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Today I had my first taste of ‘working life’ in Panama (yay!). Moníca, whose daughters I’ve been teaching English to asked me to help out in her school because her English teacher can’t come on Tuesdays… of course I jumped at the opportunity!

This is the school sign, I'll get one of the actual school soon!

So I found out about it Monday night and started Tuesday morning 7am, no time to prepare anything but I honestly don’t think I could have prepared for what was in store anyway!

The children are NUTS and the teachers are SO RELAXED, it’s been a whole new insight into the Panama way of life and their psyche! For a fact, if the classroom antics were going on in Ireland there’d be a lot of children ‘sa cúinne’ for being bold!

I realised I’d forgotten so many things about primary school too, like saying your prayers in the morning and evening, having to ask permission to go to the toilet and how much fun it was to draw on the white board (both for the kids and me!)

My first class was disastrous, almost as soon as the teacher left (I thought she was coming back but she never did!) the drama started. One little boy left the classroom to wait for his mammy outside so I’d to chase after him, then when he came back in - after half the class followed him outside- he started throwing toys and Lego around the room and wouldn’t put on his shoes! When the secretary came along (as planned, it wasn’t because I was thaaaaat bad) to help out order wasn’t even restored, and she wasn’t too concerned (she certainly didn’t appear shocked amnyway)! So we tried to sing the alphabet (fail), tried colouring-in (fail), tried to sit in a circle (fail). It was HILAROUS!! If it was Ireland I’d be mortified, but it’s Panama and I have a feeling neither the teacher nor the secretary were expecting too much more from me only to attempt to babysit for the two hours!  

Just one morning and WOW what an insight into the Panama mind-set it has been (and a trip down memory lane too).

The school is tiny too, it only goes to second grade so I was in all three classes before the day was over.

This year's timetable and display

The kids get away with murder here! In my second class it took us an hour and a half to write five English sentences, the kids were so busy chatting to each other and literally rolling around on the floor and climbing their seats. Class just would not work like this at home, I found myself asking how the children learn anything with all action going on around them!

For the rest of the day I was with the temp Tuesday teacher, Carmen and she was so lovely! She told me all about her family and Panama and showed me pictures of both. She must be at least fifty because she’s a granny but she only looks about forty (the usual in Panama). I was also horrified though when the kids asked me how old I was- I should never have asked them to guess, 28??!! Really?! Lesson learned: ‘Must stay out of the sun’ L

Who needs desks?

Took a few snaps of the kids and classroom too, I wouldn’t have done it only Carmen was showed me videos of the kids she’d taken so I figured it was alright! :D It was so funny though because we were doing this in the middle of class with the children having the craic all around us! I felt like we were doing as much dossing as them!  

This is supposed to be a crocodile...

At least the fish and dog are good?

It was fun sneaking a peek in their lunch boxes too, I can’t decide if it’s better or worse than Ireland but there was no chocolate or Nutella for starters! Every single child had either a fruit juice or milk- vanilla flavour and fortified with Vitamins A and C, folic acid and iron- how bad! And then it was either a ham and cheese sambo (with manky Easy Singles cheese) or a scrambled egg sambo (actually pretty tasty) or a hotdog (actually hot, the teacher microwaves their lunch for them!). The fruit was rare enough though, a mango, banana and apple only appeared in three lunch boxes from what I saw. No yogurts to be seen either, instead they had salty snack crackers and Pringles with dips, not too shabby!

When the day finished Carmen and I swapped WhatsApp numbers (It’s never ‘Can I have your number?’ it’s ‘Have you WhatsApp?’) as we waved the children off when their taxi collected them to bring them home! Again, who sends their 7 year old home in a taxi in Ireland?! Gas stuff!

Phew, you’ve made it to the end, sorry it was so long! Also, fair play to any primary teachers reading this, my respect for you has deepened!

Casco Viejo, the Montmartre of Panama, maybe?

Casco Viejo, So Rosemantic

The first hotel in Casco Viejo

I ventured into Panama City by myself last week to go exploring. And exploring was exactly what I did. After eventually getting on the right bus to go to Casco Viejo (the old city, the Montmartre of Panama, maybe) I realised I hadn't a notion where I should get off....the adventure had begun! I stayed on the bus for aaaaages, which had its bright side, we passed the outdoor Olympic swimming pool so I'll be back another day with my togs (there's no such thing as training in any of the pools in La Chorrera)!

