December 23, 2010

It was one of those days that people in California can have, but not in Ohio. We were on a mountain top overlook, wishing for a jacket, then we were on the hot sandy beach only 30 minutes later. So easily is it forgotten how beautiful Panama can be once you leave the city and traffic. What an amazing view though. In the background, you can see the beach we were headed to. One of my friends led us to a beautiful remote unspoiled beach that the developers haven’t gotten a hold of yet. We had a fabulous day playing in the ocean and sand. However, the last half mile approach to the beach I could have walked three times as fast as it took us to drive. The recent massive rains have created roads that are practically impassible with potholes. Wonder if those roads are on anyone’s agenda to be repaired anytime soon?

December 21, 2010

My daughter in law and granddaughter are here enjoying history in Panama. We were told that Panama can lose its electricity, internet and trash collection, but there is never a water problem because of the Panama Canal. Yet, last night we lost our water and to boot we had family visiting. This remarkably occurred during historical rainfalls and flooding. Granted, other parts of the city were without water, but never this area. All areas around the school had no water, yet the school did. So we did have school and all of us (teachers and students) were there dirty with greasy hair. Another adventure! Never in the past twenty years has that happened. Wayne took the girls to the “other side” of town that had water to go shopping. Thankfully, all was fine when we got back home.
Our boys got here on Friday. Now we are doing the touring thing. Posted some pictures of my granddaughter harassing the pigeons in an historical area of Panama and on the beach, which is just about 20 minutes away. Lorelai enjoyed the sand while the boys enjoyed the beer.
When Wayne and I arrived, we had no gas and lost our electricity that first week. Now, the girls arrive and we lose our water. We wondered what would happen when then boys got here. It was the horrible traffic. One of the only two bridges crossing the canal is closed due to the recent flooding. So, the usually bad traffic in Panama City just got worse. Always an adventure down here!!

Merry Christmas Blog

Merry Christmas to EVERYONE
Being that the ability to send cards this year is totally impossible, we are putting our Christmas wishes on the blog. And we aren’t really writing that “what we have done this year note” since the blog has more than enough updates than probably anyone cares to know. But, WHAT an experience this has been. Who would have ever thought that the decision to come to Panama would result in such an incredible adventure? We, so far, have enjoyed ourselves beyond imagination. Our one regret is that we miss our family and friends. Yet, thankfully we have the computer and the phone to keep in touch. Interestingly enough, we do NOT miss any of our “stuff” we had in Cincinnati.
But OUR Twelve day of Christmas from Panama:
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true Lord gave to me:
12 traffic jams within a mile
11 government bureaucrats not solving a problem
10 (10,000) new animals, birds, flowers to enjoy (plus as many new friends)
9 new experiences (every week)
8 new places to visit and enjoy (every week)
7 days of heavy downpours (in 4 days)
6 new Spanish words to commit to memory (unfortunately, not every day though)
5 taxis running a red light
4 ships in the canal
3 fried chicken dinners in one day
3 monkeys and sloths in the tree outside our back patio to watch (yes, this is three again, because there are not enough days in the song)
2 people trusting God enough to take a big risk
1 babe in Bethlehem
Our family wishes you and your family the best Christmas and may God richly bless your lives in the upcoming year.
Merry Christmas and Many Blessings,
Wayne, Janet, and Ace

