Bonnie

As many of you already know, I have sold my house and will be leaving Panama on June 30 or possibly earlier. This means, of course, that I will also be leaving the responsibility of being one of two Citizen Volunteer Liaisons (formerly called Wardens) with the U.S. Embassy in Panama. The head of U.S. Citizen Services has sought my assistance in locating a replacement. I urge anyone interested in assuming this role to contact me at ridgelandres@yahoo.com with a brief biographical summary and perhaps an expression of why you wish to serve and what you would bring to the position. The CVLs’ responsibilities have lessened since I came on in the Spring of 2016. Originally, Hank (Hank Landis, the other Boquete CVL) and I were encouraged to become actively involved in many personal situations. Now, however, the new directions are that we respond to general questions to which we know the answer; disseminate messages from the Embassy; promote locally what the Embassy has to offer U.S. expats; and be available to help in case of national emergency or natural disaster. We are asked to refer personal issues directly to the Embassy without serving as go-between. The latter has lessened the workload considerably, so serving in the position is not a major imposition on one’s time. You can make of the job what you will, but the actual requirements are minimum. I hope to hear from some friends and neighbors that they are interested in filling this important role. I encourage you to give it some thought. I’ll be happy to answer any questions either here or by private email (address above).

I don’t disagree that gringos likely have helped push prices up in Boquete. But how can you say that customer service is not an issue because it’s always been bad??? Does that render it a non-issue? Does that somehow justify its getting no better? And how is it possible to believe that Panama is trying to catch up when the banks (and, I would venture to say, most businesses) have not improved one whit in the past 12 years I’ve been here?

How did the issue of customer service get into this topic? That’s the subject of another topic currently being discussed.

Thank you, Siempre. I'm still digesting your post, and see its merits. An initial thought, though: it suggests that the more financially able will select the better-service McDonald's (i.e., Costa Rica), leaving the lesser McDonald's (i.e., Panama) to the less well-to-do and more conservative spenders. Doesn't Panama want to compete for the more moneyed, spendy class of expats? Wouldn't better customer service go a long way toward attracting them? Too, your comparison somehow seems inapt for Boquete, which is not inexpensive by Central American standards. To those who object to criticism of Panama by expats on the basis of its being our host country, I would reply that I am complaining as a customer of the bank who is being poorly served. Even so-called "guests" of a country have the right to expect good customer service and to complain when they don't get it. When meetings with managers of a business get you nowhere, it's time to take it public.

Keith was joking, of course.

