Panama Update #46
September 12, 2008
Nikki returned yesterday and has been getting some rest, although returning to the boat on Sunday for another week will be pushing it. She could definitely use more time to catch up on the work and recover before heading out again. I think the field work she was doing was very strenuous with hiking through unchartered territory in the jungle for long hours, carrying rocks back to the ship, and getting rock samples from swimming around the coral reefs in the Caribbean. She has a lot of interesting stories to tell about her time in the Kuna Yala (San Blas) region and eventually we will post some of the pictures she took there but it will probably be a while since the pictures were taken on a work camera rather than our personal one. The Kuna are basically a self-governed people, with a separate governing structure from the rest of Panama. Before they left for the trip they had permission from the overall Kuna Chief, but each individual tribe also has to give permission. So before they enter each particular area, they have to meet with the village elders and explain why they are hiking around and taking rocks. Some have not allowed them to take rocks because it would upset the various spirits for different reasons. Hopefully Nikki will write some of this down that I can pass along. We are thinking of going back to that area for a vacation later in the year because she says it is amazingly beautiful. It is getting more and more developed for tourists, but is still very pristine and the local indigenous culture is still well preserved. The guide that is translating for their group (the Kuna have their own language) is Nikki's roommate on the ship and we could hire her to show us around.
This afternoon I had an interview with the Berlitz Language School. They are, of course, a famous language school around the world. This branch is located in the downtown/hotel/banking area of Panama City and they serve business executives and other employees in the area. They were very interested in having me coming to work for them, but there are some problems with it such as low wages (about $9 per hour), unpaid training for 2 weeks, and no guarantee that they will give you several hours in a row. From where we live, it doesn't make good sense because of the cost and time for transportation. A lot of the wages would be eaten up in taxi fares and waiting time. The advantages are that the hours would be very flexible. For now I will most likely decline and stick to tutoring more in this area.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Panama Update #45
Panama Update #45
Sept. 10, 2008
The last 2 days have been fairly routine, although everyday is a little bit different. Nikki is still out of town but expected back tomorrow (Thursday , Sept. 11) morning for 3 days before returning to the research vessel for another week. There is a whole list of things that we need to take care of during the couple of days that she is here and I am sure she has a lot of things to catch up on in her office. Yesterday she emailed me the abstract for a conference in San Francisco where she is scheduled to present some research. The abstract had a hard deadline of September 10 and she could not submit it from the ship. I guess she cannot access web sites from the ship, but can only send messages to the marine superintendent who then can forward it to me. So she sent me all the directions for submitting it, which is a bit complicated. I hope I entered all the data correctly because it said in the directions that it cannot be changed after September 10, which is the day before she gets back. This is all new territory for me, but I am trying to be available to help her as needed, since at this point my schedule is much easier going. I still enjoy the English tutoring a lot, but I am noticing that clients come and go, so some days are busier than others. I am still looking into the possibility of finding a part time job at a school, tutoring for a couple days a week, but for the most part every school is set on hiring full-time or not at all. I think it has something to do with the work permits. They have to pay some costs for a work permit so they want to make sure they are getting as much out of the person as possible. On the other hand, 2 or 3 tutoring clients can come along at any time, so I may wait for that. In the meantime I am catching up on some reading, writing and studying Spanish. I have been studying Spanish mostly by watching TV, especially the cartoons. I think it actually helps a lot because I am able to understand a lot of what they are saying, more so than when I got here 2 months ago. Today the woman who cleans the halls in our dorm was talking to me quite a bit and I surprisingly understood all that she was saying. Her daughter is actually interested in taking English tutoring from me and we were trying to work out the details of how much she has had before, why she wants to learn more, and where we would meet. I gave her my number in case the daughter decides to do it so she can call me directly.
