Panama Update #17
July 31, 2008
Nikki received an email last night saying that today we had to change apartments in the dormitory to the one upstairs. We had no idea why since the apartments are identical. We went in to the office to ask and we still didn't understand the explanation but the housing director was very insistent we do it. She told us the upstairs apartment is less humid because of the roof of the building. Nikki has to leave town very early tomorrow morning (6:00 AM flight) on a geology field trip so she asked if the move could be delayed until she gets back early next week. The director agreed that it will be OK to delay for a couple of days, so now my job for the weekend while Nikki is gone is to move our stuff. I don't think it will take too long, but I am guessing about a half day. all the packing and moving I did to get ready for the move to Panama, I am not too excited about doing it, but I think it will be pretty easy. There is no furniture to move, simply a lot of personal items and organization. I hope to finish up moving by the end of the day so there will be some time on the weekend to see a movie and try one of the vegetarian restaurants. I also want to go back to the Riba Smith Supermercado when I have more time so I can explore some of the items. We can stay in the studio apartment at the dorm until December 31. Whenever an apartment in the area opens up that we like, we can move out. In the meantime we are only paying $340 a month. It is going on Nikki's bill and she can pay it all at once with a debit card. It is more carefree living in the dormitory but no one seems to understand the reasons why people get switched or how long they can stay. It reminds me again of the Ashram in India. You never knew when you were going to be moved. I guess this is practice in nonattachment. We are starting to realize that finding an apartment in this area is very difficult and you really have to know someone who is moving out to inherit it, so whenever we hear of one we like, we will plan to move.
We also met with someone today from the blank who helps employees with their visa issues. It is all very complicated, but a tourist visa only lasts 90 days, so we would have to leave the country every 3 months to renew it. The other option is applying for a work permit, and someone would help Nikki wade through the forms and make appointments with imigration. I would be a spousal dependent on that kind of visa, but we would not have to leave the country. We will probably end up going with the 90 day tourist visa since the paperwork is much less complicated and Nikki will be leaving the country at least twice for conferences- Houston in October and San Francisco in December. I am already scheduled to join her in San Francisco, and if I joined her in Houston, we would only have to go on one more trip in March to Costa Rica or the Galapagos to renew the visa.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Panama Update #16
Panama Update #16
July 29, 2008
I went to the Colegio Yitzhak Rabin for an interview with the principal at 9:00 AM. It was my second time there this week. It is a small school of 20 students per grade (1-12) with about 240 student in total. About 40% of the students are from the Reform branch and those students take Hebrew during the day. The rest of the students take French. The principal met me at the office right on time. We sat down and she said (in Spanish) that she did not speak English. She asked if we could talk in Spanish. I told her I would do my best. To my surprise, somehow we exchanged all the necessary information and at the end she said that she thought I did a good job. She was able to help me with some of the grammar and vocabulary, but overall it went really well. I still know about the same amount of Spanish as when I came, but I am able to formulate it into sentences better. What I have also improved on is the ability to understand much better. My ear for listening and distinguishing the words has improved. As far as the job, she is looking for full-time, but so far I have decided not to accept full-time. She will let me know on Friday if she can figure something out. I will wait to see what happens at another interview in another school tomorrow. I also got a lead on a school for Chinese Panamanians that is close to here, and I have sent them my Resume an hour ago, so will wait to see if anything happens with that.
July 30, 2008
I arrived early for my interview at Instituto Alberto Einstein so I went into Supermercado Riba Smith in the shopping center Multi Plaza across the street. This is the newest and most expensive mall in Panama City. We had heard that this supermarket has the biggest range of products and it is true. It is huge with all sorts of familiar looking brand names such as the Morning Star Veggie Burgers. They also have a huge cafeteria with a variety of food and other departments such as kitchen utensils and a drug store. I finally found the ant poison I was looking for, which is the first time I have seen it after lookikng in about a dozen different stores. I picked up a couple of items and headed across the street to the school. It was difficult to find the door and once I found it, security was tight. There is a big steel door and they searched me and my bag, and I had to leave my identification card with them when I went in. In the entryway there was metal detector and they make you stand there for a few minutes before they let you in. By the time I wandered around the school with no one to ask for help in finding the human resources, I was starting to lose my patience. The woman from human resources was not very welcoming and asked me to fill out a 3 page application. She would not give out much information about which grade level or subject the job was in. It was not a very good atmosphere, so I ended up leaving without even filling out the application. The best thing about the morning was discovering the supermarket.
The interview I had in the afternoon went surprisingly well. It was with a college that offers ESL classes in the evening and Bachelor Degree classes in the day. The Bachelor's program is associated with Louisville Univeristy in Louisville, KY. They want me to send them my graduate school transcript because I may qualify to teach psycholgy classes in the day school. The pay for teaching a 40 hour class is $1200, which for Panama is good. They will probably call me back for another interview. So far this is the closest thing I have found to what I was looking for- teaching adults and part-time. I will probably know more in the next week or so.
Getting home from that interview took about 2 hours. It was right in the middle of rush hour and it started raining, so every taxi was filled with people and the competition to get one was fierce. When a taxi here stops for you, they roll down their window and you are supposed to shout out what section of town you are going to. They then decide if they will take you or not, based on which part of town they are heading to. I tried for a while to find one, but it was too much of a mess, so I relaxed under the roof of a bus stop (those were crammed too) until it slowed down a bit and some taxi driver took me in. That was my first time being downtown in the rush hour, so maybe that is normal.
July 29, 2008
I went to the Colegio Yitzhak Rabin for an interview with the principal at 9:00 AM. It was my second time there this week. It is a small school of 20 students per grade (1-12) with about 240 student in total. About 40% of the students are from the Reform branch and those students take Hebrew during the day. The rest of the students take French. The principal met me at the office right on time. We sat down and she said (in Spanish) that she did not speak English. She asked if we could talk in Spanish. I told her I would do my best. To my surprise, somehow we exchanged all the necessary information and at the end she said that she thought I did a good job. She was able to help me with some of the grammar and vocabulary, but overall it went really well. I still know about the same amount of Spanish as when I came, but I am able to formulate it into sentences better. What I have also improved on is the ability to understand much better. My ear for listening and distinguishing the words has improved. As far as the job, she is looking for full-time, but so far I have decided not to accept full-time. She will let me know on Friday if she can figure something out. I will wait to see what happens at another interview in another school tomorrow. I also got a lead on a school for Chinese Panamanians that is close to here, and I have sent them my Resume an hour ago, so will wait to see if anything happens with that.
July 30, 2008
I arrived early for my interview at Instituto Alberto Einstein so I went into Supermercado Riba Smith in the shopping center Multi Plaza across the street. This is the newest and most expensive mall in Panama City. We had heard that this supermarket has the biggest range of products and it is true. It is huge with all sorts of familiar looking brand names such as the Morning Star Veggie Burgers. They also have a huge cafeteria with a variety of food and other departments such as kitchen utensils and a drug store. I finally found the ant poison I was looking for, which is the first time I have seen it after lookikng in about a dozen different stores. I picked up a couple of items and headed across the street to the school. It was difficult to find the door and once I found it, security was tight. There is a big steel door and they searched me and my bag, and I had to leave my identification card with them when I went in. In the entryway there was metal detector and they make you stand there for a few minutes before they let you in. By the time I wandered around the school with no one to ask for help in finding the human resources, I was starting to lose my patience. The woman from human resources was not very welcoming and asked me to fill out a 3 page application. She would not give out much information about which grade level or subject the job was in. It was not a very good atmosphere, so I ended up leaving without even filling out the application. The best thing about the morning was discovering the supermarket.
The interview I had in the afternoon went surprisingly well. It was with a college that offers ESL classes in the evening and Bachelor Degree classes in the day. The Bachelor's program is associated with Louisville Univeristy in Louisville, KY. They want me to send them my graduate school transcript because I may qualify to teach psycholgy classes in the day school. The pay for teaching a 40 hour class is $1200, which for Panama is good. They will probably call me back for another interview. So far this is the closest thing I have found to what I was looking for- teaching adults and part-time. I will probably know more in the next week or so.
Getting home from that interview took about 2 hours. It was right in the middle of rush hour and it started raining, so every taxi was filled with people and the competition to get one was fierce. When a taxi here stops for you, they roll down their window and you are supposed to shout out what section of town you are going to. They then decide if they will take you or not, based on which part of town they are heading to. I tried for a while to find one, but it was too much of a mess, so I relaxed under the roof of a bus stop (those were crammed too) until it slowed down a bit and some taxi driver took me in. That was my first time being downtown in the rush hour, so maybe that is normal.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Pictures from Panama 7 (canal)
Ship passing by where we were working.
Daniel with ship in the background.
Daniel with ship in the background.
Daniel ready to work (faking it for the picture)
Nikki exiting the truck she drove and starting her day's work.
Panama Update #15
Panama Update #15
July 28, 2008
Today I got a chance to go to the field with Nikki and some of her work group for the first (and probably only) time. Most of the volunteer work I will be doing will be office work, but to go once and see the canal close up is a worthwhile experience. Nikki drives the group, so she is already used to driving in Panama City. They leave around 6:00 AM so they can beat the traffic (and the heat), and also they are going out of town so the traffic is less. You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but they go to an area of the canal that is highly restricted and secure. The blank has arranged special permission to go the areas of the canal that they are going to widen. First the canal workers dynamite the area, and then Nikki’s group goes in to take measurements, samples, and observations of what they call the outcrops. You can see by the pictures that it is like looking at the banks of the St. Croix or the Mississippi River, only this body of water is human-made. Can you imagine all the work it took when they were building the canal to clear the area? They went through a process similar to what is happening now, using dynamite and then trucks to clear out the earth.
It is the first time I have been on a geological field site of any kind as a participant. There is a lot of carrying rocks and equipment and also a lot of hammering and very physical work. There is also the finer work of being very careful when they have found some fossil or rock specimen having scientific value. Today Nikki took measurements using a GPS system, brunton (like a compass), and other equipment. It started raining heavily late in the morning for about 20 minutes. The packs and samples had to be covered in plastic or waterproof cases. Once that was done, we all stood under an umbrella, watched the ships, and waited for the rain to stop. I was soaked, but because the temperature is warm, being wet actually feels good. It was overcast the whole day, which helps keep it cool, so the heat was not a problem. We came back about 3:30 PM and dropped off the collected samples.
I heard from two schools this afternoon. One is the Yitzhak Rabin School that I had dropped in on last Friday. The secretary called to say the principal wanted to meet with me. The other school that called was one I had answered an ad form yesterday’s Sunday paper. That school is called the Instituto of Alberto Einstein, which the guidebook says is also a Jewish School. It is located in the expensive part of the downtown area. The human resources person called to set up an interview with me for Wednesday morning. She was unclear about how my lack of a work permit could be figured out, but other schools I have talked to seem to know what to do in those cases.
