CoastWay Amador

Today we had a good day full of kid and family friendly surprises.  We started off with making sure my students were safely checked into their classes and we headed out to the nearby strip mall, El Rey.  Dude found a coin machine to keep him busy for a while.  It cost $.25 and blasted out reggaeton and salsa while it bounced him around.  Zane found some cheap video arcade machines.

Both of these silly boys found this green dancing laser flashing on the floor, so they rocked and rolled with it, having a great time.

 

El Rey Food Court

On the way back I stopped at a bakery and got some sweets for me and the boys and my new favorite drink Chicha de Piña, a yummy yummy Pineapple juice.

My new favorite drink Chicha de Piña

The rainy season it just starting here and it is raining daily.  We returned to the school just in time for a Salsa and Merengue dance class and to not get soaked in the rain.

After the rain we went to CoastWay.  CoastWay is a man made strip of land that splits the Pacific Ocean.  It´s located near the Canal Zone and it is absolutely beautiful!

Zane at CoastWay

Pacific Ocean on both sides

Panoramic view of the strip after the rain

We saw bikes of all different kinds for rent, motorbikes, 4 wheelers, 10 speeds... but we decided on this little gem to help avoid any accidents of the possibility of losing a child!  It cost $9.00 an hour and was totally worth it.  I put Dude in the front and me and Zane peddled away.  Dude thought he was flying, he was so cute.

Afterward we ate ice cream and watched the sun set. Today was a good day!

¡Caliente!

martes 3 de abril, 2012

Last night was HOT!!! And I mean HOT.  We all woke up tired because we were stuck to the sheets and uncomfortable most of the night.  We woke up early ate breakfast with our host family and were off to a rare early start.  While my students were in class Zane, Dude, and I walked to the store to get Gatorade and snacks.  We are drinking as much as we can to stay hydrated in this heat!  

After classes we stopped by our favorite Panamanian restaurant for lunch.  ¡Sabroso!

 

Dude eating his favorite, arroz.

After we ate we walked over to the nearby strip mall´s post office to send postcards to friends and family in the U.S.  This is one of the ways I save money and luggage space when I travel.  People love the surprise of receiving their post card gift in the mail, seeing the different stamps, and it only cost $.25 to send off. 

At the Post Office

After sending off our post cards we headed for our last day of service at Casa Esperanza. The ride is about half hour on the public buses, we took the newer buses this time ☺

Here are some of the sights we saw as we passed through the open markets near Casa Esperanza. 

Once at Casa Esperanza we played with the kids, taught what we could, and enjoyed being in good company.

David- Student at Casa Esperanza 

Me and some of the kids.  Dude is sound asleep. 

 Daniela- Casa Esperanza Student

I'm so grateful for our our guide Melody.  She made sure we got there and back safely everyday.  She was also adventurous enough to take a bunch of gringos on the Diablo Rojo.  ¡Muy buena gente es! 

 Melody and Me

Once we got home Conchita was there with delicious Arroz con Pollo and a typical Panamanian drink called Arroz con piña (Rice with Pineapple).  There weren't rice grains in the drink at all but it was definitely yummy!

Conchita feeding Dude.  She is spoiling him rotten! 

Conchita and  Dude chilling and watching TV.

Soon our Bermudan house mates will be leaving.  They are awesome, well mannered kids and I´m happy to see them so international at such a young age.  My sons will definitely miss having them in the house.

Jaeden and Sakima 13 yrs old Bermudan house mates

Once again we were pooped by the end of the day.  It´s a cooler night so I know we will sleep well.

Canta Conmigo

Monday night everyone in Panamá tuned in to watch Canta Conmigo, which is similar to a children´s American Idol.  We were watching just like everyone else with our host family.  Take a look and see how much you are able to understand ☺

Congrats to the winner Elainy!!!

El Diablo Rojo

2/4/2012 April 2, 2012


Today my students started off with their Spanish classes.  While they did that Zane and I worked on a solar system robotic kit that I brought with us from home and Dude played in the dirt with his trucks, of course!  Afterwards, we walked over to the to the main street and had lunch at a Pio Pio restaurant.  I can best describe Pio Pio as a panamanian version of Wendy`s.  It rained pretty hard today but that was OK because it help make the temperature feel cooler.

After lunch we took the new buses over to Casa Esperanza.   Here is some of what we saw.

Dominos in the street 

Outdoor barber shop

At Casa Esperanza we made ourselves at home.  Some of my students took Dude and went in the room with the younger kids 3-6 yrs old and had a blast singing and dancing.  Others went with the  older kids 9-12 and had real Spanish conversation with some of the kids.


Two of the teachers that joined us from the States played  a customized Panamanian Monopoly with 4 very sassy and cute little girls.

My students, Zane, and Dude learning the rules for a

new game. 

My students with students from Casa Esperanza 

 Teachers playing Monopoly

 Specialized Panamanian Monopoly board

The best part of today was our return back to our side of town.  Since it was a little cooler than usual our tour guide Melody and I decided to be a little extra adventurous and take the Diablo Rojo back to Ileri.

