We've had a major cattle show all week just below our apartment. It's been so fun to watch them- these bulls are huge, and probably very expensive. So in true Panamanian resourcefulness, bulls/cows were tied all around the outside of the Atlapa Convention center. They were standing on sand/shavings, had water, food, etc. Some cows were inside the convention center or also under tents. Great for a four year old to go and feed them/ pet them all week long without anyone saying anything. Not so great for the mom of a four year old to navigate through the puddles of pee and poo left by the torrential downpour of the afternoon rains... in her flip flops.

But yesterday tops it all.

We were watching out the window when all of a sudden these beautiful horses started showing up at the back entrance to the convention center. I dragged my poor son, who at first didnt want to go, but once we got there, he had a great time. $3 into the convention center. We pass the tractor display, milking machines, sperm banks (yes!!), and go into the main hall. Free alcohol everywhere. People are drunk. Music is playing and it is SO LOUD. 


Here's a video where a horse and a lady dressed in Panamanian traditions are dancing. Super!! Do you like the wooden platform in the middle of the arena??


Then it quiets and HE enters. It was quite dramatic!!



Then came the after-party, which happened in the back of the center. It's a parking lot. And you know how crowds gather when there's a juke box and some break dancers taking turns to show their stuff? That's what happened with horses. The band moved to the outside, an horses/riders were showing off their stuff, taking turns. If they could have high-fived each other, they would have. This is all in the parking lot, so all fancy footwork on asphalt!! Not sure how the horses' feet felt about that. But it was loud, it was fun and so very impressive.

Today is pack 'em up day. Let's see how they leave this place. If I close my eyes and take a sniff, I can smell Lauenen, Switzerland! Aaaaaah!

November is National Holiday month!!

There are a lot of national holidays in Panama during the month of  November:  November 3 (Independence Day) and November 4 (Flag Day) are the main national holidays. On November 3, there was a HUGE parade, which showcased all of the public offices, schools, and other groups who wanted to be recognized (aka, protesters who wanted the limelight). It was mandatory for all schools to participate. All of the Directoras marched, and the call went out for volunteers to join. Around 25 students and over 30 facutly members decided to particpate as well. It was quite the show.  The parade started at 8:45ish with all of the municipal offices, but the schools didn't go through until 1:00ish! It was a long, hot, sunny day. Then torrential dowpour!  But fun, nonetheless, and thoroughly entertaining!

Waiting in the shade!

The National Band

Waiting with noise maker

Notice the water bottle? It was for the dogs!! Little showers for feet go a long way!

Tipico!!

A colorful "monster" steals children from the crowd!! Had to go chasing after them.  All in good fun.

Can you imagine walking a parade in these shoes??

Some of Panama's oldest buildings

The Presidential Palace - the entire parade goes by the Palace and perform for the president.

Someone very important. Of course we can't see who it is because the windows are tinted. Is there anyone even in there? One would never know!

So cool!

The Directoras of Colegio Brader

Tipico

  Max and I went to see Brader's Tipico Dance performance. It was organized by one man, the school's upper school history teacher. He had about 90 students who VOLUNTEERED to be part of this. I found it absoultely fabulous and charming how students here get involved to celebrate their customs. A typical "tipico" is a series of dances that either involve a couple or lots of dancing pairs. Basically, the girl is flirtateous, and the boy tries to get the girl. The costumes are very elaborate, and in a real tipico, are usually made by hand,  and are incredibly detailled and intricate. The music is loud and rythmic, which Max just loved.  And as you can imagine, there is an amazing amount of "bling": the jewlery, the colors, the hair decorations. All are carefully put together to put the a best foot forward. It's very fun to see young people embracing it, and preserving a big piece of their culture.

