Goodbye Oregon

Alas, the journey is quickly coming to an end. I am not sure there is any better way to say goodbye to my home state than by doing something I've always wanted to do: go hunting for a float on the beach. This on top of being able to see my niece one more time and taking a quick drive to Vancouver, Washington made this trip one I will not soon forget. As I write this paragraph, I sit in the airport staring at the iconic PDX carpet chuckling at how many people I know have taken pictures of this carpet. Now it is my turn!

Yesterday Robert, my parents and I took a trip to Lincoln City, Oregon for an event where you look for glass floats. The point is to look for these glass floats that local artists hide above the tide line on the beach. These floats can be hidden along drift wood, in grass, under piles of seaweed...in essence it is like going on a wild easter egg hunt! Glass floats were used by fishermen to keep their fishing nets floating. While I am not sure they are used often any more, they have always been fun to look at while going into glass blowing galleries.

We did not find any glass floats. I did find some plastic ones! I found it interesting how although my main focus was to look for glass floats, I also became aware of how much trash was on the beach. A part of me wonders whether it might be a cool tourism thing to also make this time a beach clean up. Maybe that will be for some other part of the year so people can find excuses to come to the coast.

I was convinced there was a float under a crevice!

As a side note, to those who do not know, the phrases of "going to the coast" and "going to the beach" can have different meanings to Oregonians. Going to the beach literally means that you go to the beach like we did. However, because Oregon's coast is very rocky and beaches do not always exist, if you go to some coastal towns without going to the beach, you may say that you went to the coast.

It seemed like there were a lot of people in search of the floats. I am not sure how they fared after we walked passed each other, but a small competative part of me was happy they did not seem to find anything in this area. I spent about 10 minutes combing over those rocks not too long after they showed up. On the plus side, it seemed like everyone that was there seemed to have fun.

The weather particularly cold to me with the highs being in the 40s. I really wanted to explore these tide pools but the waves seemed high. They were great to admire from a distance. The ocean is so beautiful here and so different than the Pacific in Panama. 

After trying two beaches with no luck we decided to go into a gallery where they blow glass. Robert and I decided to make our own float. Glass blowing is enjoyable and it was fun to create our own unique float. It takes 18 hours to cool and unfortunately we had to get it mailed to us since Robert and I were not able to be around to pick it up.

This morning we woke up and drove to Vancouver, Washington to see my aunt. This morning was cold. It was wonderful to see her along with other family members who live with her.

We had a relatively uneventful flight back to Phoenix and landed to a beautiful sunset. The picture does not do justice to the read glowing horizon. Coming home was wonderful as we got greeted by our two dogs. I missed them and look forward to when we can all go to Panama together.

A Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad. Happy Holidays. We went from 27 degree Celsius (80 degree Fahrenheit) to 14 degrees Celsius  (58 degrees Fahrenheit). What a temperature change! Despite the cold, this trip has been filled with nothing but happiness and enjoyment.

Our first two nights included spending time with my brother,  his fiancé, and their 2.5 year old daughter. This Christmas was particularly special since my niece is now old enough to open presents on her own. She did really well with opening all of them considering all of the gifts she got. Naturally she tossed the clothes to the side and went for all of the noise maker toys.

It was great to see her. We sang "Let It Go" several times and I tried to introduce her to some of my and my brother's favorite songs from movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King. She did not seem to be amused but loved singing other songs in addition to "Let It Go." Naturally as I write this I sing the song in my head. I smile thinking about how my niece sings. I am a very lucky aunty.

The day after visiting my niece I got to go to Robert's hometown, which also happens to be where one of my best friends live. It took about 1.5 hours to get there from where we are staying. 

The clouds were abundant with the green grass fields. These clouds were particularly low. Oohh Oregon I miss you and your beautiful scenery!

Before seeing my friend, we took a pit stop to the fish viewing area. There were no fish in the viewing area. Last time we were here we saw various types of salmon, which is fairly symbolic of the Northwest. 