Sept. 10, 2008
The last 2 days have been fairly routine, although everyday is a little bit different. Nikki is still out of town but expected back tomorrow (Thursday , Sept. 11) morning for 3 days before returning to the research vessel for another week. There is a whole list of things that we need to take care of during the couple of days that she is here and I am sure she has a lot of things to catch up on in her office. Yesterday she emailed me the abstract for a conference in San Francisco where she is scheduled to present some research. The abstract had a hard deadline of September 10 and she could not submit it from the ship. I guess she cannot access web sites from the ship, but can only send messages to the marine superintendent who then can forward it to me. So she sent me all the directions for submitting it, which is a bit complicated. I hope I entered all the data correctly because it said in the directions that it cannot be changed after September 10, which is the day before she gets back. This is all new territory for me, but I am trying to be available to help her as needed, since at this point my schedule is much easier going. I still enjoy the English tutoring a lot, but I am noticing that clients come and go, so some days are busier than others. I am still looking into the possibility of finding a part time job at a school, tutoring for a couple days a week, but for the most part every school is set on hiring full-time or not at all. I think it has something to do with the work permits. They have to pay some costs for a work permit so they want to make sure they are getting as much out of the person as possible. On the other hand, 2 or 3 tutoring clients can come along at any time, so I may wait for that. In the meantime I am catching up on some reading, writing and studying Spanish. I have been studying Spanish mostly by watching TV, especially the cartoons. I think it actually helps a lot because I am able to understand a lot of what they are saying, more so than when I got here 2 months ago. Today the woman who cleans the halls in our dorm was talking to me quite a bit and I surprisingly understood all that she was saying. Her daughter is actually interested in taking English tutoring from me and we were trying to work out the details of how much she has had before, why she wants to learn more, and where we would meet. I gave her my number in case the daughter decides to do it so she can call me directly.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Panama Update #44
Panama Update #44
September 8, 2008
Over the weekend, with Nikki still out on the research vessle, I wanted to do a few activities, rather than spend too much time in our little dorm apartment. Friday I went shopping and bought groceries for the week and also bought a few things to send to Nikki on the boat. At lunch on Thursday I had met a woman who would be going to Nikki's research vessel for 3 days and she offered to take some things to her. She works in the communications department here and was going to take some pictures and do a story on their trip, since they are visiting an area (Kuna Yala or San Blas) that hasn't been researched in this way before. I sent some fig bars, canned pineapples, and snack mix, things I thought she would not have on the boat. When she comes back on Thursday (Sept. 11), she can restock before she leaves again on the 14th for another week.
On Saturday I went to out to the vegetarian restaurant that we had gone to before with 3 others from the dormitory. One was a scientist from Quito, Ecuador who studies how natural parks are managed. Quito has about 1.5 million people and is the capital of Ecuador. At about 3000 meters (10,000 ft.), Quito is the second highest elevaton for a capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. Another woman who went is a Ph.D student from the Univeristy of Florida, and Yasmin also went since David is on the boat with Nikki and she also wanted to get out and do some activities. The dorm has a total of 8 rooms and can house 24 if every bed was filled. Some apartments hold 2 people and some hold 4 people. Some people come for a week or two and some stay for several months. After being there for 2 months, I think we are the senior people in the dorm, so we have seen a lot of people come and go. Scientists from all over the world come here and stay in the dorm, studying many different areas of the land and sea. For example, yesterday a scientist arrived from Finland and her specialty is ferns. She is doing some kind of survey of ferns in the canal area since it is so diverse. Others specialize in fish, insects, marine biology, and much more.
Sunday morning I showed 2 others the large fruit and vegetable market that is within walking distance of the dorm. On Sunday night, the same group of us that went to lunch on Saturday went to see a movie. The four of us got a taxi to the theatre. Because it was Sunday and also raining, it took a while to catch the taxi, but they only charged about 3 dollars for all of us to go downtown, which is pretty cheap. It was a free independent film festival and we saw a 90 minute movie from Mexico called El Violin. There were only about a dozen people in the audience. It had a gentle pace for the most part with some violence sprinkled in. It was about the struggle of a revolutionary group fighting against the government's army. The main character was an old man who played the violin on the streets for money. One day he met up with the leader of the government army squad and was forced to play violin for him everyday. He started sneaking out little bits of ammunition in his violin case to give to the rebel forces. It was seemingly going well for a while, but he did not realize he was being followed and in the end gave away the hiding place of the rebels. The movie was in Spanish, but I could understand enough of it to get the plot.
