Robert and I continue to adjust to our new house and the area in which we live. Our house is a 30 second walk from the beach. The picture below is outside of our drive way. You can see the ocean in between the trees straight ahead. Panama is surrounded by two bodies of water: the Caribbean and the Pacific. We live on the Pacific side of the country.
Our neighbors are pretty quite. The house next to us is vacant and we do not have a house next door to us; it is an empty lot. The house in front of us looks like it was burned down some time ago, although there seem to be people (possibly investors) looking at the property on a regular basis. The picture below us shows who lives behind us.
Yes, it is a cemetery. I asked Robert to take a picture for me. He stuck his hand outside of our fence. Dead people do not bother me and they are quiet neighbors. Panama is infamous for being party central. Last night people in the neighborhood were shooting off fireworks. They also did this on Wednesday night for no apparent reason; again, something that is a common practice in Panama. This morning people were playing music.
I am sure the fireworks will only gain in intensity as Carnival is come up soon. Carnival in Panama is the equivalent to Mardi Gras in the United States, from my understanding. It is four days of festivities and four days of paid holiday for Panamanians. I am not entirely sure what to expect, but I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about in the upcoming days.
As I mentioned earlier, Robert and I are settling in. Both dogs made it safety with us. Our little dog did not like his crate and the medicine we gave him to help calm him did not work very well. Luckily nobody gave us glaring looks and people seemed more interested in wanting to pet him. He also did not tear through the meshing this time. Robert and I got little sleep on the plane with our little dog. When we got to our house we took a two hour nap and slept for 10 hours that night.
We recently went shopping. I have been told it is hard to find a lot of items in Panama. With respect, I am not sure I have had much of an issue at this time. Case in point, I was able to find these to hang up some pictures.
El Rey is a popular grocery store. Robert and I usually go here or to another store across the street. Prices for local food is inexpensive. However, certain things like canned beans will cost about $1.25. There are no generic brand names for canned items (versus going to Frys or Fred Meyer and getting Kroger brand). You are paying for the food to be imported. Despite this, food is still pretty inexpensive compared to what I am used to paying for food so long as you buy local versus imported items. As far as I am concerned, it is a win-win when it is possible to do this.
Shopping can also be inexpensive compared to in the U.S. if you shop at Panamanian stores. I bought both pairs of shoes for under $8.00. The shoes are decent and would have cost me at least $40-$50 in the U.S. These prices are inexpensive to me, but it is also important to be mindful that everything is relative. I have been told that the minimum wage in Panama is a salary of $600 per month.
See an American brand store? Expect to pay American brand prices. The fedora cost over $20 at Levis. It is not anything I am not used to, however, it is relatively expensive all things considering.
Robert and I are also able to use our phones. I bought a new one that is unlocked and got a SIM chip with a local cell phone company. Apparently my old one would not work outside of the United States. Whether or not this is true, I am not sure. I bought a phone almost identical to my old one in hopes that it would work. Facebook is great, but I also enjoy texting my friends. Whatsapp is a very popular app down in Panama that many people use, even for local phone numbers. I was hoping to download that in order to text.
It did not work. We took it to a local cellphone store to see if they could figure it out. After over an hour in the store, they asked us to come back the next day. According to the cell phone shop, my phone needed an update. Robert and I took it to an office for the cell phone carrier to get the phone updated. It did not work. I ended up getting another phone and will be sending my other one back.
In order to add minutes you can usually buy a card at a grocery store or you can add minutes with one of these kiosks. You pay and enter the phone number you would like minutes added onto. As previously mentioned in another post, $15 will get you unlimited everything for a month.
The first day we moved in, our landlord set us up with new propane tanks which we use for the stove and to heat the water. The hot water was ready to go! NOT! Robert and I took cold showers the next morning.
Luckily the outside air was warm and the coldness did not last too long. The heat from the sun also has a somewhat warming affect on the water pipes; keyword: somewhat. The water has since been fixed. For whatever reason, my shower was another cold one. It was warm at first and then got cold. Robert was able to get hot water in the taps. Regardless, I am thankful I have clean bathing water.
I think as a whole, this is how our life has been like thus far. We have a business meeting early next week and will be taking some time off for Carnival. We are not going anywhere, but from my understanding, everything in Panama pretty much shuts down and a grocery store is the last place you want to be. Robert and I will continue to settle in and will the walking the dogs on the beach later today. Life is good. :)
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