I know there are a lot of bridges like this, but when I think of Oregon I often think of a classic bridge structure like this going across a body of water such as a river or Ocean. Did I mention I enjoy Oregon?

Shortly after and we were at my friends house. She and her husband recently welcomed a baby boy. Both are typical parents of a newborn: joyful, radiant, and sleep deprived. It was also a great opportunity to see her mom who has been a very big influence with my career. Naturally she gave me several book recommendations. I love that she pushes me to keep learning. 

Tomorrow will involve us likely going to the Oregon Coast. It will be a cool 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) for the high. It will be another 3 hours of driving round trip. After we will be coming back to my home town and going for another 1.5 hour drive totaling about 4.5 hours of driving for one day. 

It will be our last full day in Oregon and I figure I can say goodbye to the Pacific Northwest in a typical Oregon fashion by going to the coast with my parents. The sun in Oregon will set on this Pacific Ocean. Where we will be living in Panama, the sun rises over the Pacific Ocean due to the shape of the country. I will enjoy this poetic metaphor and enjoy our last full day in Oregon. 

The Visa Application Process Part 4: The Completion of a Trip

Our journey in Panama officially comes to an end at 5:00am tomorrow when we get picked up by a driver and are taken to the airport. The last two weeks have gone by quicker than a New York Minute. We got to spend time with people who I look forward to seeing again soon, got our passports returned, and found a potential place to rent.

Although you cannot see her (or any of us for that matter) in the picture, Robert and I met a friend from Canada who spends about half of her time between both countries. The three of us took a walk along the beach close by.

During our walk we chose to go the opposite way of our running route. Look what we found: tide pools! Anyone that knows me knows how crazy I can get when I see tide pools. For me, seeing tide pools is like taking a child to Disneyland for the first time and seeing their favorite Disney character; it is mesmerizing to me and I probably get too excited. I enjoy seeing the diversity in each tide pool. These tide pools seemed to be a nursery for crabs and other small algae eaters.

Robert and I also did some promo work for the company we will be working for. The company just started renting and selling sand buggies. This new addition required somebody to take pictures for promotional purposes. The beach enthusiast in me was unsure about this. Here we are tearing up the beach with these buggies. The "need for speed" enthusiast also had something else to comment and allowed me to enjoy being able to boss people around so I could try to get some decent pictures of the buggies. I think the day was an overall success.

Robert and I ventured into the city today in order to get our passports. We drove over what is known as "The Bridge of the Americas." This bridge connects North and South America. This is a different bridge than what was in the previous post. This bridge is one two bridges you can take to get into the city from where we are staying. Which one you take depends on traffic and where you are hoping to go into the city. You can see the ships waiting to pass through the canal. 

We thought we would head to Albrook Mall and explore a bit before our appointment with our lawyer. Guess what I found?

Which Wich is the best sandwich shop I've been to. They were not open during the time of the picture, otherwise this would have been lunch. 

If you need to use the bathroom you have to pay $0.25 in order to get into the bathroom at this mall. I have heard this is fairly common here and have heard several reasons why this is done, including the fact that it detours people from stealing the toilet paper, which is not completely unheard of in Panama. I have also heard that it helps keep up with the cost of maintaining the bathrooms. The bathroom itself was not worth blogging about, except the fact that I know have a mental note to carry $0.25 with me in public places. 

Robert and I decided to take a cab from the mall to get into the city where our lawyer's office is located. Drivers in the city, particularly the district we were going to, are very defensive. Driving is not for the faint of heart and the sounds of horns honking which signify different meanings does not seem to end. We got a taxi cab driver who did not seem to have a full understanding of where we needed to go. It probably did not help that we did not speak very good Spanish to clarify exactly where we needed to go other than requesting he drop us off at the Casino Royal by the Marriott Hotel and showed him a map. 

After over an hour of dealing with bad traffic and the uncertainty that we would not be dropped off at our desired location, Robert and I were close enough to our final destination that we exited the cab and walked the 1km (0.6 miles). We thought we could walk faster than driving. Sure enough, we got to where we needed to go within 5 minutes of walking. Our cab ride back to our car was going the opposite way of traffic and it took a lot less time to get back to the mall than it did driving away from it. 

