This looks amazing, almost too good to be true. These little devices fit in your ears and translate what is being said to you instantly. They are controlled by an app on your phone.
It’s The Pilot system from Waverly Labs
$129, coming in September. How much have I spent on Spanish, classes? Yeah, more than that. Someone needs to buy them and try them out, and report back!
I saw an article on Brain Pickings today that really struck a chord in me. It has nothing to do with Panama, except I hope as expats and ambassadors from our home countries we all come here with a mind that is positive, happy, and uplifting for those around us.
The article is “On the Soul-Sustaining Necessity of Resisting Self-Comparison and Fighting Cynicism: A Commencement Address” by Maria Popova. She is a writer, blogger, critic, and the creator of Brain Pickings, and also a cyclist. This was her commencement address to the Annenberg School for Communication.
She says that we must resist comparing ourselves to others. There are opportunities to compare everywhere – income, looks, intelligence, job, family, etc etc. We often find ourselves not measuring up and feeling like there is always something more to be had, something out of reach. This wears you down until a state of resignation sets in. It also robs you of your own experience, your own life, makes you feel hopeless and cynical. This is not a happy or productive way to live. Others can’t tell you who you are or what you are worth.
You can choose to be destructive or constructive, to lower people down or lift them up. In building and lifting up others, you also lift up yourself. Do not buy into the culture that rewards tearing down. Don’t take the easy road. Do what it takes to build, to give hope, and follow your own vision.
Read the article. I can’t say it nearly as well as she does.
One side thought also spoke to me, especially after my experience in the USA and after encountering so many homeless there –
“I came to Penn straight from Bulgaria, through that same confluence of chance and choice (and, yes, a lot of very, very hard work — I don’t want to minimize the importance of that, but I also don’t want to imply that people who end up on the underprivileged end of life haven’t worked hard enough, because this is one of our most oppressive cultural myth and reality is so much more complex).”
Don’t worry, I’ll also talk about Panama here but sometimes something grabs me and I have to go off on a tangent. There is life in Panama, and then life in general and being a sentient human being, and it’s all part of my existence.
If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I am really really happy in Panama. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t hassles and problems. None of them are a big deal for me. But I know that many people read this blog because they are considering making the move, so a full and balanced picture is very helpful.
So, in the spirit of revealing the downsides, I will list as many hassles and problems as I can think of.
The people all speak Spanish. Yes, there are some who also speak English, maybe many depending on where you live. But, chances are good that you will have problems communicating somewhere. My Spanish is better now but it will never be perfect, and I will never understand everything. I still have to look up vocabulary for new situations and ask people to repeat things I don’t get.
If you like to shop on line, that may change here. Yes, you can still shop on line but now things must be shipped down here with the extra costs and time involved, and you have to go pick them up from whatever shipping business you use. There is no mail service to your house. Your water and electric bills are hand carried around the neighborhood and left in your front gate. Other things usually entail a trip to the business unless you have an automatic thing set up with your credit card. No mail is not such a bad thing unless you think you will really miss your junk mail.
Procedures for doing things are often different which can be confusing, and of course this is made worse with the language barrier. When you buy something sometimes you tell the sales person. Then you have to go to another person there to pay for it, then bring the receipt to yet another person who will find your item and inspect it for problems. Then you have to sign something and only then can you leave with your item. The process is similar to buy tires, and they will put them on the car also. But, if you want them balanced that’s separate and you have to go through another buying process in that other office over there, even though that work is done in the same place as putting on the tires. Often things need copies, which means going to a place that makes copies (hoping they aren’t closed for lunch) and then returning with your paperwork. Once you understand the procedure for something it’s a lot better but at first, it can be very confusing.