September 8, 2008
Over the weekend, with Nikki still out on the research vessle, I wanted to do a few activities, rather than spend too much time in our little dorm apartment. Friday I went shopping and bought groceries for the week and also bought a few things to send to Nikki on the boat. At lunch on Thursday I had met a woman who would be going to Nikki's research vessel for 3 days and she offered to take some things to her. She works in the communications department here and was going to take some pictures and do a story on their trip, since they are visiting an area (Kuna Yala or San Blas) that hasn't been researched in this way before. I sent some fig bars, canned pineapples, and snack mix, things I thought she would not have on the boat. When she comes back on Thursday (Sept. 11), she can restock before she leaves again on the 14th for another week.
On Saturday I went to out to the vegetarian restaurant that we had gone to before with 3 others from the dormitory. One was a scientist from Quito, Ecuador who studies how natural parks are managed. Quito has about 1.5 million people and is the capital of Ecuador. At about 3000 meters (10,000 ft.), Quito is the second highest elevaton for a capital city in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. Another woman who went is a Ph.D student from the Univeristy of Florida, and Yasmin also went since David is on the boat with Nikki and she also wanted to get out and do some activities. The dorm has a total of 8 rooms and can house 24 if every bed was filled. Some apartments hold 2 people and some hold 4 people. Some people come for a week or two and some stay for several months. After being there for 2 months, I think we are the senior people in the dorm, so we have seen a lot of people come and go. Scientists from all over the world come here and stay in the dorm, studying many different areas of the land and sea. For example, yesterday a scientist arrived from Finland and her specialty is ferns. She is doing some kind of survey of ferns in the canal area since it is so diverse. Others specialize in fish, insects, marine biology, and much more.
Sunday morning I showed 2 others the large fruit and vegetable market that is within walking distance of the dorm. On Sunday night, the same group of us that went to lunch on Saturday went to see a movie. The four of us got a taxi to the theatre. Because it was Sunday and also raining, it took a while to catch the taxi, but they only charged about 3 dollars for all of us to go downtown, which is pretty cheap. It was a free independent film festival and we saw a 90 minute movie from Mexico called El Violin. There were only about a dozen people in the audience. It had a gentle pace for the most part with some violence sprinkled in. It was about the struggle of a revolutionary group fighting against the government's army. The main character was an old man who played the violin on the streets for money. One day he met up with the leader of the government army squad and was forced to play violin for him everyday. He started sneaking out little bits of ammunition in his violin case to give to the rebel forces. It was seemingly going well for a while, but he did not realize he was being followed and in the end gave away the hiding place of the rebels. The movie was in Spanish, but I could understand enough of it to get the plot.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Panama Update #43
Panama Update #43
September 6, 2008
Nikki called last night from a satellite phone on the ship last night because the internet on the ship is not working for outgoing emails, and she had a change of plans. Originally she was supposed to return in 2 weeks (Sept. 14), but the director of the project requested this change: Could she return to Panama City for 3 days, from September 11-14, then go back to the boat for an additional week and then return on the Sept. 21. So she will come back earlier than expected, but then return out there for an additional week. They fly to and from Panama City on Panama Air, which runs smaller planes in that area. She couldn't talk long but she said the geology was amazing and the project was going well, but they needed more time to finish whatever they are doing.
I forget to mention in the blog a couple of days ago about a guy (Billy) I met in the Yacht Club in Colon while we were waiting to catch our train back to Panama City. He was sitting at the bar drinking a beer when we came in. He knew the names of the few people in the bar and of the bartender. I could tell he was a native English speaker so I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Indiana and planned to return there for the month of October to rake the leaves in the yard of his house. He said that he missed the fall season. He is a retired electrician and travels around the world (so far mostly in Central Americal) on a $30,000, 35 foot wind powered boat by himself. At first it sounded exciting, but then I thought that it must be lonely. But I noticed that he knew all the people coming into the bar. There is a whole community of people like him out there and they all know each other and visit each others boats. They have internet access either on the boats or at the wireless Yacht Clubs in each port. He said he had satellite radio on board and a very comfortable living area, kithen, and bed. He buys a cell phone and minutes in whatever country he is in and calls his grown-up kids often back in Indiana. He was excited to meet me, from Minnesota, because I understood how nice the fall season is in the Midwest.