Driving back I was able to take a picture of one of the larger cargo ships going through the Canal. If I remember correctly, this looks like it was a cargo ship for cars. If memory also serves correctly, this ship (the white one on the right) also costs about $400,000 to pass through. 

I have been trying to get a decent picture of this for the last week and was finally able to. These figurines are filled with straw and firecrackers. They are supposed to represent things that people would like to leave behind for the upcoming new year including people (not uncommonly a political figure) and illness. I have been told these figurines are lit at midnight on New Years Eve. Not all Panamanians do this as I have been told these figurines are regional.

We also got news that we should be able to rent a nice two bedroom, two bathroom house about 20 minutes west of where we are currently staying. The house location will mean a small commute, but not anything which Robert and I are not accustomed. It is close to the beach and is in a small town that seems to be more locals than expats. The location will force us to integrate with the locals which is something that we hope to take advantage of. 

Robert and I both feel like we had a very productive two weeks. Panama has already began to feel like home within the short time that we spent here. I am already missing Panama and feel like the only things that could make Panama more prefect are our animals and being able to stay connected to family and friends.

We have worked hard and were able to play hard. While we had down time with our immigration process, Robert and I always seemed to be doing something toward moving here: working on marketing and networking for the business, and exploring close by towns in which to help gain a further understanding of where we may possibly want to live. I am looking forward to a hastily return back to Panama.

In the mean time we will be going to Oregon for the next few days to spend time with some family for Christmas before flying back down to Arizona. These visits are also something I am looking forward to. I will have to say goodbye to walking barefoot on the beach and  hello to having a wonderful excuse to snuggle up under the blankets with a hoodie at night. Hasta mañana Panama and hello Oregon!

The Visa Application Adventure Part 3

I know I have been saying this a lot, but what another adventure today! We drove to Panama City in order to go to the immigration office. We went to the immigration office for hopefully the last time in order to finish what is needed from us in order to complete the visa application process.

Panama City is about 91km (56mi) from where we are staying right now. The trip took us about 90 minutes to get into the city. Robert drove there instead of doing what we normally do, which is to hire a driver. This was done for numerous reasons, including the fact that we figured traffic would lighter and the office was not too far into the city.

The traffic seemed surprisingly "light" going into the city and the building was relatively easy to find despite not really having an address. When I asked about where the office was, I was told what street the office is at and what it looked like. Thank goodness for a good GPS app on our phone! We got there a little early which was nice as we got to relax for a bit while waiting in line.

See the picture below? The wall the right is the ramp to the first floor of a parking garage. This line extended onto the second floor of the garage. Amazingly enough, we were in the building within 45 minutes. During our wait we saw multiple cars driving into the parking garage. A simple honk clears the way from people who stand by the parked buses to stand in the shade.

Once we were in the building we waited roughly 15 minutes before our number was posted on the screen indicating it was time to take our pictures for our temporary visa. We can now legally stay in the country without having to leave every month and will be receiving our permanent visas in the coming months when everything is finalized through the government. 

The lawyer's assistant asked us to make some copies of our documents for her in order for her to finish the process. In order to do that we needed to go outside and make copies. There are a few Panamanians that have small booths, or simple work out of the back of vans, that bring along copy machines to ease the demand of all of the immigrants needing to make copies of passports, visas, etc. Copies were $0.15 each.

After the copies were done we gave the lawyer's assistant our passports and the copies we were asked to make. The Panamanian government requires that we give our passports to them for a given amount of time. We will have our passports available to us in two business days. I am not exactly sure what is done with them, but this is something that everyone who moves down here goes through. Every expat I have talked to has described how naked you feel with leaving your passport with somebody. I am not sure anyone can prepare for that feeling, but I know understand. 

The drive back was less stressful compared to coming into the city. All of the traffic is from people coming into the city. Rush hour traffic was over and we were going the opposite direction. As you can see, traffic is nice and light!

