March 4, 2012

Dry season is still here. Can’t remember seeing everything so dry, but we are still enjoying it. Occasionally, we go out onto our balconies and find lots of ash that has landed from fires in the interior. Now, last week, we actually saw a fire nearby. It was in the jungle just up the street from us, so we took a walk and watched it for awhile. Unbelievable. I have never been in a forest fire, so this had to be the biggest fire that I have ever seen. Just the noise from the fire was incredible. But there were plenty of firemen, forest fire fighters (so their uniforms said), lot of spectators, and people behind their homes wetting everything down with garden hoses. Later, we found out that the fire was likley set on purpose to thin out the jungle. It is interesting to notice the jungles appear much thinner because the grass and underbrush has dried up so much. You can actually see into the jungle some.
But, with absolutely not a drop of rain since before Christmas, you can only imagine how dry the jungle gets when it normally gets inches a day of rain. Someone told us that it won’t be long before the canal is complaining of a lack of water to work the locks. However, we are so enjoying this weather. Low humidity, strong breezes and no mold. The middle of the day is so hot when in the sun, but early morning walks and evening walks are absolutely delightful. Trees have dropped their leaves, but strangely, beautiful flowers have popped out all over the place.
We just noticed Thursday that another brand new private school is opening in our little town. This one is a British school with a “British” curriculum. Private schools are every place around here. Then, another IB private school is opening right across the canal from our neighborhood. Only the very poor put their children into the public schools. It is very sad for a country with a booming economy to put very little money into their public schools, or so it seems from our perspective. I do know one gentleman from our church that teaches in a public school. He teaches in a rather middle class neighborhood, but the school has few students. The parents in that particular neighborhood have enough money to put their children in private schools.
I met a gentleman a couple of weeks ago that has been talking with me about hopefully placing some computers into a town in the interior. Apparently, once a child finishes 6th grade, he can go to high school if he takes a long bus ride into the nearest “big city”. The bus costs a dollar each way and the kids can be on the bus for well over an hour. Being that someone in the interior may only make 7 dollars a day, that cost is a big part of the family’s salary. Also, they usually need their older child at home to work. So maybe computers in a supervised location nearby could help remedy the situation, if a kid was motive to get school online. I don’t know if Panama City is 2nd or 3rd world, but the interior is certainly 3rd world. The gap between the rich and the poor is wide.

February 25, 2012

This past week was Carnival here in Panama as well as in the rest of the world. I suppose in the states it is rarely noticed, except for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Here it is a HUGE DEAL. I guess the country basically parties for four days and everyone gets drunk. So we decided to escape, since I had a week off school. Apparently, many of the locals in the Panama City escape to the interior and party (ie LOUD music and beer). I think the locals think that everyone in the world wants to listen to their music and they play it loud enough that you really have no choice. Anyway, everything is closed down on Tuesday, and then doesn’t open again until noon on Wednesday so people have a chance to sleep it off.
The government pays their employees monthly. But, there is what is called a 13th month pay check, which means that three times during the year (April 15, August 15 and Dec 15), the government pays out an equivalent of a “13th month” of pay (1/3 at a time). While the next payment was to come in April, the government decided to pay their workers this past Thursday. The new school year begins this coming Monday (for the local schools, not the international ones, since we are on the USA schedule). Anyway, the government figured people needed to purchase the school uniforms and supplies. But, they were wise enough to NOT give the money until after Carnival!
Another story I heard from a cab driver this week is how REALLY special a child’s 15th birthday party is. Many kids go on trips (without parents, but with chaperones) outside the country. Some go on island vacations, others to the states. It is a BIG deal. But, many parents cannot afford this and consequently have to take loans to pay for everything. Come on, this is for a 15th birthday party. Some forego the trip to host a huge party (like a wedding reception) for family and friends. Again, at 15?????
To avoid the chaos of Carnival, we went to St. Martin in the Caribbean for the week. Beautiful island with our favorite beach. The coolest part was that it was “just” a two hour direct flight from here. No more spending the day trying to get there worrying about connections and flight delays because of snow! It was fun to be in another culture (French) for the week. But the French, even though we couldn’t speak it, at least tried to speak English. That is so unlike here in Panama, where no one tries to speak English. Granted, it IS a Spanish speaking country and I need to learn the language, but few Panamanians even attempt to communicate in English. Apparently, when the USA left some 20 years ago after turning over the canal, English was pretty much outlawed. It wasn’t allowed to be taught in the schools, no one was to speak it, they just wanted to eliminate it completely. Then, they realized it was terrible for tourism and international business, so now are trying to bring it back. Meanwhile, an entire generation can’t understand or speak English.
Also pictured is the FULL MOON party. The park in my neighborhood has this beautiful gigantic tree that I have shown pictures of before. But once a month (at the full moon), they have a drum concert under the tree. We went for the first time a couple weeks ago. Some guy was chanting, most everyone brought either a drum or a 5 gallon plastic bucket to pound on. Beer was a dollar, soft drinks $1.50!!!! One of the biggest paella pans I have ever seen was being cooked over an open fire. Pretty cool. Plus, as if on cue, a huge full moon slowly rose on the horizon.
On the sports front, Lance Armstrong was here two weeks ago. There was a Half Iron Man triathlon in the city. He was here competing and came in 2nd place. All we saw from the triathlon was even more traffic jams. Generally on Sunday, traffic is light, but not that Sunday.

