So I´m sitting here in the internet cafe....it´s Sunday afternoon.....and the sun is shining in Boquete. Yesterday it rained most of the day, so it´s nice to see the sun again. My short time with the host family has brought about number of funny anecdotes and misunderstandings, so I thought I would mention a few of them.
Urinal Cakes.....When I first arrived at the house the other day, I immediately noticed a very strange smell. It kind of smelled like a cross between moth balls and the Texaco bathroom. No big deal.....just a little wierd. Well, when I went into the bathroom, I was absolutely overcome with this smell of what I thought was moth balls! After a few days of this, I finally started to notice to source of this aroma. That is, after a couple of days, I started to see these things hanging around the house.....under a desk....next to the sofa......in the kitchen....everywhere! What WERE these things? Urinal cakes! Seriously! They literally are urinal cakes that are suspended on wires for easy application! Pastillas desodorantes.......deoderant pills, as the package says. And then I started to notice them everywhere. They were at other peoples houses, and they are at the school, and they are, well, everywhere! But what are these people thinking? Do they have some type of anti-microbial germ fighting powers? Do they enjoy the smell? Do they find it desirable to have a house wreaking of öde de port-a-potty¨? I may never know.
The Kitchen Nazi.......A couple of days ago, Aldair (the 12 year old) started acting wierd. Before that, he was pretty nice to me, we would hang out a bit, chat, he would play games on my phone.....whatever. All of the sudden, things were different. He seemed angry about something. He would barely talk to me. He seemed to avoid me. I don´t know, I couldn´t figure out what was going on.
Anyway, yesterday, I returned home with a yogurt I had just purchased from the store. After getting permission from the dad to eat a banana from the fruit bowl, I enjoyed a little snack. As I was washing the bowl, I was severely reprimanded by this kid for eating food without permission. WHAT? Well, after I figured out what he was upset about, I assured him that I HAD indeed bought the yogurt and DID in fact have permission for the 2.5 cent banana. He mellowed out a bit.
After this little event, I remembered that he had been acting wierd ever since I had gotten a little ice cream (literally ONE spoonful) from the freezer the other night. I also remembered that he had acted a little wierd at the time, but I had not thought much about it. Well, apparently, this is a touchy subject for him. But maybe it´s not just a touchy subject for HIM. I´m starting to think that although they seem happy to provide the two meals per day as stated in our contractual agreement, outside of that, the kitchen is OFF LIMITS to me. There is no such thing as a between-meal snack around there!
Carbo loading.....Speaking of food, I want to mention that the food is actually really good at the house. Juanita is a great cook, and I generally enjoy the meals. That being said, I will also say that it´s a good thing I´m not on the Atkins Diet. I say this because it´s not uncommon for my dinner to consist of rice with a side of potatoes with a side of pasta with a side of plantanes. Now that´s a lot of carbs, even for me!
Jason the Exhibitionist......So the other day, after a nice run, I decided to take a shower. Upon turning on the water and ¨getting ready¨ to jump in, I realized that I had forgotten my shampoo in the adjascent bedroom (my bedroom). Knowing that the mom and the kid were at the store, and that the dad was in his room with the door closed, I didn´t think it would be a problem to simply donn a towel and retrieve the shampoo. Unfortunately for me, as I was making my way back to the bathroom with shampoo in hand, I met the dad in the hallway. I said a quick hello, and went in to continue my shower.
Later that night, while we were all eating dinner in the dining room, the dad made it very clear to me that it was NOT acceptable to walk around the house without clothes! Oops.
Of course, being a guy who doesn´t even like to take his shirt off at the beach, I had to laugh. Maybe I had become like the European girl in high school who thought it completely appropriate to sunbathe topless at my church youth camp.
Aahhhh....you have to love the culteral differences.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The adventure begins
Well, I´ve been in Boquete for a couple of days now, and I´ve survived the first two days of class without much difficulty. Overall, things are going pretty well, and I´m starting to get my bearings a bit with the town and the people in the area. I suppose I should start with a little about the family with which I am living.