Centennial Bridge

The picture below is a view of part of the Canal. There are no big cargo ships going through. 

Tonight will probably consist of us networking with people in the area at a local restaurant and then tomorrow we will be looking at houses. We are looking to live in or near where we are currently staying. Prices in this area tend to be a bit more expensive, but I am also certain Robert and I can manage living in a casita (which is a small one or two bedroom house) since we rarely used the spare bedroom while we lived in Arizona. Things really seem to be coming together right now as our visa application is now more or less out of our hands. Once we are able to find a place to live, even just to rent temporarily, this crazy place might start feeling like home.

The Visa Application Adventure Part 2

We are still in Panama for the application for the visa process. Things since the last post have been a lot less stressful and now it feels almost more like a vacation. With the exception of needing to go to the immigration office one more time, the rest of the process is just to wait. We have been able to do a lot of exploring of the country side and have gotten a chance to try to practice Spanish.

Yesterday we drove to a mall called Westland Mall for the second time. They have some familiar stores/names that may be familiar to those back in the United States including McDonalds, Carl's Jr, and Dominos in the food court.  Familiar retail stores included Levis, Puma, and GNC. While we were at the mall, Robert was able to get a SIM card for his phone while speaking Spanish. This was done in hopes that he could use his phone down here, at least for navigation purposes. We have a GPS in the car we are driving, but it is outdated and does not always understand where we are trying to go. We were also able to find stores with very inexpensive items, including a set of twin sheets for $4.99. 

While at the mall, we got some dessert for lunch. The dessert on the left is strawberry cheesecake while the dessert on the right is coconut cheesecake. As you may notice, this is not the cheesecake you and I in the United States may be familiar with which is made out of cream cheese. These desserts were literally cake with some kind of soft cheese (similar to a cream cheese or mascarpone cheese). I had the coconut cheese cake and it seemed to be soaked in something. I am not sure what that something was other than what I am calling a thinned out carmel. 

Ever wonder what happened to the school bus you used to ride twice a day to school? They come to Panama, get a new paint job, and turn into what are known as Diablo Rojos (red devils). Supposedly, they are called Diablo Rojos because of how they are driven. These buses will charge around $0.30, from what I have heard and read, and will take you into the city making them a primary mode of transportation for a lot of people. These buses are privately owned which allows for each bus to be intricately painted in its own unique way.

Robert and I have also been exploring the countryside. We both love how green Panama is and how thick the trees and shrubs can get. We found this lot of land for sale which had breath taking views of the countryside. This particular property that happens to be for sale was on too much of a slope for us to reasonably build anything.

Robert and I also found another property in which we both fell in love. The second property was in a quite town with nice dirt roads and was also close to the beach. Robert and I both enjoyed the property because it was a blank canvas and a beautiful view of the ocean. We got back to the computer to see how much it was. It turns out we have expensive taste as the property alone cost over $2million. Didn't realize it at the time, but they are developing a newer hub there. There is now a more recent international airport only minutes away (although it does not travel to the US, as of yet), and JW Marriott has a resort very nearby...

Thanks JW for jacking up the price of the property ;)

The road going to the property. 

Part of the property

On our way exploring we found a man on the side of the road selling sugar cane juice. The juice is green and pure bliss! Unlike refined sugar the sugar cane juice has a very sweet and grassy taste to it. This makes sense considering sugar cane is a type of grass. 

A sugar cane stand off the side of the road. 

Below the coolers you can see the
sugar cane before it is juiced

The remnants of the sugar cane after it is
juiced. This is used for a lot of things
including feeding live stock. 

The final product!

I have heard many people squeeze lime into it, which I believe would top this perfect drink to beyond perfection. The sweetness of the juice will help with satisfy any sugar craving while also being very hydrating.

We woke up early this morning and watched another beautiful sunrise. Today we will be going shopping for some fruits and vegetables at the grocery store with a friend we met in the building. She does not have a car so we will be giving her a ride. We've enjoyed meeting other expats  who seem to share similar views on the world. The more time Robert and I spend in Panama, the more we realize that this is the next chapter in our lives. We both know it is not always going to be a vacation. I greatly miss my family and friends and family, which technology will help with a lot. Despite this, we know this is where we are supposed to be for the time being. 

