From Old Panama - School

The kids are back to school now, Emma in Grade 1 & Easton in Kindergarten. Easton loves school even though there is no other English speaking kids in his class. East has such a great attitude he said tonight " Ya I love school, but I don't have a friend yet, that's ok"... As soon as he starts speaking Spanish he is off to the races (just like the rest of us)

Now that the kids are in school all we have is our weekends and evenings to explore during this adventure of ours.

We found a bike shop we were able to buy the kids bike helmets so we could go bike riding at the Causeway (our taste of North America) (Easton you are one great kid, he has his own style)

(a nice family bike ride.... after our workout we went for a yummy dinner)

I took the kids to Casa Verjio. I am getting alot more adventurous on my own. Trent had a few things to do so I jumped in the truck and headed to the unknown of Panama City. The city is not over large but EXTREMELY confusing, we have yet to find a detailed map that shows all streets. It really does not matter if you know the name of the streets anyways the signs are so small or they are sometimes broken off :- )

I came home the other day and told Trent if he loves me at all he will get me a GPS put in the truck because I am so tired of getting lost. When traffic is bumper to bumper and I make a wrong turn it can hold me up for another 20min in traffic. Anyone who suffers from any road rage should not drive in this city during rush hour!!!

As I was saying...... I ventured out with the kids to go see Casa Verjio. They love anything that is old and where Pirates walked.

Panama Viejo ( Old Panama) a site with the ruins of the original 16th century Panama City. Founded in 1517,Panama City was the first city built on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. It was founded to facilitate the transfer of riches the Spanish plundered from the Incan Empire to Spain via the Ithmus of Panama. In 1671, it was destroyed and burnt down as a result of an attack by the English pirate Henry Morgan.

(the old Cathedral and walls of the old convent)

(my pirate tracking kiddies)

The kids are becoming history buffs and want to know everything about every hole, stone & wall. They are asking some great questions! I love history so it is exciting to have my little people come explore with me.

We climbed the Cathedral steps, all 144 of them with Everett on my back... I had to wake him up since he fell asleep in the truck... (my legs are still sore today...he's a big kid) Our trip to the Cathedral was on Monday and the ruins were closed for repair work, however these very nice police men escorted the kids and I around. They tried their best with English and I with my little Spanish... we figured it out.

( the downtown core .... the view from the top of the Cathedral)

There is another Old area of Panama I hope to get to with the kids but like I said they started school so Em goes to school from 7:50-2:00pm each day and Easton goes from 7:50 - 12:15pm. Emma is most disappointed that she is going to miss Elia's lunch each day so she might come home for a few lunches each week.

I am sure I have mentioned it before... An errand at home that would take 20min, here takes a good half day. All week I have been trying to get the kids school supplies. There is no Walmart or Zellers here where you get most things (not yet anyways). I have been searching high and low for a few books for the kids ... I survived this experience. I type these experiences for you to have a laugh and hopefully remind you not to take small things for granted.

Here is another story for you.

We were craving caesar salad and I found all the ingredients. Trent told Elia that I was going to cook lunch and show her some Canadian food. Elia was very excited! I BBQed some chicken, Emma tore up the lettuce and we put together our lunch of Chicken caesar Salad. Elia says to me "NO RICE? I don't think she has gone a day without rice...."NO RICE Elia, Canadian food". She has never tired a crouton, had bacon bits or caesar salad. Elia loved it but I think it was strange for her to not eat rice. Trent told her that at home in Canada we eat caesar salad 4 or 5 times/week... She said NO WAY maybe 2 days/week..... Next cooking class will be tacos... Elia does not know how to make them and she really wants to learn & eat what we eat back home.

Friday we told the kids to hurry up and eat breakfast we had another adventure to go on. Gamboa Rainforest Resort was our destination for the day for a boat tour on Gutan Lake. The resort is 30min outside the city. The resort is located on the Chagres River.

(Our seasoned boatman)

(Everett loves to sail the waters)

When we left the resort by boat we entered the Panama Canal along side a huge container ship. It was pretty wild to see such a large vessel carrying all kinds of goods heading to North America. To think that without this canal so many of the clothes we wear, shoes we walk on, tools we buy would not be in the malls to purchase. The world is large but so small, everything works together some how.

(the container ship... sorry so dark I can not lighten it any more)

It was pretty amazing being on the canal along side these ships. The extra large ships are escorted if you will by tug boats though the canal. It was an over cast day so my pictures are a bit dark.

(the little tug giving a push)

On our tour of the canal we passed a cruise ship and the kids waved at all the people, they thought that was neat.

(wave everybody)

The driver took us to a few islands that had monkeys hanging in the trees. Emma & Easton put watermelon on their hands and the monkey came to snatched it out of their hands, they of course loved that. If you followed our trip to Asia last year the monkey encounter here in Panama is nothing compared to what Trent & I saw at Monkey Island in Thailand.

(the spider monkey is in the trees... look by Easton)

As we ventured along the canal I sat in amazement at how the canal was planned and completed in the early 1900's and how it changed the course of the goods in the world. It has been fascinating to witness one of the amazing wonders of the world.

(here is a picture of a machine that has been used from the beginning... It sucks the silt off the bottom of the canal floor that builds up from the all the vessel transit).

