I were taking a walk just before dark last night (which is 6:30 here) the park was packed with people. It seems strange to see so many people in the park as it was getting dark out, but hey , it was still only 7:00 pm. I still have trouble seeing it get dark so early in the summer.
Interesting pictures. See the one of the Kuna Indian woman. All the women dress in these beautiful colored outfits. Apparently, they are the shortest people outside of the pigmys. Also note the pay phones. You find those all over Panama. Something you just don’t see in the states anymore.
Ace and I went out for a short walk last night and met a gal here from Trinidad. Our walk ended up over an hour as we walked with our new friend and once again got to hear someone’s story who only think about Ohio as a foreign country. What fun to meet all these international folks.
Well, it is basketball season here all you sports fans! Soccer season is in the spring (is spring is really a season here)

August 19, 2010

Interesting to watch the trash men around here (WHEN they come). Trash pickup is “supposed” to be at least 3 times a week. It happened the first two weeks we were here, but certainly not since. At times, the trash does start to pile up. Anyway, there are at least five men with each truck. Some toss it up, others on top rip open each bag and search through it. Funny, because we tossed a few things that REALLY were trash, yet these guys carefully look through every bag seeking “treasure”. Some of these items probably supplement their income. I wish I could have brought them all the stuff I “thought” was trash that we tossed in Cincinnati prior to moving.
In talking with some of my students today, I found out that Panama has a 9:00 pm curfew for anyone under 18. If they go to a movie, a dance, whatever, their parents MUST pick them up (or their chauffer) Some say it is heavily controlled, others say it isn’t. So, the kids get their “cedula” or national identify card when they turn 18 which means they can stay out after 9 AND drink. Our lawyer told Wayne a story of a girl who had to wait a few weeks after her 18th birthday before they issued her card (typical system here) and she was about to lose her mind. That card means way too much freedom for some of these kids.
Speaking of drinking, some of the grocery stores are like a stand up bar. While samples of food, etc. are given out like in the stores back in the states, samples of alcohol are also plentiful (wine and liquor). Those vendors don’t seem to be without “samplers”. The women shop, while the men stand in line for samples and sometimes block the aisles.
After no rain for several days, the skies let loose on Monday just before leaving for school. Roads were flooded and little cars were off to the side, since they couldn’t make it through the downpour (which was why we were told to get an SUV). It only lasted an hour or so and was over, but oh my. I mentioned it to the secretary at school that I have never seen such a downpour of rain. She just smiled and said “WAIT until November”. OK, guess this one really wasn’t that bad.
Had my first Panamanian “Meet the Teacher” night Tuesday. Not much different than the ones at CHCA. Just that, as I was waiting for the parents to all gather in my room, most of the parents were speaking Spanish. But this school brings most of the teachers from the states, so their children can learn English correctly, so I imagine they realize many of the teachers are not very fluent in Spanish.

