Some pictures from last weekend

Here are some pics from last weekend. Very fun, and Max definitely got his "boy" time with lots of Carolyn's sons and nephews around.

Beautiful horse farm next to the Beach House.

A not-so-good moment

Some places in Panama

Here are some places of interest in Panama. Click on the map.

So there I was...

Yesterday was truly an epic day! It was a long weekend, so Car and her family, Max and I went to the beach house in Coronado, about 1 1/2 hours sout west from Panama City. We drove in two cars, because not all of us would fit into Car's car. So, I'm currently driving a Honda Civic, that is totally decked out for teenage sons: low riding, tinted windows, cobalt blue... NICE!! It's the family car of Maggie, one of the owners of Colegio Brader and a good friend. After two very relaxing days of pool and beach, we're ready to head back into the city. But as I start the car, I hear the deafening "click" of a dead battery. UGH. And wouldn't you know it, Car had an appointment in Panama City that afternoon, so we had no minutes to spare. After some quick thinking, Car drives off to buy some jumper cables, and sure enough, the car starts. Max falls asleep 10 minues into the drive, and we're saiiling all the way into the city. I follow Car all the way in, and split off to go to my apartment.  All is well, right? Well....

To get to my apartment, I have to take Corredor Sur, a toll highway, with the main part a bridge that spans the over the water. Each side has two lanes, and only a few feet for an emergency lane. I miss my exit, and have to cross this bridge (think 520, Seattle people). I turn around and get back on to the highway. The on ramp has one of these guard rails that is supposed to collapse when tires go over it, and pop any tire that tries to back over it. They were fixing one side last week. They didn't fix it right. I drive over it, and sure enough, hear that all too dreaded hissing sound. I now have to pull over on the Corredor Sur with a flat tire.  Thankfully, two maintenance guys come over and help me. In the meantime, I call my friend Tuty, to see if she can come and rescue us as well, even if it's just for moral support. She's on her way (so great!).

The car doesn''t have the correct wrenches, so they can't change the tire easily. Now a tow truck stops by. It turns out this is the Corredor tow truck - it's all he does! So now I am in good hands. Sign language and my pathetically limited amount of Spanish get me by. Tuty arrives. Max is still sleeping in the car.

After $15 of tips (not bad!!), I am now following Tuty back into Panama to find a Bridgestone to get the tire fixed. I pull off the highway, and sure enough, have flat tire #2! Front tire this time. I made it about 2 blocks away to the tire place, and pull over on the side of the street. Another nice guy comes up to us to see if he can help. Yes, please! He asks me to start the car again and straighten out the wheel. Wait for it... dead battery! At this point, Tuty and I are bent over laughing.

But here is the great part, and something that I think I am learning about Panama. Where there is a will, there is a way.  Instead of waiting for a tow truck (lots of money and seemingly too complicated), Tuty loads tire #1 into her car, and drives it to Bridgestone. At the same time, Tuty calls Casa Batteria, a mobile car battery repair service, to come and take a look at the battery.  (I just stand on the side of the road, looking helpless.) A guy on a moped shows up within 10 minutes and fixes the battery - it was just a loose connection. He speaks English! :)

Now we can straighten the wheel so that the guy who is helping us can take off flat tire #2.  He does. Tuty loads it in her car, and drives it over there, and brings back tire #1. Nice Guy puts it on, and we're off. But not without setting off the car alarm, which, of course, I don't know how to turn off because it's not my car. So, I'm literally limping to Bridgestonne with Max in the back seat (now watching a movie), and the car alarm is going off.  To say that we turned some heads is an understatement.

But sure enough, Bridgestone exchanges both tires, cuts the cord to the alarm, and we're off.  The whole thing, from me getting a flat tire on the Corredor, to driving away from Bridgestone, took about 90 minutes. I kid you not!!

We come back home to find that Ana, our nanny, wasn't home yet, and since she has yet to show up, we can safely assume that she's not coming back, either!! Ugh. Unfortunately, this is quite common here, and everyone shrugs their shoulders, and says: "Yeah, that's the way it goes."

But I have enrolled Max in his school on a full-time basis now, so he gets to be there until I get off from work. So, in some ways, we're back in familiar territory, and I think that's going to be o.k., at least for a little while. Then we'll try to find a nanny again.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

We have a new nanny, Anna, who is 20 years old, and very nice. Today was her first true day, so my friend, Tuty, and I came home from work early and helped orient her. Tuty was great as she is Panamanian, and knew exactly what to say to Anna in order for her to feel comfortable. This language barrier really sucks, and I'm really hoping to up my game in this area. But Anna is patient and speaks slowly, both of which help a great deal.

It's been amazing to watch Max get used to another new person. He likes Anna as well, and maybe it's just obvious how much he has had different people in his life taking care of him. He trusts her, isn't shy or hesitant, stays with her without complaining, and is basically happy to have he around. I'm so impressed; o.k., maybe I'm a little biased too!!

While Carolyn and I were driving to pick up Anna, the power steering in my new used car went out. That's the second thing that went wrong with this car in the last two weeks, so I basically gave the car back for a full refund. So that's been a bummer, but, as luck would have it, one of the owners of the school, Maggie, has a car that she ca loan me for a while so I have more time to look for one without having to rely on Carolyn to cart me around everywhere. I know it'll all workout! But that damn car seat is heavy, and I'm sick of trying to keep track of a different set of keys!! :)

I've been trying to sink my teeth into work, but am currently without a work computer. My official title is Director of Strategic Development, but at this point, I am still trying to find my way around campus. I did spend some time in 2nd grade last week, which was so fun, and I hope to do more of that this week.

It's wonderful to hear from our family and friends, so please keep the emails, phone calls coming. We're really not that far away!!

Its REALLY hot!