Other than that, it's so amazing how life turns into regular routine no matter where you are! And that's exactly what it feels like right now. Get up, breakfast, Max and I get dressed, I leave, Katy gets Max on the bus, school, a combination of speech therapy, Spanish classes and going to the park or the gym take up our afternoons. Dinner around 6:30, bedtime by 7:30, quiet house by 8:30 - hopefully!! Of course everything is so much easier because of Katy! She and Max are quite the pair. Max loves her to pieces, but he also knows what buttons to push. Besides cleaning the house, and caring for Max, Katy does little things that mean the world to us: refills the lemonade pitcher, empties the groceries, and of course so many things. The list goes on and on. It will be VERY hard to switch back when we move back to the States. But for now, it is a lovely treat.

I am finding myself really missing the fall: the cooler weather, the shorter days, a good soup on the stove, rain boots, and yes, Halloween.  I know Seattle is probably covered by that eternal rain cloud just about now, but I miss being able to be wrapped up in a warm sweater and drink a cup of tea aftet dinner. Sigh.

Here are some pictures of a recent weekend with our friend, Titi.  I got to ride a horse!!!! Super fun.

A boy and his Spiderman kite!

Can this picture be any LESS flattering???

More observations

Not a day goes by without me thinking: "Oh, I should write that down!" So here are a few random thoughts:

• Avocados are actually juicy here! Blueberries are not. :)
• Max: "Jess, are we going in for dinner?" (Instead of going out!)
• I brought 7 shirts and pants to the ironing lady. It was $2.50!
• This is the land of slow moving security gates. All of them are on a clicker system, and all of them open at a snail's pace! So any time you think you've made up time, and might get there only slightly late, forget it! You'll be stuck behind the security gate for a few minutes! :)
• Speaking of getting somewhere on time, no need! No one is on time here. Max and I showed up for a birthday party the other day. The invitation read 10:30. So, the punctual American showed up at... 10:30!! Everyone else showed up around 11:30. Sigh... :)
• Doctors here are cash only! In fact, lots of things are cash only, so for someone who NEVER carried cash, that's been an adjustment.
• The local pharmacy wraps birthday presents for you for free! And they do a MUCH better job than I ever would!
• Everyone calls teachers and administrators "Teacher" here, so I am "Teacher Yessi"! So cute!!

All for now! Lots of love!

Spanish is slowly kicking in

Max is definitely making progress in learning Spanish. He is aware of the difference between the languages, that there is English (what Mommy and Max speak), and that there is Spanish, a language that others speak.  He often times gets frustrated and, yes, sad, that people don't understand him.  It's heartbraking at times, but he truly is a trooper and still enjoys hanging out with other kids at school. Now that he is showing awaress of both languages, I'll start introducing flash cards at home, so that he can communicate with Katy better. But communication has been his challenge from day one, so this doesn't seem like it's too unfamiliar to him.  He is quite resourceful, and tries different ways to get his poitns across.

Something cute happened this morning. Max was playing with some play dough, and was trying to tell me in what I now call Max-lish.  Max:  Jess, it's a -urle. Me: It's a squirrel?? Max: No, it's an animal that swims in water. Me: oh, it's a turtle. Max: yes, a turtle. He goes over and grabs Katy (our nany), and says: Katy, come look at my turtle. It's an animal that swims in agua!! Unprompted SPANISH!!!!!! Yes!!!!!! I was so excited for him.

More beach.... I know - life is so rough!!

We just had a week of vacation, so Car, Andrew, David, Harry (the dog), Max and I went to the beach for a whole week. I took Katy (our nanny) as well, which was great. We had a lovely routine: beach in the morning, pool in the afternoon, nap in hammocks in between.

Is there anything strange in this picture? Husky on  a beach??? He loves it, though.  Digs his own swimming pool!

Naptime... aaaahhh

Went to a small zoo in El Valle... mountain town.

Near El Valle - really beautiful

Andrew and Max

The mule can go anywhere and is great to transport tired toddlers back and forth from house to beach.

At the beach!

Some more pics:

Punta Barco

Nothing better than digging at the beach



Husky at the beach... what??