El Diablo Rojo (Red Devil) is the nickname for the pimped out school bus public transportation.  People pack in, there is no A/C, and the music ((((BLASTS)))).  You can say a lot about these buses but you will never forget your first ride and you can never say they lack character.   Let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 El Diablo Rojo public transportation bus

 Inside El Diablo Rojo

Tight squeeze

Tomorrow we will have the same schedule.

Happy Birthday Dude!

Sunday 1/4/ 2012  (Yes, Dude was born on April Fool´s Day)

Today is Dude´s 3rd birthday.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!!!!!  When we woke up Zane and I sang him Happy Birthday in English and Spanish.  Zane added versions in Chinese and Japanese as a special gift just from him.  Conchita also made a big deal over Dude turning 3.  I swear FoxyMama must have put in a special order with the universe to send Dude a Panamanian grandma that would spoil him the way she would.

After breakfast we met up with my students at the school.  Our driver, Ricardo, picked us up and we headed to get the other students who live a little further away and the 3 teachers from the U.S. that arrived last night.  The students were ready but the teachers were not, so they decided to meet us at the Panama Canal, which was our first tour for the day. 

 Welcome to the Panama Canal

 A damn next to the canal.

The Canal is massive and amazing.   We saw a ship that was as large as a building moving through it.  We also went the the museum dedicated to its history and construction.  I searched in the canal´s construction workers data base for my grandfather´s name but I was unable to find it.  In retrospect I think I did something wrong and should have tried the search a different way.  I hate when that happens.  It´s OK though the canal was great and I learned a lot.

Mira Flores Visitors Center at te Panama Canal

Me (Echo), Zane, and Dude about to enter the Canal´s visitors center

The Panama Canal

You can see the water is high on one side of the lock 

and low on the other side

After the canal the teachers joined in our van and we headed on a 2- 2.5 hour drive to the Beach at Playa Gorgona on the Pacific Coast.  Woo-hoo!  Everyone seemed to love the feel of adventure.  Driving through an unfamliar land to a place you hadn´t heard of before.  Along the way we stopped, at what would be our version of a WalMart, for snacks and small forgotten items.  One of the teachers commented on how quiet everyone was and how patiently everyone waited in the long check-out lines.  I´d warned them to be aware of how loudly they were speaking in public and she says it immediately showed itself as good advice.

Once we got to the beach we were all very happy to be free.  We rented a $4 covered stand to put our stuff in while we swam.  Playa Gorgona had high strong waves and black sand.  We had so much fun getting knocked down by the waves, jumping the waves, and running from the waves.  Dude played in the sand with his Conway dump trucks and even made a couple of new friends.  Before we left the beach we ate from the beach restaurant,  fried red snapper with tostones, que rico!

Dude playing with his Conway trucks at Playa Gorgona

Dude and Zane enjoying the black sand at Playa Gorgona

Our feet (Echo, Zane, & Dude)

Dude is not appreciating mom being the paparazzi

We headed back home, another 2.5 hours and Conchita was up waiting for our arrival.  Dude slept the whole way back home, but was still exhausted when we arrived back in Panama City.  I think it´s safe to say that he had a good 3rd birthday.

Malls and Movies

Saturday 31/3/2012 continued...

After we drank our mango juice we went to school.  While my students were in class me and my boys made copies of our passports; the part that shows their pictures and the part that shows the entry stamp into Panama.  After classes everyone was hungry so we decided to head to the mall for lunch and a movie.

BlockBuster stores still exist!!!!!


El Centro Comercial Albrook is huge and very American. they had every American store you could think of and more. I got a new sim card in my phone for $2.40 but it didnt work since my phone isn´t jail-broken. *note to self: get a jail broken phone before next trip abroad*. Things in the mall seemed very expensive. I was happy to find a Conway store. I went there and bought Dude an early birthday present, 3 small yellow dump trucks for $3.50. His birthday is tomorrow, he will turn 3. I also got Zane a Ninjago lego set for $9.

Zane and a couple of my students checking out video games

We rented this mall cart for $4 per hour.  Dude loved it!

We also ate at McDonald´s, just as a taste test to see if it was lke the states. Overall it is, maybe less greasy and the chick taste like real chicken.

 

The McDonald´s in Panamá is tasty, less greasy.

25 cent fee to use the toilets.  Kids go free.

After lunch we went to the loooong movie ticket line at the box office downstairs and got tickets for John Carter. The movie was dubbed with voice overs and not the version with subtitles. I thought it would be a good experience for y students to return home and say that they´ve only seen a popular movie only in spanish. The movie theatres here give assigned seats tickets cost $3.50 and the combo snack meal only $4.75. I think that the movie theatre here is pretty smart. The snack bar is shared with the whole mall, it´s not just exclusively for movie goers. The movie was great. of course Zane understood everything. Dude played with his toy trucks most of the movie, and my students said they could understand just about everything that was happening

Coming soon to the CineMax Panamá.  Ice Age 4.

Zane and Dude playing with their new toys at our homestay

After the movie is was dark out and getting late so her hopped in cabs and headed to our host famlies.  Once again we all returned home happy and tired.  But we must admit we suuuure wish AlphaPoppa and FoxyMama were here.