July 28, 2008
Today I got a chance to go to the field with Nikki and some of her work group for the first (and probably only) time. Most of the volunteer work I will be doing will be office work, but to go once and see the canal close up is a worthwhile experience. Nikki drives the group, so she is already used to driving in Panama City. They leave around 6:00 AM so they can beat the traffic (and the heat), and also they are going out of town so the traffic is less. You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but they go to an area of the canal that is highly restricted and secure. The blank has arranged special permission to go the areas of the canal that they are going to widen. First the canal workers dynamite the area, and then Nikki’s group goes in to take measurements, samples, and observations of what they call the outcrops. You can see by the pictures that it is like looking at the banks of the St. Croix or the Mississippi River, only this body of water is human-made. Can you imagine all the work it took when they were building the canal to clear the area? They went through a process similar to what is happening now, using dynamite and then trucks to clear out the earth.
It is the first time I have been on a geological field site of any kind as a participant. There is a lot of carrying rocks and equipment and also a lot of hammering and very physical work. There is also the finer work of being very careful when they have found some fossil or rock specimen having scientific value. Today Nikki took measurements using a GPS system, brunton (like a compass), and other equipment. It started raining heavily late in the morning for about 20 minutes. The packs and samples had to be covered in plastic or waterproof cases. Once that was done, we all stood under an umbrella, watched the ships, and waited for the rain to stop. I was soaked, but because the temperature is warm, being wet actually feels good. It was overcast the whole day, which helps keep it cool, so the heat was not a problem. We came back about 3:30 PM and dropped off the collected samples.
I heard from two schools this afternoon. One is the Yitzhak Rabin School that I had dropped in on last Friday. The secretary called to say the principal wanted to meet with me. The other school that called was one I had answered an ad form yesterday’s Sunday paper. That school is called the Instituto of Alberto Einstein, which the guidebook says is also a Jewish School. It is located in the expensive part of the downtown area. The human resources person called to set up an interview with me for Wednesday morning. She was unclear about how my lack of a work permit could be figured out, but other schools I have talked to seem to know what to do in those cases.
Panama Update #14
Panama Update #14
July 27, 2008
These are some things I have noticed so far after being here a little over 2 weeks:
1. I am spending more time alone and talking less since I don’t know as many people here. I am also writing more, which I have enjoyed.
2. I am spending more time inside than a summer in Minnesota since it is so hot, humid, and rainy. It is similar to a winter in Minnesota, but not quite that much time inside.
3. I have the attitude that this is my home now, rather than feeling I am away from home all the time. This has helped me be open and appreciative to what is here.
4. I like walking up and down the hill that we live on and feel it is keeping me in good or even better shape. I have only been biking once here, but don’t miss it like I thought I might.
5. I am happy that I am already giving 3 yoga classes a week and some biofeedback sessions. I am curious to how else my life will fill out here, so each week brings some surprises. Sometimes I wonder if it is better to accept one of the full-time teaching jobs I have been offered, but I do not want to close myself to other projects I am working on, so we will see what happens.
6. I actually am getting used to the hot and humid weather and learning to like it (as long as there is AC inside).
7. I like taking taxis around and not having to drive.
8. I do not like having to jump in a taxi to do almost any kind of shopping. I am used to being able to walk, bus, or bike from the convenient location where we lived in Minneapolis.
9. I have been pretty patient and not gotten too upset at the sometimes frustrating process of learning to live in a new place. It reminds me of when I lived in an Ashram in India for 3 months and slowly got used to the culture and expanded out more over time.
10. The food has generally been fine and it is easy to find vegetarian, although I am eating more processed food and less organic than I did in Minneapolis.
July 27, 2008
These are some things I have noticed so far after being here a little over 2 weeks:
1. I am spending more time alone and talking less since I don’t know as many people here. I am also writing more, which I have enjoyed.
2. I am spending more time inside than a summer in Minnesota since it is so hot, humid, and rainy. It is similar to a winter in Minnesota, but not quite that much time inside.
3. I have the attitude that this is my home now, rather than feeling I am away from home all the time. This has helped me be open and appreciative to what is here.
4. I like walking up and down the hill that we live on and feel it is keeping me in good or even better shape. I have only been biking once here, but don’t miss it like I thought I might.
5. I am happy that I am already giving 3 yoga classes a week and some biofeedback sessions. I am curious to how else my life will fill out here, so each week brings some surprises. Sometimes I wonder if it is better to accept one of the full-time teaching jobs I have been offered, but I do not want to close myself to other projects I am working on, so we will see what happens.
6. I actually am getting used to the hot and humid weather and learning to like it (as long as there is AC inside).
7. I like taking taxis around and not having to drive.
8. I do not like having to jump in a taxi to do almost any kind of shopping. I am used to being able to walk, bus, or bike from the convenient location where we lived in Minneapolis.
9. I have been pretty patient and not gotten too upset at the sometimes frustrating process of learning to live in a new place. It reminds me of when I lived in an Ashram in India for 3 months and slowly got used to the culture and expanded out more over time.
10. The food has generally been fine and it is easy to find vegetarian, although I am eating more processed food and less organic than I did in Minneapolis.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Pictures from Panama 5 (Miraflores Locks)
These are all pictures taken from the observation deck at the Miraflores locks, which are the first set of locks on the Pacific side of the canal. A huge Japanese ship carrying airplane wings is coming through.
Pictures from Panama 4 (Causeway)
Pictures from our bike ride on the Causeway. Some of the yachts and the Panama City skyline are in the background.
Panama Update #13
Panama Update #13
July 26, 2008
Today (Saturday) we took some time to see a few of the sights around Panama City. In the morning we went to what they call the Calzada (Causeway), which is near the Pacific entrance to the Canal. There is a 2 km long palm tree lined sidewalk for bicycles, joggers, walkers, which connects 4 small islands to the mainland. There are many restaurants along the way and the breeze coming off the ocean feels great. It reminded both of us of Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles. We rented 2 bikes for $5 total per hour and rode all the way to the end, where they have a big, fancy yacht club and an expensive store and hotel development.
After we returned the bikes we took a $6 dollar/25 minute taxi ride to the Miraflores locks. Our taxi driver was Jamaican and spoke English very well. His grandfather came from Jamaica in the early 1900s to work on the canal and married a woman from Panama so his family has been here since then. He has never been to Jamaica himself but you can hear the Jamaican accent when he talks. He asked us if we like to Salsa dance and told us about some night club that he likes. He also loves baseball and talked a lot about Rod Carew and how he was born in the canal zone. He also loves Obama and is very excited about him having a chance to be president.
The Miraflores locks are the easiest and best way to see the canal. It is the first set of locks after ships enter the Pacific side of the canal. It is a beautiful and modern visitor center with a film (in English or Spanish) about the history of the canal, a museum about the history of the canal, and several viewing platforms where you can watch shops come through the locks system. There is also a nice restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet and salad bar for about $11 each. We saw a Japanese ship go through as we were eating that was carrying airplane wings. The ships generally carry grains, petroleum, and containers with all sorts of other products. The principal trade routes that use the canal include: from the U.S. east coast to Asia; the U.S. east coast to west coast of South America; from Europe to the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. The United States, Chine, and Japan are the top 3 countries of origin and destination using the canal.
The canal covers 80 km and has 3 sets of locks with two lanes each. As part of the canal expansion they are adding a new, wider and more efficient lane to two of the sets of locks. They are also widening various other parts of the canal to accommodate bigger ships, which is where Nikki is gathering samples from. The canal opened officially to international trade on August 15, 1914 and since then more than 942,000 vessels have transited the waterway. The bigger ships pay over $200,000 dollars to go through the canal. In 1977, the U.S. and Panama signed an agreement to turn the canal over to the Panamanians and on December 31, 1999 the agreement took effect.
July 26, 2008
Today (Saturday) we took some time to see a few of the sights around Panama City. In the morning we went to what they call the Calzada (Causeway), which is near the Pacific entrance to the Canal. There is a 2 km long palm tree lined sidewalk for bicycles, joggers, walkers, which connects 4 small islands to the mainland. There are many restaurants along the way and the breeze coming off the ocean feels great. It reminded both of us of Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles. We rented 2 bikes for $5 total per hour and rode all the way to the end, where they have a big, fancy yacht club and an expensive store and hotel development.
After we returned the bikes we took a $6 dollar/25 minute taxi ride to the Miraflores locks. Our taxi driver was Jamaican and spoke English very well. His grandfather came from Jamaica in the early 1900s to work on the canal and married a woman from Panama so his family has been here since then. He has never been to Jamaica himself but you can hear the Jamaican accent when he talks. He asked us if we like to Salsa dance and told us about some night club that he likes. He also loves baseball and talked a lot about Rod Carew and how he was born in the canal zone. He also loves Obama and is very excited about him having a chance to be president.
The Miraflores locks are the easiest and best way to see the canal. It is the first set of locks after ships enter the Pacific side of the canal. It is a beautiful and modern visitor center with a film (in English or Spanish) about the history of the canal, a museum about the history of the canal, and several viewing platforms where you can watch shops come through the locks system. There is also a nice restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet and salad bar for about $11 each. We saw a Japanese ship go through as we were eating that was carrying airplane wings. The ships generally carry grains, petroleum, and containers with all sorts of other products. The principal trade routes that use the canal include: from the U.S. east coast to Asia; the U.S. east coast to west coast of South America; from Europe to the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. The United States, Chine, and Japan are the top 3 countries of origin and destination using the canal.
The canal covers 80 km and has 3 sets of locks with two lanes each. As part of the canal expansion they are adding a new, wider and more efficient lane to two of the sets of locks. They are also widening various other parts of the canal to accommodate bigger ships, which is where Nikki is gathering samples from. The canal opened officially to international trade on August 15, 1914 and since then more than 942,000 vessels have transited the waterway. The bigger ships pay over $200,000 dollars to go through the canal. In 1977, the U.S. and Panama signed an agreement to turn the canal over to the Panamanians and on December 31, 1999 the agreement took effect.
Panama Update #12
Panama Update #12
July 25, 2008
This morning I decided to take a taxi out to “Ciudad del Saber”. It used to be called Fort Clayton but now is called City of Knowledge. It is a huge, gated suburban community which houses schools, big houses, parks, and international organizations such as Peace Corp, UNICEF, and the U.S. Embassy. It is on the same side of town where we are staying and since you don’t have to cut across downtown to get there, it is a fairly easy 10-15 minute taxi ride. I went there to see a school called Colegio Isaac Rabin, a K-12 school. It is not bilingual, but they do offer English classes to the students. It is about 40% Jewish students and they learn Hebrew, but the non-Jewish students study French so it is a reform type of school as opposed to the Orthodox Jewish school where I was offered a job previously. I did not make an appointment because their website was down and I could not get any contact information. There was quite a bit of security at the entrance. I introduced myself to the guard in Spanish saying I was a licensed English and math teacher from the United States. I am sure they were stunned to hear that since normally they have to recruit in the U.S. to find a background like that and now someone was showing up at their front door. They searched my bag before I went in and then I waited for a few minutes in the office. They brought the high school coordinator to talk with me since the principal does not speak English. The coordinator was from Israel and then New York so he spoke Spanish, Hebrew, and English. He only had time to talk for a few minutes, but he was interested and said he would get in touch early next week. I mentioned to him about only wanting part-time and he wasn’t real excited about that so we’ll see what happens. I also had a feeling the pay wouldn’t be too good,
but if they call I can find out all about that.
