Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
ooooh! Fashion, Fruit, and Vegetables and Santa Claus hats
Hello again. It is Monday morning. Luis is sleeping, but I can't sleep. We woke up early to go walking/running at the baseball stadium with Luis' father. Here in Panama it is so hot when the sun is up that it can actually be dangerous to run during the day. Most weekday mornings Luis' father starts his day with a walk at the stadium. Some times he gets up at 5 am. I have to admit he looked very cute in his excercise outfit. He had on sneakers, shorts, and a red jersey with a little baseball cap. ¨Luis, Luis! Vamos a caminar!¨ he said knocking on the door to wake us up. Some people get up at 4 in the morning to avoid the heat! We got up this morning at 5:45. It was still dark out and the moon was still out. When we arrived this morning around 6 there were already several people walking around the track. I ran around a few times while Luis and his father walked. We watched the sun rise and listened to the birds begin to get louder and louder. The birds really sing here! I really like the call and answer of one very noisy bird. Sort of a black medium sized bird with a rainbow sheen and a rounded tail. ¨Screech!!!! chi chi chi chi!¨ and the same thing in response. I have to say that there is another animal that sings here which is surprising. Geckos! Geckos are everywhere. They are Luis' least favorite animal because they are everywhere and many of them are translucent, so if you see one in the light you can see whatever insects it has just eaten in its belly. I've been hearing this funny noise since I've been here. Like ¨Kuk kuk kuk kuk kuk kuk kuk!¨ I thought it must be a bird, but Luis told me it was the geckos. These geckos aren't very big. They can really project! As an opera singer would say, They know how to ¨send the breath.¨ Apparently they came to the Panama canal on Chinese ships, and crowded out the native red and black species.
Because this entry seems to be mostly about animals let me tell you about some other animals I have seen! There is this great ice cream place called Jackelita here in David. I think it is my favorite place here so far! Can you believe you can get a delicious ice cream cone for just 35 cents? The ice cream is all natural in all kinds of fruit flavours. The cones are small, but you really don't need a lot. They also have coffee, chocolate, little cheese sandwiches, fresh juices, and fruit salads. I saw my first iguana here at Jackelita! It was quite a surprise! He was sitting peacefuly without expression just under the roof of the restaurant. I approached him and thought he would stay still. I didn't realise how fast they can move. He scrambled quickly and noisily into a crack between the roof and the ceiling of the restaurant, his tail and legs crashing and thrashing! So I didn't get a picture. Next time I will be very slow.
In the town of Boquete, Luis and I visited a very beautiful garden. The garden is open to the public during the day. There is a beautiful pool full of fish and lots of bridges and pathways. There is a view of the beautiful surrounding mountains. There are flowers in all different colors. This is an animal story as well! Luis and I were walking down a pathway and talking when all the sudden we came across a greenish/brown snake. Luis laughs about this story now because when I saw the snake I didn't freak out. I just said ¨Oh, look a snake!¨ Luis just about jumped out of his skin! I don't know why but I wasn't that scared. I thought that it would be smart to move slowly away from the snake, but he seemed peaceful and harmless, like the poor garden snakes that the cats kill once in a while in Maine. Luis jumped and started running in the opposite direction from the snake. I wanted to keep going down the path. Luis was like ¨Run, Run, It's gone! Where is it? Where is it?¨ I guess while we were making a fuss the snake slithered away to a quieter resting spot. We told Luis' father about the snake and he doesn't think it was a dangerous one. But, he says that on his farm there are some dangerous snakes. The snakes have killed some cows and horses there before. No wonder Luis was afraid. I wonder if my heritage somehow removed some of my instinctual fear of snakes over time and Luis background would have kept it as a very useful fear. Or maybe it is because I haven't really grown up in places where there are dangerous snakes? Don't get me wrong, I am not going to start hanging around with snakes!! I am scared too, but wonder why I didn't react as quickly as Luis.
Here is another topic I have been meaning to write about! Fashion! People do dress and look differently here. The sexuality around here is quite overt. Women have curves spilling out all over. Of course part of it is the fact that it is hot, so people don't want to wear a lot of fabric. Flashy clothing with stretch, sparkle and color is the norm for every day here. Kind of like birds. Maybe we would be happier up north if we wore brighter colors more often. Luis' mother took me shopping in the fanciest clothing shop in David. She bought me a lovely sleeveless blue top with a black layer of lace on top as a present. I am glad I brought that black skirt with beaded embroidery on it that I never wear. It looks great with the top and makes a very nice Panamanian Christmas outfit. In the fancy shop I also tried on a cute dress with a halter neck. It was very bright and covered in flowers in yellow, brown, red, and lavender. The only reason I didn't choose it is that I wasn't comfortable with the color combination. This was one of the first days that we were here, and I guess I was still stuck in Montreal mode which is more conservative this time of year. The truth is that people like and wear different colors here.
