Me with the skyline in the background; taken from the Panama Cuaseway.
The last couple of days have been really, really busy! I have been meeting people, figuring out my way around and seeing and tasting new things! Heres a quick summary of whats been going on!
Sunday brought Church at Balboa, the city where I live, and time to relax and unpack. I also went shopping, and let me tell you, dont plan on buying anything when there is a sale! They had a sale on meat, but there was no meat left to rebajar (put on sale)!
Yesterday picked up a bit, as I went with the music volunteer missionary with AMILPA to two different churches. We went to Rio Rita, a small village up in the mountians on the Atlantic Side, where Joy, the music missionary, gave lessons to some students from the Pastors house. I got to meet the pastor and his family, and as well as have an incredible Nicuarguagan breakfast. But wait, you think, arent you in Panama? Well, yes, but Pastor Pedro is from Nicuarguaga, so he treated us to homemade tortillas and beans and the best coffee I have ever had in my life. After Rio Rita, we headed even closer to the Atlantic, to Sabanitas, where Joy proceeded to give more music lessons and I helped out by playing piano for the large group session. I got to meet some students at this church, which is about 10 km from the Atlantic. So in one day I went from the Pacific Ocean (from which I live about 2 kms) to the Atlantic Ocean. Sabanitas is a larger town than Rio Rita, as it is closer to Colon, the largest city on the Atlantic Coast of Panama. We took some students to their houses after lesson, and then drove through the rainforest to get home. We drove past Madden Dam, where the keep the reserves for the canal, since the canal uses freshwater. We also drove past Chagres national Park, a tourist's rainforest paridise. The day ended with a trip to Panama Centro (Downtown Panama City), a traffice nightmare! We ate at a nice little itialian cafe called Pomodoro, and did some errands downtown.
Today brought some more time to relax and see part of the town. We went to the Cuaseway, a strecth of land that connects three islands and was built with all the dug-out dirt of the canal. They also continue to extend the cuaseway with all the dirt and sediment the drugde out of the canal. There were good views of the city from the Cuaseway. We saw the skyline, Ancon Hill, and the Bridge of the Americas. We went to a nice restaurant for lunch and I had a wonderful Sea Bass Salad with drink, appetizer and dessert for $5. Since the Smithsonian Marine Exhibt was not yet open when we got there, the fruit market was the next destination. It was a combination of smells that I have never quite experienced, the sweet pineapples, the not so sweet peppers and everyonce in a while a huge whiff of very overripe fruit (I dont think the would call it rotten since they are obviuosly after my balboas!) Then my favorite part of the day, nap time! Now its dinner time! Today we also meet Sally and Jerona, the secretarys and bookkeepers for the church here in Panama, and my land-lady, who got in a hilariouos phone battle over the phone with our phone company, who is charging us for using 40,000 minutes of call time when no one lived in this apartment!
View of the city from the Causeway, with the obligatory cargo boat waiting to get in the canal
"And now to Traffic: Traffic moving slowly on the Canal Corridor, backed up for miles; alternate routes advised. Try going around all of South America."
Not just random hills. The hill on the right is Ancon Hill, and the small hill in the middle is where my house is. If you blow up the Picture you can see Bridge of the Americas to the left, which crosses the Canal. You can see how close my apartment is to the canal.
Some of my observations thus far:
1. Humidity, humidity, humidity! This isnt so much an observation as a heavey hammer that hits you everytime you step out of an air conditioned room, but I havent seen a humidity report here, becuase I think it is a given that it is always at least 100 million percent. Well thats what you get for being right on the ocean and surrounded by jungles on all sides. Towel anyone?
2. People here have more time than money. Friends on the streets are more important than office memos and schedules. This means that when you plan to start at 10:00, you can show up at 11:30 and be on time. This also means that when people have you to their house, they pull out all the works, like Pastor Pedro.
Those are the main ones. I have been seeing so much that at this point I am just trying to take in as much as I can. I pray that God would bring to my attention things that would help me better understand the people I am serving and how to better have relationships with them. I also pray that God would use this time to mold me into someone who can share his truth and how it has impacted me with those around me.
For today, thats it. As I begin to understand what it means to be away from home and my culture, and what awaits for me, I think of the great things that God has in store for the people of Panama, for my friends and family, and myself:
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jer 29:11
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