Anyway, I thought I'd stay on the bus until it got to the end of the line, since I was sure I was already far from Casco Viejo... I waited and waited, the city became further and further away, eventually I gave up, starved (it always comes back to food), hopped off the bus and crossed over the road to Super 99 to refuel.

The city is that spec in the distance! 

The bus back into town was another adventure. I waited for more than 40 minutes at the bus stop for a bus to arrive (the longest I've waited for a bus here, they're usually so regular). It wasn't idle time though, the lady I sat beside struck up conversation, when I told her where I'd wanted to go, we had a good laugh over how 'lejos' (far) I was from my true destination. Before she got on her bus I had clear instructions on how to actually get to Casco Viejo, whoop!


The bus was certainly a tight squeeze, everyone packed on. Of course I was last on and the door literally closed on me, no joke, it's not like the elevator where the door detects you and opens again, I was actually stuck between the doors! The driver opened it again when he saw me and I squeezed in, shoulder to shoulder with everyone else. We stayed that way for a while and the front door didn't open until enough people had gotten out the back door and we slowly filtered down the aisle. After 20 minutes I had a seat and kept it until I saw a busy looking street and took my adventure off the bus!

Luckily BO is not a problem here! 

This is cosy :) 

Via Espana, the busy street, well I didn't stay there long (that's another story) but found my way to Casco Viejo!

I went to the Mercado de Mariscos first and tried Ceviche, the market is famous for it. It was DELISH!!! I'd go back just for it, it was so fresh, and only $2.50 too, happy days! On our first night out one of Paul's friends described it to us and I thought it'd be slimy fish but it was actually so so so goooood! From what I understand its fish cooked by soaking in the acid of lemons with freshly diced onions. I got a prawn one but there are all different types.

Ceviche...Yumeeeee!!

Then I explored Casco Viejo, it really is very pretty and had its own character, with a mixture of luxurious houses and expensive restaurants but also old derelict abandoned houses. I'd been twice before but only for discoteca-time in the dark and by day it really is a different experience, it's very touristy though so I wouldn't call in the 'real Panama'.

But while there I managed to get a few snaps of the beautiful clothing of the indigenous women (Kuna Yala). They wear loads of bracelets on their legs for good luck (from what I've been told) too.
There is another indigenous group and their women wear a full-length dress that's much plainer (Ngöbe-Buglé), I'll try get a snap of them too but click here to see what their clothes are like.

Kuna Yala indigenous clothing

My way home on the bus that evening was entertaining too. I had a seat to myself, but not for long. While there were still other seats free this guy sat down beside me, I had a feeling he was curious about me and it wasn't too long before I was proven right. He looked at me and smiled, I smiled back, he did it again, I smiled again, the next time he spoke. 'Do you speak English?'  Ahaa, so he speaks English! It was gas, he's an electrical engineer teaching in one of the universities in the city but he lives in La Chorrera. I don't know how many times he told me he was so happy to speak with me as he practised his English. Then he asked to shake my hand, so I shook his hand, thinking it was going to be a 'nice to meet you' -handshake but he didn't let it go!!! We were still holding hands 20 minutes later while we talked until I fished out money for the fare, phew! He was gas though, I'll just have to chalk it down to experience, still loving Panama but no holding hands next time!!!

The buses I love so much

Some more snaps from the day's adventure:

The market I stumbled across

I think this is an entrance to Casco Viejo, the old tracks were for the train that doesn't exist any more

The cool kids hanging out, I just love the tree though!

For some reason this picture keeps changing?

The traditional hats that were all over the place in Casco Viejo but I haven't really seen people wear them!

The fish market

This guy ordered for me, he was one cool dude! 

It's jamarama every day of the week at the fish market

Caranavales be Cray Cray!

So last week it was Panama's national festival (like in Brazil or New Orleans), no work could be done so the only solution was to join the party!


I just cannot understand how the world doesn't flock to Panama for Carnavales...it. is. incredible. I feel like it's one of their best kept secrets!

For the whole five days of Carnavales there is water EVERYWHERE...

...Except in the toilets, it's hilarious. For the whole of Carnival finding a flushing toilet was a luxury, litres and litres of water pour down on the revellers while toileting is forgotten about. And showering, but in fairness you get pretty well cleaned from the hoses anyway.
In one place we had a working shower, but in the other place, Las Tablas, famous for throwing the best Carnavales party, the shower consisted of a bucket of water in a little outhouse in the back garden. Another reason to love Panama!