I also had a lovely time shopping with Angela! Angela is such a nice lady and so funny and kind! I have a real life example now for how to play the character of Despina from Mozart's ¨Cosi fan tutte.¨ Angela is very intelligent and she dreams a lot. She has a lot of spirit and she says ¨Good Morning¨ to me every day in English. She likes to learn new words. She is not afraid or irritated when I talk to Luis in English. She just listens and tries to figure out what I am saying. I liked Angela right away when I met her and I was delighted one day when she wanted to take a break and go for a walk around the down town shops and she invited me. We met a street vendor and she introduced me as her friend and that made me very happy. She treated me to a snow cone with pineapple and an agua de pipa (young coconut water straight from the coconut.) I felt very spoiled and happy as a little kid would have felt! It was a hot day.
The last couple of days we have attended Christmas parades. On Saturday Luis and I went for pizza with his mother in Boquete. We have eaten pizza here a few times. Going out for pizza is special here. That is a difference. When people go out for pizza in Canada or the states it is much more casual and usually cheap. Here it is a special treat. We ate a delicious vegetarian pizza with fresh vegetables and thin strips of zucchini. As we were finishing the pizza we started to hear firecrackers out in the street. People were building up outside and we felt the excitement start to increase. I don't really ¨get¨ firecrackers. They make me think of guns and they startle me. We ate the last bites of pizza and drank our last drops of hot chocolate quickly and hurried out ino the street. The first truck to come down the street was carrying some kids and a giant snowman with a huge smile. I really get a kick out of all the snowmen. Trucks came with children dressed in different costumes. Most trucks even the ones with kids were blasting throbbing reggaeton music (what Alex and I listened to coming from cars all summer long in Jamaica Plain, MA.) Luis' Mom laughed so hard at a truck carrying a fat Santa Claus, dancing with undulating hips in his hot red and white costume. The truth is that we were all having a blast. The people in the trucks were throwing out candy from giant bags at the people in the streets. Kids were going crazy and I fought tooth and nail for the few pieces of hard candy I was able to get. I drew a line at going for pieces that would be too risky to try for. A piece of hard candy isn't worth having your hand crushed by the foot of an agressive little kid. Luis' Mom was lucky enough to catch a block of caramel corn (actually it hit her right on the nose!) One of the very last trucks carried the mayor of the town of Boquete throwing candy from the biggest bag of all. Teenage boys with bags were trampling people down and following the truck trying to get as much candy as possible. They were like a pack of pirañas and when they came I didn't even try for candy. These boys picked it all up before it even hit the ground.
I am going to end this entry with something funny! Soon we are going to upload more pictures. I took a picture of a really wonderful place, however normal and every day it might seem to someone who lives here. Luis and his family are fruit and vegetable snobs. They only accept the best and his Mom goes to the market every couple of days the procure the best specimens. Luis and I have come along a couple of times. One day his father sent us to the fruit and vegetable market with a list. A papaya was on the list so Luis sent me to pick one out from a heap of different sized, colored, and shaped papayas. I picked a medium sized one with a nice looking shape, fairly green just starting to turn. Luis okayed it so we brought it home, although now I think I remember a brief look of doubt on the face of the fruit and vegetable lady. Nevertheless, she bagged it for us and we took it home. Angela was unimpressed and said that it would be days before it could be eaten. Yesterday we finally ate it. It tasted good to me, although some pieces were hard and inedible. Luis' father looked at it with a look of superiority. ¨Esta papaya no es tan catolica.¨ I asked Luis what he meant. The papaya was not a good catholic! Can you imagine the papaya enjoying it's sunday skipping mass with a look of glee on its green face?
Ok that's all for now! Take care.
Because this entry seems to be mostly about animals let me tell you about some other animals I have seen! There is this great ice cream place called Jackelita here in David. I think it is my favorite place here so far! Can you believe you can get a delicious ice cream cone for just 35 cents? The ice cream is all natural in all kinds of fruit flavours. The cones are small, but you really don't need a lot. They also have coffee, chocolate, little cheese sandwiches, fresh juices, and fruit salads. I saw my first iguana here at Jackelita! It was quite a surprise! He was sitting peacefuly without expression just under the roof of the restaurant. I approached him and thought he would stay still. I didn't realise how fast they can move. He scrambled quickly and noisily into a crack between the roof and the ceiling of the restaurant, his tail and legs crashing and thrashing! So I didn't get a picture. Next time I will be very slow.
In the town of Boquete, Luis and I visited a very beautiful garden. The garden is open to the public during the day. There is a beautiful pool full of fish and lots of bridges and pathways. There is a view of the beautiful surrounding mountains. There are flowers in all different colors. This is an animal story as well! Luis and I were walking down a pathway and talking when all the sudden we came across a greenish/brown snake. Luis laughs about this story now because when I saw the snake I didn't freak out. I just said ¨Oh, look a snake!¨ Luis just about jumped out of his skin! I don't know why but I wasn't that scared. I thought that it would be smart to move slowly away from the snake, but he seemed peaceful and harmless, like the poor garden snakes that the cats kill once in a while in Maine. Luis jumped and started running in the opposite direction from the snake. I wanted to keep going down the path. Luis was like ¨Run, Run, It's gone! Where is it? Where is it?¨ I guess while we were making a fuss the snake slithered away to a quieter resting spot. We told Luis' father about the snake and he doesn't think it was a dangerous one. But, he says that on his farm there are some dangerous snakes. The snakes have killed some cows and horses there before. No wonder Luis was afraid. I wonder if my heritage somehow removed some of my instinctual fear of snakes over time and Luis background would have kept it as a very useful fear. Or maybe it is because I haven't really grown up in places where there are dangerous snakes? Don't get me wrong, I am not going to start hanging around with snakes!! I am scared too, but wonder why I didn't react as quickly as Luis.