September 6, 2008
Nikki called last night from a satellite phone on the ship last night because the internet on the ship is not working for outgoing emails, and she had a change of plans. Originally she was supposed to return in 2 weeks (Sept. 14), but the director of the project requested this change: Could she return to Panama City for 3 days, from September 11-14, then go back to the boat for an additional week and then return on the Sept. 21. So she will come back earlier than expected, but then return out there for an additional week. They fly to and from Panama City on Panama Air, which runs smaller planes in that area. She couldn't talk long but she said the geology was amazing and the project was going well, but they needed more time to finish whatever they are doing.
I forget to mention in the blog a couple of days ago about a guy (Billy) I met in the Yacht Club in Colon while we were waiting to catch our train back to Panama City. He was sitting at the bar drinking a beer when we came in. He knew the names of the few people in the bar and of the bartender. I could tell he was a native English speaker so I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Indiana and planned to return there for the month of October to rake the leaves in the yard of his house. He said that he missed the fall season. He is a retired electrician and travels around the world (so far mostly in Central Americal) on a $30,000, 35 foot wind powered boat by himself. At first it sounded exciting, but then I thought that it must be lonely. But I noticed that he knew all the people coming into the bar. There is a whole community of people like him out there and they all know each other and visit each others boats. They have internet access either on the boats or at the wireless Yacht Clubs in each port. He said he had satellite radio on board and a very comfortable living area, kithen, and bed. He buys a cell phone and minutes in whatever country he is in and calls his grown-up kids often back in Indiana. He was excited to meet me, from Minnesota, because I understood how nice the fall season is in the Midwest.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Panama Update #42
Panama Update #42
September 4, 2008
It has been two days since returning from the unplanned night on the canal. I have received a lot of feedback from people that they like the pictures and writing from the last entry about the unplanned night on the canal. Spending a night on the boat did cause me to reflect quite about about where my life fits in the overall scheme of things. I don't have any answers, but if anyone knows, let me know what you think. I had a chance to contemplate the life of our good friend Swami Hari, who passed away a few days before I left for Panama. I wrote a poem about him during the night that we were on the boat in the canal, if anybody is interested. I think the way he lived his life can really be an inspiration to others. Here it is:
Swami Hari
By Daniel Hertz
September 1, 2008
To choose an austere life with no expectation of future rewards
To have a vision and keep it when you have no idea how it will come to fruition
To keep your spirits high in the case of relentless adversity
To fly against all odds of age and illness to achieve lofty goals
To live practically in an impractical world
To love others as your own son or daughter
To make something out of nothing at all
If anybody is curious, here is the website address (www.sriverm.net) for the project that he started with donations at age 66, speaking very little English and with only 30% capacity of his lungs because of emphysema.
Since I have returned from the canal, I have been working on some projects. I am still developing the English tutor business and have been talking to some people about that. I have been recovering from my first Panama cold and am feeling much better. I have continued to refine Nikki's website (http://sites.google.com/site/nstrongearth/) and today I formatted her CV. It is still under construction and she will continue working on it when she returns. I have also begun reading The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough (thanks Skip), which covers the building of the Panama Canal from the first thought of it in 1870. It is especially interesting to read after seeing the canal, but I am sure others would enjoy it.
There was a bus strike in Panama today that has been getting a lot of coverage on the TV. It didn't seem to affect the workings of this organization where Nikki works, but from the news a lot of the public schools were pretty empty. I guess it was a protest to increase wages and get more funds for the public schools. I delayed my shopping trip until tomorrow. I want to buy some treats to send to Nikki on the boat. Someone else from here is going to meet the boat in a couple of days so she can carry the items to her.
