Panama Update #39
August 28, 2008
Today I finally picked up a TV at the mall. I arrived here 7 weeks ago today and didn't miss it at all. I can't believe I am buying it after the Olympics and the Deomocratic convention, but my excuse for buying it is that Nikki is leaving town for 2 weeks starting on Sunday, so it will be a small way to fill the gap. Most evenings we hang out together, so it will sort of keep me company in a small way. The other excuse is that it is good practice for learning Spanish. All the programs are in Spanish, and there is a choice of several free channels. Even the American movies they have on each night are dubbed. At the least I will try it and see if it is worthwhile, otherwise I am sure I can find someone in one of the other dorm rooms who would like it. It is a 14 inch color TV and cost $80. Maybe that is about what it would cost in the US, since many people are getting rid of those type of TVs. In the US, in February, you need a converter box, but I am not sure if that will be the case here.
Yesterday I mentioned that I was thinking of going to Minneapolis during the time Nikki is gone. I found a good price, about $600, but at this time I am still not sure. I am also looking at just taking a shorter local trip, maybe to one of the beach resorts in Panama. It may end up being a last minute kind of option. My schedule here is flexible enough to do something like that. The tutoring can be rescheduled and one or two of the Yoga classes could be canceled.
Last night we went out to dinner on the Causeway. The Causeway is the strip of land surrounded by ocean near the entrance to the canal. It has a marina and fancy restaurants. A friend from the dorm, Fernando, is leaving and several of us went out as a going away party for him. It was called Restaurante Barko and specializes in seafood, as you would guess from the location. They also had huge tasty salads and pasta at very reasonable prices. Nikki and I split a salad for $6.95 and a plate of pasta with garlic/mushroom sauce for $7.95. We sat on a patio close to the ocean and there was a nnice cool breeze. Getting a taxi there at night was not easy and for the 5 of us they charged $10 each way. It is about a 20 minute ride. The price probably sounds cheap but we are used to paying $2 total for a ride.
Our apartment search continues. We decided not to take the one in Casco Viejo because we were concerned about how the entrance to the apartment was situated directly on the street. We have some leads on some others, but they are turning out to be more expensive than anticipated. Before we came here they told us we could find a two bedroom apartment for about $500, but now we are looking at one bedrooms or studios for $800 per month and two bedrooms for closer to $1100. The amount of people moving here is greater than the available units at this point, so the prices have gone up very rapidly.