Wow, I am just boiling, and Dummy over here decides to bake banana bread in the middle of the day.  It better be worth it! Both Max and my bedroom are air-conditioned, and I moved the majority of his toys in his bedroom yesterday, so at least when he's home, he has a cool place to be.  Luis, Carolyn's helper, also hung a cool chair from the ceiling, and Max loves to swing, hide and climb all over that thing. Very fun.

I have a maid. Yes, I do! Laura is 18 (!!) and comes from a part of Panama that is about 1hour outside of the city. It's amazing to have someone to clean and help you cook, and basically be at your side the whole time. If I want her to play with Max, off she goes. Or maybe, she prepares dinner so I can play with Max. It's also o.k. to take your maid to a playdate for them to take care of your kids while you actually get to talk to the parents.  We did that last night, and it was more of a "normal" play date than one might think. The ratio of child to adults was higher for the adults, though, which was funny!

Max really likes Laura, and over this week has become quite attached. I feel good leaving him with her and can tell that they are quite the pair. He keeps asking why Laura doesn't eat when we eat, and why he can't eat in her room!! That part is hard for me. You entrust them to take care of your kids and basically be part of your home, but the lines of separation are very strong. Laura caught me doing dishes the other day, and the look on her face ... :)

AND here's the bad part, Laura is leaving again because she has a 3 month old baby that is being taken care of by her mom. She thought she would be able to work, but then changed her mind. I feel so bad for Max who has needed to make so many new adjustments, but he will adjust again to someone else.  Carolyn and her friend Ericka (also my language coach!!) already found a new nanna, Anna, who will start tomorrow.

You usually don't advertise here, you basically just ask around.  So we were lucky that someone else was available because Max only goes to school half day, and is home with the nanny after 12:00.  It'll take some time to adjust but it will be so worth it in the end.

Wednesday, 8/3

We are doing well.  Here are some highlights:

• Our boxes arrived yesterday. All 18 of them! Some of them looked like they had been through a tornado. How they made it to Panama I'll never know! Wait until you see the pictures. But I'm happy to say that all the things I had professionally packed made it just fine. I haven{t unpacked all, but so far, nothing is broken.  Truly, a miracle!!
• We still don''t have hot water, but honestly, that hasn't been as much of a problem as I thought it would be initially. Max is a trooper with taking cold showers. That process is a mixture of laughing and crying. Quite funny!
• I bought a car (Hyundai Santa Fe, 2006), which, hopefully, will be ready today. We went to pick it up the other day, but when I drove home, the airconditioning wouldn{t work. Well, that's just not an option, so back it went. 

(as I'm writing this, there is a torrential downpour going on right now. It's raining HARD, and in 10 minutes it will all be over, but the street will be flooded and crazy!)

• He is also doing so well in school. His school is called El Jardin de la Cuadra, and his teachers' name is Teacher Angélica. She truly is an angel. She was a psychologist before, and now is a teacher. Max loves her, she speaks a little English, and really has made an effort with me and him. He loves going, especially now that he's being picked up by his school bus and Señor José, his bus driver.  So great!
• He's picking up some small Spanish words, like gracias and por favor - a great start! 
• I have started school, and doing some observations of classes to get to know the place a little first. My schedule is from 7:00 until 3:00, which is nice because then I can run errands before going home.  But quite honestly, school has been the last thing on my mind as I've spent most of my time setting us up here. So now that we're settling, everything else can start taking shape as well. 
• Driving is a little crazy - you have to be somewhat aggressive and not afraid to use your horn. Quite different from quiet and peaceful Seattle!! :) And I{m getting better about learning the streets. I can pretty much get myself to the places I need to get to: my school Max´s school, the park, the pool, the grocery store, therapy, etc. I know I'll get lost at some point, which might actually  be good! Traffic is horrible, especially during rush hour, but my route to/from school is against traffic, which is great. 
• We live just a few minutes from a large park that has an outside path (pretty and green - a little like Green Lake) with a huge playground as part of it too. I can imagine spending a lot of time there!! But I don{t think I can walk to the park, which is too bad, because parking there is crazy. The sidewalks are in such poor shape. When I tried to walk with Max in the stroller, it was like going 4-wheelin'! Quite an adventure. Maybe we'll have a better time when he's not in the stroller anymore. We'll see.
• Today, I meet with a friend of Carolyn's. Ericka and I walk La Cinta, and speak Spanish. It's a great way for me to practice speaking Spanish and getting exercise at the same time. She is wonderfully patient with me!!  

More later!

A big day today

It was Max's first day of school today at El Jardin de la Cuadra. It's a cute school tucked away in a residential neighborhood about 7 minutes away from where we live. He is in a class with 16 other children and two teachers. Teacher Angelica speaks a little English and he as two students in his class who also speak a little English.

Soon, Max will get picked up by a bus, and driven to school by Sen. Jose, his bus driver.  As the pics indicate, he goes to school in a red shirt (all his classmates wear red - the color of his goup), and with a lunch box - of course, Spiderman! All the students also bring a toothbrush and toothpaste, and brush their teeth after they have had their luncherra (snack).

Max goes to school from 8:30 until 11:30, and gets dropped off at the house again by 11:45.

Then his nanny, Laura, brings him upstairs, he eats lunch, takes a little nap, and then playtime with Laura. Of course we can't do that quite yet because our stuff hasn't arrived yet, but eventually, it will work that way.

I, in the meantime will have to be at work by around 7:15, until about 2:30.

More later!!

First day of school in El Jardin de la Cudra. SO proud of the Spiderman lunch box!

At the Dinosaur Exhibit with our new friends, Tuty (mom) and Nicole, also 3.

Riding the dinosaur at the Dinosaur Exhibit. Spideman can do anything!!

Going on a train ride in the mall!