September 4, 2008
It has been two days since returning from the unplanned night on the canal. I have received a lot of feedback from people that they like the pictures and writing from the last entry about the unplanned night on the canal. Spending a night on the boat did cause me to reflect quite about about where my life fits in the overall scheme of things. I don't have any answers, but if anyone knows, let me know what you think. I had a chance to contemplate the life of our good friend Swami Hari, who passed away a few days before I left for Panama. I wrote a poem about him during the night that we were on the boat in the canal, if anybody is interested. I think the way he lived his life can really be an inspiration to others. Here it is:
Swami Hari
By Daniel Hertz
September 1, 2008
To choose an austere life with no expectation of future rewards
To have a vision and keep it when you have no idea how it will come to fruition
To keep your spirits high in the case of relentless adversity
To fly against all odds of age and illness to achieve lofty goals
To live practically in an impractical world
To love others as your own son or daughter
To make something out of nothing at all
If anybody is curious, here is the website address (www.sriverm.net) for the project that he started with donations at age 66, speaking very little English and with only 30% capacity of his lungs because of emphysema.
Since I have returned from the canal, I have been working on some projects. I am still developing the English tutor business and have been talking to some people about that. I have been recovering from my first Panama cold and am feeling much better. I have continued to refine Nikki's website (http://sites.google.com/site/nstrongearth/) and today I formatted her CV. It is still under construction and she will continue working on it when she returns. I have also begun reading The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough (thanks Skip), which covers the building of the Panama Canal from the first thought of it in 1870. It is especially interesting to read after seeing the canal, but I am sure others would enjoy it.
There was a bus strike in Panama today that has been getting a lot of coverage on the TV. It didn't seem to affect the workings of this organization where Nikki works, but from the news a lot of the public schools were pretty empty. I guess it was a protest to increase wages and get more funds for the public schools. I delayed my shopping trip until tomorrow. I want to buy some treats to send to Nikki on the boat. Someone else from here is going to meet the boat in a couple of days so she can carry the items to her.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Pictures from Panama 10 (Boat Trip through The Canal)
Daniel passing under the Bridge of
the Americas. Nikki and Daniel in front of a Cargo ship next to us.
Nikki on the deck of her home for the next two weeks. Tugboat that escorts the ships.
Dining room on the ship where they will live for the next two weeks.
Tight squeeze at the locks.
Escort tugboat next to us in the locks.
Machines that pull the big ships through the locks.
The ship behind us in the locks, going through at the same time.
The ship in the locks next to us.
Train ride back to Panama City from Colon.
Dining room on the ship where they will live for the next two weeks.Tight squeeze at the locks.
Escort tugboat next to us in the locks.
Machines that pull the big ships through the locks.
The ship behind us in the locks, going through at the same time.
The ship in the locks next to us.
Train ride back to Panama City from Colon.