A bit of information about the Canal for those interested....

The lake is situated in the valley of the Chagres River. It was formed, and the river widened and deepened, by the construction of the Gutan Dam about 10 km (6 miles) from the river's mouth in the Caribbean Sea in 1907–1913. The geography of the area was ideal for the creation of a large lake here; the hills bordering the valley of the Chagres open up widely around the area of the lake, but come together to form a gap just over 2 km (1.4 miles) wide at the location of the dam. The damming of the river flooded the originally wooded valley; almost a century later, the stumps of old mahogany trees can still be seen rising from the water, and submerged snags form a hazard for any small vessels that wander off the marked channels.

Gatun Lake has an area of 425 km² (164 square miles) at its normal level of 26 m (85 ft) above sea level; it stores 5.2 cubic kilometres (183,000,000,000 ft³) of water, which is about as much as the Chagres River brings down in an average year.

With the creation of the lake many hilltops became islands. The biggest and best known of them is Barro Colorado Island, home of the world famous Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

Gatun Lake forms a major component of the Panama Canal; the lake, including the flooded arm extending up the Chagres River, makes up 32.7 km (20.3 miles) of the raised part of the waterway, the other part being the 12.6 km (7.8 mile) Gaillard Cut.

The lake is also important as a reservoir of water for the operation of the canal locks. Each time a ship transits the canal, 202,000 m³ (53 million U.S. gallons) of water is passed from the lake into the sea; with over 14,000 vessel transits per year, this represents a very large demand for water. Since rainfall is seasonal in Panama, the lake acts as a water store, allowing the canal to continue operation through the dry season.

After our Gutan Lake tour we ate at the Rainforest Restaurant for lunch. We all enjoyed the beautiful jungle that surrounded and watching ships pass through the canal. A great lunch and we met another family from the US who just moved here. They have a 3yr. old little boy (smaller than Everett) It was a very nice day.

(this looks like this croc was real at one time but it's just a great replica)

(boys will be boys... I sure do love them)

(it was pretty humid in the rainforest so Emma took it upon herself to
cool Easton down)

(love you munchkins.... they are growing up so much)

(my cool dude who LOVES the camera)

On our way home from Gamboa we passed this cemetery. The significance to this site is hundreds of Frenchman are buried here who died in the late 1800's trying to take on the vision of the Panama Canal. As you know the French came first to build the canal but gave up the project after hundreds of deaths and lack of financial resources.

This reminded me of Flanders Fields that Trent and I visited when we lived in Germany.

(The graveyard we stumbled across coming home from Gamboa)

On Sunday after our regular stop at the Bagel Shop for delicious bagels & coffee (I am really enjoying the great Panamanian coffee) we went for a drive. Our new adopted family member Nick (Trent's buddy who is great with the kids) came with the Schmuland clan for a drive around the country side.

We headed over the America's bridge in search of learning something new. Along our travels we had many looks as we passed through small towns that I am sure have not seen to many foreigners. Trent took a few side roads and we ended up very close to the Howard Airport. When the USA was here they controlled this airport and alot of military personal had homes near by. Trent turned down this one road and we ended up at the base of the mountian with these large doors that lead into the mountian. This was very interesting, we saw about 5 of these doors around this mountian, our imaginations were running wild as to why they where here. As we drove back to the main road we saw a sign that said NO ENTRY! It was very interesting here.

(the interesting door leading to who knows where!)

(a glimse of the road Trent ventured out on big enough for tanker... who knows)

Before I sign off I want to say we are loving our experience here and the kids are doing great. Some days are challenging for me due to the language barrier but I am very excited to say I start my own private tutoring on Thursday... Please pray for me I will need all the help I can get to grasp this language :-)

Daily we are reminded that we are in a Latin American country and people do not function on cafine highs and rush all day long. People here take their time and chose to live a life quite a bit slower than we are used to. Trent needs reminders that we came to their country and our North American ideas do not interest the Panamaians.

I was invited to an Internationals Womans Group. It was very interesting to meet other Canadian, American, German, & Columbian woman. My favorite part of meeting up with other expats is finding out what their story is and why they ended up in Panama... some amazing stories out there.

Well its time for me to sign off... I most likely will be blogging every couple of weeks now since our activites are limited to weekends due to school.

Thank you again for following our story and I hope you are able to take a little something from each Schmuland story.

All our love to you xoxoxox . We love hearing from you so if you get a chance write a post on the blog or you can send a personal message to schmulandj@gmail.com

Until Next time... love Trent, Jody, Emma, Easton & Everett

(Here is the kids all dressed up in their school uniforms... I love the whole uniform idea in schools... very stress free in the morning....The kids love thier uniforms and are excited to get dressed each morning... they look so cute. Easton looks like a little English boy... he sure looks like my dad)

Easton was amazed by his new daily uniform. He likes his tie he wears. Only on Mondays do the boys where a long sleeve shirt and tie. The rest of the week they wear a white golf shirt with their shorts & jacket.

This picture to the right was taken at a large meeting for the kindergarten and preschool children.

To all of who knew my dad, if you get a chance have a beer on him today as it would have been his 50th birthday... Happy birthday DAD, you are very missed and will never be forgotten. xoxoxoxox