Someone else told me about a Christian school that is relativey close to where we are staying. I looked on line and sent an email. They got back to me right away and asked if I could fill out the on-line application and then they would call next week for an interview. After looking at the application I decided not to apply since you had to sign something that says you uphold the Christian ideals in Luke, verse something. After reading that application it seemed like the school would not be a great fit for me.
In the afternoon I took a taxi to the mall to do some errands and found a store called Nuvey, which is a huge hardware store, about ¾ the size of a Home Depot.
We ate at an Indian restaurant for dinner called Taj Mahal with David and Yasmine, which was about a 20 minute taxi ride from where we live. The food was pretty much like you would find in an Indian restaurant in the U.S. The prices were also similar to what you would find in an Indian restaurant in the U.S., which means they were very high for Panama. The average vegetarian dish was about $12 plus the cost of rice and bread and the meat dishes were in the $15-17 range. I am starting to understand that you can live in Panama for relatively cheap, but you can also spend a lot of money here, depending on the choices you make.
July 25, 2008
This morning I decided to take a taxi out to “Ciudad del Saber”. It used to be called Fort Clayton but now is called City of Knowledge. It is a huge, gated suburban community which houses schools, big houses, parks, and international organizations such as Peace Corp, UNICEF, and the U.S. Embassy. It is on the same side of town where we are staying and since you don’t have to cut across downtown to get there, it is a fairly easy 10-15 minute taxi ride. I went there to see a school called Colegio Isaac Rabin, a K-12 school. It is not bilingual, but they do offer English classes to the students. It is about 40% Jewish students and they learn Hebrew, but the non-Jewish students study French so it is a reform type of school as opposed to the Orthodox Jewish school where I was offered a job previously. I did not make an appointment because their website was down and I could not get any contact information. There was quite a bit of security at the entrance. I introduced myself to the guard in Spanish saying I was a licensed English and math teacher from the United States. I am sure they were stunned to hear that since normally they have to recruit in the U.S. to find a background like that and now someone was showing up at their front door. They searched my bag before I went in and then I waited for a few minutes in the office. They brought the high school coordinator to talk with me since the principal does not speak English. The coordinator was from Israel and then New York so he spoke Spanish, Hebrew, and English. He only had time to talk for a few minutes, but he was interested and said he would get in touch early next week. I mentioned to him about only wanting part-time and he wasn’t real excited about that so we’ll see what happens. I also had a feeling the pay wouldn’t be too good,
but if they call I can find out all about that.
Someone else told me about a Christian school that is relativey close to where we are staying. I looked on line and sent an email. They got back to me right away and asked if I could fill out the on-line application and then they would call next week for an interview. After looking at the application I decided not to apply since you had to sign something that says you uphold the Christian ideals in Luke, verse something. After reading that application it seemed like the school would not be a great fit for me.
In the afternoon I took a taxi to the mall to do some errands and found a store called Nuvey, which is a huge hardware store, about ¾ the size of a Home Depot.
We ate at an Indian restaurant for dinner called Taj Mahal with David and Yasmine, which was about a 20 minute taxi ride from where we live. The food was pretty much like you would find in an Indian restaurant in the U.S. The prices were also similar to what you would find in an Indian restaurant in the U.S., which means they were very high for Panama. The average vegetarian dish was about $12 plus the cost of rice and bread and the meat dishes were in the $15-17 range. I am starting to understand that you can live in Panama for relatively cheap, but you can also spend a lot of money here, depending on the choices you make.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Panama Update #11
Panama Update #11
July 24, 2008
Today I went for an interview at AIP, a highly regarded high school in Panama City. It is a high school for native Panamanians as opposed to the other two top high schools which are international high schools and follow an IB curriculum. It was about a 30 minute taxi ride in light traffic and the driver seemed happy with the $5 I gave him. I asked him if he wanted to wait for me but he declined. After the meeting the secretary for the school called a taxi for me and another one arrived very quickly.
I met with 3 people at the school, all women, including the director of the school. We talked for about 20 minutes and they were very nice, friendly, and easy going. I had put on the application that I was interested in coming in for two days a week, which right away was a problem. I suspected that would be their reaction since I know how school schedules operate. I told them that I had already turned down full-time offers from two other schools because I was looking for part-time only. They said they hire full-time teachers there also, but still asked me what I had in mind. I suggested several things that I could do there such as English and math tutoring. They seemed positive and liked the letter of recommendation that I had brought with me.
After the interview, one of the people took me on a tour of the school. It serves K-12 and has 1100 students and a nice soccer field with bleachers. The gym was also large with bleachers. She said they play soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Between the bleachers and the roof they had open air, which was attractive and good for circulation. She told me that electricity is expensive so they cool it by huge fans set up on one end, as opposed to AC. The students wore uniforms and I asked her about dress policy fo the teachers. She said that what I was wearing (button down shirt with khakis) was OK, but I would have to cut my hair if I wanted to work there. She said the director is very strict about it for the students and expects the same from the teachers. She said that if she ends up calling me, I would have to make the decision to cut my hair if I accepted the job. There is a nice atmosphere at the school and the students seem great, but I would have to decline if they insist on the haircut. Whatever happens, it was still a fun outing for me and I got to see a different part of town.
Last night I discovered various groups on Yahoo where Americans who are living in Panama discuss questions about doctors, moving companies, apartments for rent, etc. I joined a couple of the groups and posted a question about suggestions anyone had for space for giving Yoga classes. I have 3 classes schedued a week here at the blank, but will have time to do more if none of the school jobs come through. Someone has already written back saying we could use her house for a class and asked me to call her. I reached her late in the afternoon and she had a lot of suggestions for me. There are two k-12 schools near her that she said are good schools and would be worth a look. After talking to her for a while longer, it came out in the conversation that she is traveling to Israel for two weeks with her son soon. Her son goes to another Jewish school called Yitzhak Rabin. She was very interested in talking to Nikki (who lived in Israel for 7 years) about the upcoming trip and invited us over for a drink this weekend. We may go if the timing works out. The several thousand Americans down here seem well connected and are very willing to help. They have weekly gatherings at night and luncheons and all sorts of activities which are advertised on the websites.
July 24, 2008
Today I went for an interview at AIP, a highly regarded high school in Panama City. It is a high school for native Panamanians as opposed to the other two top high schools which are international high schools and follow an IB curriculum. It was about a 30 minute taxi ride in light traffic and the driver seemed happy with the $5 I gave him. I asked him if he wanted to wait for me but he declined. After the meeting the secretary for the school called a taxi for me and another one arrived very quickly.
I met with 3 people at the school, all women, including the director of the school. We talked for about 20 minutes and they were very nice, friendly, and easy going. I had put on the application that I was interested in coming in for two days a week, which right away was a problem. I suspected that would be their reaction since I know how school schedules operate. I told them that I had already turned down full-time offers from two other schools because I was looking for part-time only. They said they hire full-time teachers there also, but still asked me what I had in mind. I suggested several things that I could do there such as English and math tutoring. They seemed positive and liked the letter of recommendation that I had brought with me.
After the interview, one of the people took me on a tour of the school. It serves K-12 and has 1100 students and a nice soccer field with bleachers. The gym was also large with bleachers. She said they play soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Between the bleachers and the roof they had open air, which was attractive and good for circulation. She told me that electricity is expensive so they cool it by huge fans set up on one end, as opposed to AC. The students wore uniforms and I asked her about dress policy fo the teachers. She said that what I was wearing (button down shirt with khakis) was OK, but I would have to cut my hair if I wanted to work there. She said the director is very strict about it for the students and expects the same from the teachers. She said that if she ends up calling me, I would have to make the decision to cut my hair if I accepted the job. There is a nice atmosphere at the school and the students seem great, but I would have to decline if they insist on the haircut. Whatever happens, it was still a fun outing for me and I got to see a different part of town.
Last night I discovered various groups on Yahoo where Americans who are living in Panama discuss questions about doctors, moving companies, apartments for rent, etc. I joined a couple of the groups and posted a question about suggestions anyone had for space for giving Yoga classes. I have 3 classes schedued a week here at the blank, but will have time to do more if none of the school jobs come through. Someone has already written back saying we could use her house for a class and asked me to call her. I reached her late in the afternoon and she had a lot of suggestions for me. There are two k-12 schools near her that she said are good schools and would be worth a look. After talking to her for a while longer, it came out in the conversation that she is traveling to Israel for two weeks with her son soon. Her son goes to another Jewish school called Yitzhak Rabin. She was very interested in talking to Nikki (who lived in Israel for 7 years) about the upcoming trip and invited us over for a drink this weekend. We may go if the timing works out. The several thousand Americans down here seem well connected and are very willing to help. They have weekly gatherings at night and luncheons and all sorts of activities which are advertised on the websites.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Panama Update #10
Panama Update #10
July 23
My goal during my time in Panama is to write for one hour a day for the year. So far in two weeks I have reached that goal on every day but one or two. In case anybody is wondering, even if nothing very eventful happens, I plan to write.
The person who hired Nikki down here asked her to send me by his office today so we could meet. He is friendly and helpful. He is originally from Colombia and is well known in the Smithsonian here. Nikki has a lot of respect for him as a scientist. We chatted a bit about how I liked Panama and about what my plans were for my time here. He wants to start a lunch-time yoga class for the auxillary building where he and Nikki have their offices and asked me if I could do something like that. I told him if he could find 6 people who are interested we could set something up.
Nikki was working in her office today and not in the field so we met for lunch at the blank cafeteria. The vegetarian selection was pasta with steamed zucchini and a fresh salad.
My volunteer service started this afternoon. Nikki needed some books from the library so I was trained in how to find them and order them if they are not on site. The people who work in the library are very helpful. It saves her a lot of time since the library is in a separate area from her office building (about 1/2 mile away). They have a great on-site research library here for all the scientists. If a book can't be found here it can be ordered from the Smithsonian in Washington or one of 8000 libraries world-wide. I now have a library card which allows me access to all that. The librarian and I are becoming friends since he is the one who has organized the Yoga classes I am giving and they are held in the Smithsonian after hours. He has a natural curiosity and is very interested in learning as much as he can. We may order mats online and sell them to people at a cost or if it is better to buy them in Panama. I gave him the website of the Minneapolis yoga center where Nikki and I met(http://www.themeditationcenter.org/) and he enjoyed reading about all the summer programs offered there.
ANTS: The only insects I have noticed so far in our apartment are small ants, like the sweet ants in Minnesota. They don't have a good selection of ant poison in the stores, so we are just wiping them up for now. Basically all they have in the stores are sprays, and that is not good for inside. Maybe we can find something on Amazon for that. The outside ants are bigger and build huge ant hills, like the size of bowling balls or bigger. Maybe they need such big ant hills to withstand the daily rains. You see them all over on the sidewalks. The ants are very hard workers and there always seems to be a line of them carrying pieces of leaves or something like that.
July 23
My goal during my time in Panama is to write for one hour a day for the year. So far in two weeks I have reached that goal on every day but one or two. In case anybody is wondering, even if nothing very eventful happens, I plan to write.
