I had a very interesting "start" to my day today. We've been experiencing a wicked storm here in Boquete, in fact, throughout most of Panama, for the last week. Gusty winds and rain. So much so that electricity, phones, water and internet has been out for 6 days in some areas! We've only had 2 days without electricity. We've been fortunate. Our Internet has been intermittent and the cellphone coverage has been poor. Huge trees - with 10 feet diameter root systems - have been uprooted. Roads have been blocked because of fallen trees. Electricity poles have snapped under the power of the wind. The power of the wind is quite amazing. A few times, especially at night, it has felt as though our roof was going to lift off. Our trampoline actually got some air one night. We woke up one morning to find it balancing precariously on the fence and half in a tree. I was so relieved that it wasn't too badly damaged.
Anyways, all that to say I was driving after dropping the kids off at Spanish school this morning and saw this wee little woman with her 2 wee children walking into the gusty wind going no where fast. I stopped and offered them a ride, which they gratefully accepted. Of course, I didn't realize that this agreement meant dropping off the children at grandma's and saying "hi" to Grandma! "Elsa" told me that they had been waiting for 45 minutes as there had been no taxis all morning. This is unusual as taxis typically drive up and down the major roads all the time. Probably a big tree blocking the road. So, I started picking up as many people as I could fit in my car and drove them into town. It was a hoot. People crammed into my car turning my 5 seater vehicle into a - well, more than a 5 seater - as I practiced my Spanish and everyone else is practicing English. We all introduce ourselves and everyone smiles and nods when I tell them my name is Linda. Linda means beautiful in Spanish and blond hair and blue eyes are unusual here. Hands are flying, sound effects everywhere, people pulling out pictures of their children, Moms and Dads. I am confident they all think I am crazy! It was a great way to start the day!
Practice Spanish: Checked off the list. Now must deal with laundry and dirty floors!
Until I blog again.
Linda
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2 comments:
Sorry apparently I can't leave a comment without accidently deleting it. Anyways sounds like a kind of scary time. Be careful. You are always lending a helping hand. Take care.
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