January 7, 2012

I have mentioned in earlier blogs about the horrible educational system down here in the public schools. Well, now is the “dry” season, also called “summer” from December until early March. Public schools are not in session. So, a local article mentioned that while the students are off for summer, 69 percent of them are attending “remedial summer school”. The article went on to mention that it was 11 percent better than last summer when 80% had to go during the summer. They are there because they fail too many subjects in the normal school year.
My last week of vacation has been an interesting week for me. We have been trying to get in all those annual doctor appointments that we haven’t done since living here. We are sure to get a doctor that speaks great English (easy to find), but seemingly no one, absolutely NO ONE that works with that doctor does. That includes receptionists, nurses, technicians, etc. I had a Panamanian friend go with me to get my mammogram, because there was no way I would have figured that out with my lovely game of charades. And getting to the hospital was an event in itself. My friend has lived here in Panama forever and has certainly learned to drive just like the locals. My always very low blood pressure probably skyrocketed. But hey, we were safe, she knew where she was going and she knew how to drive. I can’t imagine ever getting that good at driving around here. After driving in the Midwest, I would let everyone in front of me like a typical really nice Midwesterner and be rear ended all the time. AND I would actually stop at stop signs. We really don’t see many more fender benders than we did in Cincinnati, though. Most accidents aren’t too bad because you are generally going pretty slow due to all the traffic.
My most fun moment this week though was when I went into my Chinese product market that I go to a couple times a week. It is a little hole-in-the-wall place and the lady that runs it is sweet as can be. Initially, I told her she needed to speak to me in English, but she should also use Spanish, so I could practice. So, yesterday we got through the entire transaction with her speaking Spanish VERY SLOWLY and me being able to understand and respond. She was so happy when we were done that she gave me a HIGH FIVE and the other two employees started applauding! Now that was fun. Just baby steps … just baby steps.

January 1, 2012

Copy the link below and put it into your browser. See where I live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=936GmAf1SS4&feature=player_embedded

December 31, 2011

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog. We were so excited about the fact our son was coming to Panama. Needless to say, I was worried because the Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun before he came, it RAINED. It rained all day, it rained all night, it rained between rains. IT RAINED. We had all these activities planned for him and it was pouring. Many times, I mentioned that I never missed my morning walks because of rain, but with these four days, I missed my walks in the morning. Anyway, Josh came on Monday and it was beautiful. And it hasn’t rained since. So, being told the rain just suddenly stops when the dry season must be true. Now, it is hot and windy during the day and beautiful and dry at night. Much lower humidity. It is just so strange. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time with Josh and were really sad to see him return to the states.
Strange things have happened in our “foreign country” in the past few weeks. Went to a concert downtown a couple of weeks ago. . Driving home was a nightmare. 6:00 pm and massive amounts of people everywhere in town. Everyplace you looked there were crowds like I’ve never seen. The once four lane main highway going through town was reduced to two lanes, since the two outer lanes had become parking places! There was a Christmas parade that day. We thought the parade would be over by 6:30, since it is getting dark by then, but not so. Then we get home and read on the internet where NO ONE was going to be at the parade this year since they were all at home in front of their TV sets watching the return of Noriega. Could have fooled me! Then apparently there was another parade of sorts with big balloons last week (similar to the Macy’s parade). We were at the beach and had no clue, but apparently there were so many people there that the public transportation couldn’t handle the crowds and it was total chaos.
Then today (after Christmas), we met a friend at the mall (an interior decorator that is helping me with the apartment). For security sake, you cannot take packages or bags into a store. Well, the lines must have been 30/40 deep to check your prior purchases at the store entrances before going in. Why would anyone WAIT in those lines? But most that go to the malls don’t have cars, so really there is no other option. By the way, our huge, nearby mall just opened another dozen new stores. That entire section of the mall is beginning to look JUST like Kenwood Mall. They have Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, Crocs, Gap, etc etc. And this is a FOREIGN country???? Go figure??? So life goes on in this place. It is interesting. It is unique. It is crazy. But we are taking a risk and that is pretty cool!

By the way, Josh and I met Santa on the beach. Strange he was on the beach Christmas day, seems as though he would be tired. But he certainly had a cup full of beverage.

Merry Christmas 2011

Another year has gone by. And so quickly, too. Here we came to Panama for a year as an adventure and decided to make it our home for the time being. We have given up all of our “stuff” in the states to live in a third world country. But one can’t beat the adventures we have had and we pray that we continue to have. All the materialist stuff just doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Very few things that we gave away we have missed or wished we had them back. Right now, I think we are seeing things this year we just missed last year because we were always with that “deer in the headlights” look. There was just too much to comprehend. Now we can walk and notice the flowers, the birds, the sights. Unfortunately, we still deal with the traffic and the craziness of the drivers. We still deal with the language difficulties, but are working like crazy to resolve that. Meeting new friends is always fun, but losing those friends when they return to the states or whatever country they are from is not fun.
But here we are, God is good. We wish you a terrific Christ-filled Christmas season.

Wayne, Janet, Ace

December 10, 2011

No post for a week. Busy with this and that. We went to the beach last weekend. They have several all inclusive resorts around here on the beach and occasionally I can get coupons for a night or two that make it very, very reasonable to go. It is really nice to go someplace like you see pictured and it is only a two hour drive, not a day’s flight. Anyway, it is one of the very few places in the Americas that you can see the sun rise from the Pacific Ocean. I love the beach, but don’t think I would want to live on the beach. Wonderful place to visit and that I get to do more often than when in Ohio.
Thursday was Mother’s Day here, which is always the 8th of December and a national holiday in Panama. I felt really blessed as I got to hear from two of my boys. Granted, they had NO clue it was Mother’s Day, just a coincidence they called. It was really special, though. All government offices are closed. Schools are closed. Thankfully, the mall wasn’t closed though. I had several things to shop for on my day off.
We think the dry season is almost here. After two days of probably more rain than Ohio sees in a year, the skies cleared, the winds started blowing, and it is beautiful, cool, and low humidity. So strange to see the wet season move out and then all of a sudden it is nice.
The big news here is that Noriega is coming back to Panama after 22 years of being in prison in the U.S. and France. I guess he arrives Sunday and has another two 20 year terms to serve in prison in Panama, but of course everyone is really worried. It is interesting to hear the stories about Noriega that never made the history books, but from people who actually lived through it all. I have had the opportunity to hear stories of his reign from all sides. So protests are being organized this weekend along with some Christmas parades – a odd mix. Traffic will be a nightmare again (like it ever isn’t a nightmare).

December 9, 2011

These are birds I see daily at my place. I can't take credit for taking the pictures though. One of my friends if MUCH better with a much better camera!