Here is another topic I have been meaning to write about! Fashion! People do dress and look differently here. The sexuality around here is quite overt. Women have curves spilling out all over. Of course part of it is the fact that it is hot, so people don't want to wear a lot of fabric. Flashy clothing with stretch, sparkle and color is the norm for every day here. Kind of like birds. Maybe we would be happier up north if we wore brighter colors more often. Luis' mother took me shopping in the fanciest clothing shop in David. She bought me a lovely sleeveless blue top with a black layer of lace on top as a present. I am glad I brought that black skirt with beaded embroidery on it that I never wear. It looks great with the top and makes a very nice Panamanian Christmas outfit. In the fancy shop I also tried on a cute dress with a halter neck. It was very bright and covered in flowers in yellow, brown, red, and lavender. The only reason I didn't choose it is that I wasn't comfortable with the color combination. This was one of the first days that we were here, and I guess I was still stuck in Montreal mode which is more conservative this time of year. The truth is that people like and wear different colors here.
I also had a lovely time shopping with Angela! Angela is such a nice lady and so funny and kind! I have a real life example now for how to play the character of Despina from Mozart's ¨Cosi fan tutte.¨ Angela is very intelligent and she dreams a lot. She has a lot of spirit and she says ¨Good Morning¨ to me every day in English. She likes to learn new words. She is not afraid or irritated when I talk to Luis in English. She just listens and tries to figure out what I am saying. I liked Angela right away when I met her and I was delighted one day when she wanted to take a break and go for a walk around the down town shops and she invited me. We met a street vendor and she introduced me as her friend and that made me very happy. She treated me to a snow cone with pineapple and an agua de pipa (young coconut water straight from the coconut.) I felt very spoiled and happy as a little kid would have felt! It was a hot day.
The last couple of days we have attended Christmas parades. On Saturday Luis and I went for pizza with his mother in Boquete. We have eaten pizza here a few times. Going out for pizza is special here. That is a difference. When people go out for pizza in Canada or the states it is much more casual and usually cheap. Here it is a special treat. We ate a delicious vegetarian pizza with fresh vegetables and thin strips of zucchini. As we were finishing the pizza we started to hear firecrackers out in the street. People were building up outside and we felt the excitement start to increase. I don't really ¨get¨ firecrackers. They make me think of guns and they startle me. We ate the last bites of pizza and drank our last drops of hot chocolate quickly and hurried out ino the street. The first truck to come down the street was carrying some kids and a giant snowman with a huge smile. I really get a kick out of all the snowmen. Trucks came with children dressed in different costumes. Most trucks even the ones with kids were blasting throbbing reggaeton music (what Alex and I listened to coming from cars all summer long in Jamaica Plain, MA.) Luis' Mom laughed so hard at a truck carrying a fat Santa Claus, dancing with undulating hips in his hot red and white costume. The truth is that we were all having a blast. The people in the trucks were throwing out candy from giant bags at the people in the streets. Kids were going crazy and I fought tooth and nail for the few pieces of hard candy I was able to get. I drew a line at going for pieces that would be too risky to try for. A piece of hard candy isn't worth having your hand crushed by the foot of an agressive little kid. Luis' Mom was lucky enough to catch a block of caramel corn (actually it hit her right on the nose!) One of the very last trucks carried the mayor of the town of Boquete throwing candy from the biggest bag of all. Teenage boys with bags were trampling people down and following the truck trying to get as much candy as possible. They were like a pack of pirañas and when they came I didn't even try for candy. These boys picked it all up before it even hit the ground.
I am going to end this entry with something funny! Soon we are going to upload more pictures. I took a picture of a really wonderful place, however normal and every day it might seem to someone who lives here. Luis and his family are fruit and vegetable snobs. They only accept the best and his Mom goes to the market every couple of days the procure the best specimens. Luis and I have come along a couple of times. One day his father sent us to the fruit and vegetable market with a list. A papaya was on the list so Luis sent me to pick one out from a heap of different sized, colored, and shaped papayas. I picked a medium sized one with a nice looking shape, fairly green just starting to turn. Luis okayed it so we brought it home, although now I think I remember a brief look of doubt on the face of the fruit and vegetable lady. Nevertheless, she bagged it for us and we took it home. Angela was unimpressed and said that it would be days before it could be eaten. Yesterday we finally ate it. It tasted good to me, although some pieces were hard and inedible. Luis' father looked at it with a look of superiority. ¨Esta papaya no es tan catolica.¨ I asked Luis what he meant. The papaya was not a good catholic! Can you imagine the papaya enjoying it's sunday skipping mass with a look of glee on its green face?
Ok that's all for now! Take care.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Hola from David, Panama! It is morning and I am going to get a few words in before and after breakfast. Everything is going well. Last night Luis and I put up more pictures. The ones we chose are some of the best ones. It is so much fun to have a nice camera to be able to show you what this trip has been like. We are going to add more soon.