August 15, 2010

Just completed the first full week of teaching. Goodness, do I have duties. Seems like every day something else is handed over that we spent years getting removed from our plate in CHCA. Back to the beginning! One good thing is that school is out at 12:30 on Wednesdays with the afternoon for department meetings and our weekly faculty meeting. At least a weekly faculty meeting isn’t so painful, since it isn’t after a long school day. Funny, last Wednesday though. At the beginning of the meeting, we were told that school would be out at 11:00 am Thursday due to the electricity company shutting off the electricity for who knows why. Then, by the end of the meeting the electric company called back to inform them that they would NOT be turning off the electricity. Happy faculty made unhappy in one short hour. No one knows what is going on around here. It is just funny. Now, there is some Panamanian holiday that lands on a Sunday this year. It is happening this Sunday. So no one knows IF it will celebrated on Monday. If so, schools have to be closed, but no one has made a decision yet. I guess it is someone from the Ministry of Education that actually makes the call, but that won’t be done until late Sunday. Someone that understands Spanish radio heard that the president of Panama said there were too many holidays and they were not going to give people that day off work and school. So, the jury is still out on whether Monday is a school day or not. Who knows?
CCA is a typical American school. Most teachers have their own rooms and the students move between classrooms. However, in a “typical” Panamanian school, the students stay in the same room all day and the teachers move from room to room. I guess they think that is a better way to do it, although with the results they get from the public schools around here, I wouldn’t think so.
Went to a ladies lunch on Saturday. Fun! There were 20 ladies there, all of whom have lived in Panama for years. I just sat and listened for 4 hours to all sorts of conversations, none of which I understood. Granted, it was all in English, but I had no frame of reference for anything. How interesting. But I did find out that in Panama there is an automatic 75 dollar fine if caught driving and talking on a cell phone. Frankly, with the crazy driving that goes on, I can’t imagine anyone actually doing that. Also, all places are non smoking. Even many of the outdoor parks are non smoking. You can’t even smoke on your patio of your apartment if the smoke goes into someone else’s patio. They are trying to get a law passed that you can’t even smoke in front of public buildings. Apparently, the doctors in Panama got these laws passed due to the high incidence of lung cancer.
When driving downtown today, I saw a man selling pencils and pens in the middle of traffic. Granted, there are lots of people selling in the middle of traffic, but he had no hands and not a lot left of his arms. But, he was trying to earn money and was not begging. The car of ladies that I was with all gave him money, just because he was at least trying to make a living. Really, for as many poor that are here, I have seen very few beggars.
There are a lot of long lines at the mall in front of stores where they check your packages. Most (if not all) stores will not allow you to come into the store with a package. So if you want to look around in different stores after you make a purchase, you have to check your packages in at the many “check your parcel“ places. Almost all the stores have such a place adjacent to their main door. We were there tonight and the lines were long. I think the Panamanians have just lived with waiting in line so much that they don’t seem to be bothered by the process. Personally, I have to think twice before waiting in line for 15 minutes only to go into a store and then wait another 15 minutes or so after I come out to retrieve my packages. On the other hand, after ALL the “stuff” we got rid of prior to moving here, we certainly do NOT want to start accumulating “stuff” again. We went to the mall only because our electricity went out again. After 2 hours w/o air conditioning, we needed to leave. For a country that electricity goes out infrequently, this is the 4 time in 6 weeks.
I think we are about to complete week six in a few days of our new lives in Panama. Still, there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t have another adventure. There certainly aren’t as many as those early days, but still it is a mighty big learning process. My Spanish vocabulary is not growing like it should be, but my brain just can’t handle all the new things we experience, all the new things I am learning for my job, the new way of living, all the new people that I meet and trying to remember names, all my new students. Incredible, but fun!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Found out this morning that there is a creek in our neighborhood that has interesting creatures in it. I just saw it as a pretty creek with running water and something to view and enjoy. Guess I will watch my step now. I heard that an 8 foot long alligator has declared it his home. Oh my. Don’t think I will wade in that place.
Wayne has had some rather unique traffic stories to tell lately. He has to come pick me up from school since we just have one car. Granted, school is only about a mile or so from our apartment and you know Janet and walking a mile is like walking across the street. But it is am impossible walk. Anyway, during his trips to and from school, plus several trips into the city, he observed:
1) Traffic lights, stop signs, one way signs and speed limits are mere suggestions. Plus, anyone on a motorcycle or scooter apparently does not have to observe any traffic laws and they can go thru lights and stop signs, go down between lanes of traffic or do just about anything they can to get to their destination sooner.
2) One micro second after a light turns green, people start honking. It is usually starts with about the tenth car in line.
3) If you allow one car to merge in front of you or make a left hand turn as a courtesy, you should expect two or three cars (maybe more) to immediately try and do the same thing.
4) If you linger too long trying to make a left turn into heavy traffic, someone from behind will go right around you and barge into the traffic ahead of you.
Our neighbor related a story that a friend had just gotten their driver’s license, but was rear-ended three times in the first thirty days. I guess she had done an unheard thing, which was to actually slow down when the traffic light had turned yellow. Apparently, drivers around here think that yellow means “speed up” and a light that just turned red means “floor it”.
Had open house at school on Wednesday. This not to be confused with Meet the Teacher night which is later. I must have spoken with over a dozen families and not two were from the same country. This place is truly international.
Had my first two days of school. So far so good. Kids are sweet. Behavior is excellent SO far but hey, isn’t it always those first few days. I am wondering what February will be like here. Obviously everyone won’t be sick with cabin fever, so will that really make a difference?
Went to the “Interior” today (which is considered anyplace in Panama outside of Panama City) after church to meet up with new friends. We drove up several thousand feet into the mountains and had a picnic lunch. It was absolutely beautiful. Pictures simply don’t do it justice. You could catch glimpses of the ocean beyond those mountains that you can only see when the clouds would clear. We had a wonderful time with more new friends, 3 of whom we didn’t meet until today. I can’t express how much fun it is to meet all these new people all the time. Afterward we headed to the Pacific Ocean (only took about 30 minutes) to a small fishing village. People were very very poor and the fish factory there really stunk. It sure was a different side of Panama.
Now back to the never ending job of preparing lessons. Everything being new this year means lots of time learning again and it is fun and challenging.

