A normal day and an exciting evening (Friday)

Today was perfect for getting accustomed to Panama.  And how did we do this?

We went to the Mall.  El Dorado Mall to be exact.

There, we went to Rey for groceries and then came home to prepare for an exciting evening.

Elba picked us up and drove downtown to Restaurante las Tinajas.  There, we had a lovely meal, but the best part was not the food, as good as it was.  It was the dancing!

Folkloric dancing with women in polleras!  I have seen pictures but this was my first time seeing women dancing in them.  And they are GORGEOUS!  Each one is unique, being made by hand and embroidered profusely.  They can take an entire year to create!

Elba told us that an entire set - the blouse and skirt, mosquetas and tembleques they wear on their heads, shoes, special petticoats, and amazing gold jewelry - could easily cost $20,000 USD!  Wow!

The dancers showed dances from the provinces - and they were amazing.  They swirled and swayed and smiled.  Big smiles that can't be faked.  They were really enjoying it all.

A Saturday at the mall (Saturday)

Today, we took it easy.  Sewellyn was feeling better, but it seemed prudent not to push it.  So we puttered a bit and then took off for the Mall.

El Dorado Mall to be exact.  Turns out it was the first mall in Panama though it doesn't strike one as being old.

First, we stopped for lunch at Niko's.  It was, as usual,  good and (relatively) cheap (by US Standards  ~$9/person).

Then, we set out for The Mall.

We went to the phone store first to put money on the phone that came with the apartment.  I had put $10 on it shortly after I arrived, but that had expired, so we added money.  And I added both talk time and data to my phone.  Which is a good thing because we've needed to use it to communicate.  Duh!

En route to the grocery store, Rey, we saw this:

A riding animal

Medicine for your heart
(it contains a rosary)

We made it to Rey where we had a great time finding good things to eat.  And there were even some gluten free crackers and Tofutti "guacamole cream cheese" which was surprisingly good on beans.

We trundled home, filled with expectation of the wonderful meals ahead.

It's so nice to have a friend here!  (Esp. a friend who's not throwing up)

Cabs. Cabs? Cabs!!!!

The exodus from Panama City began today.  People from the city are heading to their familial homes in the countryside.  Which means that there are huge traffic jams.  HUGE traffic jams.

Which also means there are not a lot of cabs available.

And this translates into the seller's market - with price hikes.

Cabs here do not have meters.  This can be a good thing if you're going a short distance but are caught in a traffic jam like today.  But it can also be a bad thing - especially if you are or look like a tourist.

Case in point:  Today, I flagged a cab to go the El Dorado mall to get my data plan renewed en route to the University.  The first one said it would be $5.  Which is ridiculous since it should only cost $1.25 or $1.50.  So I said no, no more than $2 and he sped away.  Then, no cabs.  And no cabs.  Finally came a cab whose driver said it would be $2.50.  Even though this was high, it seemed, given the paucity, that this was what I'd have to pay, so I got in.  Moments later, as Panamanian taxis are wont to do, he picked up another customer going to the same place.  He quoted $1.50 to her.

We went off into the teeth of the traffic.  As usual, I got into a conversation (in Spanish of course) and we discussed all manner of things including the upcoming weekend, traffic, and the political campaign.  As we approached El Dorado, the woman in the back paid him so she could jump out.  I asked him why he was charging me $2.50, a dollar more than he was charging her.  With which he said that, no, I only owed him $1.50.

Foreigners pay more.

Things got even worse on the way back.  I waited almost 30 minutes before I got a cab at a "reasonable" (for today) rate - again $2.50.  This time, cabbies were quoting $5 and even $6 for the ride!  I tried cab after cab but either they were going in the opposite direction, or were full, or were price gouging.

But it was worth the wait. The cabbie turned out to have lived in Manhattan for 10 years and he was keen to practice his English.  We had a lovely conversation - this time in English - and the traffic jam had eased ever so slightly, so we made much better time.

And now, it is getting late.  Aris and her boys arrive to pick me up at 5 am!  So sweet dreams - I've got to "sleep in a hurry" (as David used to say as a lad)

Pizza Wednesday, Friday beads, and a lovely Saturday

Life's been a bit hectic as you can probably tell since there haven't been blog posts since Wednesday.

Here's a recap:

Thursday, when I came home to a bare fridge and not enough energy to climb the hill to go to Super Extra for groceries (not to mention insufficient energy to cook once I got home), I went exploring.  There is a nice pizza place that I went to with Elba just down the street, but there I had seen another pizza place just next store, so I climbed up (but only a little part of the way to Super Extra) and brought home a lovely large ham pizza - perfect for several nights' worth of dinners.  Yum!  It hit the spot.