Sometimes you can’t find things. You go to the store who sold you the printer to get ink cartridges, and end up going to five more stores before you find what you need. You always buy your favorite food item, and one day it’s not there and doesn’t appear again for months, if ever. The fabric store doesn’t have thread or pins (but you find them in the supermarket). In the US, I could go out with a list of errands and get them all done in short order. Here, we do well to get one or two things done on a trip out. But, we are retired and have time, and people do their best to help us along the way.
The place is not orderly (at least by US standards). The weeds along the streets can get rather high before anyone cuts them. There are dogs running loose, and chickens, and children, and sometimes cows and horses. The dogs bark and the roosters crow, and nobody cares or keeps them quiet. Sometimes people aren’t good about throwing trash around (they are working on this but it’s going to take a while to change). There is little zoning so people can have a business in their house which may involve noise and more mess like car repair, a body shop, cutting and selling wood, making concrete sinks, or serving food, to name a few I’ve seen. I can always tell when my neighbor, the welder, has a new job because there will be lots of clanking and sawing in his carport as he makes long pieces of metal into new security doors, window coverings, and gates.
There are no street signs or addresses. I see this slowly changing in Panama City but here in David, not so much. Actual addresses read like – behind Romero’s supermarket in San Mateo (a neighborhood), next to the real estate office on the corner. Streets have names but without street signs it’s hard to figure out which one you are on. Add a language barrier while asking directions and it gets even more interesting. People will also give you directions with lots of confidence even when they don’t know and are telling you the wrong thing. Any answer is better than no answer!
The drivers are crazy, according to some expats who come here and have trouble adjusting to the driving style. Rules of the road are often only suggestions, and if there is an opportunity they are going to take it. Taxis tend to be the most aggressive. But, pretty much everyone has the same driving style so once you understand it, you know what to expect. There isn’t road rage and it is very unusual to hear a horn honked in anger. They will give you a short honk frequently though just to say “I’m here, in case you didn’t see me”, which is helpful. People are generally patient and understanding when someone needs to do some maneuver that temporarily blocks traffic.
Sometimes there is no water. This happens to everyone all over the country. Many people have water tanks to tide them over through these times. No one ever knows why there is no water. Sometimes there is a shortage so they just make the rounds turning it off in various neighborhoods for a while. Sometimes they are fixing something. Sometimes in our area the intake pipes from the river are clogged with debris after a heavy rain (we know because it comes back on muddy for a while). The country is working on this but the infrastructure is pretty funky in many areas. It’s common to see PVC pipe just lying on the ground. Thankfully in our neighborhood it has never been off for an entire 24 hour day. Other areas have not been so fortunate. For us, we keep bottles and gallons of water on hand so it’s only an inconvenience, but areas with long outages or households with kids it can find it more difficult. People grumble a bit but no one seems to get very upset, and often just go to the river if there is one nearby.
This is the tropics. It’s hot all the time. It’s hot in the rainy season (which starts in April) and hotter in the dry season (which comes in Dec.) If you want cooler weather you need to go to higher elevations, but up there you may have more wind, more rain, and lots of very moist foggy air that moves through and wets everything. It rains most of the year, sometimes dumping amazing amounts of water in a short time. But, mornings are almost always clear and the rain moves in later in the day so if you do any running around, laundry, or things that are better when it’s dry in the morning you will be fine. Humidity can be a problem. Your leather will mold, and so will your clothes if you don’t keep them aired out. You won’t need much skin cream or chapstick though. There is tropical wildlife also – bugs, birds, snakes, jungle forests, etc. If you don’t like bugs you may not like Panama. I have never seen such a large variety and abundance of bugs anywhere. Thankfully though, very few of them are a problem and I’ve been bitten or stung far less than anywhere I lived in the US. Here in David we don’t even have that many mosquitoes, which surprised me. You don’t want to be sticking your hand anywhere you can’t see though, because you never know what might be living in there.
