Today (Thursday) brought a wonderful note from Fulbrighter Jean Andino who was at UTP - AND in this same apartment - when she was here for her Fulbright in 2012 - 2013. Jean has been extremely supportive and generous in giving information and sharing her experiences - and that has helped a lot.
So I was thrilled to see a note from her in my in-box this morning.
And even MORE thrilled to see that she was recommending I buy a bus card to make travel to the El Dorado Mall (where there's a great grocery store) easier and much much cheaper.
Wonderful because that is exactly what I had done, with Elba's help, just hours before she sent the email. It was definitely a "Great Minds Think Alike" moment!
This is short because I have to get to bed EARLY tonight. Tomorrow, I will be going to the countryside with Aris and her students, and she's picking me up at 4:45 AM! So it's off to dreamland for me... stay tuned because tomorrow is likely to bring a much longer (and probably illustrated) post.
Night night in the meantime...
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Earthquakes! And Dog Water! A Wacky Wednesday!
 |
| A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Western Panama today |
The first I heard of today's earthquake in Panama was from a friend in Mexico who wanted to make sure I was OK. This is so incredibly nice! I never felt a thing - indeed, I don't think it was detectable here in Panama City. It is rather sobering after the massive Chilean quake though and the risk of Tsunami was certainly present.
A friend of mine suggested that perhaps it was because I was teaching at that time. I'm not sure whether to be insulted or amused. I guess I will leave it to my students to make that determination.
I do have a great (though small) class of Masters students. There are only 5 of them, although today, one of them was absent and another left about halfway through. She assured me that it wasn't to do with me (really, what else could she say?) and she has agreed to come see me tomorrow morning.
After work (but before finding out about the quake), Elba The Wonderful took me to pick up some fresh milk, fruit, and meat. Shall we just say that I didn't only get those things. But I was at a new supermarket and it was, as it always is in supermarkets, an adventure - of the good kind of course.
 |
| Palo Alto Coffee |
The next giggle - a guffaw actually, followed by a snort - were the below pictured items: Dog's Water (for better life), Cat's Water (for the prevention of something...) and Dog's Water (for defense against illness) I leave you to decide if this seems as absurd to you as it did to Elba and me.
 |
| Dog's (and Cat's) Water |
Fires and Tsunamis and ... bears? Oh my!
Last week it was a massive fire on the hillside nearby.
Tonight (Tuesday), it was an earthquake in Chile and a subsequent tsunami warning for Panama, as well as for the Pacific coast of South America.
I found out about it when an email came around from the Fulbright folks and the State Department, asking that we urgently get back to them with our location.
I must admit, it derailed me. I had been working on the slides for tomorrow's class when I got the email and immediately went information seeking online and on Twitter. I couldn't find much online aside from a rather sketchy announcement of where the Warning zone was.
I talked with David who was wonderful and who pointed out that I was up a bit of a hill. Which is true, but I couldn't get those images of Fukishima out of my mind.
But shortly after this, I found out that the Warning for Panama had been downgraded to a Watch.
Whew! Dodged another bullet!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Post-its for a whole day? Really!
 |
| The object of my desire |
Just when you think it's going to be easy, it isn't.
So I learned yet again today (Monday). "All" I wanted was a large stack of post-it notes for us to use when we do the analysis after our class does ethnographic visits. Plus for Elba and me to use as we do our design exercise for the HCD course being given by Acumen+/IDEO.
Oh, and brightly colored ones please.
That doesn't seem like such a tall order - especially since I have a lovely stack on my desk that I brought with me from California when I came down.
But apparently, it was.
First I went to Amazon. Post-it's, yes. And even some lovely colors but not many and not the ones I wanted - just like the ones I have on my desk.
Finally, I gave up and tried Office Max.
No dice.
Office Depot? Nope, not them either.
Yes, there were post-its but not the ones I want.
I wracked my brain to figure out where I got my stack from and came up with a blank. So much was happening right before I left that I just couldn't recall.
Drat!
I decided to "look away from the path" and do something else, hoping that my brain would kick in with the right answer if I just waited long enough.