The multi-story platform on the Cinta Costera awaits the Pope Share: Post Views: 935 By Corina Rueda Borrero* Dear Pilgrim, I imagine that at this moment you are anxiously packing your bags, buying small necessities and saying prayers because your dream of knowing Pope Francis will come true, and no wonder. You have been involved in activities in your parish to be able to afford the buses and planes that you must take to get to Panama. But I am writing this because you may not know that your joy is not shared in the country that will receive you, even if you have been told otherwise or have seen government promotional videos of smiling Panamanians because there are dark realities behind this great celebration of the world’s Catholic youth. Varela and Lorena Castillo exchange gifts with Pope . For many Panamanians, World Youth Day is nothing more than a multi-million dollars whim of President Juan Carlos Varela, who travels abroad as a good Samaritan and whose wife, Lorena Castillo, faithfully attends all papal activities that can be paid with State taxes. Both speak of love for their neighbors without missing a “God bless” them at the end of their speeches, but they are the same ones who endorse orders to repress farmers’ protests for the right to food sovereignty and a decent living and sanction budgets reducing the amounts destined to culture, science, health, education and technology, and assure that there are no funds to investigate reported cases of sexual abuse in areas of difficult access. Smiling masks Juan Carlos Varela, dear pilgrim, is the one who will receive you and publicly say that Panama is showing its best face but will not dare to tell the truth: that what they are really wearing are smiling masks, because on that great platform of $12.4 million where he and the Pope will stand, you will not see the teachers who have not been paid for months, nor the patients who missed appointments due to lack of funding nor the retirees who spent more than four hours in a line to pick up medications that they did not receive due to lack of budget. Every time I receive a new piece of news about what is being spent on World Youth Day, I get a lump in my throat because most of the hiring is being done directly, while there has never been money for the roof that is falling in a school or in the emergency department of the Hospital del Niño, nor is it that there are no funds for the athletes’ shoes or gloves for the boxers going to the Olympics, because none of this seemed a priority. $18,000 for dogs That $14,000 for a carpet to receive the Pope, that $18,000 for six dogs, that $1.5 million for metal railings , that almost $1 million in luxury hotel rooms for “special guests”, that $145.000 in smart cards for drivers and each day new expenditures of which we have no more information than what appears in the portal of Panama-Compra, without logical justification of its acquisition and without responding to the citizen’s right to demand and receive information on the proper use of its taxes. Do not misunderstand me, pilgrim, I really understand that an event of this magnitude should have its expenses, however, do you think that all Panamanians, even non-Catholics, must pay for the World Youth Day to be celebrated? Do you think that all Panamanians should change their way of life for almost two weeks because of this event? Do you think it’s right that the officials of the health system and the security system have been denied their right to request free days or vacations during the whole month of January? Do you think it’s fair that they gave orders to hospitals to postpone appointments when there are patients who take up to three days to reach a specialized hospital? Pilgrim, I know you have your heart in the right place. They tell us that this will “benefit” everyone, but I don’t see it in that way. They tell us that it will “activate” the economy, and in theory you, pilgrims, will generate profits for the country by staying in hotels; But instead, Archbishop r Ulloa tells us on television that we are not sufficiently supportive in opening our homes to pilgrims and that we should host those who do not sleep in schools, and then they reiterate what income there will be because you will spend in restaurants and pharmacies, and This also implies that the small business owner benefits directly, but when I check the Panama Purchase page I see that within the bids there are calls for preparation, transport, and delivery of food and groceries for the pre-, WYD events, from which, the Pro-Mundi, benefit . I am sincere, pilgrim: I believe that it would be just for the Church to pay for it. We all know that they have enough funds to eradicate world hunger, so I do not think that a small event represents greater spending; This is an event that is done for the faithful to come together. Therefore, dear pilgrim, I ask you: Do you believe that Jesus, who was a great revolutionary, who faced the hegemony of the Roman Empire, would participate in an event that more than benefits represents the hypocrisy of those who use his name in vain? *Corina Rueda Borrero is a writer, lawyer, feminist and Panamanian human rights activist. The comment was first published in (Casi) Literal, Jan 16

I'm sure glad not to be in the city this week! And the article provides an answer to how much Panama is spending on WYD: $61 million. While schools, criminal justice, poverty, etc. go unaddressed. Disgraceful.

My God! Up to 12 years in prison for this? When crimes go uninvestigated and murderers walk free? The criminal justice system in this country is seriously screwed up.

I would add that, while the type of thing Penny and I suffered is annoying and inconvenient, it is nothing compared to the major errors by the bank that I've experienced. My husband was added to an account I had opened but, months later when he tried to make a withdrawal, there was no record of it. Even more alarming, I made my son the beneficiary of my bank account to avoid probate in the event of my death. Later, when I was in the bank checking on another lesser error, we discovered that the beneficiary designation had never been recorded. In fact, the paperwork had been completely lost.

I'm so glad you posted this, Penny. I had intended to go to Caja de Ahorros, but the wind was strong and Banco Nacional closer. If I had had to go home and then go back, I would have been truly disgruntled.

Keith writes that the $1,500 each includes training. But it says, "it should take at least 1,500 hours of training." I assume the latter is correct as the dogs themselves would appear to have cost $9000. Correct?

It’s not clear to me how inefficiency keeps costs down.

I went to Global Bank this morning to deposit a check on my U.S. bank account and to make a cash withdrawal to avoid ATM fees. I’ve done this innumerable times over the past ten years, it’s always unnecessarily time-consuming. The main road out front was closed, so it took a while to find parking and brave the wind to the bank. So I admit I was already disgruntled. After standing in line, I was greeted by the cashier with a new twist: I would have to complete separate slips for the deposit and the withdrawal, which I’ve never had to do before. After redoing the paperwork and standing in line again, the cashier took my check, scrutinized it at length as though she had never seen such a thing before, and then made the usual time-consuming trip to somewhere in the back of the bank to have it okayed! This always annoys me. Don’t they know me by now? Why does a deposit require an okay anyway? After spending 25 minutes in Global, I moved next door to Banco Nacional to pay a tax. Everything was filled out and ready to go, but there were 18 people ahead of me in line and only two tellers. The wait was interminable as every transaction took forever, but I finally got to a cashier and produced my document and cash. The cashier scrutinized it for a period of time as though it were something new, took the money and gave me my change, and then set about inputting the information.He clicked, and clicked, and clicked some more with a puzzled look on his face and after at least ten minutes got it entered and gave me my receipt. What could have been the problem? They regularly receive tax payments from hundreds of people. Don’t they know the procedure for inputting them yet? I left home at 9:00 and returned at 11:15 from an errand that should have taken no more than half an hour. Panama banks have become no better than when I first visited them 12 years ago. I go into every bank errand with a sense of dread.