The person who hired Nikki down here asked her to send me by his office today so we could meet. He is friendly and helpful. He is originally from Colombia and is well known in the Smithsonian here. Nikki has a lot of respect for him as a scientist. We chatted a bit about how I liked Panama and about what my plans were for my time here. He wants to start a lunch-time yoga class for the auxillary building where he and Nikki have their offices and asked me if I could do something like that. I told him if he could find 6 people who are interested we could set something up.
Nikki was working in her office today and not in the field so we met for lunch at the blank cafeteria. The vegetarian selection was pasta with steamed zucchini and a fresh salad.
My volunteer service started this afternoon. Nikki needed some books from the library so I was trained in how to find them and order them if they are not on site. The people who work in the library are very helpful. It saves her a lot of time since the library is in a separate area from her office building (about 1/2 mile away). They have a great on-site research library here for all the scientists. If a book can't be found here it can be ordered from the Smithsonian in Washington or one of 8000 libraries world-wide. I now have a library card which allows me access to all that. The librarian and I are becoming friends since he is the one who has organized the Yoga classes I am giving and they are held in the Smithsonian after hours. He has a natural curiosity and is very interested in learning as much as he can. We may order mats online and sell them to people at a cost or if it is better to buy them in Panama. I gave him the website of the Minneapolis yoga center where Nikki and I met(http://www.themeditationcenter.org/) and he enjoyed reading about all the summer programs offered there.
ANTS: The only insects I have noticed so far in our apartment are small ants, like the sweet ants in Minnesota. They don't have a good selection of ant poison in the stores, so we are just wiping them up for now. Basically all they have in the stores are sprays, and that is not good for inside. Maybe we can find something on Amazon for that. The outside ants are bigger and build huge ant hills, like the size of bowling balls or bigger. Maybe they need such big ant hills to withstand the daily rains. You see them all over on the sidewalks. The ants are very hard workers and there always seems to be a line of them carrying pieces of leaves or something like that.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Panama Update #9
Panama Update #9
Monday, July 21
I became an official volunteer at the Smithsonian Tropical Reseaerch Institute today. They gave me a badge and it comes with certain privileges. One of the big ones is that you can get in and out of the main gates just by flashing the badge and not having to sign in. That same badge gets you in and out of the office buildings 24 hours a day by simply holding it up to a scanner. You can also check out blank books and use the internet hook-ups in the offices. To become a volunteer you need to find a sponsor and it has to be approved by some department head. You can request to volunteer in any department or location, from helping in the library to assisting in field work. I thought about different options, including giving tours at the marine-life museum, but in the end decided to assist Nikki a couple of hours a week. She has a whole list of activities that she would like me to help her with. She submitted it and it was approved.
Yesterday I sent my resume to the top Panama City high school for native Panamanians. It is called Academia Interamericana de Panama. It is bilingual, but differs from the 2 International High Schools that are here because those schools serve children of international residents of Panama. One of the women who works in Human Resources at the blank has a daughter going there and she gave me the name and website of the schoool. They called me today, which is really quick and totally unexpected. I asked if they had a particular job opening and she said there was no opening now but may be in the future. She wanted to get to know me in person so we arranged to meet on Thursday at 10:00 AM. I have a feeling they want me to teach an English class, which I think would be a nice change from the counseling and math jobs I have had in the past. The only problem I can see right away is that the school is quite a distance from here, at least a 30 minute taxi ride depending on the traffic. I have already turned down 2 full-time math positions in two different schools since I am only interested in finding something part-time. There are other projects I am involved with and full-time would interfere too much with those. I am sure I will have more to say about it after our meeting on Thursday.
In the evening we went to see the movie Batman at one of the local malls. You can see the dubbed in Spanish version or the English version with Spanish subtitles. We found a time that had the English version. The theatre had a large screen and stadium seating. It was not crowded, but about what you would expect for a Monday night. I thought the crowd would be mostly English speakers, but from the listening to the people around us that was not the case.
Tuesday, July 22
We found out that some of the other apartments in our building hire a local cleaning lady to come in once a week. Our little apartment is due for a good cleaning so we looked into it. She was in the building today cleaning another apartment and someone we knew in the building introduced us to her. We brought her into our apartment and described to her in sign language and Spanish what we wanted done. She will also do the laundry in the free machines that are upstairs and shared by the building. The going rate is $15 for the day. We arranged for her first day to be Friday starting at 8:00 AM, so we will see how it goes.
This afternoon I discovered that all sorts of grocery items can be ordered on Amazon and delivered blank at a blank rate since this an blank address like they use for blank and all blank property overseas. They have all sorts of the products we like such as protein bars, shampoo, tea, vitmins, and soaps that we can't find here. We were already contemplating requesting that someone send us certain products, but it looks like that will not be necessary now. Almost any product you can dream of, they seem to have, so we are working on a list.
This evening, from 5:15-6:30, was the first Yoga class that I have given here. We used the library after hours and cleared aside some of the tables. We did a standard Himalayan style class that I am trained in, which emphasizes gentle stretches, diaphragmatic breathing, and guided relaxations. There was loud thunder throughout the class, which I guess was Panama's way of welcoming the Himilayan Style Yoga to their country. As far as I can tell, this style of Yoga is not taught anywhere else here. Sixteen people showed up and I think they liked it, but we will see if they come back again. For people that are used to jumping around more, the class would probably seem pretty slow. But if they feel better and more relaxed at the end, that is priceless. The next class is scheduled for Thursday at the same time.
Monday, July 21
I became an official volunteer at the Smithsonian Tropical Reseaerch Institute today. They gave me a badge and it comes with certain privileges. One of the big ones is that you can get in and out of the main gates just by flashing the badge and not having to sign in. That same badge gets you in and out of the office buildings 24 hours a day by simply holding it up to a scanner. You can also check out blank books and use the internet hook-ups in the offices. To become a volunteer you need to find a sponsor and it has to be approved by some department head. You can request to volunteer in any department or location, from helping in the library to assisting in field work. I thought about different options, including giving tours at the marine-life museum, but in the end decided to assist Nikki a couple of hours a week. She has a whole list of activities that she would like me to help her with. She submitted it and it was approved.
Yesterday I sent my resume to the top Panama City high school for native Panamanians. It is called Academia Interamericana de Panama. It is bilingual, but differs from the 2 International High Schools that are here because those schools serve children of international residents of Panama. One of the women who works in Human Resources at the blank has a daughter going there and she gave me the name and website of the schoool. They called me today, which is really quick and totally unexpected. I asked if they had a particular job opening and she said there was no opening now but may be in the future. She wanted to get to know me in person so we arranged to meet on Thursday at 10:00 AM. I have a feeling they want me to teach an English class, which I think would be a nice change from the counseling and math jobs I have had in the past. The only problem I can see right away is that the school is quite a distance from here, at least a 30 minute taxi ride depending on the traffic. I have already turned down 2 full-time math positions in two different schools since I am only interested in finding something part-time. There are other projects I am involved with and full-time would interfere too much with those. I am sure I will have more to say about it after our meeting on Thursday.
In the evening we went to see the movie Batman at one of the local malls. You can see the dubbed in Spanish version or the English version with Spanish subtitles. We found a time that had the English version. The theatre had a large screen and stadium seating. It was not crowded, but about what you would expect for a Monday night. I thought the crowd would be mostly English speakers, but from the listening to the people around us that was not the case.
Tuesday, July 22
We found out that some of the other apartments in our building hire a local cleaning lady to come in once a week. Our little apartment is due for a good cleaning so we looked into it. She was in the building today cleaning another apartment and someone we knew in the building introduced us to her. We brought her into our apartment and described to her in sign language and Spanish what we wanted done. She will also do the laundry in the free machines that are upstairs and shared by the building. The going rate is $15 for the day. We arranged for her first day to be Friday starting at 8:00 AM, so we will see how it goes.
This afternoon I discovered that all sorts of grocery items can be ordered on Amazon and delivered blank at a blank rate since this an blank address like they use for blank and all blank property overseas. They have all sorts of the products we like such as protein bars, shampoo, tea, vitmins, and soaps that we can't find here. We were already contemplating requesting that someone send us certain products, but it looks like that will not be necessary now. Almost any product you can dream of, they seem to have, so we are working on a list.
This evening, from 5:15-6:30, was the first Yoga class that I have given here. We used the library after hours and cleared aside some of the tables. We did a standard Himalayan style class that I am trained in, which emphasizes gentle stretches, diaphragmatic breathing, and guided relaxations. There was loud thunder throughout the class, which I guess was Panama's way of welcoming the Himilayan Style Yoga to their country. As far as I can tell, this style of Yoga is not taught anywhere else here. Sixteen people showed up and I think they liked it, but we will see if they come back again. For people that are used to jumping around more, the class would probably seem pretty slow. But if they feel better and more relaxed at the end, that is priceless. The next class is scheduled for Thursday at the same time.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Pictures from Panama 3 (Isla Grande)
Views from the top of the tower on Isla Grande.
Double Rainbow.
Entrance to the Chapel by the Sea.
Nikki sitting at the ocean side of the Chapel by the Sea.Daniel in front of beach by our cabana. Statue of Christo Negro in the background.
Boat to Isla Grande.Nikki, Daniel, David, and Yazmin leaving for Isla Grande.
Panama Update #8 (includes Restaurant Review 1)
Panama Update #8
July 20, 2008
We went with another couple, David and Yazmin, to Isla Grande for Saturday night. It is on the other side (Caribbean/Atlantic) of Panama and it took about 3 hours to drive the 75 miles. Twenty minutes into the drive we saw a huge outdoor stadium from a distance and all of us wondered what it was. As we drove by we saw the name on the stadium: Estadio Nacional Rod Carew. I looked it up on-line and found this: Rod Carew was born in a train in the Panama Canal Zone to Panamanian parents, who named him after the delivering doctor - Rodney Cline. He moved to the United States as a teenager. On January 19th, 2004, Panama City, Panama's National Stadium was renamed Rod Carew Stadium. For those of you who don't know (or possibly don't care): He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 8, 1991 by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1999, he ranked Number 61 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
David and Yazmin had already done a trip like this a couple of months ago, so they knew how to rent a car and find the way there. They picked us up at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning and droped us off at 1:30 PM today (Sunday). David is a geology colleague of Nikki’s and Yazmin came with David from Southern California. David grew up in Northfield, Minnesota and has been in Panama City for his post-doc for 3 months. They plan to stay here until December when he starts a job at Florida State University. Yazmin is a bi-lingual (Spanish) graphic artist who does some volunteer work with the blank during her stay in Panama City. David and Yazmin graduated from the Jaula (cage) dormitory where Nikki and I are staying and now have a studio apartment in the area, still close enough to walk to work at the blank. They pay $450 per month and have a working AC and think the hot water will get fixed soon. We haven’t seen the inside of their place yet, but it looks nice from the outside. When they leave in December we could probably take over their apartment, but we would like to get a bigger place since we are expecting some guests in a few months. They have two pet turtles that they will also need to find a home for when they leave.
