Bienvenidos 2014

My friend Ashley came down to Panama to celebrate NYE on the beach.  

The hotel hired some great DJs to play all day.  At about 11:15, the beats had this really great guitar solo merging with them.  After about 10 minutes, we realized it was this guy who was playing live with the electronica.  It was awesome.

And then there were twenty minutes of fireworks at the beach, all viewed through the palm trees.





Happy New Year!!!

the Houstons in Panama, part II

with me at the Gatun Locks on the Panama Canal

out to dinner with my good friends- Austin, Ashley, Carolyn, Nick, Andrew, Laura, Jim, Mary

ZAZA opening

from left:  James, Sarah, Laura, Jamie, Casey, Naomi, Amanda

Occasionally, we do really cool stuff like going to restaurant openings.  We also ignore the fact that as teachers with a 7pm reservation, we were the first people there, and when we left at 9pm, it was only half full.

ISP Christmas party

Anna, Kim, Janelle, Mariah, Julia, Laura

Julia and I

dancing into the wee hours, with the 10 person live band!

Thanksgiving weekend 2013

This weekend, I rented a house in Portobello, Panama, with some of my favorite friends.  We had such a great time- so much laughter, so much pool time, and a lot of wonderful community meals.  Although there was no turkey, I am still very thankful for the great weekend away.

Best way to start a 3 day weekend

Best way to spend the first afternoon of 3 day weekend.

So much grilled meat + salads + two desserts + 7 bottles of wine over 4 hours = dinner full of laughter.

Post-meal iPad tutorial- everyone does this, right?

Repreosa factory

my hand holding a piece in need of sand blasting

The Reprosa Factory is a great little shop in Panama that makes beautiful jewelry using the techniques of pre-Colombian societies.

1.  make a wax figure in the desired shape.
2.  pour plaster of paris around the wax figure.
3.  let the plaster harden.
4.  melt the wax, leaving the shape in the plaster.
5.  use a centrifuge to spin the molten silver into the space in the plaster.
6.  wash off the plaster, shine up the piece, and voila!

The people making the wax molds

a beautiful polished piece, waiting for final treatment

view from my apt at 6:30 pm on Nov 17

Bocas Town, part II

For our Patrias Weekend break, some friends and I headed to Bocas del Toro, a chain of beautiful islands on the Caribbean side, right near Costa Rica.

Yes, the water really is this clear, and the beaches really are this beautiful.

We decided to ride bikes out to a beach bar for lunch.  On the way, we ran into one of my really sweet, really wealthy students.  He was heading out to surf, and chatted with me for a few minutes. When he found out where we were headed, he insisted that his valet (for lack of a better term...maybe manservant?) drive us and the bikes there. His valet was so kind, and even loaded and unloaded the bikes for us.

Mariah, Julia, Rebekah, and Laura

We arrived at the beach bar, and had a lovely afternoon sunning and eating and drinking.  Because it was a national holiday, the whole country was dry for the day, but the bartender mixed up some fruit punch with a little extra kick.

This is the town- a bunch of houses built right on the water, all with boat docks.  It's very much an island paradise.

PANAMUN XXI

6 months of planning, hundreds of hours of meetings, 120 visiting delegates, and 3 days of amazing Model United Nations conference.

The top three students in charge of the conference are the Secretariat- they are the movers, shakers, and decision makers.  And they are sweet and amazingly talented kids.  Here we are, in conference about something imperative, during the last day.

Bocas Town

beachside bar at Playa Bluff

Only a short 45 minute flight from Panama City, we find Bocas del Toro, a set of islands that are too cute to be for real.  Almost like Mackinaw Island, everyone rides bikes, eats fresh food, and hangs out in hotel rooms that are cooled by ocean breezes.  It's awesome.

This is where I spent 3 days recovering from the Model UN conference- lots of sleep, swimming, and hammock time were exactly what I needed.

Hotel decorated in the Panamanian Patriot colors

Leo's watching over me

Every day on the way home from work, I pass this billboard, blow a kiss at Leo, and continue on my way home.  Thanks Tag Heuer, for knowing exactly where to place that advertisement to ensure my maximum happiness.

the three Fridas

 This is the real Frida Kalho, famous Mexican artist and activtist:

 

This is me dressed as Frida for Halloween:

I thought my idea was so original, until another Frida showed up at the party.  And then an hour later, another Frida.  What had been embarrassing with 2 of us became funny with three of us, so we had to take some pictures in front of the paper mache devil (but no smiling, b/c Frida never smiled for the camera):

Alissa Frida, Jamie Frida, and Laura Frida

Halloween treats

Cute little tombstone cupcakes with my friend's names/initials on them. Everyone enjoyed eating their own death!

Flat Stanley

Stanley and 4 kinds of ceviche

My friend Ben, who is 8 years old, read a book called "Flat Stanley," a story about a little boy who gets smushed flat (by a bulletin board- scary much?) and goes on to have all kinds of adventures.  All of the kids in Ben's class made a Stanley, and sent him to a faraway friend or relative.   Flat Stanley went with me to the conference in Mexico, as well as to the Canal.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

Stanley by the Abe Lincoln statue in Mexico City- Ben's school is in IL 

Stanley at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal

Stanley napping in the hotel room- we had a lot of adventures!

cool stuff I saw in Mexico

In the airport, ran into these nice men from Papallan, Colombia.  Since I was helping a friend's son with his 'Flat Stanley' project, it seemed the perfect chance for a picture.  

On my Mexico City food tour, we did a gourmet truffle tasting with tequila pairing.  I tried banana and tutti-fruiti, and both were surprisingly good.  After all, the Aztecs were the first to trade with chocolate.

Finally saw it in real life!  After ten years of teaching the Aztec calendar in all of it's glory, I saw it in real life.  Check that one off of the bucket list!

And this is some other Aztec art, but it was big, made out of stone, and carved by hand.  Awesome.

weird stuff I saw in Mexico City

Can you see that huge yellow thing in the center? That's a clove of garlic, a massive and scary clove of garlic.

Apparently, only royalty are allowed to use the Mexico City crosswalks.  

Walking down the street, a friend and I ran into a poor sod in a pharmacist suit- we highfived him, danced with him, took some pictures, and then went on our way.

In the main square of the historic district, Mariachi bands stand in traffic, waiting for business.  There were literally hundreds of them around, some with full bands (con contrabasses) and some lone singers.  But all were in full regalia, just waiting for work at 11:30pm on a Tuesday night.

scuba in Portobelo, part III- the underwater pictures

from left: Mariah, Laura, Ashley, Casey, Austin, Eric

Spiny crab we saw underwater

Mariah, my dive buddy, and I consulting about something underwater

some ISP staff

On day 1 of staff training, we broke into small groups to discuss pedagogy.  The picture from that just surfaced today.

From left:  Erica, Salah, Ron, Laura, Wendy, Laurie, and Nelson in the front.

scuba saturday in Portobelo, part II

As we were coming up from our dive, a friend snorkelling on the surface took this picture.  I am about 80% certain that I am the one on the bottom right.  But it's a cool shot with all of the bubbles, right?

scuba saturday in Portobelo, Panama

getting gear ready

our very fancy transportation out to the dive site

dock of our hotel

great sunset