BIGGER PICTURE

We have had an interesting time here. Sorry I haven't blogged much. I know not many photos on our blog either. Once we have a quicker internet connection I will make up for it. Once we get a home secured, I can get you all up to speed on the last 2 weeks here. Here are 2 interesting things that have happened to us this past week;

A few days ago we were woken at around 2 AM by an 4.3 earthquake. The epicenter was approximately 45 km from where we are staying. It was a quick one, maybe 15 seconds. No damage in our place. It did remind me of the North Ridge quake of 1993 in Pasadena. A few people had plates and vases break, but no major damage or injuries.

Yesterday we had tons of rain. The Caldera River is a river that runs through the center of the town of Boquete . It was raging and widened to around 3 times its regular width. One bridge, the one we used to have to drive over to get to the house we lived in last year was wipped out. A few homes were destroyed as well. We are living at the moment in our third temporary home just outside Boquete on a much higher elevation, therefore, we had no issues with flood damage. We did prepare a little; stock up on candles, food, charged our phones and computers and tanked up our car. It is called kicking into survival mode.

Today is Sunday. Our church group has been canceled as it was to be hosted at a home that now cannot be accessed because the only bridge connecting it with the village is unstable. Josh is still fighting his cold, so he and I are home. Syd and Paul headed into town to see if they can do anything; Deliver water, food, remove debris. Below is the link to some incredible photos of the flooding.

http://www.boqueteweather.com/flood.htm

Things like this make me feel so silly about being so ubset about not securing a home. Bigger picture Lin.

Until I blog again.
Linda

CATCH UP

THE LATEST

At this point, we have been in Panama for just over a week. Lots has happened - lots hasn’t. Let me backtrack and get you all in-the-loop.

We arrived in Panama City Wednesday night and had a van waiting there for us to take our 19 bags and the four of us to our friend’s house, the Schmulands. It was so wonderful to have a home to go to on our first evening. It was great to connect with Jody and Trent again. They are what we consider, "expert international movers". They have traveled extensively all over the world with their 3 young kids. After this move, I have even more respect them.

After a goods night sleep, Paul was up bright and early to attend a couple business meetings in downtown Panama City. He returned briefly for lunch and then packed up our car with all our stuff and took off to David - a 6 hour drive to the west side of the country. After arriving safe and sound, he unpacked and settled into a beautiful home located in Portorillos , a small village of around 1800 people just north of Dolega (between David and Boquete). While Paul was driving across the country, the kids and women did what we usually do - play, paint our nails, play DS, WII and Lego, and go out for lunch to our favorite coffee shop for bagels and lattes. (Rough life eh?) On the way home, it was a quick stop for some bananas.

The next morning the kids and I boarded a plane and flew 45 minutes to David where Paul and my dear friend, Jenni, were waiting for us at the airport. We did a grocery run and headed to our 3 bedroom, 2 bath bungalow (temporary housing). This house is actually the house Lynda and Ken Newton (long time friends) have rented. Fortunately for us, they won’t be arriving for another 2 weeks. And they graciously offered that we could use it until they arrive. The place is amazing - 2 eating areas, a washer, dryer. Dryers are unusual here (but very nice) as they can eat up the electricity and most people dry their clothes on the line.

What is it like being back? Truthfully - its been really good. When I left many people ask how I was feeling. To be honest, I felt kind of "flat" about the whole thing. I am usually very expressive and found myself either at peace or just flat. I still haven’t figured out which it is yet. It has been wonderful seeing all our friends again. We felt so warmly welcomed Friday night at a Halloween-birthday party. Sharon Brown made a birthday cake for Paul and Christine who was also celebrating her 43rd birthday that day. Saturday we hung out with the Bliss family, always a relaxing and great time. Sunday we went to a house church and reconnected with even more old friends. After church we all headed to the grand opening of our friends, Henry and Tamar’s, new restaurant - Tammy’s. Probably the best hummus and chicken I have even eaten. Prices were reasonable, as well. By Monday, we were exhausted with all the visiting. So, true to form, I had 14 people over for supper. This house we are in is great for entertaining. I am not sure what kind of house we will eventually get so I thought I would take advantage of this place.

ABOUT A HOUSE

This is proving to be a little more difficult than we had anticipated. We have seen 5 houses. Nothing fits our list so we need to re-work the list. This is a busy time here in Panama, so not much is available. Things work a little differently here. Houses for rent are listed with realtors and brokers. Anyone who wants to rent a house, list with as many people as they can. We called up different people who let us know they had several houses to show us. Most times we would pull up to a house and realize we'd already been shown it by someone else. We have also driven around and tried to find hand made rental signs - "Se Aquillar” (for rent). We'd call the number, and inevitably, no English. We'd have someone call on our behalf to see if we could get access to the see the houses, but typically the keys were with the owners who were "out of town". We had one guy show us a house for rent and he said that the last people paid $1000 a month, but for us it would be $2000 a month because the previous owners had totalled the place resulting in lots of repairs - which we apparently were expected to pay for. Thanks, but no thanks!! Everything takes a long time here. As well, we happed to have arrived during the longest stretch of holidays during the year - 10 days off, for most people. Its the season when they celebrate their liberation from Spain and Columbia. They also celebrate the “shouting watermelon” day. Still not clear on all the details of that holiday!

So as of right now, no house . Am I discouraged? Yes. Yet I keep reminding myself that everything else has worked itself out, so I need to continue to trust and serve in the face of uncertainty everyday.

THE KIDS

As we approached US Customs as we were leaving Calgary, Josh asked - with an upset tone of voice, "Are we really doing this?” He let Paul know that he wasn't at all happy about "his" decision to leave Calgary. But by the time we arrived at the Houston airport, Josh had obviously turned a corner annoucing to all present, with arms wide open, “I’m baaaccckk!!!” He loves his food, and for whatever reason, he loves the Houston Airport food court. He tells is its the oversized food and drinks. Both Syd and Josh are really happy here. It is interesting. We're in a 3 bedroom house, yet the kids have decided to sleep in the same room. We hear lots of laughter and singing. They are doing well with home schooling. Me, not so much. This curriculum is a little confusing for me. What do I need, the workbook, the text book, the practice book or the assignment book. It will take me a bit to get things organized and working well.

At I'm writing, I have laundry drying on the line. There's been tons of rain, not unexpected, but this morning it is sunny, warm and breezy - perfect laundry weather. I chased Paul and the kids out of here (they are at the Bliss house), and Daisy, my spit fire housekeeper just bleached the floors and cleaned the entire house in 2 hours. "Mama likes Daisy". She speaks only Spanish at an alarming rate. I can’t understand any of it. I ask her to slow down in Spanish, but she only speaks louder with more hand gestures. Still "no can do". I smile and nod politely and go about my business.

SOME INTERESTING DIFFERENCES

Living in a rain forest is so beautiful. The birds, fruit and foliage are breathtaking. On the darker side, there is mold, lots of bugs and algae. Our driveway has a thin layer of green moss growing on it that is as slick as ice when wet - which is most of the time. We've all had 2 falls. We've purchased some “acido” for our gardener to apply to the drivenway - whenever I can communicate that to him. There is tile everywhere, and it is so slippery when wet. The kids love doing “slip and slide” on the porch walkway. The grout grows mold. So you have to bleach the floors at least twice a week. The dishes often need to be washed before using as bugs tend to find their way into the small dark places. Our towels feel damp, and start to smell after one use. I need to use bleach in every washing cycle. (Bleach is my friend here!) My hair is quite spectacularly frizzy, as wide as it is long. I have been called "the lion" here! Syd’s skin is not good, little bumps everywhere with blotches of eczema.

Saying all that, I am so happy we have made the transition. Yes, bumps and bruises along the way, but having a peace amidst everything, assures me we are on the right track. . Besides, isn’t life too short as is? Who wants to live a boring life? Not me!

Daisy just finished and told me either to bring laundry in by 3, or maybe it was she was coming back at 3, or maybe it was 3 people were coming for tea, who knows.

Off to finish laundry and hopefully see a few more houses for rent!

Until I blog again.

Linda

ARRIVAL SAFE AND SOUND

It’s been over a week since we boarded FL635 bound for Panama City. So much has happened. It seems like it was a month ago.

We arrived safely and early in Panama City around 6:20pm on Oct 29^th - got through customs, gathered all our luggage (triple checked) and made our way through the luggage check process without any complications. Everything arrived in tact, except my golf travel bag. The zipper broke (but has since been repaired) leaving the bag wide open. My clubs and shoes arrived, but a few hand towels seemed to have found their way to a new address somewhere. I arranged for van with a small trailer from my friend, Fabio Montenegro, to pick us up and drive us to our friends (Trent and Jody Schmuland and their kids) for the night (as they have each time we’ve travelled through Panama City). By 8 o’clock we were knocking on their front door. Thanks for your generosity to us, Schmuland family.

The next morning (Thursday, Oct 30), I had a few business meetings downtown, then returned to the house, loaded the luggage and started off on a 6 hour drive across the country to the David-Boquete area. I’ve made the trip 3 times before, and it was great to reacquaint myself with the landscape of my new home, Panama. It’s near the end of the rainy season, so the trees and foliage are dense showing off a rich and deep spectrum of green (almost neon green to deep dark greens) with occasional shots of orange, red and purple buds grabbing my eye as I safely drove (I promise, honey)along the InterAmerica highway. Some of the vistas from the tops of mountain ridges were absolutely breath-taking. As I moved closer and closer to Chiriqui province the beauty factor went up exponentially. For the last hour or so of my trip the trees were so overgrown that they actually provided a canopy over the highway. It was like driving on a never ending driveway into a private property. I think we live in the most incredible part of Panama.

By 6pm I was sitting in the parking lot of Rey’s (one of the newest grocery stores in David) calling my friend, Jenni Bliss, to see if they needed me to pick up anything at Rey’s before starting up the hill toward their place (just like I’d done dozens of time when we were here last).

After visiting for a few minutes, Jenni hopped in her truck and followed me to our temporary housing in Potrerillos Abajo, where our friends, Ken and Lynda Newton are renting a house. Wow! What an incredible place. Its been a fantastic place to land until we can find our own place. Thanks, Ken and Lynda. We’re looking forward to seeing you guys soon.

After unpacking some of our things, and a great night sleep, I got up and headed to David to get our Montero cleaned and ready to pick up Linda, Sydney and Joshua at the airport in David. It was Friday, Oct 31 - the first day of the rest of our lives here in Panama.

PACKING

How do you even start packing for an international move? Well, we had 3 boxes of books for the kids home schooling. There already we had 150 pounds of stuff. So much for simplifying. We then had a base guitar, a key board and golf clubs. 6 check in bags already, not including any clothing. By the end of our packing week, which included packing, re packing, thinning out and vacuum packing, we ended up checking in 11 bags. This did not include our laptop bags and carry on bags. In the end we had 2 vans drive us to the airport the day before and stayed overnight at the Delta. The next morning we loaded up our 19 bags and walked across the street to the Continental counter. “How many bags to check in Sir?” “Eleven.” “Pardon?” “Eleven bags to check in.” Luckily our bags went straight through so no need to pick up luggage in Houston.

The day before departure, 19 bags in total!

On arrival in Panama, all 11 bags arrived. One was ripped open with flip flops spilling out and a few small items missing. Not bad for an international move.

Until I blog again.

Linda

FINAL GOOD BYES

Oct 15^th was the day we left our beautiful home in Discovery. After being on the market for 6 months, finally it sold, way below what we had hoped it would sell for. Learning to let go seems to be the theme that keeps arising in our lives. Letting go of money, stuff, friends, comforts and being in control to mention a few. Everything we know.

The night before we handed over the keys, Paul and I walked though our home and closed all the blinds, for the last time. When we closed the blinds in the kids room, it really hit us both, wow we were really doing this. Both Paul and I had a moment of letting go. It was both freeing and scary at the same time. Over and over again it became clear to me how much time we spend managing our “stuff”. Since we had 2 weeks before our departure to Panama, our friends, Amanda and Rob and their family took us in. We were able to live with them in their basement until our departure from Calgary. Let me qualify this basement so you don’t feel sorry for us! Fully furnished walk out with fireplace, 2 bedrooms and lots of space. It was a great place to hang while I finished up work, the kids finished up school and Paul tied up some loose ends. Thanks Amanda, Rob, Grace, Cam and Beth. We miss the morning rush around the island.

For our last 2 weeks in Calgary, we were invited to many friends for supper. Paul has already thanked everyone below. Special shout out to Laura for having a special lunch for me and my girls Saturday afternoon. Your the best Laura, having you in my life for the last 26 years has been a real gift. I also want to thank Elaine and my girls from Glendale for my fantastic new Tilly hat and a great lunch out at Moxies. I am sure I gained about 10 pounds in weight an in the love I feel. Dessert every night does have that effect on my waistline!

Lunch with Glendale Ladies L to R ;Alice Ann,Linda, Liz, Linda with Tilly. Paula, Elaine and Kim

Lunch with the ladies: Sonia, Laura, Me, Erin, Sydney and Keira. Shannon taking photo, thanks baby!

I also want to thank all my co workers at ACH, specially those in MDT for all the treats you brought in on my last day. Thanks Lorna, Tammy, Patti and Catherine.

Thank you everyone for being so gracious and kind to my family and me and for being such great cooks. We all felt very loved and it really hit me yet again how incredible all our friends and family are. Going to Panama was never about leaving a place, Calgary has been our home for 10 years and has been an incredible place to raise a family. Leaving the familiar has been a tough thing. Going to Panama is about feeling called/pulled towards something new and different. Stay tuned as we blog about this adventure!
Linda

LAST SUPPERS

It’s the morning of Monday, Oct 27, 2008 – 2 days before we relocate to Panama. As expected, there’s a few last minute things on the “TO DO” list that are going to make this a long day. But, by and large, we’re ready to go.

But the last week has been fantastic. We’ve enjoyed several “last suppers” and final coffees as part of our “farewell tour”. It started on Sunday with an incredible lasagne dish accented by an “aggressive salad” with Troy, Leisa, Carter and Cassie; coffee on Tuesday with Tom, then Vietnamese for supper at one of our favourite spots with Tracey; tasty pork on Wednesday with Shannon and David; mouth-watering steaks with all the trimmings on Thursday with Marv and Heather; ribs “to-die-for” on Friday with Paul, Sonia and L’il Will; chilli and a potluck of delicious finger foods on Saturday with our Discovery Ridge neighbors (thanks for hosting Bernie and Anne, we’ll miss all you guys and hope to see some of you soon); tantalizing Thai dishes on Sunday with Lynden. We’ll miss you guys. Thanks for the incredible eating experiences. We’re much fatter for it. And, of course, thanks for your friendship and encouragement. It will be missed even more.

Top Photo: Paul getting "DA Love" from Ron

Middle Photo: Our good bye party with neighbors at Bernie and Anne's place

Bottom Photo: Biro/Day Clan

Yesterday (Sunday) I had the surprise privilege of being part of officiating communion to the congregation at our home church (Westside King’s Church) with Bob Osborne. Thanks for the invite, Bob. It meant a lot.

Today is the last day of school for Syd and Josh. It’s a day of mixed feelings. It’s the only school our kids have attended - seven years (K-6) for Syd and five (K-4) for Josh. Glendale Elementary has become part of our family. To Ms. Maranucci and all the teachers of Glendale Elementary, especially those who’ve taught our kids...a million thanks – we’re sad to think about the education of our kids without you all involved.

Grade 4 class on PJ / Goody bye Josh- Thanks Meagan!

Sydney's grade 6 class on her last day. Thanks Jen, for everything!

15 HOUR PAUSE.....

It’s Monday night. And it’s been an interesting day. Both kids had farewells with their classmates. Thanks Ms Liddell (Gr 4) and Ms Grimm (Gr6) for creating the space and time to allow our kids to say “goodbye” in a creative and fun way.

Tonight, we got our old small group together (Rob and Amanda; and Rob and Genny – and their kids) and enjoyed some of Genny’s famous chicken and beef lasagne. It was a great way to close our weeklong “foodfest” and “farewell tour”. Afterwards, a long time (25+yrs) friend of mine, Greg, dropped by. It was great to catch up. Then, it was off to complete the last task of the night and our month long de-cluttering-letting go process – dropping off our car at its new owners.

After years of dis-ing 15 year old “Bessie” (as Linda referred to our 1993 Nissan Altima), it was time to hand the keys over to its new owner. I was ready to donate Bessie to the Kidney Foundation. But a friend actually offered us cash for her. The negotiations started with an offer of $1000. I couldn’t accept. I countered with “$1 and it’s yours”. He couldn’t accept. And countered with an offer of $500. I said, “I can’t knowing what I know” – which I explained in detail (e.g. radio and CD player don’t work, speedometer doesn’t work, odometer does work, A/C and heater work maybe 5% of the time, starter - maybe 70% of the time requiring that you sit and wait 5-10 minutes before turning the key for a second time; front and rear bumpers are dislodged a bit, shocks need to be replaced...and that’s the tip of the iceberg as to what makes Bessie such a treasured member of the Day Family fleet). So we agreed on $250. He wouldn’t less. I was willing to flex. And here it was, a week later, at the designated time of adoption. So I hopped in Bessie for the last time and made my way her new family. I was a couple blocks away when a flood of memories overwhelmed me. 15 years of life. So many places and experiences. I remembered driving with Sydney alone for the first time, a moment when I was starring in the rear view mirror, listening to the sounds of my hours-old daughter, and being overwhelmed with feelings of love that I had never known before – the love of a father for his daughter. I began to wonder if this was what my earthly and heavenly father felt for me. It caught me totally by surprise. I had to pull over until the tears subsided – safety first. Like I did 11 years ago, I started to choke up as I drove Bessie to her new parents. Then I quickly jumped ahead a few years through my member bank to another moment when, tired and excited, I put Bessie in reverse to back out of a parking space in the lower level of RockyView Hospital just hours after Joshua was born (this time on my own), and rammed the back bumper up onto a steel post ripping part of the bumper off. I started to laugh – a different response then I had May 19, 1999. Distracted and entranced by this collage of emotional memories, I drove right past my friend’s house. It wasn’t until I arrived at an intersection I didn’t recognize (a few minutes past my friend’s house) that I clued in, swung the car around and backtracked. As I did I felt my loose attachment to Bessie tightening. Minutes later when I went to hand over the keys I was surprised by a strange tug of war inside me. Bessie and I had been through so much together - hundreds of thousands of miles, four accidents, two children, living in two countries. And now, it was time to let go. As I put my signature on the dotted line signing Bessie over to a new owner, I felt a tinge of guilt and sadness, even a moment of second guessing. But I know things will be better for Bessie now. She’s in good hands. Hands that have “half-a-clue” mechanically – sorry Bessie, for years I’ve felt like such an inadequate owner. And you’ve suffered for it. Bessie, you’ve been good to me and my family. We’ll miss you and wish you all the best with your new family.

Til next time,

Paul