There is armed security everywhere which isn’t a problem really, but can be disconcerting at first. There are guards in supermarket parking lots, one inside and another outside every bank or business that has money on hand. There are pairs of policemen that ride around on motorcycles, the passenger holding a large rifle and both dressed for battle. There are boats patrolling the waters full of army looking guys. I scared me when I first arrived and then I realized, pretty much nothing goes on here because there is so much security. We left our car at the supermarket for a few days when we were away, and when we returned the security guard rushed over. He had been so worried about us since the car was there so long! The motorcycle cops just patrol the city to be sure all is well, and the guys on boats are there mainly to keep drug runners from reaching our shores. The police and all the security people are usually very friendly, helpful, and nice to everyone. They really live the “protect and serve” that is printed on their vehicles. But, this doesn’t mean you will get away with anything. If you don’t have your car paperwork or license in order and they spot it, you’ll get your car towed and it will cost you.
In my little world here, these are the things that come to mind that might bother people. People in other areas having different experiences will probably have different things. I expect traffic will be very high on the list for people in Panama City, and I hear complaints about customer service. More rural areas may have expensive and unreliable internet. If any of you with experience in Panama want to add something else, please write it in the comments section.
Joel recently ran across an article –‘I’ll Never Retire’: Americans Break Record for Working Past 65. There are more retirement age people (over 65) working now than ever, the most since the 1960’s, before there was medicare. Is this a good thing?
There are good things about working such as the money, the social interaction with others, and the satisfaction of a job well done. I think if you choose to work it can be good for you. But, if you would rather retire but must keep working, then you have lost your option to choose.
According to the article, almost half of the seniors said they were working because they needed the money. About 60% of people have no retirement savings. (see another article – the-rich-have-you-beat-in-retirement-too) 42% of workers don’t have access to a work sponsored retirement plan and even those who do don’t always use it. As you would expect, lower income workers save less. It’s hard to put money aside for retirement when you are struggling to make ends meet today. Even those who did manage to save often were hard hit by the recent recession, losing much of their savings and much of the equity in their homes.
So, in real numbers, how much money should you have for retirement? According to this article from Forbes, “you need enough saved to be able to meet your annual expenses in year one of retirement by withdrawing 4 percent of your nest egg. We can reverse the math. Being able to withdraw 4 percent in year one means having 25 times your annual spending invested for retirement. Assuming $100,000 in annual spending, you’ll need a cool $2.5 million stashed away. But if you can slash your retirement spending in half, and live on $50,000, you’ll only need $1.25 million.”
Only $1.25 million! Of course social security and pensions will decrease the numbers further, as will a cheaper lifestyle but it still sounds daunting. How much do you have to put away for how many years to get to your recommended number, and how many of us have actually been able to do that? Not me, for sure.
So, if the money isn’t there, what is the other option? Decrease spending! Unfortunately for us, if we stayed in the US, that would have meant moving to a place we would not prefer, and seriously cutting back on everything. Or, working longer, or most likely both of the above. I was so burned out I don’t think I would have been worth much if I had worked another 10 years. I doubt I would have the health and stamina to do a fraction of the things I’m enjoying now.
I know, many of the world’s people would love to have only these problems. We are not starving, being shot at, or fleeing for our lives in an overcrowded boat. Still though, this is a real problem for many in their later years adding worry, stress, and unhappiness to their lives. I don’t think it’s going to get better in the near future either as more and more baby boomers reach retirement age without savings, or with inadequate savings. Add to this the possibility of another downturn in the economy, major health expenses, or other unforeseen problems, and the picture gets even darker. It’s hard times for too many of our bothers and sisters up there.
I’ve been back almost a week now from my almost two month visit to the US, and it feels good to be back.
I’m glad I have’t forgotten all my Spanish! It’s easier in the US where I can talk with anyone and not hunt for words or miss some things, but I’m really happy with myself when I can communicate in my new language. I feel a bit rusty but I’ll bug my friends for conversation to help me get back up to speed.