It got to be 2 pm. 3 pm. 4 pm.
And then... Eureka! It was Staples! I went to the Staples.com website. Sure enough, there they were. But, since I was on the Computer Engineering department network, I couldn't access my VPN. And therefore, Staples "thought" I was in, well, Latin America. Because I am, physically, but it will be ordered using a US credit card and sent to a US address. So I am and I'm not.
Curses, foiled again!
So tonight, I carefully logged in to my VPN and - voila! I was able to order just what I wanted. They should come to our neighbor and then David can unwrap them and bring them along to CHI.
He may not be so thrilled but I'm going to be!
Sunday's portrait: Minnesota Nice (PPPP#2)
 |
| Gerry and Grace |
I met them at church, where I immediately noticed Grace's fabulous bead bracelets! And then, she mentioned they were from Minnesota - and, well, that totally clinched it - I knew I had to get to know her better. And her husband. Gerry is tall and handsome with twinkling eyes and a wonderful smile. The two of them are so Minnesota Nice - in the very best way (that term is sometimes used in a derogatory manner - not so here!) We talked at lunch, and then they volunteered to bring me back home - quite a distance from downtown!
We stopped at a grocery store I've been told I HAVE to go to - Riba Smith - and it's as great as folks have said it is (though, truth be told, I didn't really explore because I needed to be back home to meet Karla, my Fulbright "handler" and co-teacher of the HCI course at UTP to discuss the course) I will definitely have to return for a more leisurely explore!
Then, the funniest coincidence of all: They lived in the adjacent building when they originally moved here a couple of years ago! They were waiting for their furniture to arrive and needed a furnished place for a couple of months so they rented in Torre - or Tower - 200 (I'm in Torre 300) in Green Park! Is this a small world or is it a tiny one?!
I'm looking forward to getting to know them - and a number of other fascinating BUC folks - and know their presence in my life will make it even richer!
See? Another Sunday blessing!
Sunday Blessings: Balboa Union Church
Today, I set off just after 9 am to head to the Balboa Union Church. The guard called a cab - after yesterday's "adventure" I had no desire for a repeat, plus on Sunday, there is very little traffic and almost no cab traffic on Via Condado del Rey (my street) So it was an un-eventful and pleasant trip through town to Balboa where the Balboa Union Church is. I had chosen this church after much web surfing at home because it was the only English-speaking church in Panama City that is not evangelical and fundamentalist. For me, that made it a better fit. I also really liked their motto:
"Unity in Essentials; Liberty in Non-essentials; Charity in all things." If that intrigues you, you can find out more at their website (where I first found them): http://www.balboaunionchurch.org/index.php
Upon arriving, I was greeted by Martha M - a wonderfully extroverted and inviting woman who swept me in to meet others who were gathering for the service. The building is quite large, but the congregation itself numbers only around 20ish. I got to meet most of them and they were wonderfully welcoming. I felt right at home, despite the small size.
The chancel is quite lovely and the pianist played on a Steinway grand! It was a really nice service - and the sermon was extremely insightful and interesting. I had never seen the opening chapters of Genesis quite this way before, and it got me thinking in the best of ways. We sang a number of hymns that were familiar - and some that were not. All in all, a very nice worship experience.
But the best part came afterwards. One couple was moving back up to Canada for the northern summer, so a significant number of the congregation went to lunch to bid them adieu. They took me right along with them and made me feel completely at ease and accepted. It was a very, very nice way to get to hang out with them and to get to know them better.
Needless to say, I plan to "see them in church" come this Sunday!
"Unity in Essentials; Liberty in Non-essentials; Charity in all things." If that intrigues you, you can find out more at their website (where I first found them): http://www.balboaunionchurch.org/index.php
Upon arriving, I was greeted by Martha M - a wonderfully extroverted and inviting woman who swept me in to meet others who were gathering for the service. The building is quite large, but the congregation itself numbers only around 20ish. I got to meet most of them and they were wonderfully welcoming. I felt right at home, despite the small size.