It is hard to know where to start with this entry because there are so many things on my mind. I have made many mental notes of experiences to remember to share that I am starting to forget the order in which things happened. But, I suppose that doesn't matter so much.
One of my first sights in David was a trip to the downtown shops to buy Christmas decorations with Luis' Mom. Luis' parents had already begun to decorate their imported Canadian Christmas tree before we arrived with lights, different shaped red bulbs, a christmas star, and a variety of different stuffed bear and snowmen ornaments. I felt sorry for the snowmen and Luis, his mother, and I all laughed because the snowmen were trying hard to smile and keep their carrot noses up in spite of the heat. I felt particularly sorry for the ones with full body jackets and scarves, and hats. The Piccadily store was packed the day we went. We picked out some more christmas ornaments. I chose a rich blue box of ornaments, and we picked out some green and red lights. We have the tree all set up now and it is an invigorating experience to watch the lights flashing. Luis and I thought about how humans perceive order and pattern. The lights had us mesmerized. Perhaps our philosophical thoughts were the influence of the lights or perhaps they came from a visit with a man who Luis' father refers to as ¨Señor España¨ ¨Mr. Spain.¨ He has been friends with this Spanish philosopher for many years and now they are both ¨viejitos¨ together. Mr. Spain is quite a character. He is a person that loves to tell stories. He smokes like a chimney and is very thin. He has a thin face which is hysterically similar to the stereotypical image of Don Quixote. I made Luis' Dad laugh by asking him what happened to Rocinante. Angela was very unimpressed with the evidence of himself Mr. Spain left in the bedroom he slept in during his visit which we can perceive with what we'll call ¨the human sense most connected with memory.¨ She had to leave the bedroom window open for a good portion of the day. He spoke so quickly and in a strong accent that I was envious of Luis and his mother and father for being able to follow all the stories and jokes. They were laughing so hard. The evening Mr. Spain came to visit we all went on a trip to the beautiful beach shown in some of the pictures Luis and I posted. He told many stories and jokes and Luis translated some of them for me as follows. He was very expressive with his hands and like any good story teller in his version of the story there was a very detailed setup for each tale:
¨There was a man who was very rich. He was single and lived alone, but he had a chauffer, a cook, a maid, someone to do the ironing, and all of that. But, he had a parakeet. One day he received the phone bill and there were phone calls from all around the world, China, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Vietnam, all around the world. The phone bill cost over $2,000. He thought ¨I have to find out who did this and punish them.¨ But he thought if he asked his staff personally each one would just blame someone else. So he installed a closed circuit camera in front of the phone to see who was making the phone calls. He found out that the one who was using the phone was the parakeet. So he confronted the parakeet and he said ¨Hey you sonovabitch! You live here for free and this is the way you pay me back!?¨ So he grabbed him, spread his wings and his feet and nailed him to the wall crucifying the parakeet. The parakeet was taken to a room he had never been before. He started to look around to see what was there and he saw another small figure of a guy being crucified and above him was written ¨INRI¨ so he said ¨Hey Inri! Hey you!¨ So poor Inri lifted his head to talk to the parakeet. The parakeet told him what had happened and why he had been crucified. Then the parakeet asked him ¨Hey man how long have you been here?¨
The man answered ¨Oh, well I've been crucified for the last 2,000 years.¨
The parakeet asked in amazement,¨Oh wow! Tell me, who the hell did you call!?¨
Mr. Spain also said:
¨If Mother Theresa is in heaven and all the whores are in hell, when someone asks me where I'd rather go, I would definitely say hell.¨
He was very funny and after a relaxing walk on the beach, Luis and I offered to cook our famous mushroom soup for dinner. We went to two grocery stores and we couldn't find mushrooms. We also did not have the recipe. I crossed my fingers that the canned mushrooms we bought would work in the soup and that I could remember how to make the soup. It turned out well. Like last time I made it I added too much cayenne! But, it was actually delicious and quite spicy. Mr. Spain liked it very much and was pleased with the cayenne. He told me that the best compliment to any chef is a clean plate.
Well this seems like enough for now. I also have to tell you about the town of Boquete which is the ideal place in the world for Luis' father and Luis' father's farm. The pictures with the cows are from the farm. We also took a video of a very curious young white bull, who kept trying to run at us. Although he was young he was big, and I was still afraid of him. Luis' Dad and his cousin Pepe (Don Juan de Boquete) had to threaten him with a stick to keep him away. We drank fresh sugar cane juice from the farm...well I'll tell you more about that later! Have a great day!
It is hard to know where to start with this entry because there are so many things on my mind. I have made many mental notes of experiences to remember to share that I am starting to forget the order in which things happened. But, I suppose that doesn't matter so much.