The House......I think I mentioned before that the house is pretty nice, and after several days of cold showers, I actually figured out how to get the hot water to work. Now I´ll be living the good life with mucho agua caliente. My room is pretty nice unless you want to sleep past 6-30 AM. Apparently the kids start school pretty early here, and since my bedroom window is about three feet from the school courtyard, things are pretty loud by that time. I´m hoping they don´t have school on the weekends.
The family......The dad´s name is Aristides and he is a cartographer. He seems to be very intelligent, very quiet, very friendly, speaks perfect English, and looks a lot like Morgan Freeman. The mom is ,Juanita, owns-operates the adjoining beauty shop. She´s also very nice and a great cook. In fact, right now, I´m miserably full from eating too much at dinner (nothing new there). There is a 12 year old named Aldair who enjoys Karate and playing the games on my cell phone that I have never seen. He goes to the private Catholic school in town and likes to quote Smeegle from Lord of the Rings (in Spanish, of course). Also, he seems pretty intent on one day having his very own BMX bike.
Things are going well with the family. Apparently there was some teenager from NJ who stayed with them a few weeks ago. They tell me that he didn´t shower, brush his teeth, or pick up the room, so I guess I´m looking pretty good after that guy. As usual, my biggest problem is just understanding them. Of course, the speaking seems SO FAST and they accent is very different from the Costa Ricans from last year. While I´m getting used to that, I´ll just have to enjoy the communication barrier while trying NOT to feel too dumb.
The school.....Classes are going well, and over the last two days, the 4 hour class sessions have flown by each day. I think I mentioned before that my only classmate is the new English (and pregnant) wife of one of the owners of the school (Julio). It´s fun to listen to her speak Spanish with her English accent. The instructor is named Bladimir. He looks to be in his later 20´s, lives in the larger nearby town, David, with his French wife, and is a published poet. He also seems to be a great teacher, so I´m really enjoying the classes and discussing such topics as Genetic cloning and organic farming.
Socializing.....I´m starting to meet a few people around town, as I am hanging around with Carlos, the other owner of the school. He´s a pretty nice guy who shows me where the good and cheap places to eat are (1 to 2 dollars for a large plate of food). Also, he´s helping me out with activities in the surrounding hills (more on that later) and introducing me to people in town.
The weekend......So I thought I might head to the beach for the weekend, but I´ve decided to take it easy instead. I´m still fighting a sore throat every day and a weekend of taking it easy sounds pretty good. Also, I don´t want to miss the big Ultimate Frisbee game happening on Sat.
So that´s about it for now. Over all, things are starting to come together after a couple of days.
Hasta Luego.
The House......I think I mentioned before that the house is pretty nice, and after several days of cold showers, I actually figured out how to get the hot water to work. Now I´ll be living the good life with mucho agua caliente. My room is pretty nice unless you want to sleep past 6-30 AM. Apparently the kids start school pretty early here, and since my bedroom window is about three feet from the school courtyard, things are pretty loud by that time. I´m hoping they don´t have school on the weekends.
The family......The dad´s name is Aristides and he is a cartographer. He seems to be very intelligent, very quiet, very friendly, speaks perfect English, and looks a lot like Morgan Freeman. The mom is ,Juanita, owns-operates the adjoining beauty shop. She´s also very nice and a great cook. In fact, right now, I´m miserably full from eating too much at dinner (nothing new there). There is a 12 year old named Aldair who enjoys Karate and playing the games on my cell phone that I have never seen. He goes to the private Catholic school in town and likes to quote Smeegle from Lord of the Rings (in Spanish, of course). Also, he seems pretty intent on one day having his very own BMX bike.
Things are going well with the family. Apparently there was some teenager from NJ who stayed with them a few weeks ago. They tell me that he didn´t shower, brush his teeth, or pick up the room, so I guess I´m looking pretty good after that guy. As usual, my biggest problem is just understanding them. Of course, the speaking seems SO FAST and they accent is very different from the Costa Ricans from last year. While I´m getting used to that, I´ll just have to enjoy the communication barrier while trying NOT to feel too dumb.
The school.....Classes are going well, and over the last two days, the 4 hour class sessions have flown by each day. I think I mentioned before that my only classmate is the new English (and pregnant) wife of one of the owners of the school (Julio). It´s fun to listen to her speak Spanish with her English accent. The instructor is named Bladimir. He looks to be in his later 20´s, lives in the larger nearby town, David, with his French wife, and is a published poet. He also seems to be a great teacher, so I´m really enjoying the classes and discussing such topics as Genetic cloning and organic farming.
