A Week Revolving around Art

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time -Thomas Merton. 

The quote could not be more true, especially this week. It was filled with art and memories that will last a lifetime. We started the week off by doing a lot of miscellaneous things. I am not entirely sure what we did, but before we knew it, Thursday had arrived. What did we do earlier in the week?

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. Robert and I celebrated the holiday by going with some friends to a bar that had Irish food, music, and games. They also had a contest with limericks. I did not participate, but here is mine in spirit of St. Patrick's Day:

There was an old woman by the bay,

who had a lot to say.

Some things were nice,

while others made you think twice.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Friday was a typical yoga day for me, followed by a painting class. The class is one of the "brush bar" classes where everyone generally paints the same picture.  Everyone at the class had their own painting style that others admired. Some people were very talented with reflections, while others created painted perfect waves. This was my first time ever painting on canvas and won't be my last.

The week ended with a fun trip to The City (Panama City). We went with some friends and stayed the night at a hotel. The purpose? To see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). The play is a compilation of all of Shakespeare's plays condensed into 90 minutes. While none of us fully understood all of the jokes in the play (which would have required us to read all 38 plays), the three actors did a hilarious job and were full of energy throughout the show. We even got to hear a condensed version of Othello. 

It was a great ending to an art-filled week. Thomas Merton was right about art. Losing yourself is quite the cleansing experience and one I hope we get to do again sooner than later. 

A Week of Being Sick

Do you ever notice that when school starts weird, funky illnesses start going around more rampant? Public school in Panama started earlier this month. Illness is everywhere. Robert was the unlucky one this week who caught the latest bug. Luckily he is better now and rejoiced in his feeling better by going on a bus with 20 other people and going to dinner. It was a nice way to end the week.

While Robert was bed ridden much of the week I decided to continue on my trend of making things from scratch. I tried making biscuits from scratch. I was hoping to have them turn out to be nice and fluffy. Instead they literally turned out to be hockey pucks and had a brittle texture. After doing a little research, I think I figured out what not to do for next time.

I also made dulce de leche out of condensed milk for the first time. Move over carmel, you have been replaced by something even more amazing. The texture is thick like peanut butter, sweet like carmel, and incredibly smooth and creamy. Never having dulce de leche I found a lot of things saying you can eat it with a spoon or pair it with other desserts and make it like a dipping sauce. I decided to make cheesecake. Yum!!

Another day while Robert was sick I decided to take a trash bag and pick up some trash from the beach. It is something I try to do once a week if I have the time. I enjoy picking up trash on our beach due to the river that carries debris from other parts of the area, which makes for some interesting garbage. Last post I complained about "boring trash." There was no boring trash here! I found old tubing and a lot of fun, bulky trash to compliment some of the smaller things I found like bottle caps and straws. I even found a bed and a bed spring. I was not able to dig it up but plan on doing it in the upcoming week. 

Robert began to feel better so we decided to partake in a dinner club experience in which we got on a small bus with 20 other people and went to a restaurant. Neither of us knew many people, but we thought it would be fun to get out. We sat with two people we met earlier in the year and have hung out with on a regular basis. The food was good, the company was good. It was a nice ending to our week. 

A Month of Volunteering and being AWOL

Has it really almost a month since my last blog? Apparently so, and the blog isn't the only place we have been AWOL on. We went to brunch earlier this week with some friends and the owner of the restaurant made several comments that it has been too long since we've seen one another. When he asked what we've been up to, we did not have a very interesting answer.  What have we been up to?

We donated blood, again. This time we did not take pictures. This experience was almost identical to the first time both of us gave blood. We were done with the process within an hour of us getting there, It is quick and easy and you feel like you did something good for the day. Neither of us fainted, both of us enjoyed our cookies, and we potentially saved six lives with our donation.

We also have figured out how to vote while living here. Despite what some may think, Robert and I did not have to revoke our US citizenship to move to Panama.  After spending time in Panama it has become evident that people from many different countries are paying attention to the US election. While the system may not be perfect, unlike other expats here, who are not citizen, I am able to have an opinion and do something beyond make memes like this:

Robert and I continue to teach English. There is one other teacher who helps us with our class. The three of us make a great team and we seem to enjoy it. The more we teach, the more I continue to realize that learning a new language is difficult for everyone. We are taking Spanish classes. One thing I have realized is that our student's and classmate's (including my own) gripes about learning the other language are almost identical. 