The party is just so fun!

Everyone gets involved  from little kids running around with water guns filled with FREEZING cold water to grannies and granddads out on the street getting soaked with the hose. Carnavales is the ultimate party no matter what age.

She be stylin'

And it's not like the Full Moon Party in Thailand where there's only one proper big night, EVERY night is a big night. And every day is a big day too. For five days straight we were in the 'discoteca' in the afternoon, taking a nap in the evening while the discoteca was closed and then heading back once it opened again that night and kept partying until it was day time again.

Usually my stamina fails me at around 3am in Ireland, but there's something about Panama, I survived the whole thing with very little sleep...well except one night when everyone was too lazy to move from the hammocks.

Our humble abode al fresco in Las Tablas

This was the view from our doorway in Penonomé, my favourite Carnavales town

The pictures just don't do it justice, nor my story telling skills, just come next year and experience it for yourself!

Ready to hit the road

'La Reina' There's a guy behind her holding the headpiece!

It's tradition for the kids to glam up for the occasion too

Downstairs at the Discoteca

Ron Abuelo, our good friend, Seco, no thanks!

Before we went home to recover for a few hours

One month in (time is flying by) and Panama hasn't disappointed, not once!

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

The heat is something else here, and rumour has it it's going to get hotter and humid too...watch this space. Right now it's always over 30 degrees but there's a constant breeze so I'm hoping humidity will stay away for as long as possible.

Most nights I cool off outside in the hammock before I can even think about going to bed, our room is always so warm!

 Office by day, Bed by night 

Luckily I need way less sleep here, given the quality of it hasn't been great. Getting up at 6.15 in the morning and going to bed after 12 has become the new norm (it helps when I take a snooze by the pool some days too). 

The dream coming over here was a reversed sleeping pattern, work by night, sunbathe and pool by day and so far I'm pretty happy with the balance I've managed between the two. 

Exercise however has taken the back seat. Shivs and I went for a run one evening and before we went she was the one feeling dodge but by the time we got home I was definitely the worst for wear...that was two weeks ago and I haven't gone since, don't think I should have wasted space bringing the Asics at all! 

I was so red I'd turned purple and I was still sweating getting out of the shower!

On my walk to work every morning though I pass this place, The White Lion, and in a fit of insanity I thought it'd be a good idea to try CrossFit for the first time...YIKES! 

In ordinary circumstances it'd be hard enough, not to mind in the heat, but I survived...only to wake up for the rest of the week with aches all over! Considered joining, it I felt so good having actually exercised properly buuuut I just don't know if I'm cut out for that commitment just yet! 

The best exercise we get is dancing at the weekends when we go out with Paul and his friends. They're all unreal dancers and last week Shivs and I went to the girls' house to practice our Salsa Skills pre-Carnival. Now anyone that knows me, knows my rhythm is as good as my singing so no surprises that I was a seriously slow learner but we had so much fun. There are all different types of dance the girls were telling us about that I hadn't even heard of like Merengue, Latino's DEFINITELY know how to dance. It's basically ass dancing that is socially acceptable and totally normal here, its gas, when we first went out I was so aware of how 'different' our dancing was comparison to theirs, Arturo one of the lads said I looked like I needed to pee when I was dancing...thanks Arturo! I've gotten into the ass dance groove since though and it's so much fun... don't know if it'd go down too well in Coppers though! 

This was in the Chiva Bus

Siobhan's written about the Chiva bus so just a quick addition...Why can't they be legal in Ireland? Mystery tours would be a whole different ball game!

Panama Perm #1

Finished Recruitment- check

Survived Carnival- check

Started Spanish Lessons- check

Next up - Start Blog 

Hola Amigos! 

I don't even know where to start, so here goes my first attempt at blogging! 

Panama with a Perm.

Given the intrigue with mi pelo en Panama I thought it would be apt for blog #1 to reveal the truth about Panama with a Perm! 

Did I think I'd have frizz for hair for a whole four months? YES

Do actually I? NO... Thank God! 

Turns out the perm is holding up pretty well, it does the just out of the shower look perfectly, I can tie it up wet without a bobbin and a French plait stays in no problem too, so I was sorted for the five days of wet hair for Carnival (more on that to come)! 

And hat hair works too! Yay!

There's something in the water here, I barely even need shampoo or conditioner, tellin' ya I'm on to a winner with the perm! 

It's going to be so sad when it grows out and gets all awkward...