One of my first sights in David was a trip to the downtown shops to buy Christmas decorations with Luis' Mom. Luis' parents had already begun to decorate their imported Canadian Christmas tree before we arrived with lights, different shaped red bulbs, a christmas star, and a variety of different stuffed bear and snowmen ornaments. I felt sorry for the snowmen and Luis, his mother, and I all laughed because the snowmen were trying hard to smile and keep their carrot noses up in spite of the heat. I felt particularly sorry for the ones with full body jackets and scarves, and hats. The Piccadily store was packed the day we went. We picked out some more christmas ornaments. I chose a rich blue box of ornaments, and we picked out some green and red lights. We have the tree all set up now and it is an invigorating experience to watch the lights flashing. Luis and I thought about how humans perceive order and pattern. The lights had us mesmerized. Perhaps our philosophical thoughts were the influence of the lights or perhaps they came from a visit with a man who Luis' father refers to as ¨Señor España¨ ¨Mr. Spain.¨ He has been friends with this Spanish philosopher for many years and now they are both ¨viejitos¨ together. Mr. Spain is quite a character. He is a person that loves to tell stories. He smokes like a chimney and is very thin. He has a thin face which is hysterically similar to the stereotypical image of Don Quixote. I made Luis' Dad laugh by asking him what happened to Rocinante. Angela was very unimpressed with the evidence of himself Mr. Spain left in the bedroom he slept in during his visit which we can perceive with what we'll call ¨the human sense most connected with memory.¨ She had to leave the bedroom window open for a good portion of the day. He spoke so quickly and in a strong accent that I was envious of Luis and his mother and father for being able to follow all the stories and jokes. They were laughing so hard. The evening Mr. Spain came to visit we all went on a trip to the beautiful beach shown in some of the pictures Luis and I posted. He told many stories and jokes and Luis translated some of them for me as follows. He was very expressive with his hands and like any good story teller in his version of the story there was a very detailed setup for each tale:
¨There was a man who was very rich. He was single and lived alone, but he had a chauffer, a cook, a maid, someone to do the ironing, and all of that. But, he had a parakeet. One day he received the phone bill and there were phone calls from all around the world, China, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Vietnam, all around the world. The phone bill cost over $2,000. He thought ¨I have to find out who did this and punish them.¨ But he thought if he asked his staff personally each one would just blame someone else. So he installed a closed circuit camera in front of the phone to see who was making the phone calls. He found out that the one who was using the phone was the parakeet. So he confronted the parakeet and he said ¨Hey you sonovabitch! You live here for free and this is the way you pay me back!?¨ So he grabbed him, spread his wings and his feet and nailed him to the wall crucifying the parakeet. The parakeet was taken to a room he had never been before. He started to look around to see what was there and he saw another small figure of a guy being crucified and above him was written ¨INRI¨ so he said ¨Hey Inri! Hey you!¨ So poor Inri lifted his head to talk to the parakeet. The parakeet told him what had happened and why he had been crucified. Then the parakeet asked him ¨Hey man how long have you been here?¨
The man answered ¨Oh, well I've been crucified for the last 2,000 years.¨
The parakeet asked in amazement,¨Oh wow! Tell me, who the hell did you call!?¨
Mr. Spain also said:
¨If Mother Theresa is in heaven and all the whores are in hell, when someone asks me where I'd rather go, I would definitely say hell.¨
He was very funny and after a relaxing walk on the beach, Luis and I offered to cook our famous mushroom soup for dinner. We went to two grocery stores and we couldn't find mushrooms. We also did not have the recipe. I crossed my fingers that the canned mushrooms we bought would work in the soup and that I could remember how to make the soup. It turned out well. Like last time I made it I added too much cayenne! But, it was actually delicious and quite spicy. Mr. Spain liked it very much and was pleased with the cayenne. He told me that the best compliment to any chef is a clean plate.
Well this seems like enough for now. I also have to tell you about the town of Boquete which is the ideal place in the world for Luis' father and Luis' father's farm. The pictures with the cows are from the farm. We also took a video of a very curious young white bull, who kept trying to run at us. Although he was young he was big, and I was still afraid of him. Luis' Dad and his cousin Pepe (Don Juan de Boquete) had to threaten him with a stick to keep him away. We drank fresh sugar cane juice from the farm...well I'll tell you more about that later! Have a great day!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
First Week in Panama Part 2
Luis and I have been in Panama for a week as of today, so I have to hurry and write as much as I can, so that I will be able to write about experiences from week 2 as well! Our trip to David from Panama City was very exciting. The trip took 6 hours and we took a long winding road through the countryside. The landscape was varied and we passed through several small towns along the way. Upon entering the Chiriqui region everything that appeared green became to my surprise even greener! To say that the hills were covered in green would definitely be an understatement. The hills were crammed with plants fighting for every possible space. Vines covered areas that other plants could not access. The soundtrack for the drive consisted of Bob Dylan, U2, Paul Simon, and Madonna. By the end of the 6 hour trip we were all singing along. Luis mother loves Paul Simon and in the car she danced and slapped her leg to the rhythm while singing along. I felt relieved to know that my little eccentricities such as singing and dancing whenever possible would have a comfortable home for one month. Luis father loves Bob Dylan and even though he doesn't know what all the words mean he feels a connection to it. Luis says it reminds him of some traditional Panamanian music. Luis also says he tears up when he hears Billy Joel's song ¨Piano Man.¨
There were some sad things to see on the side of the road as well. Some very poor people live in small villages along the road. A lady in brightly colored native dress carried an impossible amount of children on her body and held the hands of others as she walked along the side of the road. Perhaps she was going to visit a friend or her mother and needed to bring the children with her. We saw teenage students walking home from school in packs in their school uniforms. We saw kids playing outside or working. A young man chopping at the branches of tree. Small one story houses with little gates holding horses and chickens. Chickens clucked along beside the road and it was not unusual to see a lone horse galloping down the road seemingly unaccompanied by a human. As it got darker the headlights illuminated a startling image of a little boy of perhaps 6 or 7 years sitting close to the road in a blue t shirt playing in the dirt. I wonder where his mother was and if it was dangerous for him to play by himself near the road at such a strange time of day.