Socializing.....I´m starting to meet a few people around town, as I am hanging around with Carlos, the other owner of the school. He´s a pretty nice guy who shows me where the good and cheap places to eat are (1 to 2 dollars for a large plate of food). Also, he´s helping me out with activities in the surrounding hills (more on that later) and introducing me to people in town.
The weekend......So I thought I might head to the beach for the weekend, but I´ve decided to take it easy instead. I´m still fighting a sore throat every day and a weekend of taking it easy sounds pretty good. Also, I don´t want to miss the big Ultimate Frisbee game happening on Sat.
So that´s about it for now. Over all, things are starting to come together after a couple of days.
Hasta Luego.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Boquete at last.
Well, its been a long day, but I´m finally here in Boquete. I arrived this afternnon after the taxi-bus-taxi ride, and it´s good to finally be here.
The day started pretty early, as I checked out of the hotel and got a taxi to the bus station. Actually, it really wasn´t THAT early, but it seemed incredibly early after I stayed up late with my new Tetris game. Tetris was another part of my going-away gift bag from Ericka, another highly addictive gift.
Anyway, I timed it pretty well and got on the 9AM bus from Panama City to Boquete. The bus was really pretty nice, equipped with AC, TV´s, and comfy seats. Unfortunately, I got an aisle seat next to a guy who felt compelled to spread himself around as much as possible. Actually, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He was probably in his early twenties. He also liked to sing along with the bus music and wore nice shoes. We tried to talk a bit initially, but I really couldn´t understand a word he was staying. (Curmudgeon Jason says......These kids today! All they do is mumble!)
The trip was seven hours and went pretty fast. At one point, we stopped and everyone got off the bus to hang out, eat lunch, and buy snacks. Being as though there was no announcement for this, I just followed the herd off the bus and hung out for about a half hour. Another time, they put on a movie on. It was called The Hot Chick and can NOT be considered a cinematic masterpiece. Finally, we made a random stop and a police officer got on the bus and checked my passport. I´m pretty sure he was PROFILING, but I decided it was best not to protest this violation of my civil liberties or look for the local ACLU......uh.....PCLU......office.
Finally, we arrived in David and after hanging around for about 20 minutes, a taxi driver showed up with a Jason Jones sign. He took me to Boquete, and I enjoyed being able to sit in the front seat, roll down the window, and enjoy the scenery.
After meeting Carlos, the school´s director, for a quick look around the school, we headed to my host family´s place. I´ll write more about them later, but they seem really great. Their house is really nice, and my room is spacious with a TV. Also, they have a hot shower with Whole Foods shampoo (go figure).
Tomorrow, I start my classes in the AM. I´ll be in a class with one other student, but being as though she is the English wife of one of the owners, I don´t plan to be awarded Valedictorian. Oh well....maybe next time.
Hasta Luego from Boquete.
The day started pretty early, as I checked out of the hotel and got a taxi to the bus station. Actually, it really wasn´t THAT early, but it seemed incredibly early after I stayed up late with my new Tetris game. Tetris was another part of my going-away gift bag from Ericka, another highly addictive gift.
Anyway, I timed it pretty well and got on the 9AM bus from Panama City to Boquete. The bus was really pretty nice, equipped with AC, TV´s, and comfy seats. Unfortunately, I got an aisle seat next to a guy who felt compelled to spread himself around as much as possible. Actually, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He was probably in his early twenties. He also liked to sing along with the bus music and wore nice shoes. We tried to talk a bit initially, but I really couldn´t understand a word he was staying. (Curmudgeon Jason says......These kids today! All they do is mumble!)
The trip was seven hours and went pretty fast. At one point, we stopped and everyone got off the bus to hang out, eat lunch, and buy snacks. Being as though there was no announcement for this, I just followed the herd off the bus and hung out for about a half hour. Another time, they put on a movie on. It was called The Hot Chick and can NOT be considered a cinematic masterpiece. Finally, we made a random stop and a police officer got on the bus and checked my passport. I´m pretty sure he was PROFILING, but I decided it was best not to protest this violation of my civil liberties or look for the local ACLU......uh.....PCLU......office.