I biked across town yesterday to visit various friends and I was greeted countless times by people in vehicles, people on the street, people everywhere. The smiles are genuine and they look you straight in the eyes, so you feel like they really “see” you. It’s good to be back.
(I’ll mix in some wildlife photos as we go along)
These Yellow Headed Caracaras are a common sight. I heard a lot of noise in my front yard and when I went to investigate, this one was sitting on the pillar with a lot to say. I managed to snap a photo before he saw me and flew off.
It’s messy here. There are weeds growing alongside the roads, there is minimal zoning, some roads are rough, and people park anywhere they want. But, what does this really mean? Where are the priorities? The US is very clean, manicured, orderly, and visually attractive but all that care and maintenance comes at a cost. Here the weeds will get cut eventually, and you may have to ask around to find the owner of the car blocking you in but he will be found with everyone’s help and a lot of smiles. No one cares if you dismantle your car in the street or have cows in your front yard. It’s a much more free and relaxed style of living and I have come to like it a lot.
It’s hot here. You get used to living with your skin always a bit moist, but you hardly ever need skin lotion or lip balm. You need more showers and laundry though! A lot of people go to higher elevations to be cooler but I like this warm weather. I was thankful for my kids in the US who put big comforters on the bed and did what they could to keep me warm, because it felt pretty chilly to me there. Here I’m fine in shorts and a t-shirt except on an occasional evening when rain has really cooled things down.
My grandson would be in heaven here! There are mighty machines (heavy construction equipment) everywhere, for sale, for rent, and on countless job sites all over town. One of these days soon, I’ll have to go out with my camera and take photos of all the projects that have been underway while I was gone, and I’ll be sure to include a lot of construction equipment.
My grandson would love the bugs too. I was thinking about him last night as we sat in the living room watching a video. There was a june bug and a beetle on the floor, a couple spiders in the corner, an ant walking across the room, and a moth flying through the house and that was only one room. He got very good at capturing bugs under a glass and taking them outside, so he would be busy with that and then we could go hunt more bugs outside. His mom wouldn’t be nearly as happy though, since she isn’t a bug person.
Oh yes, and my doggie friend. I stopped by to see her yesterday too and she looks fantastic. Her injured foot is totally healed with just a small scar visible, and she is running around on it like nothing ever happened. I think the fleas and bugs are gone, and there will be no more puppies. Best of all, she remembers me, and came to me and licked my hand to be petted. Sometimes good deeds are well rewarded (background info here – https://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/2016/03/04/my-new-friend/ Since that post, the guys at the business adopted all the puppies, I got her to the spay and neuter clinic before I left, and Joel was kind enough to continue antibiotics which she needed for tick fever and give her another dose of flea medicine)
So, life goes on in Panama, and we continue to wake up every morning and thank the universe for all of it!
A few thoughts from my bicycle tour before I get back to living and writing in Panama again. Now I am doubly happy to be living here!
I’m back in Panama, reflecting on my bicycle tour, and sorting out thoughts that I’ve had for a while now. I knew I would see beautiful places, face physical challenges, and be alone but I never expected to feel such loneliness. I’ve been alone on the road in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and felt fine, so why was it so different in the US?
We know that vast majority of people in the US are good people – kind, helpful, and respectful. But I was ignored even when I was requesting help. Have things changed in the US, or have my perceptions changed? Or, is it people’s perceptions of me? If I sat outside a store drinking coffee it was rare that someone would notice me, let alone return my greeting. If I was walking my bike no one asked if I was ok. I felt invisible, like I didn’t exist. When…
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It seems like it, right? I haven’t posted anything in a long time. I’ve been in the US visiting family, traveling on my bicycle, and generally doing different things not related to Panama. I’m also in one of those spells when I just haven’t felt like taking photos or writing. I have a few thoughts knocking around in my head that may come out at some point, but probably not today.
But, even when I don’t write I notice people visit and read the blog, so I figured I’d at least pop in and let you all know that I am still alive.