August 4, 2010

Funny how life got way too full all of a sudden. I know this happens just before the new school year begins, but I am so accustomed to that happening in late August, not the end of July. Let’s see, I had it all organized in Cincinnati. Why did I jump ship and start all over again? When I wake up at 2:00 am and my mind is racing, I do wonder about this adventure. Yet, on the other hand, I am just so excited about all the new challenges. My brain is way too full, but it I having way too much fun, too. I finally figured out how to eliminate the Spanish operating system and now get to spend my evenings reformatting a bunch of netbook computers. It is something to do while watching nothing on TV. Yep, with over 200 channels, reformatting computers is better than what is on TV . I am back to doing a lot of “technical” work that Dave and Kurt had happily taken from me when I was at CHCA. But that is ok.
So, today is day 9 of in-service. It’s a little sad that I wouldn’t have snow days anymore. I hate the snow, but the excitement of a snow day is too much fun. I did find out that I might have an occasional day off that is unexpected. There is a cemetery around the back of the school across a small creek. This makes the school landlocked, which is why the school won’t be able to expand out, only up. But the cemetery is quite old and is known as a “bad guy” cemetery. I guess they have no place to bury the bad guys except at this cemetery. Occasionally, the school may have to close (or a lockdown it happens after school starts) if the police “think” there might be trouble at a funeral. Also, if the police “think” that an excepted riot in the city may cause issues with students being transported to/from school, they may request the school close for the day. It has happened, yet it was almost always a false alarm, but better to be safe. Yes, a different country.
Tried to try to open a bank account today. We went loaded with papers. Panamanian banks are very, very careful about who can open bank accounts because of all the illegal sources of money in this part of the world. We had lots of letters of reference from several of our U.S. banks. We had our passports, driver’s licenses, this and that. BUT, the letters of reference only had Wayne’s name on them (since they were joint accounts we didn’t have both names put in the letters). Apparently, we each need a set of letters with each of names in them. And we didn’t have our marriage certificate with the amazing stamps from the Panamanian Consultate with us. Plus, we needed a letter for a lawyer saying I was working on visa. So, back to gathering more documents. This is nothing like in the U.S. where you can open a bank account in less than thirty minutes and even walk out with a toaster.
We met our new friends Sunday night and dined on the canal. I haven’t noticed the cost of living here to be all that much less, but you can go to a restaurant that is completely outdoors and next to the entrance to the canal (ABSOLUTELY beautiful) and dine very reasonably. We met our friends there at 4:00. After a bit of time, we had to go to the bar to get our own drinks, since the waitress still hadn’t noticed us. (no, it was not busy). Had to stand at the bar for awhile, since there was only one bartender, but then there was only one other customer as well. Finally at 5:30 (90 minutes later, thankfully we weren’t in a hurry), we went to go scout for a waitress. How many times have I mentioned customer service? So we went at 4:00, finally got the bill and paid it at 7:30. Granted, we were having a great time and the evening was very pleasant, so it was OK, but I wouldn’t recommend going there if you are in a hurry! Made me think when we had the CEO of Chick-Fil-A at school talking about customer service. Wonder how he would find employees, if he wanted to expand down here with his restaurants. Or might he revolutionize the country showing what good customer service looks like?

August 1, 2010

Anyone from CHCA reading this will be amazed that I just completed the sixth day of in-service. I would be going nuts if this happened in Cincinnati, and be pacing the library floor. But, so far I am surviving. Why??? Because they feed us very well, there is lots of coffee daily and it is just interesting because it is my first year and things are just so new and very DIFFERENT. I only have three more days of in-service to go. Today, for the first time, things got a little slow and I was doing my normal “not sitting still” routine. But the meetings only last until 11 or 12, so I can survive. We play a lot of “get to know you games” and I am OK with that being that I know no one. Really, the faculty is fun. Lots of laughter, which is really important to me. I met a great new friend that giggles with me. Our husbands are meeting this weekend, so we will see how that works. Wayne is meeting a guy that married a female like me???
I am having tons of frustrations with the technology, but that too I can survive, since Wayne and I are surviving living together in a one bathroom apartment. So all is well. So, I am back to year one of CHCA where I had other duties!!! Lunch duty is ONCE more on the agenda. Hey, I am even cool with that because I will be standing OUTSIDE!!!! Yes, their cafeteria is OUTDOORS!!! Now how cool (or it could be hot) is that! It almost seems like I am back 19 years ago in a new environment with technology that is just on the horizon. I have had a couple teachers approach me really wanting to get into it, yet they just don’t know how.
We finally got our car! After purchasing it TWO weeks ago, we got it. Wayne returned the rental car, went to the car lot early and then just SAT there until the promised time the car would be available. There was a worry that today’s delivery promise would turn into mañana. He made sure he sat outside in plain sight, so everyone could see beads of sweat on his head and his sweat soaked shirt and hopefully feel sorry for him and get the dog-gone process complete. No one is in a hurry here UNLESS they are behind the wheel of a car. I got the guts to take the car on a “test” drive last night at 7:30 PM in our local neighborhood where there were few cars around. I did not have the guts yet to drive it to school, since you have to be on a busy road (even though it is less than a mile). Perfect walking distance, but the shoulder of the road to get there is totally unwalkable, being right on the edge of the jungle and a very busy road.
Saturday we enjoyed a long stroll along the water at the entrance to the canal. Great breeze and beautiful scenery. I am quite sure that will be even more enjoyable in February. Or will I be sad that I am not having a snowday?