After arriving in a town called Portobelo, we had to take a 10 minute boat ride to get to the island. According to the guidebook, Portobelo was once the greatest Spanish port in Central America. Gold from Peru and treasures from the Orient arrived in Panama City and were carried by mule to Portobelo (at least 150 years before the canal was built). Portobelo was the target of constant attacks by English “privateers” (I think that means pirates). The island is a small, casual resort town where people from Panama City go to get away from the city for the weekend. We found a cabana style room which cost $60 for one night for the four of us (two double beds). It is about 100 yards away from the beach and many restaurants, where people spend day and night listening to music, cooling off in the water, snorkeling, and drinking/eating. All of us wore goggles and looked at the corral, and David and Jasmine spent quite a bit of time snorkeling. There is a 15 K hiking trail around the island, and you can also walk up a steep hill for 30 minutes through the thick forest to a 20 ft high lookout/lighthouse which is at the highest point on the island. There are astounding views of the sea and surrounding area. We have posted several pictures that we took from the top of the tower. Nikki and I liked the walk so much that we hiked up there on Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning. I liked the hiking better than the snorkeling and I think Nikki liked both equally as well.
Along the hiking trial that goes around Isla Grande, just 10 minutes from where we were staying, Nikki and I discovered a one person hut which sits open-air, right on the edge of the water, facing the sunrise. It is very beautiful and well-made (see pictures), but the door was locked. A sign above the door said the key to open it is available to anyone and can be found in the lobby of one of the near-by hotels. It is called Capilla La Mar (Chapel on the Sea) and has a sign which says “Muchos Religiones and Solo Dios.” Just as we were looking at it we saw a double rainbow overhead.
Vegetarian Cuisine: Restaurant Review 1
July 20, 2008
Restaurant- Villa en Sueno (Village of Dreams)
Location- Isla Grande
For $3 we had a filling and tasty pile of coconut rice and green lentil dahl with a side of cooked carrots, green beans, and some sort of white root vegetable. This item is not on the menu so you will have to ask if the cook can prepare a vegetarian dish of arroz, lentegas, and vegetales cocinados. If the cocinero (or cocinera) says yes- you are in luck! All restaurants on the island seem to have coconut rice and tropical fruit salads available. Many also have listed on their menus french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, green salads, as well as various breakfast options, with and without eggs, in the morning hours.
July 20, 2008
We went with another couple, David and Yazmin, to Isla Grande for Saturday night. It is on the other side (Caribbean/Atlantic) of Panama and it took about 3 hours to drive the 75 miles. Twenty minutes into the drive we saw a huge outdoor stadium from a distance and all of us wondered what it was. As we drove by we saw the name on the stadium: Estadio Nacional Rod Carew. I looked it up on-line and found this: Rod Carew was born in a train in the Panama Canal Zone to Panamanian parents, who named him after the delivering doctor - Rodney Cline. He moved to the United States as a teenager. On January 19th, 2004, Panama City, Panama's National Stadium was renamed Rod Carew Stadium. For those of you who don't know (or possibly don't care): He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 8, 1991 by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1999, he ranked Number 61 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
David and Yazmin had already done a trip like this a couple of months ago, so they knew how to rent a car and find the way there. They picked us up at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning and droped us off at 1:30 PM today (Sunday). David is a geology colleague of Nikki’s and Yazmin came with David from Southern California. David grew up in Northfield, Minnesota and has been in Panama City for his post-doc for 3 months. They plan to stay here until December when he starts a job at Florida State University. Yazmin is a bi-lingual (Spanish) graphic artist who does some volunteer work with the blank during her stay in Panama City. David and Yazmin graduated from the Jaula (cage) dormitory where Nikki and I are staying and now have a studio apartment in the area, still close enough to walk to work at the blank. They pay $450 per month and have a working AC and think the hot water will get fixed soon. We haven’t seen the inside of their place yet, but it looks nice from the outside. When they leave in December we could probably take over their apartment, but we would like to get a bigger place since we are expecting some guests in a few months. They have two pet turtles that they will also need to find a home for when they leave.
After arriving in a town called Portobelo, we had to take a 10 minute boat ride to get to the island. According to the guidebook, Portobelo was once the greatest Spanish port in Central America. Gold from Peru and treasures from the Orient arrived in Panama City and were carried by mule to Portobelo (at least 150 years before the canal was built). Portobelo was the target of constant attacks by English “privateers” (I think that means pirates). The island is a small, casual resort town where people from Panama City go to get away from the city for the weekend. We found a cabana style room which cost $60 for one night for the four of us (two double beds). It is about 100 yards away from the beach and many restaurants, where people spend day and night listening to music, cooling off in the water, snorkeling, and drinking/eating. All of us wore goggles and looked at the corral, and David and Jasmine spent quite a bit of time snorkeling. There is a 15 K hiking trail around the island, and you can also walk up a steep hill for 30 minutes through the thick forest to a 20 ft high lookout/lighthouse which is at the highest point on the island. There are astounding views of the sea and surrounding area. We have posted several pictures that we took from the top of the tower. Nikki and I liked the walk so much that we hiked up there on Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning. I liked the hiking better than the snorkeling and I think Nikki liked both equally as well.
Along the hiking trial that goes around Isla Grande, just 10 minutes from where we were staying, Nikki and I discovered a one person hut which sits open-air, right on the edge of the water, facing the sunrise. It is very beautiful and well-made (see pictures), but the door was locked. A sign above the door said the key to open it is available to anyone and can be found in the lobby of one of the near-by hotels. It is called Capilla La Mar (Chapel on the Sea) and has a sign which says “Muchos Religiones and Solo Dios.” Just as we were looking at it we saw a double rainbow overhead.
Vegetarian Cuisine: Restaurant Review 1
July 20, 2008
Restaurant- Villa en Sueno (Village of Dreams)
Location- Isla Grande
For $3 we had a filling and tasty pile of coconut rice and green lentil dahl with a side of cooked carrots, green beans, and some sort of white root vegetable. This item is not on the menu so you will have to ask if the cook can prepare a vegetarian dish of arroz, lentegas, and vegetales cocinados. If the cocinero (or cocinera) says yes- you are in luck! All restaurants on the island seem to have coconut rice and tropical fruit salads available. Many also have listed on their menus french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, green salads, as well as various breakfast options, with and without eggs, in the morning hours.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Pictures from Panama 2 (BCI)
One picture has one of the huge ships (although it looks small becasue it is far away) in the distance with the dormitory housing on the Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in the foreground.
Another picture is taken from the cafeteria at BCI looking out on the canal.
The other picture is the boat and landing on BCI.
I don't know where the purple coloring is coming from.
Panama Update #7
Panama Update #7
July 18, 2008
The Health Fair today was at a another branch of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute called the Barro Colorado in Gatun Lake. It is an island about halfway through the canal. I got a ride with some people who work for the health insurance company for the blank. It is about a 45 minute drive to the city of Gamboa where there is a very fancy and expensive resort ($225 per night) and then about a 45 minute boat ride on the canal to get to the island. It is a remote tropical island of about 120 square kilometers where scientists and graduate students from all over the world come to do research and walk the 40 kilometers of trails. The island has been officially protected and dedicated to science since 1923. It was part of the continuous land but became an island when they dug the canal. The brochure I picked up on the boat says, “We know more about blank Island than any other similarly-sized piece of tropical forest in the world. The reserve continues to be a Mecca for tropical biologists.” It goes on to say that, “Researchers have documented the behavior of tropical animals including primates, cats, bats, amphibians, and reptiles, often for the first time. They have greatly advanced understanding of how behavior and social systems evolve in tropical insects including butterflies, termites, ants, bees, wasps, and spiders.”
The Health fair was smaller than at the main branch a couple of days ago, but the scenery is definitely worth the trip. Most of the people coming by to try the biofeedback equipment were support workers from guards to tour guides to office workers, but not the scientists. I do not know enough Spanish to explain to them exactly what Biofeedback is, but hopefully they got the idea from seeing the graphs on the computer. I have learned the words for “to relax” (relajar) and tranquilo. The other health workers also noticed that their pulse rates were unusually low due to all the walking up and down the hills. Out the window next to my table I had a clear view of the Gatun Lake portion of the canal and all the ships that are coming by. They don’t come as often as I would have expected, but several come each hour. They are very huge and of all different colors and shapes, each hauling a lot of cargo. Some have the large steel cargo containers on the deck and some have the cargo below.
They had a very nice lunch in the cafeteria for all the residents and visitors with rice, black beans, fresh salad, cooked vegetables, and either tofu or chicken. I sat down at a table next to someone who said he has been studying soils and soil erosion for the last 30 years and at blank for the last 6 months. He is form a university in Pottsdam, Germany.
After lunch they took a group of us on a one hour walk through the rainforest. It was steep, humid, and hot. They pointed out some of the many experiments that were set up. There were no mosquitoes there and they said even at night they are not a problem. They said they don’t spray there, that is just the way it is.
July 18, 2008
The Health Fair today was at a another branch of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute called the Barro Colorado in Gatun Lake. It is an island about halfway through the canal. I got a ride with some people who work for the health insurance company for the blank. It is about a 45 minute drive to the city of Gamboa where there is a very fancy and expensive resort ($225 per night) and then about a 45 minute boat ride on the canal to get to the island. It is a remote tropical island of about 120 square kilometers where scientists and graduate students from all over the world come to do research and walk the 40 kilometers of trails. The island has been officially protected and dedicated to science since 1923. It was part of the continuous land but became an island when they dug the canal. The brochure I picked up on the boat says, “We know more about blank Island than any other similarly-sized piece of tropical forest in the world. The reserve continues to be a Mecca for tropical biologists.” It goes on to say that, “Researchers have documented the behavior of tropical animals including primates, cats, bats, amphibians, and reptiles, often for the first time. They have greatly advanced understanding of how behavior and social systems evolve in tropical insects including butterflies, termites, ants, bees, wasps, and spiders.”
The Health fair was smaller than at the main branch a couple of days ago, but the scenery is definitely worth the trip. Most of the people coming by to try the biofeedback equipment were support workers from guards to tour guides to office workers, but not the scientists. I do not know enough Spanish to explain to them exactly what Biofeedback is, but hopefully they got the idea from seeing the graphs on the computer. I have learned the words for “to relax” (relajar) and tranquilo. The other health workers also noticed that their pulse rates were unusually low due to all the walking up and down the hills. Out the window next to my table I had a clear view of the Gatun Lake portion of the canal and all the ships that are coming by. They don’t come as often as I would have expected, but several come each hour. They are very huge and of all different colors and shapes, each hauling a lot of cargo. Some have the large steel cargo containers on the deck and some have the cargo below.
They had a very nice lunch in the cafeteria for all the residents and visitors with rice, black beans, fresh salad, cooked vegetables, and either tofu or chicken. I sat down at a table next to someone who said he has been studying soils and soil erosion for the last 30 years and at blank for the last 6 months. He is form a university in Pottsdam, Germany.
After lunch they took a group of us on a one hour walk through the rainforest. It was steep, humid, and hot. They pointed out some of the many experiments that were set up. There were no mosquitoes there and they said even at night they are not a problem. They said they don’t spray there, that is just the way it is.