The chancel is quite lovely and the pianist played on a Steinway grand! It was a really nice service - and the sermon was extremely insightful and interesting. I had never seen the opening chapters of Genesis quite this way before, and it got me thinking in the best of ways. We sang a number of hymns that were familiar - and some that were not. All in all, a very nice worship experience.
But the best part came afterwards. One couple was moving back up to Canada for the northern summer, so a significant number of the congregation went to lunch to bid them adieu. They took me right along with them and made me feel completely at ease and accepted. It was a very, very nice way to get to hang out with them and to get to know them better.
Needless to say, I plan to "see them in church" come this Sunday!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Adventuring on Saturday
Saturdays are a good time to catch up on things - like laundry and cleaning - but they are also a good time to go on an adventure.
Some Saturday Adventures are planned. Others are not. Today's was in the latter category.
After doing enough around the apartment to feel justified in it, I left to go to the El Dorado Mall again because on Friday night, I had made a very significant swath in the beads I got there when Aris took me there. I was totally engaged and had a fabulous time doing so - but this did mean that I needed to buy a few more beads.
So, as always, I walked up to the entrance to the apartment complex and waited for a cab to come by.
And waited.
And waited.
Oh sure, some cabs did come by, but all were full or unwilling to stop. Finally, one honked (the sign for "do you want me?") and pulled over. Although I knew it was too much, I agreed to pay him $5.00 (it should have been $2.00) I asked him not to pick up anyone else in slow, but clear Spanish.
Which he did. Now, this isn't an altogether strange thing here - although I try not to share cabs - so I was annoyed, but not alarmed.
But where he veered off of Tumbla Muerte (a not-so-nice nick name for one of the main thoroughfares - the "Muerte" part means "Death" which is the likely outcome of trying to cross it unless traffic is stopped), that changed. All of a sudden, we were careening down streets, turning quickly at corners, barely avoiding kids and others in the street, and lurching up hills. Each hill was a challenge - his car seemed to be on its last legs and died frequently. His brakes were practically non-existent and when he pulled all the way up on his emergency brake, it did just about nothing. With each "sleeping policeman" (traffic calming "hump"), the bottom hit regardless of how slowly he went (thought, truth be told, that was never all that slowly) as we bounced over. But, as bad as the condition of his car was (WHY didn't I see this before?!), it was where we were that had me freaked out. We were twisting and turning through what looked like a rather less-than-great part of town, and each turn took us further from where we were supposed to be going.
The cab driver went up one street, then turned around and headed down to another, then repeated the sequence in another street. I had read about how hard it can be to find addresses and this seemed to be a case of that. But the cab driver and the other passenger talked and then seemed to quarrel. Or so it seemed to me.
I got scared.
I texted Elba - thinking that, at the very least, there would be a record of where I was if I went missing. I also took photos - though I didn't send them, not thinking that they would be of very little value if they were only on my phone since, presumably, my phone would be on my person should I go missing.
Finally he found the right address and left off the other passenger. We headed for more main roads. I asked him to tell me where we were. I punched these into text messages to Elba. Finally, it seemed like we were on the right road, when he picked up two more people! I would have gotten out be we were in the middle of the Parque Metropolitano where there were no other people around.
At last we got to the Mall.
But not the El Dorado Mall like I had asked. Rather, the Albrook Mall. Quite a distance away. I considered just getting out and not paying him but worried that he'd come after me, so I insisted we go to El Dorado. He argued that I had said "Albrook Mall" but I stubbornly insisted that I had said "El Dorado Mall" from the beginning - because I had.
Grudgingly, he turned out of the Mall and drove back up into the city, hellbent for leather. I was being thrown around in the backseat (no seat belts of course) but I almost didn't care - I just wanted to get out of that cab. At El Dorado Mall.
Elba called having seen my panicked texts - herself sounding quite stressed at the prospect of an American from UTP being kidnapped or worse. By this time, we were already getting closer and when she asked what stores were around, she told me we were very nearby. Whew! We pulled up to the front of the Rey supermarket and I bolted for the inside, drenched with sweat only a small part of which was due to the heat (and it was HOT!)
