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.
Expats Stick Closer Than a Brother
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.
People Come and People Go
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.
Immersion in a Foreign Language is a Choice
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.
Everything Takes Longer Than Expected
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.
And Costs More
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!
Gringo Bingo Is Real
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!
Panamanian Spanish Is Not Mexican Spanish
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!
English Is Pretty Easy to Find
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!
To Be Homesick or Not To Be Homesick
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!
Panama Is Adventure
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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Welcome to life with The Weasel. I always multiply everything he tells me by about 4. Even then, I'm wrong lots.
Lol - too funny! Yes, most stuff here takes way long than one thinks it should. ;)
I try to imagine my family and I living in a land like Panama - its a little scary. We've become so accustomed to life in American culture that being completely disconnected in a foreign land is unfamiliar to us.
I live next door to the house I grew up in, with my parents as our neighbor. I walk around the block and see all the same cracks in the sidewalk that I remember riding my bike over as a kid. It's all familiar and predictable.
If we ever found ourselves in a situation where we are somewhere foreign to us, I hope we would handle it as gracefully as the family of @apanamamama does. An inspiration to be sure! @ironshield
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, my husband and I moved back to our tiny little hometown when we got married, so we had a lot of the same sites and stuff before moving here as well (although not living next to our parents). :) This was not on our radar even five years ago and I had never planned to live internationally (or use my Spanish) again ever, but God totally changed our plans. It does take a few months to get out of the USA mentality...eating out, conveniences around every corner, etc. It is hard to picture yourself somewhere you haven't visited. I can attest to that. My in-laws recently visited and all of them said it wasn't as bad as they pictured, but instead it was much better. One even wants to move here when he retires. It's much less scary once you get your feet on the ground and come with an open mind. If you look at it with an "I really don't want to" attitude, it's pointless to try. Ha! :) There have been people who have come and ended up hating it, so they leave (or are just very unhappy expats). It isn't for everyone, that's for sure! :) Perhaps we can convince you to come visit and find you a place to stay sometime in the future. ;)
Now THAT would be an adventure! Especially with four young children... I wonder who would do something like that? :-) God's blessings are sometimes disguised. @ironshield
I understand about the young children! Ha! When we visited in 2016, our youngest two were 1 and 3. The others were 4, 6 and 7. Kids who are younger than 2 fly free. ;)
Half of our children would fly free! Ages are 5, 3, 1 and Daniel's four months. By the way, a trip to Panama sounds wonderful. Especially right now since Spring refuses to start on time. Snow again! @ironshield
Congratulations on your one year anniversary, you story is very well constructed and the no BS way you tell it is much appreciated.
Gringo Bingo is alive and well in several countries in central and south america.
Lol - that is so true about Gringo Bingo in many countries! It's just funny that they've put a name to it here. I had never heard that before. Ha!
Oh so much to love about this post! I read it and fell in love with your lifestyle, moving adventure and all things about possibly being an ex-pat.
The flow of your words had me so involved in your life!
:) Thanks so much! We enjoy life here and I guess it shows in my writing about it. :)
A lot of those points could describe being an expat in Spain. I like the Gringo Bingo... Lol
The language immersion is definitely a choice. I used to go to surrounding villages in Andalucía and strike up conversations. Not only did it help with language, but you can learn a lot from locals. I never really got homesick in Spain. I get homesick for Ronda, though.
Nice panorama at the end. It looks so warm!
It is warm. Well, it has been warm. We just started rainy season (it seems) this week, so temps have dropped a little. Like mid 60s or so. ;) I've got to do a better job with the language...both for my practice and getting the kids and husband out. We're looking to find a Spanish church to attend and then they'll at least get Spanish at the Boys and Girls club and church (so twice a week). I need to figure out more!
Jaja, pues.. Te ppuedo escribir en español también. No ayuda mucho con el hablar, pero es buena práctica. Era una sorpresa encontrar una misa en español aquí en Mankato. No lo anticipaba, aunque hay muchos Latinos en la zona. A veces asisto a esa misa.
I've noticed my Spanish getting worse since returning to the USA. Even though I converse with people in Spanish on a daily basis, it's different than being immersed. When I lived in Spain, my English actually atrophied a little.
Enjoy the warm. I'm envious! We're getting "up to six inches of snow" on Sunday.
Did you get a lot of snow today? The winter weather is crazy this year!!
We ended up with about two inches, so I'm grateful. Maybe next weekend's snow won't come!
Aw this post is so nice and refreshing. I know what you mean. I'm from Venezuela and came to live in Panamá. I laughed so hard with the Gringo Bingo, because it's so true. Gringo actually means people who come from the U.S, Canada or sometimes even the U.K, so anyone who is american or looks american. But the Gringo Bingo is like that for ALL foreigners. Being from Venezuela I speak spanish, but as you say, our words and accent are different. So if a taxi driver spots my accent, he'll charge me 3x the normal fare -.- (I loathe panamanian taxis).
Lol - that sounds about right for the taxis!! So crazy! Yes, we have a white friend who is from South Africa and HATES being called a gringo. The term is from Mexico where the guys in the army used to tell the US soldiers "green go" since the US soldiers wore green uniforms. At least that's what I was told when I lived in Mexico. Ha.
Yeah I've heard that story too! There are a bunch of those stories here for panamanian words as well. Like Arraiján = a right hand xD
I'm really jealous of your experiences- I really need to do some traveling soon.
Lots of similarities. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of our expat community, but we're in a super isolated area. We're looking to move, though, and hope that will make a difference. Quite a lot of rednecks here, though, which is kind of a drag.
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that! Hopefully you can find some good expats in your new area when you move!
I certainly hope so. I imagine that will be the case. The law is very lax here, so we get quite a few people who like to do whatever they want and not in the thoughtful anarchist way. More like the I can do whatever the hell I want way.
It's surprising how fast time goes by the first year of landing at a new place. And yes, its true expat does tend to get charged a bit more every where as its perceived they have more money 🙄
Very true! I've heard that's the reason as well. They say they respect the rich Panamanians and don't steal from them or try to take advantage. Ha.
A lot of learning can happen in a year. I travel frequently, so I am familiar with the pricing deal. Gringo bingo happens everywhere. The language subtleties are interesting as well. It is funny how different Ltlanguages are spoken in different regions. (Like texas English). :)
Yes, definitely it happens everywhere. There are definitely different English dialects. I can understand that all languages have that! Ha
I would have liked to meet you there but it looks you got there shortly after I left. That Gringo Bingo still makes me laugh. I remembered the first time I went to Boquete's new market and they asked me to pay $3 for a watermelon. When I started to speak Spanish the price dropped to less than a dollar. Can't blame them, they gotta make a living.
Wow, I probably would have paid $3! Ha. I have no idea what the price is for watermelon. You must have left before April of last year. ;)
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That's great!! Thanks so much!
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