When we arrived at Luis house in David we were all very glad to be home including Luis mother and father who had made the same 6 hour trip in the opposite direction the day before to come pick us up in Panama City. A comfortable and luxurious bedroom was set up for us to sleep in with our own private blue bathroom. The night was perfumed with the open air smell of flowers and plants. Luis and I were both struck with the extreme contrast of Montreal's cold grey city slush and the warm slow ease of air on our skin. We slept better in the bed at home than we had at the hotel where I had been afflicted with a strange dream about a turtle skeleton...
In the morning Luis showed me the back patio where there were lime trees and a cinnamon tree. I learned that a delicious tea can be made from the bark. I was excited to see the backyard because Luis told me that when he was growing up there used to be a big tree that was always full of iguanas. According to Luis, iguanas are the squirrels of Panama. He told me a sad story which I don't want to relate entirely because many of my readers will be animal lovers. The tree full of iguanas is no longer there because of a tragedy. The tree was struck by lightning and the poor iguanas were killed. Luis said that his mother was devastated because these iguanas had made her very happy.
For breakfast every morning during the week before Luis mother and father go to work (both University professors) a young lady named Angela serves us fresh fruit and coffee and whatever we like to eat. Angela is a very funny lady and talks a lot! She has children and a husband named Santiago. She says that because of their names they are an angel and a saint and for this reason they were meant to be together! You will also be amused to hear that Angela said referring to me ¨Esta niña come mucho!¨ meaning ¨This girl eats a lot!¨ When it comes to fresh fruit I could eat it all day long. Angela wore the funniest yellow t-shirt yesterday with the words in english ¨Late Nite Lounge, Mingle if you're single.¨ I laughed really hard privately of course. She said that she looked all the words up in the dictionary to make sure it didn't say anything bad.
Well, that's enough for now! Talk to you soon everybody!
There were some sad things to see on the side of the road as well. Some very poor people live in small villages along the road. A lady in brightly colored native dress carried an impossible amount of children on her body and held the hands of others as she walked along the side of the road. Perhaps she was going to visit a friend or her mother and needed to bring the children with her. We saw teenage students walking home from school in packs in their school uniforms. We saw kids playing outside or working. A young man chopping at the branches of tree. Small one story houses with little gates holding horses and chickens. Chickens clucked along beside the road and it was not unusual to see a lone horse galloping down the road seemingly unaccompanied by a human. As it got darker the headlights illuminated a startling image of a little boy of perhaps 6 or 7 years sitting close to the road in a blue t shirt playing in the dirt. I wonder where his mother was and if it was dangerous for him to play by himself near the road at such a strange time of day.
When we arrived at Luis house in David we were all very glad to be home including Luis mother and father who had made the same 6 hour trip in the opposite direction the day before to come pick us up in Panama City. A comfortable and luxurious bedroom was set up for us to sleep in with our own private blue bathroom. The night was perfumed with the open air smell of flowers and plants. Luis and I were both struck with the extreme contrast of Montreal's cold grey city slush and the warm slow ease of air on our skin. We slept better in the bed at home than we had at the hotel where I had been afflicted with a strange dream about a turtle skeleton...
In the morning Luis showed me the back patio where there were lime trees and a cinnamon tree. I learned that a delicious tea can be made from the bark. I was excited to see the backyard because Luis told me that when he was growing up there used to be a big tree that was always full of iguanas. According to Luis, iguanas are the squirrels of Panama. He told me a sad story which I don't want to relate entirely because many of my readers will be animal lovers. The tree full of iguanas is no longer there because of a tragedy. The tree was struck by lightning and the poor iguanas were killed. Luis said that his mother was devastated because these iguanas had made her very happy.
For breakfast every morning during the week before Luis mother and father go to work (both University professors) a young lady named Angela serves us fresh fruit and coffee and whatever we like to eat. Angela is a very funny lady and talks a lot! She has children and a husband named Santiago. She says that because of their names they are an angel and a saint and for this reason they were meant to be together! You will also be amused to hear that Angela said referring to me ¨Esta niña come mucho!¨ meaning ¨This girl eats a lot!¨ When it comes to fresh fruit I could eat it all day long. Angela wore the funniest yellow t-shirt yesterday with the words in english ¨Late Nite Lounge, Mingle if you're single.¨ I laughed really hard privately of course. She said that she looked all the words up in the dictionary to make sure it didn't say anything bad.
Well, that's enough for now! Talk to you soon everybody!
Monday, December 15, 2008
First Week in Panama!
Hello from David, Panama, in the beautiful Chiriqui province! Luis and I have been here for less than a week and already we have seen so much that I think it would take hours to really tell all the stories! Panama is even more beautiful than I imagined. The Chiriqui region is so rich and green and full of life that from the comfort of Luis father's air conditioned car there are endless sights to behold.
