Random Thoughts

You are asking yourself why would you ever read someone else's random thoughts.  After all, you have enough of them yourself.

Think of this as tickling your funny bone or advancing your adult education.

I was watching the news this morning.  We get Sky TV, a satellite TV service that is theoretically "English" speaking.  About 10 of the channels are in English and 300 channels are in Spanish. These channels frequently are a collection of American TV all funnelled into one channel, the best one called The American Network.  

News is a little bit dicey to get.  The American Network has NBC news but at odd hours like 9 am so it is hard to be available when the network news comes on.  Most of the news we watch is on CNN World news, which leads me to my belabored point.

We are significantly more aware of the world here.  Most of CNN World News is produced out of England.  The coverage focuses on the world with programs that address Africa or Japan, etc.

I now realise that my world awareness was sheltered when we lived in Colorado.  We not only get news and information about the world, but also the reaction of the world to the US.  This is not about trashing the US.  The world reactions are informative and interesting rather than judgemental.  It expands my awareness and gives me a richer perspective about the US.

This is an aspect of Panama that I really like, even though we are lacking in the normal US TV, which may be a good thing.

Now some more quirks about Panama.

I was drinking coffee at Amigos, the gringo watering hole.  We were laughing about the atrocious service at this place and most of the Boquete restaurants.  It is so bad, we like to sit and watch the tourist sit down, wait, wait some more, start to get agitated, bitch among themselves as if they will actually eventually get any service at all.  We know better and get up and order at the counter but watching the tourist can be fun.

Yes, I know, we have too much time on our hands.

Before I tell you about it, I want to mention that a couple of establishments in Boquete have world class service.  But, a lass, most service is lacking.

If you sit down at Amigos, you may get waited on or maybe not.  It might happen quickly (rarely) or it might take 30 minutes.  If you want to pay, you have to track someone down.  

My friend ordered coffee the other day and it came in a dirty cup, filled with cold, day old coffee.  Mmmm...delicious.  The next day, he was served an EMPTY cup with nothing in it.   How does that happen?  Panama!

Panamanians do not have the organization thing down.  Most food arrives at the table helter skelter.  If you get your meal, you start eating.  No one objects because you don't know when the rest of the food will come.  Frequently, you get your meal before the salad.  Just the way it goes.

These idiosyncrasies either drive you out of the country or you find them endearing.  This country has a lot to teach us type A, driven people.  Simply going to a restaurant will start your deprogramming along the path of a type B life!