Finally, we arrived in David and after hanging around for about 20 minutes, a taxi driver showed up with a Jason Jones sign. He took me to Boquete, and I enjoyed being able to sit in the front seat, roll down the window, and enjoy the scenery.
After meeting Carlos, the school´s director, for a quick look around the school, we headed to my host family´s place. I´ll write more about them later, but they seem really great. Their house is really nice, and my room is spacious with a TV. Also, they have a hot shower with Whole Foods shampoo (go figure).
Tomorrow, I start my classes in the AM. I´ll be in a class with one other student, but being as though she is the English wife of one of the owners, I don´t plan to be awarded Valedictorian. Oh well....maybe next time.
Hasta Luego from Boquete.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Getting there....slowly but surely
So tonight is my first blog entry from Panama! Of course, being Monday night, and not Saturday night, you might ask why I have taken two days to report my arrival to this great land. Well, that´s because I arrived only a few short hours ago. HMMMm.....that brings up another question. Weren´t you supposed to arrive on Sat. night into Panama City? Why yes I was.......WAS being the key word. That is, until I came down with some type of anti-Jason-going-to-Panama-ian flu. Yep, Sat. night, over the course of about two hours, I somehow went from "hey, I feel great...can´t wait to get on the plane in the AM" to "AY CARUMBA......HAY-AY-AY.......me siento horible!!!!!!" (all said in my best spanish accent, of course). Needless to say, at 4AM on Sat morning, the thought of heading to the airport, boarding a bus to board a plane to sit in an airport to board a plane to go throught customs to find a taxi into the city to find a hotel to get up ealy the next morning to get another taxi to get another bus to ride this bus for 7 hours to find a guy with a car to take me to Boquete to.....well....all of that.......sounded pretty miserable as I struggled to simply lift my head off of the pillow. SO, I postponed the trip a couple of days and spent some time in recovery. The good news is that today, I am feeling well and have done all that stuff above up to the hotel part. Unfortunately, I did miss a couple of days of class, but I should be able to make that up. AND, if I can´t, I´m not too worried about it.
A few thoughts on the trip thus far.....
1. I flew through Houston, and it NEVER ceases to amaze me how those people feel about their state. I was reminded of this today as a number of my fellow passengers applauded when the pilot announced THE EXACT MOMENT of our crossing the line into the "great NATION state of Texas"...........uh.....barf bag please.
2. Hooked on Sokoku. My girlfriend, Ericka, gave me a Sodoku book (beginner, of course) as part of a really great "going away" goodie bag. As of this AM, I didn´t know what a Sodoku was. Tonight, I plan to work myself into a Sodoku coma within the next hour. I´m oficially hooked.
3. Man, Latin America is one HUMID piece of landmass!!!!!!! How did I forget that? In Colorado, I´m Jason....the guy with somewhat "wavy" hair who rarely has a need to wash his clothes. In Central America, I´m Yason....the guy with the giant afro, searching furiously for the nearest laundrymat.
4. Gallo Pinto isn´t always Gallo Pinto. In Costa Rica, I ate the weight of a small nation state (no, I´m NOT talking about TEXAS!) in something they referred to as Gallo Pinto. This consisted of a relatively healthy mix of black beans and rice. Basic. Good. Healthy.
Upon ordering Gallo Pinto in Panama City tonight, I learned that Gallo Pinto de Panama is a large bowl filled with a couple of beans, a couple of grains of rice, a greasy red sauce, and every piece of scrap meat they could find laying around the kitchen (and probably behind). I´m talking about sausage, hot dogs, large chunks of.....uh...."grissle"......and I don´t know what else (think, canned chili prior to the formation of the FDA)! The good news is that it was cheap. The bad news is that I may get my vegetarians anonymous card revoked (don´t worry folks, I didn´t eat it.....ordered only). Ah, the joys of experiencing a new culture.
5. The Bates Motel. OK so my hotel really isn´t that bad. I took a recommendation out of a Lonely Planet guide, and I was really just glad that they had a room. BUT, it IS a little seedy, so I´m glad it´s only one night here. I think I´ll take my chances on a shower in a couple of minutes.....wait a minute...that gives me an idea... I wonder if I can get a water proofed Sodoku book complete with a grease pencil?