I’ve been having a wonderful time but even though it’s been great, I still feel very fortunate to have my Panamanian life. When I return I’m sure I’ll find things that are new and different, and maybe I’ll even be inspired to write about some of them. Or, maybe I’ll just want to enjoy the balmy air and watch the birds for a while.
My grandson loves big machines, so when I ran across some in the last few days I thought of him.
The Feria (the big international fair that is held every March) is just starting today and will run for the next 10 days. There are people from many other countries, lots of merchandise for sale, animals, rides for kids, music and dancing, food, and some really big machines. Here are a couple, and I’m sure I’ll see more when I go.
Wouldn’t it be fun to play with those?!
A couple days ago, I was feeling bored with my usual bike routes so I wandered around for a bit. One of my wanderings took me north on Via Boquete past the site of the new bus terminal. They are still moving dirt around and preparing the site, but there were a lot of big machines and some of them were hard at work.
And then, for the kid in all of us, here is a noisy video of the machines at work 😀
The construction continues all over the area, but the terminal is one of the bigger projects. I’m sure I’ll see more machines at work so I can share some now and then with those of us who love them.
It is easy to get in a rut of daily activities and forget to enjoy the beauty and opportunities that are close by. Yesterday, our friends asked us to go to Las Lajas beach with them. That is an absolutely gorgeous beach and we hadn’t been in a long time, so this sounded like an excellent idea.
We got ourselves together and headed down the highway until we weren’t far from the turnoff, and encountered traffic at a standstill. There is no way to get from one point to another in Panama without taking this highway, so when it isn’t working it’s a big problem. We waited for over an hour. A few cars would come the other way, we would inch up a ways, wait some more, and the cycle would repeat every 10-15 minutes. Thank goodness we really enjoy these friends and the time passed quickly, but by the time it was approaching noon we thought it would be better to turn around.
Our replacement plan was to go to Boca Chica and get lunch at the Seagullcove lodge. I love that place so I definitely did not feel deprived. I have written about it in the past so click on the linked words, or search for “Boca Chica” in my blog to bring up a number of past posts about this area.
We had a wonderful lunch enjoying the view, the breeze, the good food, and the tranquility. Afterward we decided to go to Playa Hermosa. It’s just a small beach in the area but beautiful and calm, and the water felt warm and absolutely heavenly.
The sun is intense here so we didn’t stay long, but long enough to spend some time in the water and walk along the beach a bit. For me, going to the water or the beach is like a whole vacation for my head. I find it very calming and beautiful.
So, the bad luck of the highway shutdown turned into the good luck of a really nice day. I wasn’t smart enough about the tide coming in through, and left my little Canon camera in my shoes too close to the water line. By the time my husband rescued them they were covered with wet sand. I waited until the camera was thoroughly dry that evening, cleaned it carefully of any sand bits, and turned it back on. It seems to be absolutely fine. Whew! This is why there are very few photos of today, but I thought it better to totally dry out the camera that I use so much.
As I have mentioned before, I am planning a big bike trip and I need a few things. REI had a great sale going on and I found a handlebar bag and a rain jacket that looked like they would work well, but they were both sold out in the short time I took to think about it. I don’t know why I decided to log back on to the site, but that night there they were, restocked, and now they are on their way to my daughter’s house in Seattle!
We got home quite late and I was supposed to meet my Spanish teacher on line, but she was flexible and rescheduled for later and we had a great time talking about family, life in general, and various past tenses of verbs.
I also found out from one of the neighbors that the highway was shut down for a protest. People were upset that their school is in serious need of being fixed up. That’s very good that people are allowed to protest and speak out, but when they shut down the highway they cause a big problem for a lot of people who really have to get somewhere, or get their products somewhere. It’s too bad they don’t feel they can be heard another way but this sort of thing seems to go one quite a bit in Panama.