Panama Update #6
Panama Update #6
July 17, 2008
After finishing a Biofeedback session with my first client this morning, I met Nikki for lunch at the Smithsonian cafeteria. The colleague of Nikki’s and his fiancé that I had lunch with yesterday were there again today so Nikki and I joined them. I asked them if the plans to see Batman this weekend were still on and they said they had another idea. They said they were planning to rent a car for a night and go to Isla Grande, which is an island on the other side (Atlantic) from where we are. They said the snorkeling is great and it takes about 4 hours to drive there. The guidebook says it is a popular weekend get-away place for Panamanians and is a 10 minute/15 kilometer boat ride from a place called Portabello. We agreed to go with them without hesitation. I thought it would be a great escape from the dorm-room-cave we call home.
I am busy all day tomorrow with the other health conference and we will be at the resort over the weekend, so I devoted the afternoon to getting some errands done. Even though I have a basic knowledge of Spanish, I am finding that it is still tricky to get things done, especially anything beyond the basics. It can be tiring being in a new country and feeling like a child again, but I knew this going in and keep reminding myself to be patient. They say in the guidebook that you don’t need to know Spanish to get along here, but I don’t see how that is possible unless you are very good at sign language.
Since I could not get the washing machine in the dorm to work, I took a taxi and two large bags of laundry to a nearby strip mall. A Chinese woman who works there recognized the laundry bag and remembered Nikki, and called her the small Chicita. She told me, in Spanish, that I know more Spanish than my wife. I told her I was also just learning and she told me she has only been here from Beijing for a year so she is also still learning.
While I was waiting the 2 hours for the laundry to be done, I walked around the area a bit. A few blocks behind the mall is a nice outdoor swimming pool which you can use for lap swimming for $2.50. There were only a couple of people using the pool in the middle of the afternoon when I was there.
I still had time before the laundry so I went into a Chinese restaurant in the mall and ordered some tofu, vegetables (verdures), and white rice (arroz blanco). While eating I looked at the local newspaper called La Prensa (The Printing Press). The same newspaper company also prints a local version in English of the Miami Herald, which has national news from the US and local Panama City news in English.
The laundry cost 8 dollars, which seems high considering they only wash it and throw it in a dryer without ironing it. All the “wrinkle free” shirts and pants come out very wrinkled so my next task is to figure out how to get at least some of the wrinkles out given we don’t have an iron.
On my evening walk, at around 6:00 PM, just before dark, I walked by the Canal Administrator’s mansion and there was a big cocktail-type party going on in his back yard with about 50 cars in his parking lot.
July 17, 2008
After finishing a Biofeedback session with my first client this morning, I met Nikki for lunch at the Smithsonian cafeteria. The colleague of Nikki’s and his fiancé that I had lunch with yesterday were there again today so Nikki and I joined them. I asked them if the plans to see Batman this weekend were still on and they said they had another idea. They said they were planning to rent a car for a night and go to Isla Grande, which is an island on the other side (Atlantic) from where we are. They said the snorkeling is great and it takes about 4 hours to drive there. The guidebook says it is a popular weekend get-away place for Panamanians and is a 10 minute/15 kilometer boat ride from a place called Portabello. We agreed to go with them without hesitation. I thought it would be a great escape from the dorm-room-cave we call home.
I am busy all day tomorrow with the other health conference and we will be at the resort over the weekend, so I devoted the afternoon to getting some errands done. Even though I have a basic knowledge of Spanish, I am finding that it is still tricky to get things done, especially anything beyond the basics. It can be tiring being in a new country and feeling like a child again, but I knew this going in and keep reminding myself to be patient. They say in the guidebook that you don’t need to know Spanish to get along here, but I don’t see how that is possible unless you are very good at sign language.
Since I could not get the washing machine in the dorm to work, I took a taxi and two large bags of laundry to a nearby strip mall. A Chinese woman who works there recognized the laundry bag and remembered Nikki, and called her the small Chicita. She told me, in Spanish, that I know more Spanish than my wife. I told her I was also just learning and she told me she has only been here from Beijing for a year so she is also still learning.
While I was waiting the 2 hours for the laundry to be done, I walked around the area a bit. A few blocks behind the mall is a nice outdoor swimming pool which you can use for lap swimming for $2.50. There were only a couple of people using the pool in the middle of the afternoon when I was there.
I still had time before the laundry so I went into a Chinese restaurant in the mall and ordered some tofu, vegetables (verdures), and white rice (arroz blanco). While eating I looked at the local newspaper called La Prensa (The Printing Press). The same newspaper company also prints a local version in English of the Miami Herald, which has national news from the US and local Panama City news in English.
The laundry cost 8 dollars, which seems high considering they only wash it and throw it in a dryer without ironing it. All the “wrinkle free” shirts and pants come out very wrinkled so my next task is to figure out how to get at least some of the wrinkles out given we don’t have an iron.
On my evening walk, at around 6:00 PM, just before dark, I walked by the Canal Administrator’s mansion and there was a big cocktail-type party going on in his back yard with about 50 cars in his parking lot.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Panama Update #5
Panama Update #5
Wednesday, July 16
Nikki is very busy so I ventured into the Blog world on my own for the first time to try to get this set up and it was very easy. Even posting the pictures is made very easy for anyone to do. I can say that the highlight of the move here so far has been keeping in touch with everyone with the Updates. It has been fun for me and in some ways I feel closer in touch with the people reading this than when I was back in Minneapolis. It feels like all of you are seeing the sights with me. I want to thank everyone for all the positve comments and support about the Updates. As they say here, El Gusto es Mio.
There is an inexpensive cafeteria at the Smithsonian which is open for lunch, cheap ($3) and has a simple vegetarian choice such as rice and cooked vegetables. I ran into a colleague of Nikki's who is originally from Minnesota but recently finished his PhD from USC and has a job at Florida State for spring semester. His fiance is here with him and I met her for the 1st time. She does volunteer work here one day a week in one of the offices. We may plan some outings together and talked about all 4 of us seeing the opening of the Batman movie this weekend.
After lunch I set up my display at the Health Fair. They set up a table for me in a large open room. There were about 20 other tables set up with various health care practitioners. Most of the exhibits were informative such as information on health insurance and various clinics, but there were some hands-on exhibits such as checking for blood pressure and the biofeedback demonstations I was giving. About 150 people, mostly Smithsonian office support staff, came through from 1:00-5:00 PM. I think many of the scientists were out in the field or too busy to stop by. They had a nice name card for me and a lot of people were interested in trying out a Biofeedback session, so there were usually several people standing around watching and waiting for their turn. I did a very simple demonstration called Heartmath for about 3 or 4 minutes with each person. In that short amount of time, if they can learn to lenghthen the exhalation and inhalation, they can see an improvement in the graph on the computer, which means they are learning to lower their heart rate and go to a more relaxed state. About half the people spoke enough English to understand what I was saying and about half needed a translator. Biofeedback is an intuitive concept but was brand new to most of the people. One person made an appointment to have an individual session for tomorrow, but will have to see how many more people are actually interested in that.
They asked me to go to another all-day Health Fair on Friday and arranged a ride for me. It is about an hour's drive, near a place called Gamboa, which is about half-way through the canal. You take a boat from there to an island research branch of the Smithsonian. It should be very interesting to see the sights there and Nikki said there are many Biologists there. Nikki hasn't been to that station yet and I think is a bit envious that I am getting there first.
Wednesday, July 16
Nikki is very busy so I ventured into the Blog world on my own for the first time to try to get this set up and it was very easy. Even posting the pictures is made very easy for anyone to do. I can say that the highlight of the move here so far has been keeping in touch with everyone with the Updates. It has been fun for me and in some ways I feel closer in touch with the people reading this than when I was back in Minneapolis. It feels like all of you are seeing the sights with me. I want to thank everyone for all the positve comments and support about the Updates. As they say here, El Gusto es Mio.
There is an inexpensive cafeteria at the Smithsonian which is open for lunch, cheap ($3) and has a simple vegetarian choice such as rice and cooked vegetables. I ran into a colleague of Nikki's who is originally from Minnesota but recently finished his PhD from USC and has a job at Florida State for spring semester. His fiance is here with him and I met her for the 1st time. She does volunteer work here one day a week in one of the offices. We may plan some outings together and talked about all 4 of us seeing the opening of the Batman movie this weekend.
After lunch I set up my display at the Health Fair. They set up a table for me in a large open room. There were about 20 other tables set up with various health care practitioners. Most of the exhibits were informative such as information on health insurance and various clinics, but there were some hands-on exhibits such as checking for blood pressure and the biofeedback demonstations I was giving. About 150 people, mostly Smithsonian office support staff, came through from 1:00-5:00 PM. I think many of the scientists were out in the field or too busy to stop by. They had a nice name card for me and a lot of people were interested in trying out a Biofeedback session, so there were usually several people standing around watching and waiting for their turn. I did a very simple demonstration called Heartmath for about 3 or 4 minutes with each person. In that short amount of time, if they can learn to lenghthen the exhalation and inhalation, they can see an improvement in the graph on the computer, which means they are learning to lower their heart rate and go to a more relaxed state. About half the people spoke enough English to understand what I was saying and about half needed a translator. Biofeedback is an intuitive concept but was brand new to most of the people. One person made an appointment to have an individual session for tomorrow, but will have to see how many more people are actually interested in that.
They asked me to go to another all-day Health Fair on Friday and arranged a ride for me. It is about an hour's drive, near a place called Gamboa, which is about half-way through the canal. You take a boat from there to an island research branch of the Smithsonian. It should be very interesting to see the sights there and Nikki said there are many Biologists there. Nikki hasn't been to that station yet and I think is a bit envious that I am getting there first.
Pictures from Panama 1 (Casco Viejo)
The downtown skyline is in the background to my left.
Behind Nikki is the Pacific at low tide.
Nikki working in her office.
The two of us
in front of the Old City or Casco Viejo.
Panama Update #4
Panama Update #4
July 15, 2008
I decided to skip the long morning walk up Ancon Hill today since my calves were still sore from taking that walk the previous two days. Instead I wanted to devote the morning to my big task- taking a taxi to the mall by myself. I picked a near-by mall from the map of the city that I had, made a list of what I wanted to buy there and ordered the taxi. It came in 5 minutes and when I got in the cab said, “Albrook Mall.” As we were driving we had a conversation in Spanish. He asked, “Which side of the mall?” I replied that I had a lot of things to buy. He tried again, “Which store in the mall.” I told him I just wanted to look around. He said, “Bien.” We were there in a few minutes since it was going away from downtown, mostly highway, and not a lot of traffic. When I saw the mall I understood why he wanted to know which side and I yelled in surprise, “Mucho Grande!” He laughed and asked if I understood now why he wanted to know which store. It was a big indoor mall. Not as big as the Mall of America, but at least as big as someplace like Southdale. As the taxi drove away he shouted, “Suerte,” or good luck and started to laugh.
I ventured inside and tried to keep track of which entrance but it was no use. I figured whichever door I exited from there would be a taxi around. There were stores of the same type you would find in a standard mall from luggage to sporting goods to furniture to everything under a dollar to cell phones to all sorts of clothing. The clothing stores varied in quality but a lot of them looked like they were trying to appeal to teenagers, like The Gap. The food court was full of franchises such as KFC, Quizno’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.
