I'm no pioneer woman, but. . .

I have now been in Panama for 2 weeks. And as of tomorrow, I will have been at my new house for 2 weeks. So, in that time, I've come to realize that although I don't claim to be a pioneer woman (nor want to be one), things are much different and more "rustic" than in The States. Here are a few of my observations regarding that.

CRITTERS
Yes, we have geckos. I'm not talking one or two on a porch, but many in our house. In the kitchen, in the bedrooms, in the kids' rooms, etc. I'm told that they are good because they eat other bugs and such. I'm getting used to them. We also have bats on our front porch. They swoop out at night and eat insects. They, too, are "good." I'm fine with them being on the front porch. However, the night that one somehow got into my bedroom. . . I was not fine with! We were the proud owners of two pet turtles. Their shells were probably 5-6 inches from end to end. A lady from the city gave us two turtles who we named Yertle and Tuga (tortuga is the Spanish word for turtle). We proved ourselves incapable of caring for turtles. They crawled out of their bowl and away into our corner of the jungle before we realized it. Sad day around here.

COOKING
I have never had a house that used gas. I'm not in any way claiming that cooking with gas makes me a pioneer woman. However, most gas stoves in The States, have self-lighting mechanisms. Not so here. I have to light the flame. I even have to light the oven when I turn it on. Aminta, our housekeeper, first showed me how to light it by turning on the stove, lighting a papertowel on fire, placing the flaming papertowel into the oven where the pilot light is to get the rest of it lit. Bordering on the edge of dangerous, I think. We have since purchased a lighter that can reach down in there. Also, under the "cooking" subtitle, I have to write that I have picked tangerines from my yard. I have banana, plantain, and mango trees. They are out of season right now. One last thing here, I made toast the other day over an open flame. We don't have a toaster. Tongs and a gas stove top work pretty well.

WATER
In addition to filtering water to drink, we must have the world's smallest hot water heater. Only one person can have warm (not hot) water for a very quick shower. And the showers are the only places where the hot water is hooked up. I have to boil water to wash dishes. It takes a little planning ahead. Aaron has to boil water to shave. Otherwise, he looks like he's been on the losing end of a battle with a cat. No bueno!

LAUNDRY
I do, thankfully, have a washing machine (no hot water, of course). I have to hook up the hose everytime I want to do laundry and much water leaks out the bottom of the machine. I do not have a dryer. And if I haven't mentioned it and you don't already know, Panama is extremely humid. I have several clothes line inside our "wet area" of the house. Jeans and towels can easily take 2 days to dry. By that time, they smell like mildew, and you have to wash them again. Again, no bueno! So, I have to plan my laundry on a warm day, but that could change in an instant. When it is brightly sunny, I have been known to lay out clothes on the oregano and mint bushes in the back yard. The clothes smell a little odd, but at least not mildewy!

VEHICLE
We finally bought our first vehicle in Panama. It is a Mitsubishi Montero 4X4 diesel with a roof rack. It is red and loud. Aaron's quote regarding it is, "Zippy is not a word I would ever use to describe it." We have lovingly named it "El Rojo Grande". We have the name of Roderick on the front windshield. Apparently, that's a popular thing for people to do with their cars around here. We, of course, bought it from a man named. . . Roderick. It's no covered wagon, but it's also not the smoothest ride I've had.

Now don't read too much into all this. I am enjoying myself. I am liking the adventure of figuring everything out. I'm realizing how sterile and boring my life was in The States, and how many fun memories I'm making here. So, here's to more memories!

Another Round of Sorting and Packing

It seems like all summer long we've been sorting, sifting, storing, and stuffing our "stuff." And it doesn't seem to be ending.

About a year ago, when we really began thinking seriously about this international move, we started purging. We got rid of loads and loads of our "stuff." We even had a garage sale on our own. Then in the spring, we joined the neighborhood garage sale with quite a bit of luck in lightening our load. And finally, right before our move to Bandera, we had an auction to get rid of all our stuff. We moved, got a storage unit (for the "keeper" of all our stuff), and moved into my parents house. As we unpacked, we sorted again. And now, as we pack everything we want to take with us to Panama (including Mylen's school work) into 4 suitcases, we are sorting and purging yet again.

A couple of things I've learned about me and my "stuff" through all this.
- I have SO much stuff.
- I don't use my stuff as much as I think I do.
- As much as I don't want to be, I am pretty attached to my stuff.
- In fact, I have found that there is a bit of security and identity that I have placed in my stuff.
- I don't NEED nearly as much stuff as I have.
- It is hard to part with some "stuff" items.

This process of sorting, purging, storing, etc. has made me really look at myself and more importantly, the role my stuff plays in my life. Aaron and I have dissected and discussed the feeling we have each had as we have gotten rid of or given away certain items in our collection. And as I have gotten rid of stuff, I have felt a sense of freedom from it, almost a sense of being released. Apparently, my stuff controlled me more than I realized. Yuck!

One thing I have realized to an even greater extent: I don't want my identity, security, or anything other significant part of me to be tied to my stuff. I want those things to be tied ONLY to GOD!