Goodbye, Shalom, and Farewell (and a special tour) (Saturday - Sunday)

Saturday, Anna Rachel left to go back to Boston.  Back to the "real world".  Far, far away.

It was a sad moment when we dropped her off at the airport.  I've now been so often that I know the way from Condado del Rey.  I know where we turn, and where to expect traffic (the toll booth on the Corridor Sur)  I know when we are approaching the airport - both in excitement and, as today, in sadness.

I was also reminded of my own upcoming journey.  When I returned from the airport, I began packing in earnest.  Over the next week, I rejiggered my bags many times.  It was both elating because it meant I'd be seeing David - and Rufus in the interim since David would be away for 2 weeks after my return as he was on an around-the-world business trip for Google.

On Sunday, I went to Balboa Union Church for the last time.

I wished I had arranged something in advance because I really wanted to thank the folks there for being such a supportive community.  But I hadn't, so I decided to 'wing it" anyway and sang "Shalom Chaverim"  I wish I had been able to do it this well:
Shalom Chaverim

After church, I went to Il Nonno with the Maduros.  What a wonderful family!  We had a great meal and I had pizza for the next night's dinner.  It was the final game of the World Cup (a very big deal here in Panama!) and Carlos was anxious to get home so he could watch it.  So we scurried to get him home as close to on time as possible.

And then we took a tour of the Avenue of The Pushbuttons.

What a hoot!  We laughed and laughed!

And I even got back in time to see the final minutes and overtime in the final game where Germany beat Argentina.

What a day!  What a weekend!

Day of the Three "C's" (Tuesday)

Today was defined by three different "C" words:  Colleagues in the morning, Canal in the afternoon, and Chicken at night.

1)  Colleagues.
We started by heading over to UTP so my colleagues and friends there could meet Anna Rachel and vice versa.  After talking about her for so long, it was nice to actually show people that she does, indeed, exist.  As a proud Mama, I enjoyed the chance to observe her poise and to see her (great) skills esp. at navigating social situations in a different language.  I enjoyed giving her a picture of where I've been spending my past four months as well.  She even took a picture of the Masters students' Affinity Diagram from the "Speedy Bead" User Research project.

2)  Canal:

As in "The Panama Canal" of course.  It's just not possible to come here and NOT see the Canal.  So in the afternoon, we set out to visit it.  Even though I've been there 3 times, it's still amazing.  And fascinating.  Each time I learn something new also.  This time, it was that my body is 76% water according to one of the exhibits.  Not sure what that means - especially since all it took besides the weight was your age and gender - but there you have it.  And I guess that means I'm officially "all wet."

But out on the Observation Deck, we watched several ships go through the Miraflores Locks, and saw how the water levels drop (since in the afternoons, ships are coming down from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side) and how the ships power forward in the locks, guided by the trusty "Mules" - still my favorite part of the Canal.

No trip is complete without photos of this all happening in real time, so here are some of Anna Rachel's shots - as well as some photos to prove we were there.

  

3)  Chicken.

Of course, this was only one of the many defining elements of our amazing meal with Martha and Carlos Maduro as well as their amazing daughters, Emily (and Edwin and Emita) and Essie (and Charlie).  First, the food.  Martha is famous for her great meals, as I can attest from an earlier visit where I shared a meal with the same crowd (sans Anna Rachel) and tonight was no exception.  Simple, yes - chicken with pasta, creamed chicken, salad.  But luscious!  And dessert was too - frozen  mini Snickers bars.  Yum yum yum!

(L to R) Carlos, Anna Rachel, Essie,
Martha (missing are Emily, her
husband, Edwin, and Essie's
beau, Charlie)

The REAL defining element of the evening was the incredible family who invited us into their home and to their table, and who treated us like long lost family.  Their warmth and intelligence swirled around us and we talked about all manner of things.  We had one particularly hilarious conversation about Panama's seemingly ubiquitous "Push Buttons" - hotels you rent by the hour, which give you total anonymity.  You pull into a garage where you push the button to close the garage door, open the room, and then, when you are done doing whatever it is you do during your time (ahem!) so they can check the room to make sure everything is OK before they push the button to open the garage door - all without having to interact with anyone.  You can imagine what they are used for.  There's no particular stigma about going to a Push Button - and we were regaled with tales of funny happenings at Push Buttons, as well as a more serious discussion of their value in a country where there is very little privacy for adult children who often live with their parents until they marry, and for their parents too.  Everyone knew the locations of them - in fact, there's a locally famous street with many of them (stay tuned for a tour on Sunday!) and one of their friends gives her address as being "between the McDonalds and the Royal Garden Suites (a well-known Push Button)"  

When the time came to say good-bye, Carlos and Martha drove Anna Rachel and me to 2 different pharmacies and helped me get some inhalers and cough suppressants (not to mention cough drops) to take care of my cough that has been building the past few days.  They went well out of their way and spent quite a lot of time helping us.

I guess the real word to define the evening is "Family" - but heck, that doesn't start with a "C", so it will just have to stay "Chicken."

Tomorrow - we arise EARLY to fly to San Blas!  Gotta sleep in a hurry!