Moving To Panama: Settling Into Our New Home

We Have Arrived

Wow we finally made it, our family has moved to Panama, and man does it feel good! If we thought everything was going to be sunshine and rainbows well…maybe week three will be easier. Prior to the move Zach and I were both determined to not to set expectations about our new life in Panama as we didn’t want to be disappointed if our new reality varied from the one we created in our heads.

Well, I am happy to report that Zach and I did quite well in that area.  Really, the biggest adjustments were the temperature change and the language barrier. The intense heat and the sheer amount of sun we get here is nowhere near the same as what we got in “sunny” Alberta. The heat and sun really do drain your batteries quickly and have made it hard for our bodies to adjust. Secondly, learning Spanish will be a hurdle that will take some effort and time to overcome.

Now just because we found the adjustment relatively easy definitely didn’t mean the kids would. We expected them to adjust a lot easier than they are, but I don’t think we truly considered how much of a shell shock this move would be. We expected a smoother time as we figured kids are so flexible and adaptable. While these things are very true the change has not been a walk in the park. Just as an adult needs time to adjust and understand the new environment, a kid needs that too…if not maybe more. So as much as we tried to prepare their minds for the change, they truly had zero concept of what moving to Panama really meant.

The Honeymoon Phase

The first few days were great! We indulged in all the fun on the beach and at the pools, we played at the park, golfed on the turf and played soccer! We also tried to catch up on sleep and combat the 2-hour time change. After the excitement and adrenaline from those first few days started to wear off, things got tougher. Even though Zach I are were diligent in keeping naps and bedtimes the same, things started getting worse. We expected some meltdowns and defiance but we sure didn’t expect a full 2 weeks of pure chaos.

We brought familiar toys, blankets and teddies etc. Plus we had bought them special Panama presents like custom water bottles hoping the little things would help make it feel like home quicker. The schedule didn’t change, we kept it the same from day one for nap and bedtime and didn’t change how much we let them have screen time etc. We treated the house here exactly as we did the house in Alberta. But it didn’t feel like those things made any difference at all. I would like to believe that maybe it would have been a lot worse if we would not have done those things, but who truly knows.

We are A Mess

If anyone saw us the first couple weeks, I swear they would think the kids were raised in a zoo. They ran around, yelling and screaming, had zero regard for us and what we said. This led to a lot of meltdowns when there was a consequence for their actions. It was mentally and physically exhausting for the us. I am sure it was for the kids too. They were on stimulation overload here with so many knew and exciting things to do everywhere they turned. The building we live in has 2 parks, 4 pools, a soccer court, a pickleball court and the beach and ocean.  Talk about paradise for kids…and adults. I don’t think Hunter and Nova’s brains could handle how much fun stuff there was to do. Especially coming from an Alberta winter where we spend most of our time inside.

And if that wasn’t enough, getting to see Memi, Pepi, Memere and Pepere every day was the best thing ever. We were also blessed enough to have met new friends with kids similar ages also living in the building. My goodness, I would be overwhelmed as a kid too. We really tried to give them as much grace as we could because we knew just how much they were going through, but in the same breath, rules are rules and if we let them slide now it would be that much harder to get back on track later. We felt that if we were consistent from the beginning, even if it was hard, we would reap the rewards later.

Moving Forward

Well at the end of week two and there have been some small improvements in behavior and temperament. We are praying that this “season” will be over soon…we are pretty burnt out. Other than the kids giving us a run for our money…can anyone say vasectomy…time is flying by. The first two weeks have gone in an instant.

On another note, we are all unpacked and organized in the house, and our pantry and fridge are now stocked! It felt really weird rebuying pantry items that we had just worked so hard to use up a short two weeks ago.  We definitely feel more settled into the house and the building in general, which is great. Being in the same building as our family is the coolest thing as well. The running joke when saying bye after happy hour or a late-night game of cards is saying “drive safe!” knowing we only have to go up or down a couple floors to get ‘home.’

One fun thing Zach and I each did was hop on the scooter with my dad and go see more of Panama. Those couple hours were life saving for each of us. It really helped us take a breath and reset a bit. There is already so much about Panama I want to tell you about, so to make it easy I will break it up into categories; The People, Speaking Spanish, Food and Panama.

The People

We read and heard about how kind Panamanians are and how they treat everyone as a local. It is all true, the people here are amazing! They are kind and always willing to help. Even without being able to communicate properly, they try their best.

People are always waving and saying “Ola” to the kids, trying to make them smile. The Panamanian kids are also so kind and will always invite you to play in their game of soccer or take over watching and playing with the kids on the park! They treat you as close friends or family! Most people are “going no where fast” as the culture is very laid back and easy going. We also feel safe everywhere. We can literally take the kids for a walk in our local neighborhood after dark and not blink an eye.

Speaking Spanish

Thank goodness for technology because Google Translate wins here.  I highly recommend anyone traveling abroad or moving abroad download and use it. Having that as a tool to be able to communicate with people is second to none. Spanish is a great language and fairly easy to read out loud, as most words sound exactly as spelled. There are a few letters, like “j,” that are a completely different sound than in English, but you can get by quite well reading translations to people. So, with the translation app you can communicate without too much difficulty. I will have to get over the feeling of intimidation and silliness about always talking to my phone or typing things to be able to ask questions or talk to someone in general.

Due to the high volume of expats in the area locals are very used to people not speaking Spanish. So we have not met one person unwilling to use the translator app with us. Every day we are learning more words to be able to communicate and we hope to maybe one day take some lessons so we rely less on the phones.

Food

We can buy basically everything here that we did at home, but the best thing about the food here is the prices. Back in Alberta the frozen, packaged and processed food were far cheaper to buy than fresh and healthy food, but it is quite the opposite here. All our fresh fruits, vegetables and meats here are comparatively pennies on the dollar. Plus fresh means your fruits and veggies come from the fields days ago at best.

Pineapples are $1-2, a lettuce head $0.81, head of broccoli $0.82, green peppers & tomatoes $0.45 per pound, 100% fresh squeezed orange juice $6 for a 4L jug. The juice tastes better than anything you can imagine. Ground beef is on average $2.90/lb, pork $2.80/lb, chicken is $2-3/lb. I bought a pork tenderloin that fed 4 adults and 2 kids for $4.25. It is amazing! We are eating so good here.  Thankfully, frozen and packaged food is a thing of the past! The food was one of the things I was very much looking forward to when we moved and it is better than I thought!

Panama In General

The topography here is so cool. You have mountain ranges that are rainforests and then you turn around to find mountain ranges that resemble the desert hills of Arizona with bright red rock scattered everywhere. So far we have seen Sloths, Possums, Jelly Fish, Sting Rays and Iguanas. It is so rich in vegetation and there are animals everywhere you turn. It is very hot as well with most days averaging around 30-33 C/86-92F. Right now, we are in the dry/windy season, but it isn’t a dry heat like it would be in Arizona. Not a drop of rain so far.

In our area there are a lot of expats which means we get some really cool “foreigner” style stores. Like the Do It Centre, basically a Canadian Tire or a Lowes. Or the Arrocha almost like Shoppers Drug Mart, mostly over-priced, but has some of the good brands and a combo of everything. Then there is Price Mart, which is the Costco equivalent, and just as good as Costco! It is comforting that we can find a lot of the same stuff we had back in Alberta.

We are excited to continue learning and experience more as the weeks turn into months. We will try to be posting some videos and pictures on our social media so follow along there as well!

Subscribe to emails if you want to keep up to date on new blog posts!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube