Random Thoughts from My First 2 Weeks Back in Panama

Team Chowning is officially back in Panama. We arrived on June 24th, so we've been back for 2 weeks now. As I sat this morning, with ideas for blogs swirling in my head, I couldn't decide on a particular, singular idea. So, here's the list of random thoughts, realizations, and reminders from the first 2 weeks back in Panama.

1. My ears apparently have forgotten Spanish all together. At best, they listen much more slowly than they used to. I'm hoping this starts to remedy itself. And just as bad is that I can't seem to think how to SAY things in Spanish either. Thankful for Panamanian friends who are patient and gracious as I re-acclimate to Spanish.

2. Panama City is HOT. It's been in the upper 90's with humidity only slightly lower. Therefore, the "feels like" temperature (heat index for those scientific folks) is in the 100's. Even the Panamanians are saying it's hotter than usual.

3. Church in El Valle was just as good, if not better, than I remember it. The people and their passion are contagious. It is an amazing place and God is doing fantastic things there through His people.

4. Traffic in Panama City is just as bad as it ever was. With the newer, nicer car than we had while we were previously here, we think that more people are out to get us. It's either that or we care more about our car now.

5.  Although there's much more technology to keep in touch with folks (Viber, WhatzApp, etc), we are still finding it difficult to make a regular phone call back to the states. And since internet is spotty at times, that adds to the difficulty.

6. Our bank's fraud protection department is very diligent. In fact, so diligent that it took 4 tries to get money wired (from US bank to US bank) to the gentleman who sold us the car. And, we had to verify ourselves at least 3 times before they gave us back our online access and allowed us to make purchases in Panama again. And, yes, we had put a travel alert on the account. Like I said, they are VERY diligent. Grateful, through clenched teeth.

7. Speaking of cars, I think we officially set the record of getting a car the quickest upon our arrival here. We had possession of our car within 12 hours of setting foot here. That is unheard of! But we have a God who has provided richly and quickly.

8. Having an apartment door (2nd floor) that automatically locks behind us and a downstairs building door that requires a key to exit the building is a bit troublesome. Our first day here, Aaron got the building key stuck in the building door, it would not unlock, and we had no other way out of the building. The kids and I finally went through a neighbor's apartment and out through the backdoor so we could hang out at friend's house, while Aaron stayed and tried to "unstick" the key. Finally, around 8:00 pm that evening, a different neighbor was able to get the key out and give us a lesson in key turning so this wouldn't happen again.

So, these are some of the random thoughts and experiences we've had here so far. We are glad to be back, and excited as we get started on this next chapter.