But, for us, it was a very good day – catching up with friends, a beautiful drive to some nice places, oh and can’t forget the delicious gelato from the new shop down the road on the way home, a camera that survived a soaking, things I needed for my trip bought at a good price, a nice time with my teacher, a visit to the injured dog who is doing really well, and it seems like I am forgetting something else but maybe one can only absorb so much goodness in one day.
It continues today. I took the bike to the shop and the guy understood right away what I wanted, and quoted me a good price for a whole list of replacement parts and work. I survived driving around downtown (though never found a parking place so I will return later on my bike), and while writing this I have been visited by the big boy iguana with the pink face, a cute green baby iguana, and a considerable variety of birds. Life is pretty darn good in the tropics 🙂
It’s a bit of a long story… There is a business called Feduro on my bike route just a short way from my house. When I ride by I always greet the security guard and occasionally stop for a short chat.
Last Sunday, he either pointed out or I noticed a dog with an badly injured foot. There are two stray dogs that the guys at the business kind of take care of, but this dog had been hit by a car the day before. I highly doubt any of the guys would have the resources to take the dog to the vet, and she needed help. This is behind the business where large trucks are always coming and going, and the street is bumpy and in poor condition so I sure don’t know why anyone would be speeding through here, but according to the guard this is what happened. And, to make things even more complicated, this dog had five puppies that were born on the 19th, so at this point only nine days old.
The vet was closed, so I planned to take the dog to the vet on Monday morning. When I went to get her, she snapped at me and even the guard wasn’t sure if he could get close to her. I went to the vet for advice, and they sold me tranquilizer drops and a muzzle. She loves food though, of course, so she snarfed down the medicated food and while she was eating, the guard managed to grab her by the scruff of the neck and put a rope around her neck, and the muzzle on her face.
We were supposed to wait 30 min for the medication to take effect but she seemed to be doing OK and not fighting us, so I put her in the back seat of the car. I also collected the puppies in a basket in case she needed to stay at the vet for a while.
She was good as gold at the vet, standing patiently while he carefully examined her and her injured foot, which had to have been painful. It turns out she didn’t break any bones, thank goodness. All she did was lose a considerable amount of skin from the top of her foot. Of course this is a significant injury but with his advice and my nursing experience, we could handle this. He gave me vitamins for her (she was anemic, probably from blood loss with the injury), and also a course of antibiotics that shouldn’t be a problem for the puppies. I also had instructions to clean, apply cream, and bandage the wound daily.
It is now Friday. Monday and Tuesday it took the security guard to catch her while she was eating so I could dress her foot. Wednesday he wasn’t working, and she wouldn’t come close even with the food in my hand, but Wednesday evening I did manage to catch her. (I also got her a collar and leash to make things easier). Once you get a leash on her, she is very good and hasn’t snapped at me at all. I think she understands I am trying to help her and after I finished on Wednesday she let me pet her, and she licked my face. I just about melted on the spot!
Thursday and Friday evening I have also managed to catch her with a bit less difficulty each time. I think she is coming to trust me and not see me as a threat, even though I work on her foot which I’m sure is still plenty sore. It is getting better though. The wounds looks clean, and she is starting to grow skin in the mid portion of the wound though the top, and especially the bottom over the foot are large and will take some time. She is also getting to know Joel which is very helpful because he can help me with the dressings while I do the work.
I learned the guys named her Avenita. Here she is with Joel after this evening’s care. (pulling off the gauze causes the wound to bleed again, even when I soak it before, which is one reason I’m going to hunt for alternatives tomorrow)
The problems now are –
Here are the puppies who live under the tractor trailer. They aren’t big enough to do anything but eat and sleep at this point.
I know, you just never know what I’ll end up getting involved in around here. I just can’t walk on by a suffering animal though, especially when I have the ability to help. And, if we hadn’t gone out to tend to her this evening, we wouldn’t have seen this gorgeous sunset.
Baru, looking beautiful and mysterious through the evening colors