My first task was to find a cell phone store that could help me figure out how to listen to messages on the new phone I bought 3 days before. The written instructions it came with were in Spanish but they were definitely not correct. A nice clerk helped me (in Spanish), gave me the code to dial for messages and a code to retrieve the messages. There was some misunderstanding. Three times she handed me the phone and told me to say my name (nombre), but for some reason I thought she wanted me to say my telephone # (numero) into the phone. She was very patient and we finally got it figured out. I did have 3 messages on the phone from Nikki from a couple of days ago. By trial and error I figured out how to delete the messages after I left the store.
Finally I found a discount style store that had a small inexpensive radio and reading lamp (lampara). In total they cost about $15, which I estimate is about half of what I would pay in the US at Target or Walmart.
The taxi ride home was fine. He got me to the general area and since I am starting to remember some landmarks I was able to direct him to the drop off. We didn’t have a screw driver but I was desperate to assemble the lamp so I used a scissors for the screws and came through it with only some minor paper-type cuts.
Tonight I came to Nikki’s office to work on the blog while she was doing some work. Her office is part of the Smithsonian and is just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. The night guard at the door was watching the all-star game. The TV was showing the game as we would listen at home, in English, but there was simultaneous Spanish translation in the background. He knew all about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins. Baseball is big here because of all the Latin players in the Major Leagues. They must have games here in Panama, but I haven’t figured that out. Wasn’t Rod Carew from Panama?
July 15, 2008
I decided to skip the long morning walk up Ancon Hill today since my calves were still sore from taking that walk the previous two days. Instead I wanted to devote the morning to my big task- taking a taxi to the mall by myself. I picked a near-by mall from the map of the city that I had, made a list of what I wanted to buy there and ordered the taxi. It came in 5 minutes and when I got in the cab said, “Albrook Mall.” As we were driving we had a conversation in Spanish. He asked, “Which side of the mall?” I replied that I had a lot of things to buy. He tried again, “Which store in the mall.” I told him I just wanted to look around. He said, “Bien.” We were there in a few minutes since it was going away from downtown, mostly highway, and not a lot of traffic. When I saw the mall I understood why he wanted to know which side and I yelled in surprise, “Mucho Grande!” He laughed and asked if I understood now why he wanted to know which store. It was a big indoor mall. Not as big as the Mall of America, but at least as big as someplace like Southdale. As the taxi drove away he shouted, “Suerte,” or good luck and started to laugh.
I ventured inside and tried to keep track of which entrance but it was no use. I figured whichever door I exited from there would be a taxi around. There were stores of the same type you would find in a standard mall from luggage to sporting goods to furniture to everything under a dollar to cell phones to all sorts of clothing. The clothing stores varied in quality but a lot of them looked like they were trying to appeal to teenagers, like The Gap. The food court was full of franchises such as KFC, Quizno’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.
My first task was to find a cell phone store that could help me figure out how to listen to messages on the new phone I bought 3 days before. The written instructions it came with were in Spanish but they were definitely not correct. A nice clerk helped me (in Spanish), gave me the code to dial for messages and a code to retrieve the messages. There was some misunderstanding. Three times she handed me the phone and told me to say my name (nombre), but for some reason I thought she wanted me to say my telephone # (numero) into the phone. She was very patient and we finally got it figured out. I did have 3 messages on the phone from Nikki from a couple of days ago. By trial and error I figured out how to delete the messages after I left the store.
Finally I found a discount style store that had a small inexpensive radio and reading lamp (lampara). In total they cost about $15, which I estimate is about half of what I would pay in the US at Target or Walmart.
The taxi ride home was fine. He got me to the general area and since I am starting to remember some landmarks I was able to direct him to the drop off. We didn’t have a screw driver but I was desperate to assemble the lamp so I used a scissors for the screws and came through it with only some minor paper-type cuts.
Tonight I came to Nikki’s office to work on the blog while she was doing some work. Her office is part of the Smithsonian and is just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. The night guard at the door was watching the all-star game. The TV was showing the game as we would listen at home, in English, but there was simultaneous Spanish translation in the background. He knew all about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins. Baseball is big here because of all the Latin players in the Major Leagues. They must have games here in Panama, but I haven’t figured that out. Wasn’t Rod Carew from Panama?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Panama Update #3
Panama Update #3
Monday, July 14, 2008
Nikki went early (about 5:30 AM) to do her field work on the canal, so I was left on my own for the first time. In the early morning, after a breakfast of oatmeal, I decided to climb to the top of Ancon Hill like we had done together yesterday. It is a nice way to get in a good aerobic exercise early in the day. I found the way up there again and saw a few other people out walking. About half way up the hill I saw one man with a butterfly net staring into the forest. I don’t know what he was looking for but he was concentrating so hard I did not want to interrupt him to ask. When I told Nikki about it later she thought he might be a scientist with the Smithsonian. There are several security checkpoints along the way but they just waved me through. If you look at them with a smile and say, “buenas dias” they seem to leave you alone. There are quite a few beautiful, large houses with big, manicured yards along the lower half of the hill with a view of the canal out their back window. I found out one of the houses belongs to the current head administrator of the canal. All the houses have big chain link fences with lots of big dogs. The canal administrator has security guards in front of his house. I noticed one bird today that has the head of a turkey but the body of a pheasant. I checked on a chart and it looks like a bird called Gallinazo Negro.
At the end of the hike, as you exit the Ancon Hill area, next to an office building of the blank, there is a large white office building which houses the Panama equivalent of the Supreme Court. There were protesters outside and a woman was giving a speech through a megaphone which I did not understand a word. I walked quickly through the crowd of protesters so I would not be confused with one of them. I heard sirens approaching but quickly left before finding out if they were there to round up the protesters.
Later in the morning I found my way to the Smithsonian headquarters and got in with a visitor’s pass. I went to the library to check my email. The head librarian is the one organizing the Yoga classes and he said they will probably start next week. He also found out from Nikki that I am a Biofeedback Practitioner and he got me signed up to give a Biofeedback demonstration in a booth at the blank Institute-wide Health Fair they are having this week. He said he is very interested in trying a session and I have updated the Biofeedback brochure with my Panama cell phone # and lower prices. I am scheduled to sit at a table and show people how it works from 1:00- 5:00 PM on Wednesday. They also want me to go to a another branch of the Smithsonian on Friday which is about an hour from here and do the same thing for their Health Fair.
In the afternoon back at the apartment I discovered that we have a copy of the phone book/yellow pages, so I discovered a lot of interesting things as far as the type of stores they have here. My plan for tomorrow is to take my first taxi ride alone and go to a near-by mall to buy a small radio and reading lamp since we don't have those in the room. There is also no TV in the room, but don't know yet if we will invest in that. The radio will give me something to listen to and is good for learning Spanish. I am finding that I am getting a lot of practice here with Spanish in simply doing the basic things like talking to a taxi-driver or someone who works in a store. Nikki also works with mostly Spanish speakers and they talk English to her since she is just beginning to learn the language. If I start a conversation with one of them in Spanish they are more than willing to speak with me until we reach a point where I can't express what I am trying to say and then we switch to English. There are several schools here for learning Spanish but for now I think it is enough to study and practice on my own. I brought several Spanish text books with me.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Nikki went early (about 5:30 AM) to do her field work on the canal, so I was left on my own for the first time. In the early morning, after a breakfast of oatmeal, I decided to climb to the top of Ancon Hill like we had done together yesterday. It is a nice way to get in a good aerobic exercise early in the day. I found the way up there again and saw a few other people out walking. About half way up the hill I saw one man with a butterfly net staring into the forest. I don’t know what he was looking for but he was concentrating so hard I did not want to interrupt him to ask. When I told Nikki about it later she thought he might be a scientist with the Smithsonian. There are several security checkpoints along the way but they just waved me through. If you look at them with a smile and say, “buenas dias” they seem to leave you alone. There are quite a few beautiful, large houses with big, manicured yards along the lower half of the hill with a view of the canal out their back window. I found out one of the houses belongs to the current head administrator of the canal. All the houses have big chain link fences with lots of big dogs. The canal administrator has security guards in front of his house. I noticed one bird today that has the head of a turkey but the body of a pheasant. I checked on a chart and it looks like a bird called Gallinazo Negro.
At the end of the hike, as you exit the Ancon Hill area, next to an office building of the blank, there is a large white office building which houses the Panama equivalent of the Supreme Court. There were protesters outside and a woman was giving a speech through a megaphone which I did not understand a word. I walked quickly through the crowd of protesters so I would not be confused with one of them. I heard sirens approaching but quickly left before finding out if they were there to round up the protesters.
Later in the morning I found my way to the Smithsonian headquarters and got in with a visitor’s pass. I went to the library to check my email. The head librarian is the one organizing the Yoga classes and he said they will probably start next week. He also found out from Nikki that I am a Biofeedback Practitioner and he got me signed up to give a Biofeedback demonstration in a booth at the blank Institute-wide Health Fair they are having this week. He said he is very interested in trying a session and I have updated the Biofeedback brochure with my Panama cell phone # and lower prices. I am scheduled to sit at a table and show people how it works from 1:00- 5:00 PM on Wednesday. They also want me to go to a another branch of the Smithsonian on Friday which is about an hour from here and do the same thing for their Health Fair.
In the afternoon back at the apartment I discovered that we have a copy of the phone book/yellow pages, so I discovered a lot of interesting things as far as the type of stores they have here. My plan for tomorrow is to take my first taxi ride alone and go to a near-by mall to buy a small radio and reading lamp since we don't have those in the room. There is also no TV in the room, but don't know yet if we will invest in that. The radio will give me something to listen to and is good for learning Spanish. I am finding that I am getting a lot of practice here with Spanish in simply doing the basic things like talking to a taxi-driver or someone who works in a store. Nikki also works with mostly Spanish speakers and they talk English to her since she is just beginning to learn the language. If I start a conversation with one of them in Spanish they are more than willing to speak with me until we reach a point where I can't express what I am trying to say and then we switch to English. There are several schools here for learning Spanish but for now I think it is enough to study and practice on my own. I brought several Spanish text books with me.
Panama Update #2
Panama Update #2
July 13, 2008
Today (Sunday) is my 3rd full day in Panama. Nikki has had time this weekend to go around with me and we have both learned a lot. Today we covered a lot of ground. She had made an arrangement to meet a friend of a friend at a famous local Chinese Restaurant called Lung Fung at 8:00 AM. It is a big tradition here to have Dim Sum on Sunday mornings for some reason. The friend never showed up so we went in and there was no vegetarian option so we didn't have much, but the food looked good.
We then went to another area of town, and we found the street we had read about in the guidebook that had all the vegetarian restaurants (one or two) and the internet cafes. There was also a New York style bagel place which caters to Americans and has a big statue of Einstein out in front. Those restaurants are about a 20 minute taxi ride from us and we will plan to go back sometime to try them out.
