La Frontera

Today we went to the border of Costa Rica! There was a long mall with discount stores selling clothing, furniture, electronics, pretty much all kinds of stuff. On one side Panama and on the other side you could exit right into Costa Rica. Of course I was looking for differences. I was only able to see a few things during such a short visit. The road was different. It looked rougher and was full of shells!
The houses were built differently. They were smaller and more rectangular. Tidy little houses with neatly slanted roofs. Maybe I imagined it but the people walking around looked a bit different.
We stopped at what Luis' mom called a ¨Tica Tienda.¨ People in Costa Rica are often called ¨Ticos¨ instead of Costarricenses. It was a big grocery store connected to some other shops including a little snack bar and a veterinary supply store. Luis, Rosalina, and I went in to scope out Costa Rican cookies and came out with three types. Jose, Luis' father, stayed outside at the snack bar to drink a squirt soda from a glass bottle and talk to two young Panamanian girls who were working there. We joined him for a refreshing soda. The Panamanian girls said that their water supply came from Panama and their electricity from Costa Rica. While we were drinking our sodas we heard the desperate mew of a little innocent kitten. She looked like a fuzzy Arthur type. Her eyes were blue, and were taking in everything with the vulnerability of a baby, looking up at us on her wobbly kitten legs. I felt so many emotions at once seeing the kitten. I knew I couldn't leave the kitten standing on the sidewalk. I even got as far as thinking I could bring the kitten home, or at least find a home for it. But, luckilly the kitten only stood there for a moment before a tall skinny Costa Rican girl in jeans came and scooped her up in one hand and set her back in the veterinary store from where she had escaped through the open gate.
We came back to David and we just finished dinner. Usually dinner and all meals here are served I guess ¨family style.¨ Everyone has their own plate and there are bowls and plates with different things on them. Usually a giant bowl of rice, a green salad, maybe some tomato slices, some fish, sometimes boiled or fried bananas, some meat, and a bottle of hot sauce.
Angela comes on weekday mornings. She prepares breakfast and lunch and then Rosalina makes dinner and the food on weekends. Every day we have had papaya for breakfast. Angela will make eggs and fried tortillas for us and we'll have our own pot of Panamanian coffee. Usually Luis' parents have already eaten by the time Luis and I wake up. Angela comes in to talk to us while we eat. The other day she brought her daughter in to work with her to meet us. She had chubby cheeks. She looked like a teenage version of Angela and had a friendly smile like hers.
Tonight we ate pasta with tomatos, onions, and tuna prepared by Luis, with salad, and hot sauce on the side. Of course there was also a bowl of rice. Luis' father mixed rice into his spaghetti. A Panamanian meal isn't really complete without rice.
I can hear a gentle chorus of insects right now through the open window. It has been warm lately. I have been so happy here, and seeing all the trees and plants and sunlight has made me feel so good. If I see a field of pineapples growing, I think, somehow they look happy as if they are thinking ¨Wow! I am a pineapple! Gee! It's good to be a pineapple!¨ Trees and vines and cows all seem to smile as if its just good to be what they are.