Thursday, December 16, 2010

Preparations for Christmas

The holiday season has already proven to be quite different here in Panama. I'm not talking about local traditions, but my own view and preparation of the holidays. My shopping, rushing, eating, etc. and the lack of commercialization of the holiday.

In the states, I hear a lot of talk about eating too much over the holidays. In Panama, I've heard no one talk about that or about how after the holidays they will begin their diet. Eating seems to be going on at it's normal pace here in Panama. No extra goodies everywhere and people trying to avoid them. I kind of miss all the yummy stuff!

In the states, people are rushing around stressed out and thus, stressing others out. Shopping, buying, buying some more, and then buying extra in case they need more gifts. In Panama, there are gift baskets in stores. They are small ones and include such things as a box of cereal, toilet paper, and beans and rice. Nothing extravagant, but what a gift of necessity. I have seen an increase in shopping, but not an increase in rudeness or stress. And I haven't seen an increase in rushing. I'm not sure that Panamanians rush anytime, and I think, for the most part, that is a good thing.

We haven't seen people climbing ladders to hang Christmas lights and put up extreme house decorations. In fact, we have only seen a handful of Christmas lights up here in El Valle. However, we did see our neighbor climbing a ladder into a pine tree to cut limbs to make his Christmas tree. It is now beautifully put together up on his front porch with moss (hand-picked) underneath with a nativity scene.

In some ways, it doesn't feel like Christmas here. However, as I look around, I somehow feel like this helps me focus on what Christmas is really all about because commercialized distractions have been removed. I can remember that this a celebration of the birth of my Savior. A time to reflect on the love of the Father who sent his only son to be born into a people who would ultimately reject and kill him. A time to focus on the other great gifts that the Father has given me. And a time to share the Father's love with those around me.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

90-Day Mandatory Vacation

We are here in Panama on a tourist visa, which means we can be here for 90 days with no problem. However, at the end of that 90 days, we must exit the country for 72 hours and then we can re-enter for another 90 days. We just encountered our first 90-day mandatory vacation. This time we chose to go to Costa Rica.

I thought that Costa Rica would be very similar to Panama because they are both small, Central American countries that share a border. However, it was quite different. Attitudes, landscape, nuances of the language, and even the food were different.

Day one we took a cab to El Museo de los Ninos. It was so fun. They had at least 35 exhibits which included exhibits on airplanes, marine life, astronautics, light and color, body health, fossils, etc. Did I mention that this museum was in the old penitentary? It was quite entertaining!

We chose to be touristy tourists on this trip, and so we took a day excursion. First, we went to see the ruins of Cartago, which used to be the capital of Costa Rica before they moved it to San Jose. Lots of ghost stories regarding the ruins and the Catholic cathedrals there.

Next, we went to the Irazu Volcano, which is the tallest, active volcano in Costa Rica. It was extremely cool. No, really, it was probably in the 40's. The week earlier there had actually been snow on the top of the volcano. It was also very beautiful! We got to walk down into one of the smaller craters of the volcano. And in the largest crater, there was a lake which was a beautiful green due to the minerals in the water. Awesome.


From there, we got to have a traditional Costa Rican breakfast at a small restaurant, and then we headed to the Sarapiqui River where we got to ride a boat down the river. We got to see iguanas, howler monkeys, American crocodiles, cattle egrets, toucans, a sloth, squirrel cuckoos, and numerous other birds. Keep in mind, this was not a zoo, but these animals were in the wild. . . in their natural habitat. Again, very awesome!

We got to go on a horseback ride - short, but sweet. Aivlyn thought that was the best thing EVER! And at this place, they also had a butterfly house, a frog sanctuary containing poisonous frogs, and a snake house. Interesting!


Last day, we went down to the Mercado Central. What a crazy, busy area. Store after store after store. And in the middle of the sidewalks, people would lay down black plastic, and set up shop selling CD's, purses, hats, underwear, etc. You name it, you could find it. Whew! We didn't stay there too long because it was too crazy.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first mandatory vacation! And made some great memories doing it.