Yesterday, I originally planned to meet with students, but Zenith, a colleague who works in the area of disabilities arranged for me to go to meet with a technician in audiology who she works with off-campus.  She had seen me cupping my hand behind my ear so I could hear better.  I had told her that my (old) hearing aid no longer worked.  I thought it was because of the moisture from sweating.

But she knew how to figure out if it could be repaired, and Friday was the time that the technician could see me.  So, after making apologies to the students, we climbed into the car of her colleague (and mine too), Lydia, and we went off to my apartment to get the old hearing aid.  We found out that the parking place associated with my apartment is on the bottom-most floor of the parking structure, and that Lydia is a fellow beader!  Then, once I had collected my hearing aid, we went off to the technician.  He was lovely - and I was mortified that the problem with it was that the ear piece was clogged with wax.  <blush> He cleaned it out, tested it and declared it fit to wear.

Lydia and Zenith in front of the school

And me too

A lovely sign in the school

I am so glad that my hearing aid is, indeed, working, although I will have to be very careful about moisture - something that is hard here because it's so insanely hot outside that I won't be able to wear it due to sweating.  I hope that David will be able to find my new hearing aid which is more water resistant, although I'm concerned that it, too, will have problems with the sweat.

Once we had checked that out, we headed back to UTP where Aris was just finishing her class and then lunch.  She had volunteered to take me down to Avenida B in a rather rough part of town.  I had been told to go there ONLY with a local, and Aris volunteered.  Avenida B has a few bead shops and we were in pursuit of some beads since I have used many (most?) of the beads I brought down.

We parked behind a public market that had a row of vultures perched on its roof, a somewhat intimidating welcoming committee, and then set off.  I followed Aris closely, paying close attention to her and to our surroundings.  I can see why I had been advised to come with a local, and was very glad for her leadership!

We checked out a couple of stores that were lacking in anything other than seed beads which we passed up in hopes of finding stone beads.  We didn't see any of those, so we moved on.  Walking down the street, we saw a new store with many stone beads.  Inside, a shop keeper was fanning himself.  We went in and I found some really lovely (and not too costly) beads.  I had brought some cash - luckily since the store didn't take cards - and that amount was the limit.  Happily, with my thirst for some new beads slaked, we walked back to the car and then drove back to my apartment, where Aris left me as she scurried home to get her twin 5-yr old boys to karate.

On the trip, Aris asked me if I would like to come with her and her boys to her familial home in David, in Chiriqui for Easter. Of course I said yes!  And I'm so excited!  My only concern is the heat which is much higher than in Panama City.  This seems almost impossible but it is true according to Aris and every other person, website, and book I've seen.  I may regret not having shorts!

Which brings me to today, Saturday.  I slept in until 9 am (!) which was lovely, then hurriedly got dressed and went to El Dorado Mall in time to catch the stores that opened at 10.  I set out to find hearing aid batteries and an appropriate book of meditations for Aris' Dad.  I then went to the department store, Gran Morrison, for a map of Panama so I could see where we had gone last week when we were in Veraguas, and so I could plan the time that David will be here in late May.

Then I went to Rey, the supermarket there.

Tired and hot, I returned home with food to see me through.  I took a quick shower and then worked on what I want to say at CHI.  I'm actually quite excited at the 5 "lessons learned" for HCI that we'll share during a "course" (a very strange course at that) on Thursday, 1 May.

The best part of the day came at 4:30 when Elba arrived to take me downtown.  We had originally planned to go to the Causeway, but, since one of the candidates for political office was holding a rally or a concert down that way, we went to Panama Antigua instead.  The ruins date from very early in Panama City's history, and the site was fascinating!  We walked amongst the ruins, talking and snapping photos, and generally enjoying the warm breeze in the late afternoon sun.

When we left, Elba gave me a guided tour of the downtown Cinta Costera, a park running along the water that is reclaimed land.  We then found our way back to a fabulous restaurant, Niko's Cafe, where we had gyros, juices, and yes, dessert of Arroz con leche (traditional Panamanian rice pudding)   It was yummy!  

But even better than dinner was the conversation!  We covered many topics - and, as is always true with Elba, the time flew by.  Elba is a really terrific person in every way - and I LOVE talking with her!

And now, it's time for bed so I can get up nice and early to go to Balboa Union Church again - for Palm Sunday!  Sweet dreams!