The 4th Of July in David
I woke up on the morning of the 4th of July to a bunch commotion coming from across the street. Set- up activities in David's town park indicated that some kind of festival was scheduled for the day. Sure enough there was a doozy coming.
There were bands, and speeches, and dancers, and queens most of the day. Then they had groups of marchers, all in matching T-shirts, and some groups with their own marching bands. And, unlike other events, each group was not carrying a big banner, so I never did get it straight what the occasion was.
So I just went around all afternoon and evening thanking everyone for throwing a party just for me to celebrate the U.S. Independence Day. Got some strange looks!
Just FYI
Based on the TV coverage here in Panama, the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonomayor is getting more coverage in Latin America than it is in the U.S. The only news oriented coverage I get from the U.S. is CNN, FOX News and CBS, but they are usually fairly representative of the news media as a whole. On those channels Sonomayor coverage is pretty low profile.
By contrast, on Latin American channels it seems as if every news talk show, every talking head and every newscast is focused on Sonmayor. And it is not just the Panamanian channels. TV Chile, Caracol TV (Colombia) and broadcasts out of Nicaragua and Argentina all seem to be obsessed. I don't know what they are saying, I just know there is a lot of talking.
Well, on second thought, most of the TV networks down here did not cover Micheal Jackson 24/7 for two+ weeks, so there was air-time´
From The 'Get A Life' Files
There was an influx of Americans that stayed here in the hotel for three days last week. The folks were about equally split between 'old Panama hands' and tourists in Panama for just a few days. At some point the conversation turned, probably due to cervaza intake, to a game of 'can you top this?' focused on life in Panama. It went like this:
You can live in Panama where ....
* You pay $5 to visit the doctor's office, but $13 to mail a letter. And, if you want that letter to reach the U.S. in less than a week, it costs $55.
* You won't see 'The Hats' because Panama hats don't come from here.
* The deciding factor in selecting your new car is the volume level of the car's horn. Additionally, it is only on the dealer's trade-in inspection that you discover that your old car has turn signals.
* When you suddenly decide to buy all eight of the people at your table in the bar a beer, you get change back from a $5 bill.
* Your monthly rent for your apartment, including utilities and satellite TV, is about half of what your monthly electric bill was during the summer months in your last house in the U.S.
* Regardless of the glowing descriptions and/or enticing photographs on the restaurant's menu, you do not order any carne (beef) dish assuming that it will be physically possible to chew it.
* It doesn't concern you to know that the FARC guerrillas have a big presence in Darien Province (adjoining Colombia), because there are no roads for them to go anywhere.
* You finally accept that everyone speaks so fast, that you couldn't learn Spanish if you wanted to.
* There are only two seasons - rainy and dry.
The mention of the seasons caused the conversation (game?) to change focus to the U.S. So it became, "You can live in .."
* Phoenix, where the four seasons are: barely tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?
* California, where the four seasons are: fire, flood, mud slides and drought.
And then the conversation went all over the place:
* New York City, where being able to swear at people in their native language makes you multilingual.
* Montana and North Dakota, where sexy lingerie is a flannel shirt with less than eight buttons.
* The Deep South, where 'he needed killin' is considered a valid legal defense, especially if the accused has two first names (e.g., Billy Bob or Peggy Sue).
* The Midwest, where when one is queried about their recent trip to some exotic location, invariably responds with, 'it was different'.
There were some other really good ones, but they came after the 'cerveza memory block' set in. I know, I know - Get A Life! Ha!
Sign Of The Economic Times?
I can use my Bank of America ATM card all over this part of the world, no problem. I must admit I am one of those people that was not too sure what some of the ATM charges were back in the U.S., much less what they are now. But, I do know that I pay a bit of a premium for using my card here.
About a year ago I discovered (the hard way) that here, if I use my ATM card (with the VISA logo on it) as a VISA credit card, BofA charges a 3% charge. So, when I paid my hotel bill with the card, the transaction cost me an extra $12. All I had to do was walk next door to the ATM, withdraw the money (pay the BofA $5 foreign ATM charge), and pay the hotel in cash to save $7. Live and learn. The savings on just that one transaction is more than an evening's bar bill, my bellwether for evaluating cost savings.
Effective July 1st, there was another change. There is a credit card processing company here in Panama called Clave. You learned to avoid ATMs that sported a Clave sign (whether at a bank, a business, or an independent ATM) because their charge was $1.75 on this end, when most of the local banks charged $.50 to use their ATM. Well, evidently Clave negotiated a mega deal in Panama because now all the ATMs are Clave. And, surprise, surprise, the local ATM charge on all the machines is now $3. Ouch. Aren't monopolies a wonderful thing?
My point in all this is that you do change your habit patterns here. Obviously, you don't go to the ATM and withdraw $100 every other day, as you need it - not if each withdrawal costs you $8.
But, even more important, for those of you who haven't traveled a lot recently, in this day and age forget travelers checks! In a two square block area around my hotel, there are probably 50 places where you can either withdraw cash from an ATM, or use your ATM card to make a purchase, albeit with charges attached. But, there is only one place where you can use (cash) a travelers check - the bank, with it's 30 minute line. Also, businesses here do not even accept checks from Panamanians written on a local bank. The world has gone electronic.
Did You Get The Word?
Here is an interesting one for you. Our satellite coverage here includes TV Caracol, a Colombian TV network. TV Caracol is presently running repeatedly a long, 4-5 minute commercial (almost a mini-infomercial) about upcoming festival events celebrating Columbia's Independence Day on July 27th. The commercial, complete with video and music, details all the specific events, the attractions and entertainers involved, times, places, how to make reservations (if required), parking arrangements, and public transportation connections.
What's notable about this commercial? The Colombian Independence Day festival activities they are touting are being held in Atlanta. That is Atlanta, as in Atlanta, Georgia. Yes, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Go figure?
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
My good friend, Jorge, is originally from Bolivia. I am putting together a video for him. Here are some ´teaser´photos. (Just click on the thumbnail to view full-size photo)
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