So, that should do it for now. Tomorrow in the AM, I need to get the Taxi to the bus to David to the guy with the car (Carlos) to Boquete to the school and host family. It will be another long day of travel but should be nice to see some of the country by day.
As of tonight, ALL IS WELL IN PANAMA!!!!!!
A few thoughts on the trip thus far.....
1. I flew through Houston, and it NEVER ceases to amaze me how those people feel about their state. I was reminded of this today as a number of my fellow passengers applauded when the pilot announced THE EXACT MOMENT of our crossing the line into the "great NATION state of Texas"...........uh.....barf bag please.
2. Hooked on Sokoku. My girlfriend, Ericka, gave me a Sodoku book (beginner, of course) as part of a really great "going away" goodie bag. As of this AM, I didn´t know what a Sodoku was. Tonight, I plan to work myself into a Sodoku coma within the next hour. I´m oficially hooked.
3. Man, Latin America is one HUMID piece of landmass!!!!!!! How did I forget that? In Colorado, I´m Jason....the guy with somewhat "wavy" hair who rarely has a need to wash his clothes. In Central America, I´m Yason....the guy with the giant afro, searching furiously for the nearest laundrymat.
4. Gallo Pinto isn´t always Gallo Pinto. In Costa Rica, I ate the weight of a small nation state (no, I´m NOT talking about TEXAS!) in something they referred to as Gallo Pinto. This consisted of a relatively healthy mix of black beans and rice. Basic. Good. Healthy.
Upon ordering Gallo Pinto in Panama City tonight, I learned that Gallo Pinto de Panama is a large bowl filled with a couple of beans, a couple of grains of rice, a greasy red sauce, and every piece of scrap meat they could find laying around the kitchen (and probably behind). I´m talking about sausage, hot dogs, large chunks of.....uh...."grissle"......and I don´t know what else (think, canned chili prior to the formation of the FDA)! The good news is that it was cheap. The bad news is that I may get my vegetarians anonymous card revoked (don´t worry folks, I didn´t eat it.....ordered only). Ah, the joys of experiencing a new culture.
5. The Bates Motel. OK so my hotel really isn´t that bad. I took a recommendation out of a Lonely Planet guide, and I was really just glad that they had a room. BUT, it IS a little seedy, so I´m glad it´s only one night here. I think I´ll take my chances on a shower in a couple of minutes.....wait a minute...that gives me an idea... I wonder if I can get a water proofed Sodoku book complete with a grease pencil?
So, that should do it for now. Tomorrow in the AM, I need to get the Taxi to the bus to David to the guy with the car (Carlos) to Boquete to the school and host family. It will be another long day of travel but should be nice to see some of the country by day.
As of tonight, ALL IS WELL IN PANAMA!!!!!!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Here We Go Again
So last year I spent a month in Costa Rica (Tamarindo) working on my Spanish. I lived at the beach, got sunburned, learned some Spanish, met some nice folks, and had a great time overall enjoying the Pure Vida lifestyle. In fact, I had such a good time, I've decided to do it again. This year, I'll be in the town of Boquete, Panama. Boquete is a medium sized town in the mountains and is known for their amazing coffee and outdoor recreation (hiking, white water rafting, climbing, etc.). They are also known for their moderate climate of 60-80 degrees year around. Once again, I'll be going to school for 4-6 hours per day, living with a Panamanian family, and "immersing" myself in the culture (maybe actually learning to salsa this year).
I'm flying into Pamana City tomorrow and will catch a bus (7 hour bus ride) to David on Sunday. Hopefully, someone from the school will meet me in David and drive me into Boquete. If not, I may be sleeping on the steps on the school until Monday AM.
Enjoy the BLOG. I'll try to update it regularly.
Hasta Panama!
Jason
I'm flying into Pamana City tomorrow and will catch a bus (7 hour bus ride) to David on Sunday. Hopefully, someone from the school will meet me in David and drive me into Boquete. If not, I may be sleeping on the steps on the school until Monday AM.
Enjoy the BLOG. I'll try to update it regularly.
Hasta Panama!
Jason
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