December 12, 2010

One of the biggest holidays in Panama was Wednesday, Mother’s Day. They celebrate Mother’s Day on the 8th of December as a national holiday and the country closes down. Thus, a day off from school. Would have been really great except it started raining Tuesday about 10:00 pm and rained all night, and all day Wednesday (did someone tell me the dry season started??). Sometimes it poured, sometimes it was heavy, sometimes the skies opened up. Amazing!! Absolutely amazing! Still warm. At one point, I just had to go out and walk even though it was raining. Kinda nice really if you don’t mind getting soaked. But, we figured it was “just” the tropics, except that we found out the Panama Canal was closed due to flooding and it was the first time it has been closed in 20 years. Guess it really WAS a lot of rain. So all schools throughout the country were closed for Thursday as well. Tough for high school kids as final exams begin next Tuesday. Really, like any of the kids cared?
We were warned. We were warned that if you wanted normal sliced bread during the holiday season you couldn’t get it during Christmas. I guess all the bakeries stop production and only make this wreath bread (a sweet bread) for the holidays. So we went to a store today (the 8th) to get some and put it in the freezer for our company. I figured the 8th was probably way too early and I hate to freeze bread. But the shelves in the major grocery store we went to were completely void of normal bread. There were piles of this Christmas wreath bread in 2 pound, 5 pound, 10 pound packages! But doubt that ham and cheese would be all that tasty on it. So hopefully PriceSmart (Costco) has some this weekend. Who would have thought on the 8th! Oh well, can’t say I wasn’t warned.
We haven’t had our air conditioner on now for the past week. Even my neighbor said it was the coldest here that she ever remembers and she was born and raised here. Really, very pleasant. All the windows opened, still in shorts, but sometimes I need to put on a T-shirt with sleeves (rather than sleeveless). Can’t imagine where you would go to get warmer. We are at sea level and practically on the equator.
Our school had a “civil day” Friday. Since uniforms are required by the government for EVERY school kid in every school, each school is allocated a few “civil days” during the year where they can wear something other than uniforms. So our kids got to wear red and green.
Another interesting school fact. The government will not allow a student to receive a zero on an assignment if he / she turns it in. So a five page essay with nothing on it but an incomplete sentence has to be awarded a grade of a 40 or 50 percent (whatever the school determines). Kids certainly have THAT figured out, but it is government policy.

December 5, 2010

Hummm, maybe the dry season has come? It “should” end sometime in December or so we have heard. But last week, it started raining on Tuesday and just didn’t stop. The rain reminded me of those tropical sound machines you can get. Just a beautiful steady rain. But four days was a bit much. Then it stopped Friday evening all of a sudden, humidity left, winds started blowing steadily and it was drop dead beautiful outside on Saturday. People have told me that was the “sign”. They have also said that after a couple months of the dry season, you really pray for rain, yet it doesn’t come again until May.
We went to a Christmas tree decorating party Friday night. It was the first time I have ever done that in shorts and sandals. I must admit, it was great. Then to wake up and see the “gadget” on my computer saying the weather was cold and snowy in Cincinnati, it had to make me smile.
After church today, we went exploring trying to find places to take the kids when they come in a couple of weeks. We took a few hikes through the jungle. The jungle never ceases to amaze me. The beauty of it is overwhelming. Did spot one monkey, although it was a small one. I was anxious to come because I would live so close to the beach. Now, the jungle is what I find so fascinating.