February 5, 2012

Always something interesting down here. This week, it is street riots again. Apparently in the interior several hours from here, there is an indigenous tribe that is rather upset about some mining that is going on. So they decided to protest in the way they know how. That is to gather together on the Pan American highway (the only road from Panama to Costa Rica) and block the road. This road closure effectively cuts Panama in half. The government (so we have heard) really doesn’t know what to do, because if they go in and force them to stop with riot police, they will be given a bad name for demeaning the tribal people. So they decided to just wait it out and allow everyone to get mad and stop it themselves. So the people living closer to Costa Rica can’t get supplies from Panama City that they need (gasoline, etc.) Panama City is not getting the produce that is grown in that part of the country. And people and tourist traveling back and forth obviously can’t get to where they want to go. Traffic is backed up for miles in both directions. The highway has been closed now for five days and counting, it is crazy! The government actually leased a plane that is flying back and forth to form an air “bridge”. Also, the local Panamanian airlines have doubled their service to that side of the country. Many thought this would over within 24 hours, since most of these riots generally don’t last very long. It is just too sunny / hot, too rainy, too whatever. However, this one is not ending. Blocking roads is one of the only ways for people to get their opinion know. Apparently, some truckers are in sympathy and have blocked some of the roads going into Costa Rica. Glad that I am where I am and not traveling to that part of the country right now.
Last week, I was in the states for an educational technical conference in Orlando. It was strange for me to be in a place where I didn’t have difficulty communicating. But on the other side of the coin, I had no challenge. I think that I really enjoy living here in Panama and having the challenge of trying to survive. Yes, it is difficult, but I feel like I have been successful when I get my point across and communicate successfully.

January 22,2012

This is our first “real” dry season. La Nina kind of cancelled it last year, so the experience is certainly interesting. It poured and poured with rain for four days in December, just prior to Josh arriving. We were somewhat concerned, since all activities we had planned were out of doors. But the day he arrived, the rain just suddenly stopped. That was it. No more rain now for a month and we have 3 to 4 more months to go. This is considered “summer” time in Panama. Daily weather is 70 for a low and a high of 94. Much lower humidity, windy, just a few clouds, and zero rain in the forecast. If you go out in the morning before it gets too sunny or if you venture out around sundown, it is totally amazing. Parks are filled with people, cricket matches, picnics, soccer games, dog walkers, baseball and even an occasional American football game. Pictured are fall-like leaves dropping to the ground and there is no concern of snow just around the corner. The lake across the street from us is now totally dry. The ground is beginning to crack. The luscious green grass is drying up. The jungle starts thinning out. I can’t imagine what it will be like without rain for several more months. I guess, from what I hear is that toward the end of the dry season, there can be large fires in the interior with the winds carrying smoke and ash into the city. Time will tell!

January 16, 2012

Just when you think there is absolutely NO way the weird experiences and adventures that happen here can possibly continue, you have a week packed full of weird things. And this was the week. From traffic to doctor’s appointments to driving to eating to exploring new places to language difficulties. These adventures just seems to go on and on and on! So I decided this week I just had to take a chance and get out into the horrible traffic. I drive around near where we live, but never down in the city with all the road construction, crazy drivers, people that make four lanes out of two lane roads, others that make a left hand turn on red from the far right lane. But I just had to give it a try. So I went to visit a friend on the other side of town and from there, I had to go to the doctor’s office. It “should” have been a simple three right hand turns, then a left to get me to my destination. But with the roads as they are, it just isn’t that simple. Needless to say, I missed one of the turns and ended up several miles from where I meant to go. So I tried to find a place to park (impossible) along the street and eventually found a private parking lot that you had to get a ticket to enter. Fortunately, there was an empty spot. Got parked and called Wayne to see if he might be able to figure out where I was. Since the only landmarks I saw were banks (but then there must be a million of them here), I had to get out and walk a couple of blocks to actually find a street sign. Wayne finally figured out where I was and directed me back in the right direction. I mean, who could I ask on the street? Can’t even say “lost” in Spanish. Something tells me I should pay a little more attention to where Wayne drives, since he seems to be able to maneuver around the city pretty well now. The one good thing is that traffic here usually moves at a snail’s pace with all this construction mess and lots of car, so that helps.
And to top it all off, we are experiencing our first “dry” season, since it never really happened last year. NOW, I understand the word “paradise”. The weather is wonderful, less humid and sunny every day. And you know it will be exactly the same amazing incredible weather until sometime in April or May when the rains once again start. I am just so glad that I getting to experience it. I love it.
Yesterday I met with the group of ladies that I go to lunch with once a month. We had a rather unique experience this month and went to the new Trump Towers in Panama City to eat. Talk about a decadent place! Prices for the condos are upwards to $2.5 million. I guess it is the first Trump building to be built outside of the USA. And it is one of the tallest, if not the tallest building in Panama. What a beautiful place. It was so much fun. Funny story though, I guess Donald himself came to Panama for the official opening last July. However, we were having one of our massive rainstorms, the streets by the towers flooded and his SUV go stranded in the flooded streets right in front of this place where you can buy a 2.5 million dollar condo. OK, so the infrastructure still isn’t the best.

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