Panama Update #41
Panama Update #41
September 2, 2008
The last two days have been quite busy and I have not had access to a computer. Our alarm went off at 4:00 AM on Sunday (two days ago). Nikki had to be at the dock for the research vessle by 5:00 AM. I was going with her for the first day when their boat went through the canal, and then planned to return at the end of the day with 3 others by taxi from Colon, from the Atlantic side of the canal. We arrived there on time, but Nikki realized she had forgot her hiking boots. It was critical that she had them for the activities she would be doing over the next two weeks. We borrowed a truck to drive back to our dorm room. We got there fine, but on the way back took a wrong turn and went over the Bridge of Americas by mistake. It was still dark and we were mixed up in the jungle on the other side, but called someone for directions. It was the first time I had crossed this bridge, which links the two continents. I thought is was interesting that I would be on both sides of that bridge on the same day I would be in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. We made it back to the ship on time. The ship slept 11 people, 5 crew members, and had a kitchen, dining room, a couple of outdoor decks, and a research room for storing samples. Nikki had a roommate from the Kuna Yala region. She would act as a translator and guide for the group of scientists. A boat going through the canal has to have an appointment and then has to wait for instructions on when they can proceed. The boat we were on was relatively small, so we had to wait until a bigger ship was going through that fit with us in the locks. We waited in the water by the Bridge of the Americas until finally we started on our journey through the canal at about 10:00 AM. Since we were late being called to the first locks, by the time we got to the entrance point for the 3rd and last set of locks, it was already about 2:30 PM. It normally takes about 8 hours to go all the way through the canal. We thought we would have a chance to go through, but the ship received word that we would not be able to pass through until the next day. So I and the 3 others had to unexpectedly stay on the ship for Sunday night. I had no change of clothes, toothbrush or other supplies, and it would be my first time sleeping on a boat. It was a calm, starry night on the water and for the most part a pleasant experience. They didn't have bunk space for us, so I slept on a mat on the floor of Nikki's room. The cabins are small but we all squeezed in. The next day they finally called the boat through the last lock at about 2:30 PM, so we ended up waiting for about 24 hours. When we reached Colon, the four of us caught a train back to Panama City which only takes one hour. It was a beatiful, air conditioned train ride through the canal and jungle for $22. It is the oldest transcontinental train in the Americas, from 1855, before the US had a transcontinental train. It was so valuable when it opened at that time, that it became the highest traded stock on the New York Stock exchange for a few years.
The experience of going through the canal was more meaningful then I could have imagined. It was traveling through a place that people from all over the world have gone through for over 100 years. It is truly a gathering place of the people of the world.
September 2, 2008
The last two days have been quite busy and I have not had access to a computer. Our alarm went off at 4:00 AM on Sunday (two days ago). Nikki had to be at the dock for the research vessle by 5:00 AM. I was going with her for the first day when their boat went through the canal, and then planned to return at the end of the day with 3 others by taxi from Colon, from the Atlantic side of the canal. We arrived there on time, but Nikki realized she had forgot her hiking boots. It was critical that she had them for the activities she would be doing over the next two weeks. We borrowed a truck to drive back to our dorm room. We got there fine, but on the way back took a wrong turn and went over the Bridge of Americas by mistake. It was still dark and we were mixed up in the jungle on the other side, but called someone for directions. It was the first time I had crossed this bridge, which links the two continents. I thought is was interesting that I would be on both sides of that bridge on the same day I would be in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. We made it back to the ship on time. The ship slept 11 people, 5 crew members, and had a kitchen, dining room, a couple of outdoor decks, and a research room for storing samples. Nikki had a roommate from the Kuna Yala region. She would act as a translator and guide for the group of scientists. A boat going through the canal has to have an appointment and then has to wait for instructions on when they can proceed. The boat we were on was relatively small, so we had to wait until a bigger ship was going through that fit with us in the locks. We waited in the water by the Bridge of the Americas until finally we started on our journey through the canal at about 10:00 AM. Since we were late being called to the first locks, by the time we got to the entrance point for the 3rd and last set of locks, it was already about 2:30 PM. It normally takes about 8 hours to go all the way through the canal. We thought we would have a chance to go through, but the ship received word that we would not be able to pass through until the next day. So I and the 3 others had to unexpectedly stay on the ship for Sunday night. I had no change of clothes, toothbrush or other supplies, and it would be my first time sleeping on a boat. It was a calm, starry night on the water and for the most part a pleasant experience. They didn't have bunk space for us, so I slept on a mat on the floor of Nikki's room. The cabins are small but we all squeezed in. The next day they finally called the boat through the last lock at about 2:30 PM, so we ended up waiting for about 24 hours. When we reached Colon, the four of us caught a train back to Panama City which only takes one hour. It was a beatiful, air conditioned train ride through the canal and jungle for $22. It is the oldest transcontinental train in the Americas, from 1855, before the US had a transcontinental train. It was so valuable when it opened at that time, that it became the highest traded stock on the New York Stock exchange for a few years.
The experience of going through the canal was more meaningful then I could have imagined. It was traveling through a place that people from all over the world have gone through for over 100 years. It is truly a gathering place of the people of the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)