We then found another taxi and asked the driver to take us to the Super Kosher Market, which is supposed to be the biggest kosher market outside of Israel. We were looking for a nice grocery store, but also had heard that there was an organic grocery store very close to it and wanted to see that also. We did not know exactly where the kosher grocery was, but we knew it was well known and a local landmark. It turned out that our taxi driver had no idea what we were talking about and we had to stop for directions several times. On the way, while we were lost, we went through the new, wealthy section of Panama with all the new high rise condo. buildings. They are on the edge of the water, but there are no zoning restrictions, and we read in one of the guidebooks that if another building is able to get closer to the water and blocks the view, that is too bad. We also drove by a beautiful new hospital in the area which said on the sign in front that it is associated with the John Hopkins.
We finally found the supermarket, but it was not too exciting, just a pretty typical store like you would find in the US. But we did find 10 pound bags of basmati rice so we stocked up as long as we were there. We also found the organic grocery store after feeding the taxi driver 3 more dollars to stay with us. The store was closed but we looked inside and they have many of the products you would find in a very small version of the Whole Foods Store.
We went back to the apartment for a lunch of pita bread, humus, baba ganoush, and tabouli that we had bought at the store. After a rest, we hiked to the top of Ancon Hill (http://www.cerroancon.com/). Our dormitory is located at the bottom of the hill. It takes about 35 minutes to walk the 2 kilometers on a road through the rainforest. Cars can also drive there but it is a challenging walk that is great exercise. It is steep, but not overwhelming if you take a moderate pace. Along the way there are several great views of Panama City from different sides. At one point at the top you can get a clear view of the canal, the entry locks and dam, and the area where the cargo is loaded and unloaded. To see this helped me get a better idea of the canal and the conditions where Nikki works, but I will be able to describe it better when I can see it closer up. Immediately outside the city you got a good view of the vast rainforests surrounding the area.
July 13, 2008
Today (Sunday) is my 3rd full day in Panama. Nikki has had time this weekend to go around with me and we have both learned a lot. Today we covered a lot of ground. She had made an arrangement to meet a friend of a friend at a famous local Chinese Restaurant called Lung Fung at 8:00 AM. It is a big tradition here to have Dim Sum on Sunday mornings for some reason. The friend never showed up so we went in and there was no vegetarian option so we didn't have much, but the food looked good.
We then went to another area of town, and we found the street we had read about in the guidebook that had all the vegetarian restaurants (one or two) and the internet cafes. There was also a New York style bagel place which caters to Americans and has a big statue of Einstein out in front. Those restaurants are about a 20 minute taxi ride from us and we will plan to go back sometime to try them out.
We then found another taxi and asked the driver to take us to the Super Kosher Market, which is supposed to be the biggest kosher market outside of Israel. We were looking for a nice grocery store, but also had heard that there was an organic grocery store very close to it and wanted to see that also. We did not know exactly where the kosher grocery was, but we knew it was well known and a local landmark. It turned out that our taxi driver had no idea what we were talking about and we had to stop for directions several times. On the way, while we were lost, we went through the new, wealthy section of Panama with all the new high rise condo. buildings. They are on the edge of the water, but there are no zoning restrictions, and we read in one of the guidebooks that if another building is able to get closer to the water and blocks the view, that is too bad. We also drove by a beautiful new hospital in the area which said on the sign in front that it is associated with the John Hopkins.
We finally found the supermarket, but it was not too exciting, just a pretty typical store like you would find in the US. But we did find 10 pound bags of basmati rice so we stocked up as long as we were there. We also found the organic grocery store after feeding the taxi driver 3 more dollars to stay with us. The store was closed but we looked inside and they have many of the products you would find in a very small version of the Whole Foods Store.
We went back to the apartment for a lunch of pita bread, humus, baba ganoush, and tabouli that we had bought at the store. After a rest, we hiked to the top of Ancon Hill (http://www.cerroancon.com/). Our dormitory is located at the bottom of the hill. It takes about 35 minutes to walk the 2 kilometers on a road through the rainforest. Cars can also drive there but it is a challenging walk that is great exercise. It is steep, but not overwhelming if you take a moderate pace. Along the way there are several great views of Panama City from different sides. At one point at the top you can get a clear view of the canal, the entry locks and dam, and the area where the cargo is loaded and unloaded. To see this helped me get a better idea of the canal and the conditions where Nikki works, but I will be able to describe it better when I can see it closer up. Immediately outside the city you got a good view of the vast rainforests surrounding the area.
Panama Update #1
Panama Update #1
July 11, 2008
I arrived with all my luggage in Panama on time at about 11:00 PM after the flight was delayed at the start for one hour from Minneapolis because of a severe thunderstorm. Panama is in the same time zone as Minneapolis. In the airport in Panama City it cost 5 dollars to get a temporary tourist visa and customs went quickly. Carts for the luggage were hard to find and I found out later that the porters purposely withhold the carts so they can ask you for a dollar for helping you carry the suitcases. Nikki had arranged for a taxi and rode with the taxi driver so she was waiting for me in the airport. It reminded me of when she met me in Ethiopia last fall with the taxi driver.
When I stepped outside of the terminal I immediately was hit with the high humidity. The temperature stays about about 80% humidity and 80 degrees for most of the 24 hours during the rainy season. There are two seasons in Panama- rainy and dry. The rainy season is from May to November. It has been very overcast and there is usually a rain late in the afternoon, though the duration and heaviness varies from day to day. AC is necessary and it is quite cool inside of the apartment and office buildings.
Nikki is allowed to stay in an 8 unit studio apartment run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for the first few months until we find a bigger apartment. It is inexpensive (about $350 a month) and only a 5 minute walk to her office and is located in the middle of the rain forest, outside of the downtown area. There are all sorts of strange sounds from the birds and animals at night. There are also strange little animals running around in the forest like squirrels but they look like giant rats. I am sure we will see many more types of birds and animals. The apartment is simple and small with a kitchen and bathroom and a tiled concrete floor. It reminds me of the Ashram in India. They have very high security at the Smithsonian so our apartment building is heavily fenced in and guarded and called La Howla (the jail). There is a fruit and vegetable market within walking distance and it has everything from papayas, pineapples, bananas, and mangos to onions, hot peppers, carrots, brocolli and much more.
The daylight hours are from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM here year-round. They seem short coming from the long daylight in the Minnesota summer now but will be nice in the winter.
On my first day, yesterday, we got a lot done. Nikki introduced me to the librarian at the Smithsonian who wants to organize some Yoga classes which would start next week. He said there is a big group interested, so we will see what happens.
She then took me to a shopping mall which is in the downtown, more well-to-do area. The streets are kind of littered as you drive around the city and the diesel fumes from the heavy traffic can be irritating. There are older, rundown buildings but also many new buildings. There are many new, huge condominium skyscrapers downtown fueled by all the retirees from Europe and the US, but it feels like they are overbuilding and the market bubble could burst at any time. The mall is pretty similar to a shopping mall in the US, with restaurants, stores, and movie theaters. There is a kosher grocery store in the mall which has a nice restaurant where you can get falafel sandwiches, hummus, and Israeli salad. We got some money from a cash machine there and it easily accepts our debit cards for up to $500 a time.
We also went to a bank and got many one dollar bills since they are used to pay the taxi drivers. You can go almost anywhere in the city for $2, although like most places, they try to get more money from you. The best thing is just to give them $2 and get out, without asking or saying anything.
Today we went to see what they call the Casco Viejo or Old City. It is on the water and has a beautiful view of the downtown skyline, and you can see all the ships lined up to go through the canal.
Nikki goes out to the canal for field work about 3-4 days a week. Because it is so warm they start at 6:00 AM and gets back to the office in the late afternoon. She will talk more about her work in future emails. Nikki says that the Panama Canal is amazing and so is the geology. Two of the questions that her research group is working on are: Are macroevolutionary patterns of tropical forests correlated to climatic perturbations and how did different scales of space and time affect those patterns and their underlying processes?
July 11, 2008
I arrived with all my luggage in Panama on time at about 11:00 PM after the flight was delayed at the start for one hour from Minneapolis because of a severe thunderstorm. Panama is in the same time zone as Minneapolis. In the airport in Panama City it cost 5 dollars to get a temporary tourist visa and customs went quickly. Carts for the luggage were hard to find and I found out later that the porters purposely withhold the carts so they can ask you for a dollar for helping you carry the suitcases. Nikki had arranged for a taxi and rode with the taxi driver so she was waiting for me in the airport. It reminded me of when she met me in Ethiopia last fall with the taxi driver.
When I stepped outside of the terminal I immediately was hit with the high humidity. The temperature stays about about 80% humidity and 80 degrees for most of the 24 hours during the rainy season. There are two seasons in Panama- rainy and dry. The rainy season is from May to November. It has been very overcast and there is usually a rain late in the afternoon, though the duration and heaviness varies from day to day. AC is necessary and it is quite cool inside of the apartment and office buildings.
Nikki is allowed to stay in an 8 unit studio apartment run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for the first few months until we find a bigger apartment. It is inexpensive (about $350 a month) and only a 5 minute walk to her office and is located in the middle of the rain forest, outside of the downtown area. There are all sorts of strange sounds from the birds and animals at night. There are also strange little animals running around in the forest like squirrels but they look like giant rats. I am sure we will see many more types of birds and animals. The apartment is simple and small with a kitchen and bathroom and a tiled concrete floor. It reminds me of the Ashram in India. They have very high security at the Smithsonian so our apartment building is heavily fenced in and guarded and called La Howla (the jail). There is a fruit and vegetable market within walking distance and it has everything from papayas, pineapples, bananas, and mangos to onions, hot peppers, carrots, brocolli and much more.
The daylight hours are from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM here year-round. They seem short coming from the long daylight in the Minnesota summer now but will be nice in the winter.
On my first day, yesterday, we got a lot done. Nikki introduced me to the librarian at the Smithsonian who wants to organize some Yoga classes which would start next week. He said there is a big group interested, so we will see what happens.
She then took me to a shopping mall which is in the downtown, more well-to-do area. The streets are kind of littered as you drive around the city and the diesel fumes from the heavy traffic can be irritating. There are older, rundown buildings but also many new buildings. There are many new, huge condominium skyscrapers downtown fueled by all the retirees from Europe and the US, but it feels like they are overbuilding and the market bubble could burst at any time. The mall is pretty similar to a shopping mall in the US, with restaurants, stores, and movie theaters. There is a kosher grocery store in the mall which has a nice restaurant where you can get falafel sandwiches, hummus, and Israeli salad. We got some money from a cash machine there and it easily accepts our debit cards for up to $500 a time.
We also went to a bank and got many one dollar bills since they are used to pay the taxi drivers. You can go almost anywhere in the city for $2, although like most places, they try to get more money from you. The best thing is just to give them $2 and get out, without asking or saying anything.
Today we went to see what they call the Casco Viejo or Old City. It is on the water and has a beautiful view of the downtown skyline, and you can see all the ships lined up to go through the canal.
Nikki goes out to the canal for field work about 3-4 days a week. Because it is so warm they start at 6:00 AM and gets back to the office in the late afternoon. She will talk more about her work in future emails. Nikki says that the Panama Canal is amazing and so is the geology. Two of the questions that her research group is working on are: Are macroevolutionary patterns of tropical forests correlated to climatic perturbations and how did different scales of space and time affect those patterns and their underlying processes?
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