This is how our journey began:
On Wednesday last week we woke up to a very slushy and snowy Montreal. I thought to myself that it was definitely time to get out of Montreal. Luis and I were nervous that we might not actually make it out that day because of the snow. The cab driver who took us to the airport told us that many flights were cancelled or delayed that day. Nevertheless we took our suitcases and backpacks into the cab to try our luck at the airport. Luis carried me and my backpack over a deep pool of slush. I didn't bring winter boots because I certainly wouldn't be needing them in Panama. The taxi wheels struggled in the snow for a few tense moments and then we were off. We made it to our gate in plenty of time and even had time for a cup of second cup coffee. We situated ourselves as comfortably as possible in our small airplanes seats for the flight to Newark. The pilot announced that we would be waiting for an hour to be in line to de-ice the plane, and that we would then be in line for one hour to de-ice the plane! This turned into four and a half hours of waiting before we even left Montreal! This left us an half hour window to get to our gate for Panama City and eat a quick slice of expensive airport pizza while gawking at the huge crowd of people headed for Panama right next to another large crowd heading for Hamburg . The big plane for Panama City was very comfortable. A big lady with highly processed blond hair and an eggplantesque physique sitting behind us hit Luis on the head with a pizza box getting up to use the lavatory and earned herself the name ¨Queen Kong.¨ She didn't even notice. We were seated next to a young man in a black t-shirt with the word ¨Unlearn¨ on the front. At first we didn't talk with him. Toward the end of the flight we learned that he was a McGill student from Panama City and that he lived about one street away from us in Montreal!
He was amused by some of the Spanish slang that Luis had taught me and we shared the experience of descending into Panama with him. It was dark outside by the time we arrived. From the window on the way we were able to see what must have been Cuba and perhaps some of Florida. When we fly back in January I look forward to the daylight view of these places from the window. The first images of Panama were trees, trees, and trees and waves hitting a dark shore. I noticed that there were fewer lights brightening the streets than I have seen in american cities at night. Exiting the plane we were immediately hit with the hot aroma of plants. I felt a slight hint of fear at being separated from Luis in the ¨strangers¨ line while he walked smoothly through the Panamanian natives line for customs. I showed the customs officer my passport and he instructed me to give 5 dollars to a random teenager who stood with a crumpled ¨Tourist's card¨ in his hand. ¨Excuse me?¨I looked from the teenager to the customs officer, shrugged inside and gave him the money. Welcome to Panama!
Luis's parents were there waiting for the two weary travellers and greeted us with hugs and kisses. Their friend from Panama City came to help them drive to the airport and we all took the suitcases to the car. We stopped briefly at a restaurant to have a bite to eat. My first meal in Panama was a plate of cooked vegetables in butter. Since I have been here I have noticed that when vegetables are involved, butter is also usually involved. In restaurants the fact that I am vegetarian isn't a problem although I get the occasional funny look accompanied by a ¨crazy gringos¨ type nod.
That night in Panama we slept in a very nice hotel called Hotel Sevilla. I would have likedto have used the pool, but we were too tired. I liked the orange and green bedspread and curtain. The colors in the room reminded me of a Shakespeare play. The view from the window showed houses and faded apartments with laundry hanging out to dry. There were other hotels and beyond that the cranes and machines used for city construction. We ate a delicious breakfast on the top floor of the hotel. I was happy to wear my butterfly skirt and sheer blue shirt again and to feel the air on my skin after what feels like a long time. There were lots of windows showing th pale blue sky, and the trees on the hill at the edge of the city. We drank yellow paper cups of Duran coffee from Panama. We ate pastries and fresh fruit. Even though I knew the fruit would be good I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious taste of fresh tart orange juice!
Luis parents met us at the hotel and we drove around the city. Luis father entertained us by telling us a story about himself. Luis father is from the country and he had a little truck. At one time he was asked to move a horse through Panama city in the back. He charged 3 dollars to move the horse through the city, but everybody told him he should have charged 5 dollars instead. He accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up bringing the horse through the busy downtown area and the market. It must have been a funny sight. He was stopped by a police officer and I am sure he was nervous about what he might say. Luckilly the police officer was also from the country and he let him pass.
Before we made the 6 hour trip to Luis hometown of David we spent a little bit of time driving to see the Bridge of the Americas and the entrance to the Panama Canal and to see a beautiful view of the city skyline from three islands. The sunlight and the air felt absolutely amazing and we watched fish swimming from the harbor. We also made a stop at Luis grandfather's house in a very elite area in Panama City. The house was full of beautiful ironwork that Luis grandfather had done himself over the years and some artwork that Luis stepgrandmother made. We met their little dog named Chester who was very sweet and wanted a lot of attention. I now know how to talk to dogs in Spanish! The back patio gave us a glimpse of green grass and plants and several lovely birds. I was quite impressed, but since then I have seen so many more amazing trees, plants, and birds!
Well, I am starting to get tired of writing, but there is still so much more to tell. The drive to David that day was so full of things to describe that I will have to write it in another entry! I saw horses, rivers, people, dogs, birds....so many things. I'll write more very soon! I wish everyone well and I am having a wonderful time in Panama!