Pretty sure this applies to Spanish too....
link

We also participated in a beach clean up with some of our friends. This beach clean up was not nearly as exciting as a previous ones because we did not find anything outside of the normal stuff: plastic, cans, and bottles. Although Robert did find a used tampon, and our friend found a dirty diaper. Even though we did not find anything "exciting" we picked up a lot of small trash which I know will make a positive impact on the  animals in the ocean. After all, every bit helps! 

Dead Jellyfish on the beach

As we continue to settle into living in Panama, life is becoming more normal for us and less exotic seeming. We stay busy and have a constant reminder of how fortunate we are to be in a place where we can work and have time to do things we enjoy. Life has been good to us!

Carnival in Penanome

This time of year is always crazy. It is busy with tourists who wish to escape the colder weather up north, but even more so, locally, with celebrations. This past week has been Carnival.

For those unfamiliar with Carnival, it is the same idea as Mardi Gras in New Orleans and typically starts about five days before Ash Wednesday. People generally take the day off and engage in Carnival festivities, including dancing and going to the parades. We did last year, and this year was no different for us.

This year, instead of dancing along side water trucks (although due to water shortages, this aspect of Carnival was cancelled in many towns), we decided to venture an hour west of us to a town, Penanome, which is known for its parades since it occurs on a river. We went with one of our friends and her son.

Despite numerous inquiries, none of us could get a straight answer as to when this parade was scheduled. Eventually, we just decided to believe the parade started at 11am and hoped it was accurate; it wasn't! 

We got to the parade location. There were few people there, mostly lifeguards setting up barricades along the river.  As 11:00 came by there were no signs that the parade was going to start. Somebody told us that the parade started after all of the Carnival goers were done dancing and that it should start at 3pm. That was four hours away!!

The decision was made to stay, we drove there already. Why not? We spent much of our time listening to music, swimming, and sitting. The time finally came for the parade to start; in Panamanian fashion it started 30 minutes later. 

Robert also tried out Sao; a traditional
Panamanian dish. Pig feet anyone?

Floats powered by men swimming in the river carried the princesses and queen. Each queen or princess on a float had large amounts of costume jewelry and decorate feather pieces. The  reflective lighting provided a perfect showcase for how extravagant these pieces and floats are. 

Getting home was a lot easier than we were expecting since traffic was so light. All of us were thankful not to be on the other side of the highway as a steady flow of cars were heading our way to some of the bigger festivals in Panama. Despite it being a long day in the dry season's heat (technically it is winter here), both Robert and I were happy to have gone. If we ever go again, we'll be sure to arrive a little later in the day.

Our Panamanian Anniversary

It's hard to believe that this week we celebrated a year of living in Panama. A year ago this week we said our final goodbyes to our family and friends in Gilbert. In order to make everyone's life a little happier and less stressful, we rented a vehicle and drove to Las Vegas. I can honestly say that was one of the best things to do since the pills the veterinarian gave us for our little dog did not work very well and enduring two flights would have been madness.

Notice most of the stuff we brought
is for the dogs...

The past year we have grown to know and love Panama. We have done some exploring around the country, although we would love to do more. Our fitness and over all health has improved since our move here. We have learned to surf, and paddle board. I have rekindled my love for yoga. I am still working on being able to touch my toes with straight legs...

After a year hear, we seem to think we have a decent understanding of Panama, although culture shock still hits us in spurts. Here are a few things we often discuss, and get asked:

Do you speak Spanish?/How is your Spanish?

N- I speak a little and am working on becoming more fluent. Robert speaks better than I do.

R- I feel like I can get by with most day to day activities; however, I still have a long way to go.

Miraflores Locks

Are you used to Panamanian food?

R- There isn't a lot of variety to me, but with chicken and rice. How can you go wrong?

N- In some ways. Plantains and yucca are food staples here and I have to admit, I am not a huge fan!

Play Venao

What do you miss most about the US?

R- Some kind of fresh fruit year round. Panama has some pretty delicious fruit during season; but in the off-season, the imports don't always make up for the difference.

N- I miss some of the food, in particular, fresh pumpkin, berries,  and brussels sprouts. Technology helps me not miss family and friends...

Golden Frog Festival in El Valle

Is there anything that you are still not used to about Panama?
R- Any government processes are incredibly slow. Watch Zootopia's DMV to relate.

N- The sense of "mañana" and how if something is said to start at 2:00pm, you can still show up at 4:00 and not be the last person to arrive.