I agree, Doug. As Panama is a Catholic-driven country (like all of Latin America), I suppose it's considered an honor to host this event. I personally fail to see how Catholicism has benefited Panama. Even the poorest Panamanians are "encouraged" to support the Church financially, while the Church offers precious little in return by way of charitable support for needy families. In my work with a number of charities here in Boquete, I've never encountered any interest by the Church in joining the efforts. Another out of many examples of how the Church hinders the country's development both financially and socially is that contraception is condemned yet out-of-wedlock children unaddressed. I know a number of "good" Catholics who keep bearing children, in and out of wedlock, without the means to support them--all with the sanctimonious blessing of the Church and little if any aid for those children.

This really is a fun event! The stakes are low, and you get fun(ny) money with your entrance fee. And if you don't even gamble for fun, it's still a very festive and sociable crowd, and the silent auction is more than worthwhile. And, of course, all the money goes to two very good causes. Go!

I was prepared for the worst when told it was a nationwide outage, but even with two separate outages, my power was restored in, I believe, less than three hours. Remarkable. It will be interesting to learn the cause.

That’s great news. Good place to pick up something healthy for dinner when there’s no time or inclination to cook. Thanks, Marcelyn.

I came across this article today in an online newsletter called Gardenista. It doesn't bode well for the highlands of Panama and many other areas of the world. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46845461

I tend to admire youth groups such as One Youth Ambassadors, Volunteer Services Overseas, Global Citizen, and many others who have organized together to fight world poverty and promote human dignity. Even smaller organizations like Never Again (founded by the Parkland shooting survivors) seem to me to promise more hope for the future then religious pilgrimages of this sort. But I'm the first to agree that it's satisfying to see youth engaged in something other than their cell phones!

Did you happen to learn what days and hours she is open? This looks like a great place for healthy take-out.

There's a link for contacting the owner at the top of the page, and I have contacted him twice. He is aware of the problem and says his computer team is working to fix it.

When Dra. Diaz did my old age exam, she definitely was interested in my blood pressure. Maybe she was in a hurry when you had your exam, Penny.

U.S. Embassy Panama’s Consular Section will be closed for routine services January 22 through January 25, 2019. Due to operational concerns related to World Youth Day and the Pope’s visit, such as unusually congested traffic and road closures in the vicinity of the Embassy and throughout Panama City, the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City will temporarily close for routine services starting Tuesday, January 22 and will re-open on Monday, January 28, 2019. Please also note that the Consular Section will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019 for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal holiday. Consular Staff will be available for emergencies throughout World Youth Day. The following U.S. citizen emergency services will be available: replacing lost/stolen passports, providing lists of medical resources, assisting victims of crime, visiting arrested or detained U.S. citizens, aiding in the location of missing U.S. citizens, and supporting relatives after the death of a U.S. citizen. In an emergency, the Consular Section can be reached via phone at 317-5000 (011-507-317-5000 if dialing from the United States). For general information on activities related to World Youth Day, please visit the official international website, https://www.panama2019.pa/en/home/. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Panama City, Panama 507-317-5000 Panama-ACS@state.gov https://pa.usembassy.gov/ State Department - Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 Panama Country Information Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Martyr's Day is Wednesday, but my Animales calendar indicates that it will be observed tomorrow. However, I contacted Retrogusto about reservations on Wednesday and was told that they would be closed for Martyr's Day. My question is: is everything closed tomorrow or Wednesday (or both)? I ask because I have a dog that needs to see a vet and am wondering if I can take him tomorrow or if he'll have to wait until Tuesday.

The following article, from this morning's New York Times, is a long but interesting read. I found it instructive insofar as understanding the curious driving habits of Panamanians. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/magazine/driving-living-reality.html?emc=edit_th_190106&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=528124880106