This is how our journey began:
On Wednesday last week we woke up to a very slushy and snowy Montreal. I thought to myself that it was definitely time to get out of Montreal. Luis and I were nervous that we might not actually make it out that day because of the snow. The cab driver who took us to the airport told us that many flights were cancelled or delayed that day. Nevertheless we took our suitcases and backpacks into the cab to try our luck at the airport. Luis carried me and my backpack over a deep pool of slush. I didn't bring winter boots because I certainly wouldn't be needing them in Panama. The taxi wheels struggled in the snow for a few tense moments and then we were off. We made it to our gate in plenty of time and even had time for a cup of second cup coffee. We situated ourselves as comfortably as possible in our small airplanes seats for the flight to Newark. The pilot announced that we would be waiting for an hour to be in line to de-ice the plane, and that we would then be in line for one hour to de-ice the plane! This turned into four and a half hours of waiting before we even left Montreal! This left us an half hour window to get to our gate for Panama City and eat a quick slice of expensive airport pizza while gawking at the huge crowd of people headed for Panama right next to another large crowd heading for Hamburg . The big plane for Panama City was very comfortable. A big lady with highly processed blond hair and an eggplantesque physique sitting behind us hit Luis on the head with a pizza box getting up to use the lavatory and earned herself the name ¨Queen Kong.¨ She didn't even notice. We were seated next to a young man in a black t-shirt with the word ¨Unlearn¨ on the front. At first we didn't talk with him. Toward the end of the flight we learned that he was a McGill student from Panama City and that he lived about one street away from us in Montreal!
He was amused by some of the Spanish slang that Luis had taught me and we shared the experience of descending into Panama with him. It was dark outside by the time we arrived. From the window on the way we were able to see what must have been Cuba and perhaps some of Florida. When we fly back in January I look forward to the daylight view of these places from the window. The first images of Panama were trees, trees, and trees and waves hitting a dark shore. I noticed that there were fewer lights brightening the streets than I have seen in american cities at night. Exiting the plane we were immediately hit with the hot aroma of plants. I felt a slight hint of fear at being separated from Luis in the ¨strangers¨ line while he walked smoothly through the Panamanian natives line for customs. I showed the customs officer my passport and he instructed me to give 5 dollars to a random teenager who stood with a crumpled ¨Tourist's card¨ in his hand. ¨Excuse me?¨I looked from the teenager to the customs officer, shrugged inside and gave him the money. Welcome to Panama!
Luis's parents were there waiting for the two weary travellers and greeted us with hugs and kisses. Their friend from Panama City came to help them drive to the airport and we all took the suitcases to the car. We stopped briefly at a restaurant to have a bite to eat. My first meal in Panama was a plate of cooked vegetables in butter. Since I have been here I have noticed that when vegetables are involved, butter is also usually involved. In restaurants the fact that I am vegetarian isn't a problem although I get the occasional funny look accompanied by a ¨crazy gringos¨ type nod.
That night in Panama we slept in a very nice hotel called Hotel Sevilla. I would have likedto have used the pool, but we were too tired. I liked the orange and green bedspread and curtain. The colors in the room reminded me of a Shakespeare play. The view from the window showed houses and faded apartments with laundry hanging out to dry. There were other hotels and beyond that the cranes and machines used for city construction. We ate a delicious breakfast on the top floor of the hotel. I was happy to wear my butterfly skirt and sheer blue shirt again and to feel the air on my skin after what feels like a long time. There were lots of windows showing th pale blue sky, and the trees on the hill at the edge of the city. We drank yellow paper cups of Duran coffee from Panama. We ate pastries and fresh fruit. Even though I knew the fruit would be good I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious taste of fresh tart orange juice!
Luis parents met us at the hotel and we drove around the city. Luis father entertained us by telling us a story about himself. Luis father is from the country and he had a little truck. At one time he was asked to move a horse through Panama city in the back. He charged 3 dollars to move the horse through the city, but everybody told him he should have charged 5 dollars instead. He accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up bringing the horse through the busy downtown area and the market. It must have been a funny sight. He was stopped by a police officer and I am sure he was nervous about what he might say. Luckilly the police officer was also from the country and he let him pass.
Before we made the 6 hour trip to Luis hometown of David we spent a little bit of time driving to see the Bridge of the Americas and the entrance to the Panama Canal and to see a beautiful view of the city skyline from three islands. The sunlight and the air felt absolutely amazing and we watched fish swimming from the harbor. We also made a stop at Luis grandfather's house in a very elite area in Panama City. The house was full of beautiful ironwork that Luis grandfather had done himself over the years and some artwork that Luis stepgrandmother made. We met their little dog named Chester who was very sweet and wanted a lot of attention. I now know how to talk to dogs in Spanish! The back patio gave us a glimpse of green grass and plants and several lovely birds. I was quite impressed, but since then I have seen so many more amazing trees, plants, and birds!
Well, I am starting to get tired of writing, but there is still so much more to tell. The drive to David that day was so full of things to describe that I will have to write it in another entry! I saw horses, rivers, people, dogs, birds....so many things. I'll write more very soon! I wish everyone well and I am having a wonderful time in Panama!
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