“I’ve lived here for 42 years” she said. “I raised my children here. I’ve seen a lot of changes.” Almost every evening, Joaquin and I take a stroll around the neighborhood at dusk. In doing so, we always see the usual suspects: Dani having his 6pm drink outside of Manolo Caracol, a slew of local kids running rampant, Julio the… Read more →
I recently heard from an old friend that he and his wife quit their jobs in San Francisco, and with their very young daughter, moved to Italy for the next six months while he pursues a wine apprenticeship. My instantaneous reaction was pure glee as all I could do was imagine how much of an exciting roller coaster adventure the… Read more →
When I was in my 20’s I wasn’t even sure I wanted to have kids. I didn’t think that marriage was rational or necessary. For many years, I lived out of a bag, I loved being on my own, I traveled as often as I could, I moved a lot, I explored any job that allowed me to make my… Read more →
7am Pick Up – Casco Viejo, Panama Nobody’s Turning Back Now Wave goodbye to El Arco Chato, Joaquin Passing Folks and Blurry Colors Central America, Car Seat Not Always Required Waiting for Take Off Empty Middle Seat : Happy Baby, Happy Parents Layover Snacks I see California Clear Skies and A Clear Coast Bay Bridge View of The City Smell That Air Joaquin?… Read more →
Sunday was one of those perfect Panama day trips that will stick with me for a long time. Living in Casco Viejo (Panama City) it’s important to get out on the weekends as often as we can. Geographically, the world is our oyster. We can be swimming in the Caribbean or the Pacific, we can be hiking in volcanic craters… Read more →
Living in the tropics is just as one would imagine: hot, steamy, moist, luscious, fresh, green, sticky, and humid. There are two “seasons” here in Panama (if that’s what you want to call them) which are Dry Season and Rainy Season. The only real difference between these two seasons should be blatantly obvious: one is dry and the other is… Read more →
It’s June. The school year is coming to an end, summer is nearly upon us, vacations are beginning, and most everywhere, teachers are boxing up their classrooms for a well-deserved vacation. It is obvious to most how hard teachers work, and how much time and energy they put into their jobs. Without summer, without vacations, without some kind of a… Read more →
For all the years that I have ever spent living away from home, there has always been one song that wraps up my deepest and fondest feelings of California. In my Junior year of college I lived abroad in Brighton, England. It was a huge year for me and a really big step. Somehow, I had always known that studying… Read more →
I’ve always loved design and designing. Photography, writing, making jewelry, arranging a room – I love the creative process of putting things together. Being in Panama, I am exposed to an endless amount of pattern, color, texture – the cultural and artistic products of Panama’s people and history. Casco Viejo is a stop on every tourist’s map when they come… Read more →
The following is a dialogue, translated from Spanish to English, that occurred yesterday in Panama. It was the first time in three years of extreme driving conditions, that I have been pulled over by a cop. For those of you who know me well, I was completely telling the truth. I promise. Nothing about what I did was exaggerated, feigned,… Read more →
I started practicing yoga in 1998. Throughout the years it has become a practice, both physical and spiritual, that keeps me centered, challenges and rejuvenates me unlike anything else. Moving abroad was a difficult transition for my practice because of a lack of studios, until one fateful day when a best friend of mine in NYC suggested a website called… Read more →
Sometimes photos say it all. Sometimes the initial, wide-eyed looks of friends & family who come to visit us in Casco Viejo, say it all. Casco Viejo is not perfect; it is a disheveled and gloriously flawed neighborhood in a developing country. When many first arrive, they are shocked by the dichotomy of old & new, clean & dirty, rich… Read more →
Juan and I got married in Napa, July 2010. Two weeks later I was sitting in a random apartment, ALONE, in Panama City. I knew two people, I couldn’t speak more than a few words of Spanish, and I was about to start teaching third grade at an International School where I knew none of the faculty, staff, or students.… Read more →