On Wednesday of this week, we celebrated one year in Panama. We left Texas on April 3, 2017 and arrived in Panama at 2:00 am on April 4. After months of packing, moving, saying good bye and preparing for our move, actually arriving in Panama was such a relief. One year ago, we started a journey that would teach us so much...and we continue to learn. Read on to find out some of the lessons we have learned over the last year.
I have lived as an expat before in Mexico, but this is a first time for my husband. An expat (or expatriate) is someone who lives in a different country than where they were born and raised. The expat community here is tight. I would say we know most of the expats in our local community and quite a few from the surrounding areas. We even met a few new ones today at their monthly hangout. If you need anything, the expats are there - moving, trip to the grocery store, sick kids, babysitting, friendship, a shoulder to cry on... We have never before experienced this level of friendship. We are all in the same boat and have that in common.
This is a hard lesson to learn in some ways. While it is amazing to make new friends in a new country, it is gut wrenching when these new friends leave. We have seen new people come into our community. It is fun to get to know them, but there is always the question in the back of your mind wondering when they may leave. We are here for the long haul....possibly for the rest of our lives. We had some friends we are very close to tell us that their plans have changed this week and they are leaving. It is so sad, but you know that they have to do what they need to do. Out of our close friends, they are the first to leave, but we have seen other families go as well.
Everyone says the best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. We live with Spanish all around us. We still run into people who have lived here for 10 years or more and only function on a basic level. I already speak Spanish, but I still need practice conversing. My kids and my husband need to learn Spanish, and I thought by now they would have been better at it than they are. We have to make opportunities to get out and hear the language and then make an effort to learn it. It does not just soak into your brain like a sponge.
If they tell you that getting the paperwork done for the car registration will take a week, expect it to take a month. If they say they will have the kitchen renovation finished in 2 weeks, expect to wait three months. If you try to encourage them to finish early or offer an incentive for being on time, they will take short cuts to finish. Better a longer wait and nice job, than sloppy job and early finish! Going to David to shop should take a few hours total, but almost always takes at least a full day. If the car should be in the shop for a day or two, expect to be without it for a week.
That car registration that should have cost $100? Well, you forgot that you need to make 17 copies of various documents and have them in the right hands within 10 days and you're one day late. So now none of it is acceptable. Start over with getting a new document and making copies, but do it faster this time! The contractor agreed to $2000 for the total kitchen renovation, but now that it is 90% done, he's asking for an extra $500 to finish or he's walking off the job. Cars, imported food, car parts, quality furniture, and wood...expect to pay more for that! Rice, beans and pasta...those are cheap as dirt!
There is a term here called "Gringo Bingo." It essentially means that, if you are a gringo (foreigner), they are going to try to charge you more to see if you will pay it. If you do - BINGO - it's like they won the lottery! I know that pineapples sold out of trucks go for $1 each. I asked a lady selling them once and she told me, "$1.95." Well, they are $1.85 at the grocery store, so I knew her price was high. I told her I had $1, and she sold me a pineapple. I have friends who pay $25 for a maid to clean their home, when Panamanians pay $12-15 max. This goes for any type of sales where the price is not listed - construction work, mechanic, street vendors, garage sales, day laborers. If they can tell you a higher price, believe me, they will!
As I said before, I lived in Mexico for a year and a half, so I learned a great deal of my Spanish there (along with studying it in high school and college). So when I throw out a "que padre" (how cool) or a "nos vemos" (see you later), I get a blank stare. I finally started asking my Panamanian friend how to say certain phrases or words. She kind of laughed at me when I told her what I used to say in Mexico. It is hard to break those old Mexican habits, but I am slowly learning, even if it is my first thought!
It is pretty easy to find people that speak at least some English. Most elementary schools teach a good amount of English to the students. Many of the movies, TV shows and songs are from the USA, so the American culture is definitely prevalent here. If you have a problem and have limited Spanish, you can usually find someone to help...or use google translate! You will even notice English shirts everywhere around town. My husband has done a lot of work and travel with very limited Spanish skills...and he always gets done what needs to get done!
Of course I miss Texas and many things about there. I miss fast food restaurants and eating out too many times a month. I miss friends and homeschool playdates! I miss church in English! I miss Walmart!! I miss being closer to family and spending holidays with them! I miss a lot of things, but I don't dwell on them. I spend my days wrapped up in life here and enjoying where we are, not looking in the rear view mirror at what I had. I have had one day of crying homesickness since we moved. I chose to be happy to have my kids and husband living out this adventure with me!
We really love living here. Certainly there are downfalls to any place of residence, but we laugh through most of those and keep going. Panama is an interesting country with some pretty great people. I love it when I can make a kid smile or when people walk up and touch my son's hair because they've never actually seen curly blonde hair in real life. It makes me happy to see our amazing view from our house and know we can go on a different hike or adventure pretty much every day. I love when the winds go away and rainy season returns (which it seems to have just started)! Being here for our first year has been an Amazing Race type of adventure, but we have done it together and we really have learned so much.
We have done so much in the last year and we are truly blessed. If you're interested in my other Panama posts, be sure to check out both posts about Why I Packed Up My Family and Moved Lock, Stock and Barrel to Panama of All Places. Life is not always easy here, but we choose to take joy in the journey.
All photos were taken by me.
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