   

The Cathedral in Casco Viejo

What has been the biggest culture shock?
N- Being asked if I have the loose change while checking out.

R-When we first traveled down here, it was a culture shock on how slow and laid back the culture is. This can, however, create a really pleasant experience once you accept it, unless there is something you really need repaired right away.

The Biomuseum

What do you love most about Panama?
N- What's not to love? I like how different it is from the US and so I am growing as a person. I like the food quality from Panama; the eggs are fresh, and the pineapple is life-changing (once you have one here, one from the States is unacceptable). I also like the change of pace. Dining out doesn't feel rushed like it does in the States.


R- To me, Panama is a country of nearly endless possibilities. If there is something you are passionate about, you can probably make it happen.

                                  

                            Hiking Ancon Hill

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"-unknown. And so it has, and life is beautiful and scary. Here is to year two in Panama!

A Trip to a Coffee Plantation

Yesterday was filled with caffeine and hiking. We had the opportunity to go to a coffee plantation three hours away. While I can count the number of times on one hand I have seen Robert drink coffee, we thought that this could be an interesting and educational experience. So, off we went.

A three hour drive sounds like a drive sounds like a long drive to go on a coffee plantation tour (and it is), but most coffee grown in Panama is from an area called Boquete up by Costa Rica, which is over 5.5 hours away. We took a drive which required us to drive in 4 wheel drive for over an hour on a dirt road in order to get to the plantation. 

The steep hills were a foreshadow of what we would be hiking. The drive was beautiful and in some respects, reminded me of some of the drives we took with Robert's Jeep in Arizona. 

The group we went with took a total of three cars. When we arrived we were greeted with panoramic views of a very rural community. 

The building on the left is the school,
which was less than a 5 minute walk for us

See the house on the left?

We were also introduced to some of the machines and the process in coffee production. This is what happens after the coffee bean is harvested:

The coffee is stripped and cleaned

The beans go through a canal to help determine the grade of the bean. The ones that stay closest to the entrance of the canal are considered to be the highest grade. 

The beans are then dried

 Then the beans are roasted...

 and finally packaged.

After learning about the production of coffee, it was time to visit the plants. The hike was a grueling 45 minute walk almost entirely up hill, with the exception of a few "flatter" spots for respite. Along the way we saw some coffee plants and got to see an example of how they flower. Did you know that coffee plants are shrubs? Prior to the tour, neither did we!

This was a great way to see the flowers,
although the plant itself is overgrown. 

We eventually got to the closest coffee plot (there were others, but that would have added another hour of walking). It was full of foliage. They had three different types of coffee plants in this particular area, including plants that make some of the best types of coffee, Geisha. 

The buds near the leaf will eventually become a bean!

According to our guide, it takes 5 years for a plant to grow from a seedling to a producing plant. In general, coffee workers are paid around $2/hour to pick and carry bags, usually weighing 100 pounds, back to the processing plant. Our guide/partial owner stated that their company has a mule carry the bags and pay their workers a little more than the going rate. 

After the walk back it was time to learn how to "cup coffee" or "cupping", which is another term for coffee tasting. Before we started the process we got to watch the beans get roasted in a homemade roaster. The owner stated they have three roasters, one was a homemade, another is a popcorn machine, and the other is used for larger production when he is not cupping. The process of roasting coffee beans is interestingly enough, very similar to popcorn; you roast it until the beans start to pop. 

Beans that need to be roasted

Roasting the beans with a homemade contraption

Cooling the roasted beans

After the beans were ground we got to start the cupping process. 

First you smell the different types of coffees. You notice whether one may smell like citrus, chocolate, roses, or wine. 

The second step is called "breaking the crust". Coffee grounds are put into cups with hot water. The coffee forms a crust. You take a spoon and break the crust and smell the coffee. You do this with each cup of coffee, even though there are generally two cups for each variety of coffee.

Then comes the tasting part. You take your spoon, put some coffee into and slurp it up, let it sit on your tongue and then spit it out. The owner let us pick the majority favorite and we got to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Robert and I are normally not coffee drinkers but we both needed this after our poor choice of packing cookies as "our lunch" (we did not realize we would need more than a snack). Alas, it was time to go back down the hill. 

Our guide and his partner

The day ended with us getting Chinese takeout and watching a movie. Robert and I had a great day and learned a lot more about coffee than we thought we would. One thing is for sure, we both gained a whole new appreciation for coffee.