Panama Update #24
August 9, 2008
Yesterday morning I heard from a woman who wants to offer a Yoga class from her house and she lives in the same area as we do (Ancon). She was referred to me by someone who had heard about the other classes I was giving. We are going to be in touch in another week and make plans. For the coming week I have 3 Biofeedback sessions scheduled, 2 Yoga classes, and an English class to a group of nature tour guides. Plus I am doing some volunteer work for the blank and Nikki and next week will be trained on how to scan some maps that she needs.
Last night (Friday) Nikki and I went to the Multi-Plaza Shopping Center to see a movie and do some grocery shopping. The mall is located in a high rent area downtown and with traffic is about a 20 minute taxi ride from where we live. We saw a 7:15 showing (in English with Spanish subtitles) of Journey to the Center of the Earth. It only cost $4 each and it is a brand new, luxury theatre with stadium seating. The movie just opened in Panama City so the theatre was packed. We came a little late but we still got a ticket and seat. There were a lot of commercials and previews before the start of the movie. The audience was very noisy, and even after the movie started, they continued their conversations. Eventually it quieted down, but it took a few minutes. The shopping mall is the newest in Panama City and has the most expensive stores. We didn't look around much but I noticed a clothing store which specializes in the Columbia brand. Sometime we'll probably go back and look at the stores more.
The grocery store in the mall is also the nicest in town. It is called Riba Smith and I went there last weekend. It is the first time Nikki was there. It was open unitl 10:00 PM so we picked up quite a few things and got our week's shopping done. They have the nicest fruit and vegetable section with prewashed and cut, prepared salads. They also many specialty items that they don't carry elsewhere in Panama such as rye crackers, organic Tofu, Luna bars, fancy mustards, and most items you would find in supermarket in the US. The specialty items cost about as much as they would in the US, and sometimes more. We are finding it is best to combine trips if possible such as movies and shopping since it saves time and money for the taxis.