The Visa Application Adventure Part 1

Is today really only December 10th? It is hard to believe considering our journey the last several days. On December 4th, we were able to get our needed documents for Panama and booked a flight to leave on December 7th in order to continue with our Panama adventure. And I tell you full heartedly that thus far, the trip to Panama has been an adventure!

Because you cannot get a direct flight from Phoenix to Panama City, Robert and I chose to fly from Mesa Gateway Airport to Las Vegas. Shortly after we got to the airport we received a notification that our flight would be an hour late. Within 30 minutes of the notification, we received another one informing us that our flight would be delayed an additional two hours. I joked around with Robert saying if they cancelled the flight, they better do it soon so we can still drive to Las Vegas to make our flight to Panama that leaves at 4:40am. 

I joked too soon and around 9:30pm we get the announcement stating that our 5:30pm flight had been cancelled. Robert and I had no other choice but to rent a car for the five hour drive to Las Vegas. We got to Las Vegas very tired, but happy we made it two hours before our plane was to take off.  Despite our exhaustion, Robert and I were able to laugh about our adventure.

The lights of Vegas never looked so good!

We arrived safely to where we are staying for this trip. We were rewarded with a spectacular sunset. 

We had dinner with some friends. It was great to catch up and also begin learning about cultural differences between the United States and Panama as a resident and not as a tourist. Monday was Mother's Day in Panama. One of the people we had dinner with is a Panamanian who described how holidays work here: you drink. This is what she did with her mother in order to celebrate Mother's Day. You also drink on Christmas Eve and all of the other holidays. It is interesting how one person described how holidays here are celebrated and will be interesting to see it for ourselves and through our  cultural perspective.

The next day Robert and I went to the bank in order to begin the process of opening a bank account; part of the requirement for our visas. As I have mentioned in other blog posts, Robert and I are learning Spanish but still have the speaking abilities of a two or three year old. This can make it very difficult to try to get things done, especially when trying to do things which require the speaking abilities more advanced than ours. We were able to start the process with some assistance from our English speaking banker. We should be able to have a bank account open within the week.

Robert and I went grocery shopping after for some small basic food items. We also got lunch at a grocery deli. This is Robert's pollo con arroz. I do not eat chicken but it looked and smelled delicious!

Today was quite the adventure for us again. We hired a driver to get us to the immigrant office in Panama City. I have fallen in love with Panama but the drivers here are almost all first generation drivers and can be scary to drive among. Pedestrians are equally as bad as they will often walk across the streets without paying a lot of attention to where you are driving. Think of it as the equivalent of driving through a university campus. Despite the driving madness and traffic, there were no accidents. 

Today we went to immigration at 8am and were in line with roughly 500 other people. after three hours and with the help of our lawyer's assistant, we were able to be out of the immigration office and meet with our lawyer.  We finished by 1pm and were able to grab a quick lunch before rush hour began in the city at 3pm.

No smoking in the ashtray

We began our journey back to where we are staying. Robert and I really like eating at Smashburger in Arizona. Look what we found in Panama City! I am not entirely sure it is worth a 2.5 hour drive (in traffic) but it was just a reminder of the American influence. There are other known American names we passed including Hooters, Subway, KFC, Nike, Kenneth Cole, and Adidas. 

Some of the buildings in Panama are amazing to see.

So far our trip as been a learning curve. I have so much respect for immigrants. I can understand why there are communities with immigrants from specific cultures like China Town or Little Havana. It is so hard to get things done with limited knowledge. You want to try to make a better/different life for yourself. It is a lot easier to get what you need when there is a community which, in general, will have some understanding of of your values and speak your language. I am lucky that Robert and I come with open minds to a new culture which in a lot of ways is very different than anything we have been around. I believe that this experience will only benefit us. After what seems to be a very long day, it is time to relax and enjoy the rest of our evening.