The rest of the visit to the Mall was completely uneventful, as was my return home. This time, the driver also picked up a passenger, but she was a trilingual Spanish-English-French speaker who apologized for flagging him (there had been no other cabs - which I completely believe) and then explained to the cab driver what I had been just trying to say.
So, all's well that ends well and it sure makes a good story from THIS side, but I really don't want to be in the back of that guy's cab ever again.
Ever.
Some Saturday Adventures are planned. Others are not. Today's was in the latter category.
After doing enough around the apartment to feel justified in it, I left to go to the El Dorado Mall again because on Friday night, I had made a very significant swath in the beads I got there when Aris took me there. I was totally engaged and had a fabulous time doing so - but this did mean that I needed to buy a few more beads.
So, as always, I walked up to the entrance to the apartment complex and waited for a cab to come by.
And waited.
And waited.
Oh sure, some cabs did come by, but all were full or unwilling to stop. Finally, one honked (the sign for "do you want me?") and pulled over. Although I knew it was too much, I agreed to pay him $5.00 (it should have been $2.00) I asked him not to pick up anyone else in slow, but clear Spanish.
Which he did. Now, this isn't an altogether strange thing here - although I try not to share cabs - so I was annoyed, but not alarmed.
But where he veered off of Tumbla Muerte (a not-so-nice nick name for one of the main thoroughfares - the "Muerte" part means "Death" which is the likely outcome of trying to cross it unless traffic is stopped), that changed. All of a sudden, we were careening down streets, turning quickly at corners, barely avoiding kids and others in the street, and lurching up hills. Each hill was a challenge - his car seemed to be on its last legs and died frequently. His brakes were practically non-existent and when he pulled all the way up on his emergency brake, it did just about nothing. With each "sleeping policeman" (traffic calming "hump"), the bottom hit regardless of how slowly he went (thought, truth be told, that was never all that slowly) as we bounced over. But, as bad as the condition of his car was (WHY didn't I see this before?!), it was where we were that had me freaked out. We were twisting and turning through what looked like a rather less-than-great part of town, and each turn took us further from where we were supposed to be going.
The cab driver went up one street, then turned around and headed down to another, then repeated the sequence in another street. I had read about how hard it can be to find addresses and this seemed to be a case of that. But the cab driver and the other passenger talked and then seemed to quarrel. Or so it seemed to me.
I got scared.
I texted Elba - thinking that, at the very least, there would be a record of where I was if I went missing. I also took photos - though I didn't send them, not thinking that they would be of very little value if they were only on my phone since, presumably, my phone would be on my person should I go missing.
Finally he found the right address and left off the other passenger. We headed for more main roads. I asked him to tell me where we were. I punched these into text messages to Elba. Finally, it seemed like we were on the right road, when he picked up two more people! I would have gotten out be we were in the middle of the Parque Metropolitano where there were no other people around.
At last we got to the Mall.
But not the El Dorado Mall like I had asked. Rather, the Albrook Mall. Quite a distance away. I considered just getting out and not paying him but worried that he'd come after me, so I insisted we go to El Dorado. He argued that I had said "Albrook Mall" but I stubbornly insisted that I had said "El Dorado Mall" from the beginning - because I had.
Grudgingly, he turned out of the Mall and drove back up into the city, hellbent for leather. I was being thrown around in the backseat (no seat belts of course) but I almost didn't care - I just wanted to get out of that cab. At El Dorado Mall.
Elba called having seen my panicked texts - herself sounding quite stressed at the prospect of an American from UTP being kidnapped or worse. By this time, we were already getting closer and when she asked what stores were around, she told me we were very nearby. Whew! We pulled up to the front of the Rey supermarket and I bolted for the inside, drenched with sweat only a small part of which was due to the heat (and it was HOT!)
The rest of the visit to the Mall was completely uneventful, as was my return home. This time, the driver also picked up a passenger, but she was a trilingual Spanish-English-French speaker who apologized for flagging him (there had been no other cabs - which I completely believe) and then explained to the cab driver what I had been just trying to say.
So, all's well that ends well and it sure makes a good story from THIS side, but I really don't want to be in the back of that guy's cab ever again.
Ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)