Day seven in Panama

This morning was just what I needed to get me ready for another week. It seems as if I have been here for an entire month. The weeks and days go by so slow, but I could not be more grateful for the experiences I’ve had here in Panama. Today was a day of fun and play! Weekends are our time to adventure through Panama and get a taste of culture. So this morning, our tour guide picked us up. (Leaha and Ramon, Terry and Taylor’s host family). Along with them were 2 of their grandchildren that we had met at the birthday party on Wednesday night. They are SO cute! A little girl at about 8 years old and a little boy around the age of 4. They were invited to a birthday party today, but instead chose to spend the day with us. They came to pick us up at 9, just like they said, but Sarah and I weren’t expecting them to be on time! It’s Panama! We slept in a little later because we expected them to be here at 9am Panama time, meaning 9:30. But for once, they were on time, so Sarah and I didn’t have time to eat breakfast. We got ready in record time though! So we’re off and away, knowing that we’re going to the Panama Canal, but not sure what else our ‘tour guides’ have in store for us. During the drive, I had more of an urgency to learn Spanish. The little boy next to me was shy, as most kids are when sitting next to almost strangers. But I could not communicate with him as I would with a child that spoke English. I tried a little, but it was hard to get a response from him because there were only so many Spanish words and phrases that I could piece together. This is one reason why I want to learn Spanish. I want to be able to relate to the children here in Panama as I do at home with the children. Finally we arrived at our first stop. The zoo!! I was so excited because there are animals in Panama that we do not have in the United States. It was so neat to see new animals. It was like God opened up a whole new world for me. My favorite were the monkeys. Those monkey’s love love love attention. They followed us as we walked around their cage, and were talking to us. One of the monkeys had a baby strapped to its back and it was so cute! The mother monkey went about swinging, eating, and playing as if the baby wasn’t there. This baby was hanging on for dear life and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen an animal do. Maybe, just maybe I have a new favorite animal. I think these monkeys took the place of the Penguins in my book. We saw many more animals: colorful vultures (not like the gray-ish ones in the US), alligators, talking parrots (but they are not bilingual), beautiful Jaguars, and anteaters. But the one that was most peculiar was an animal that looked like a cross between a hippo, a pig, and an anteater. Picture that! I can’t remember exactly what it was called, but it was uuugly. Then Sarah and I saw a beautiful teal bridge and she wanted her picture by it. So I stayed back with the camera and waited for her to walk over to the bridge. She gets about half way there and I hear her scream. She looked to her left, and there was an alligator! Staring her dead in the eyes. She came running back and said, “I don’t need my picture on that bridge.” Well me, being the adventurous one that I am, wanted to see this alligator close up, behind no cage, and walk past it to get to the bridge. Just after I walked by it, it tucked its head under that brown, very murky water and we could not see it! Even scarier! So I ran up onto the bridge. Phew! That was close. Just as I stood on the bridge, I looked down into the water, and there he was again. Staring up at me, looking me dead on in the eyes. We took a few pictures and were back on the path. As we were walking, I was looking down at the ground because there were HUGE ant carrying around huge leaves. They had little freeways running all across the zoo. As I was walking and looking down at these ants, a lizard decided to jump right in front of me. Not even an inch from me. I thought for sure he was aiming to stick on my jeans. So what was my first reaction? Of course... I screamed and jumped back! Then went to go look at it. I love the little lizards, I just don’t like how unpredictable they are. Terry came over and tried to pick it up, but it was just too fast. So he laid his hand down on the ground and eventually it crawled onto his hand. We were passing the lizard around from hand to hand, but we could not get Ramon’s grandson to hold it. He was just too scared. All of a sudden, the lizard jumps off of Taylor’s hand and lands right on that little guy’s shirt! We were all laughing so hard. Oh... there were these big rats, that had the body of a small pig that ran around the zoo. Gross! We thought they had escaped from a cage but the worker said that they are everywhere, like the rats in the US and they won’t hurt you if you stay away. I had no problem staying away. By the time we were leaving the zoo, Sarah’s and mine’s stomachs were growling because we had not gotten to eat breakfast. So we used what little Spanish we could and ordered some snacks from their snack bar. Most of our communication was with pointing and facial expressions. Praise God for universal hand motions that everyone understands. Can you imagine if all of that was different too, just like languages? Communication would be much more difficult. On our way out, I saw a cow made out of fiber glass. I said there’s no sign, I’m going to go try to get on top of that cow. And that’s exactly what I did. I jumped on it and the cow almost tipped over into the mud! Oh can you imagine... Haha. Everyone around me was staring and laughing, but I was having the time of my life. Eventually Sarah got up the guts to join me on the cow. Finally, it was time to head to the Panama Canal. Wow is all I have to say. What an experience. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this place was beautiful because it was filled with so much machinery and operation. But being able to see history. Knowing that almost 100 years ago over 75,000 people from all around the world came to work on this project. People of all backgrounds, cultures, and languages came together. They found ways to communicate and share their life stories with each other. It was neat to be standing on a place of sweat, tears, and happiness where many had given their lives to this project. And here I was, seeing the outcome of it all. What an amazing sight. We paid for the complete tour. We were thinking it was going to be about $40 and all of us were willing to pay. But when we showed up... $8 for a complete tour. Woo!!! So we walked in and hallelujah, they had the video screening in English! We walked through the museum and also into the gift shop. I know you’re wondering Seth, and yes I got you something. Then we went out to the Mira Flores locks. Which is only one of the many locks that they have. We got to see a ship that was about 75 feet tall be lowered down 27 feet to the next lock. The man came on the speaker and said “I would like to give a warm welcome to our friend from San Francisco, or at least the man who is a Giant’s fan. We look around and Terry is the only one wearing a SF Giant’s hat! So he got a special shout out and it was great. When the ship passed through... oh what an experience. There was a count down... 3, 2, 1... and everyone began to cheer and wave at the crew members on the ship! I was so happy to be a part of all the excitement of the Panama Canal. By the time we left, it was almost 3oclock and Sarah and I still had no food. We were so hungry! So we went out to a nice supper on the cosway. I had salmon fettuccine alfredo. Mm Mm! It was so good. I have had shrimp alfredo before, but never salmon and let me tell you, it was so yummy. We had an outside we to the water, but a storm came through and we were starting to get soaked! So we moved toward the center to keep dry. There was lighting and thunder, like I’ve never heard before in my life. It was so so loud! I video taped the rain coming down because I was so amazed by it. The rain on the roof sounded just like those rain sticks. It was absolutely incredible. This restaurant we were at was called Buceneros, meaning the Buccaneers. The waiter told us that the Buccaneers football team from the US actually came there not too long ago! I thought that was really neat. By the time we had left the restaurant, the rain had stopped, so we decided to go to some authentic shops. This is when I learned that I could spend all of my money in one place. Luckily, I didn’t have all of my cash on me, so I wasn’t tempted. The best part is, is that you can bargain with them! And that is how I bought a beautiful authentic Panamanian shirt that I cannot wait to wear when I come home! There were so many beautiful things there. I just wanted to buy everything! Next time I come, I want to buy Panamanian sandals and a Panamanian bag. I say next time, because I WILL return here. I have fallen in love with Panama and its people. Finally, we were on our way home. The second we got back in the car, both kids were asleep. Completely out. The little girl was sitting next to me. She fell asleep sitting up and her head was rolling back and forth. So I took my head and gently laid her head on my shoulder. It was so sweet. She slept soundly the entire way home. She looked like an angel. When we got back to Delores’ house, to of our friends, Alberto y Manuel from Iglesia de Cristo were sitting on the porch. They were bored, so the 2 young boys decided to drop by and hang out for a bit. We all watched the movie E.T. But it was in Spanish, so I didn’t understand much. It’s ok though! It’s a good way to learn more Spanish. I studied a bit more for Part B of my final which I will take tomorrow. Soon after, I fell completely asleep. I didn’t wake up until 8pm. This day was just what I needed. I had some left over pizza that I popped in the microwave to eat for dinner. I played some cards with Sarah, Manuel, and Alberto for awhile. Then, Taylor said her goodbyes. Taylor could only get a week off from work, so she has to leave tomorrow. We are all going to miss her so much. I feel so blessed to have been able to get to know her. Her testimony is one of strength and encouragement. She is such a woman of God. I thank the Lord for this day because I was able to recharge for the week to come. Gracias para escuchar. Buenas noches amigos. (Thanks for listening. Goodnight friends).