Our First Christmas in Panama and the Last Post of the Year!

There is something magical about the holiday season. Whether it be the crisp, cool air; the overload of sweet and fattening foods (who doesn't love cookies and fudge?); or the sense of giving and receiving. This year was magical in it's own way too. Not only did we spend our first Christmas in Panama, but Robert's sister and her family came and we got to celebrate with them.

At the beginning of the week our town had a Christmas parade. The festival had food vendors and small trinket toys. We were told the parade was going to start at 6pm, but in Panama fashion, it started over an hour late. Once it started different themed floats drove through town. Santa must have had a few helpers since there were three Santas at the parade! Although we did not stay long after, we were told they gave out over 100 bicycles as part of a free raffle. It was a fun way to kick off the week.

Before the parade started

A few days later Robert's sister, her husband, and their 16 month old daughter came down. I cannot recall a day we did not go down to the beach or did some sort activity. Robert's sister and her husband had a lot of firsts, including going paddle boarding in an ocean, surfing, going to a Spanish mass, and buying a fish from one of the local fishermen (which resulted in some firsts for us too). It was a busy five days, but it was also fun.

One of the fun things also was that we went surfing on Christmas. I remember growing up and thinking about how much fun it would be to have a family have a tradition like that. Now that we have done it once, I hope the it sticks! Christmas was also filled with fireworks. I personally did not hear too many of them, but I know our bigger dog was not very happy about them.

Next up is New Years. Writing this made me realize this will be my last post of 2015! New Years is supposedly huge here with fireworks, parties, and the like. Our plans are not completely set in stone yet. We are both looking forward to celebrating and are trying to figure out how to keep our dogs happy too (tranquilizers do not work for either of them...).

In the spirit of New Years, here are a few facts about our year, which may or may not be surprising....

Biggest accomplishment of the year:
R- Operating our own business and building some successful relationships.
N- Living in another country and learning about a new language and culture.

Any New Years resolutions?
N- I rarely make resolutions, but if I had to make one it would be to push myself harder to continue learning Spanish.
R- I also want to push myself to learn more Spanish this new year.

What are you looking forward to most next year?
R- Ghostbusters...
N-Seeing what new twists and turns life brings us. The year 2015 was a pretty exciting year as it was!

May the new year bring you and your family health, happiness, and peace!

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