25 random things...PANAMA edition

In the past week, Facebook notes have lately been dominated by “25 Random Things About Me” tags. I already posted a note on random things about myself, and thought it would be fun to do a random list of things from Panama and my life here. Here we go...

1. The public transportation here is old school buses, called "Diablo Rojo's" (Red Devils). I have a whole new perspective on crowded transportation after taking the bus at rush hour some days.
2. On the topic of buses, sometimes there are people who board the bus to sell various items. Everything they sell is $0.25 (or 'veinticinco centavos,'). Everyone on the bus knows this too, but after each item, they still say the price. For example, "mint gum, $0.25; scissors, $0.25; pens, $0.25; nail clippers, $0.25; mirror, $0.25...". They don’t ever get tired of saying 'veinticinco centavos.' I laugh in my head at them sometimes.
3. Salsa and Merengue music is pretty stellar.
4. Movies are $3.25 or $4. SWEEEET! But, they are a couple months behind Canada showings...
5. Going to the Rey, the grocery store here is always an adventure. Sometimes they just don’t have items they had yesterday. One time, Raquel went to buy milk. They didnt have any, and then when she tried again in 2 days, and they still didnt have any. Items also switch places, so it can be a hunt trying to find what you want. Its kinda fun.
6. The houses around our apartment have a lot of dogs. Once one dog starts barking, the rest follow. We call this our “dog choir.”
7. One typical food here is Ceviche. It is raw fish with lemon juice and spices. It is amazing.
8. For some reason, chips, pop and ice cream are at 99% of events. Pop is a BIG thing here.
9. Watch out for random holes in sidewalks or uneven pavement on the roads!
10. Traffic baffles me here. Some days it flows really good and other days it takes forever to go to the same place.
11. Last week, the ‘Viejitos,” (the old people) protested and shut down one of the major roads just outside the University, called Transistmica. Protests are common.
12. January till March is dry season. And the grass actually gets brown!
13. I’m quite accustomed to wearing jeans during the day.
14. If any food is left out, these little tiny, almost microscopic ants get into it. There are swarms of them. I will NOT miss them when I get back to Canada.
15. We attend a church called “La Comunidad,” which has about 45 people attending.
16. We work on 3 campuses: Universidad de Panama, Universidad Tecnologica de Panama and Interamericana.
17. Taxi drivers can choose whether or not they want to take you somewhere, based on their moods, traffic, the place you’re going and time of day. There’s no real rhyme or reason though.
18. My favourite taxi ride was when we got to act out a soap opera with our driver. He used to be an actor and so loved improvising. We got to learn about his family and also share the Gospel with him, which was so cool!
19. McCafe, a small coffee shop in McDonalds is the closest thing we have to Starbucks.
20. I am a band groupie. Our team along with Laura, Andrea, Gabriela, and Josue are all fans of our friend’s Christian band, “Jose Andres y La Banda.”
21. Food in the cafeteria in school usually consists of rice, chicken or beef, and pasta. For dessert there is flan or rice pudding. To drink, there is juice we call “chicha.” It is a special treat if there are vegetables or salad there.
22. Sometimes during the day, there are guys with push carts walking through the neighbourhood streets selling things. They scream out, “EMPANADAS DE POLLO!” or “EMPANADAS DE CARNE!” Derek does the greatest impression of them.
23. There are many, many stray cats by the guys apartment.
24. A lot of the houses here have metal gates, barred windows and doors.
25. Panamanian greeting: girls and girls, as well as girls and guys greet with a kiss on the cheek and maybe a hug (depending on how well you know the person). Guys and guys greet with a handshake. I’m going to miss this when I go back to Canada!!!