November 28, 2010

There is an empty lot in our neighborhood and people are building a house. Available lots are VERY difficult to come by, because so much of the land is “protected jungle” as a watershed for the canal. So needless to say, it is beautiful to see all the jungle, but the price of even a tiny piece of land is out of sight. Anyway, the pictures attached show what I guess is their answer to not renting a porta potty for the time the house is being built. One day, we saw a toilet installed where the sewer pipes were, the next day the pieces of wood surrounding it. Now really, I do hope they put wall up before anyone uses it. So far, haven’t seen a workman “visit” what is there.
Went to dinner last night with some friends. They have previously lived in Taiwan, Africa, Ecuador and now Panama. So we, as typical of our conversations, are marveling about how the people drive like crazy people here! Our friends, on the other hand, tell us how “sane” the drivers are compared to other parts of the world! All about perspective, I guess. But even Wayne has started looking at the 8 sided signs that say “ALTO” (STOP) and just slowing down. There is fear that if he actually did stop, he would be rear-ended for doing something so unexpected. I have yet to see anyone actually STOP at one of them unless absolutely necessary (like a big bus coming into the intersection). Thankfully, they do stop at the red lights. Or at least they do after several taxis have moved on through.
Have been warned to stay away from the malls for the next month and a half due to the crowds. The mall by our house is bigger than any mall in Cincinnati and they are adding another 100 more stores and a casino to it. Lots of casinos here. Haven’t been to one (don’t really care to go to one), but they are certainly around if one wishes to gamble. Lots and lots of toy stores. Someone told me that the “helicopter” parenting practice actually began in Latin America. Malls in Panama have many more toy stores than most malls I have been in. Many people are dragging suitcases on wheels around with them while shopping. My first thought was there must have been a big sale on luggage, until lately I have discovered, they buy so much during their shopping trips that they need a suitcase. Maybe, some of them come from the interior and only shop occasionally. Guess you have to make do, if you have no car and must take the bus or taxi everyplace. Wonder what people do with all their “stuff”. Homes are “tiny” and haven’t see those storage units that are everyplace in the US, yet.
Speaking of storage units. There are motels here that are called “push buttons”. I thought they might be a storage unit when we passed one, but they aren’t. You drive up, look for an open “garage door”, pull your car in, close the door, and then pay through an automatic machine for a hotel room for a certain number of hours. You go into your hotel room directly from the garage. Later, you will get a call when your time is up, so you either pay more or get out. You can have food or drinks delivered via a “dummy waiter”, so you won’t be seen if you wish. Guess you can figure out what these rooms might be for, but one of the gals that I met that grew up here said it also was a place for high school kids to go drink.
Flowers are blooming here every day. Guess the end of the rainy season brings out more of God’s beauty. The ones in the pictures just came out right by our apartment. I look at them at the end of November with amazement.

November 26, 2010

Messed up my knee again, which is typical for me. So, I went to a store to try to find a knee brace. Found one that would work, but the package had a large label that said “Knee Warp” (not wrap). I guess the packaging company made a BIG error in the development of the package and they then decided to sell the product in a country where people likely don’t understand enough English to know the difference.
November is the “Independence Holiday” month in Panama. One holiday is for Panama’s independence from Columbia, another for a “Call to Freedom”, yet another for their freedom from Spain. Apparently, there were many parades (again, parades are very popular here) in which all the school children and teachers marched (all the public school children and teachers, that is). The president of Panama expressed his indignation at private schools for their absence from these parades. So now, he wants to force all kids and teachers of private school (i.e. international schools) to march next year as well. So the Ministry of Education is working on regulations that will require all private school students and teachers to participate in the parades in order “to encourage civic sentiment”. If they don’t, then those schools will not have their diplomas recognized by the government. Hummm, wonder how that will play out??
People shovel snow from their sidewalks in the states, down here we have seen folks power wash their sidewalks. Guess you don’t realize how dark they can get with mold and crud because of all the tropical rains. Goodness, there is a difference between before and after. When it is raining, they can be a little slick, at least to run. I certainly can’t run anymore with bad knees, but Wayne can. And the chance of getting caught in the rain is pretty high, but with the heat, it is actually inviting. However, we wish everyone washed their sidewalks, but like in the states, just “some” shovel them and down here in Panama, just some power wash.
Guess we had probably the most interesting Thanksgiving Day of our lives. I had to get up at my regular time and go to WORK!!! Our school only had a half day of school, then at 1:00 (when the kids got out), the church/school served turkeys, while the rest of staff brought side dishes. We had a marvelous Thanksgiving meal and gathering that lasted most of the afternoon. We could have attended another dinner at 4:00, but were way too stuffed and tired to do the food thing again. Came home and put on my shorts and sleeveless top and went for a pleasant walk instead. How great is that for November 25th. However, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), there is no Black Friday mania in Panama.
Ended the evening with a SKYPE vist from our adorable granddaughter! Can't wait to see her in just a couple weeks. Great day even with working!