June 10 through 18, 2023
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
Panama was a whirlwind, in a whole different way than India was a whirlwind. This was our second time in Panama and I think when we set it up a year ago, we had "big ideas" for seeing the whole country in just a few weeks. Our host, Jeanette Shakilli (head of the Fundrapromat foundation), is a high-energy dynamo who is single-handedly trying to improve math education and literacy in Panama. She set up a very rigorous schedule for us (primarily for Art to do shows in 5 of the 7 provinces in the country) which we didn't quite realize would be so tiring. We probably should have looked it over more closely :)
Although our first day was low-key (we went to the Smithsonian to see tree frogs and turtles and sloths, and we visited an artisan market), our remaining days were full and often involved long drives (Panama is pretty big for a small country). The infrastructure is pretty good, except for some of the roads in the provinces, but it still took a fair bit of time to get to the more remote areas. Art did Mathemagics shows for audiences of all ages and skill levels, plus an extra donor-dinner casual math show, and I'm still impressed with his stamina (to be sure, there were a lot of naps in the car). Side note: I wasn't viewed in nearly the same way as I was during Art's India shows, where I was "equally royal"; here I felt very much like a "plus one." In any case, Jeanette seemed very pleased with all that Art gave, especially to the poorer and more remote provinces like Darien (that involved 8 hours of driving with 5 of us in a sedan, all in one day!), but we both felt that a day or two of downtime would have made everything better. We did get to see more of the lesser-seen areas than most tourists do, try lots of local foods, and briefly check out local markets.
Jeanette was always worried about "losing" us so she wouldn't let us wander on our own, and definitely wouldn't let us take a taxi anywhere (!). I'm not sure if this says more about Jeanette's anxiety or the country's safety. The only time we were on our own was when we were in our own hotel, which also had an enormous mall attached (we did check that out on the last day). She was also constantly asking for feedback on each and every show (which got a bit tiring for me). To be fair, she really is doing hero's work and making a huge difference in math education here, on a shoestring budget no less.
Other activities included: going to the new Panama Canal expansion (super cool), visiting a local synagogue for Shabbat (very nice and welcoming, and Spanish/Hebrew-speaking!), running a 5K race (which allowed us to see how very disorganized a race's administration could be, how very early Deena could wake up, and how pretty the Panama skyline is at dawn), and seeing the Gamboa Rainforest complete with boat ride and Father's Day brunch with Jeanette's extended family. We enjoyed meeting her relatives which also gave us more of a window into Panamanian culture.
By the time the week came to an end, we were spent and ready to head off to Mexico. Our last visit to Panama was in 2016 and I expect if we visit again, it might not be until another 7 years have passed :) We enjoyed the food (arroz con pollo and empanadas were among my favs, in addition to some American chains ;), the people, the culture, and the language (I got to try out my low-level Spanish often), but perhaps next time with fewer show commitments for Art. (Aside: my cough, left over from Japan (!), is almost gone but not quite... other than that we are both in good health :)
Looking forward to a week of relaxing in Cancun next week!
P.S. Special thanks (gracias!) to Laurel for helping me get registered for the 5K race on their slightly confusing Spanish-only website, and for making sure I didn't accidentally register for the half-marathon ;)
Deena and Art
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