I’M DEFINITELY NOT IN WISCONSIN ANYMORE…

As I was sitting on the bus, returning home after my dental appointment and a bit of grocery shopping, I felt the wave of joy I often experience while spending time in a completely different culture. The young, Panamanian woman sitting next to me is nursing her infant. Looking out the window I see dogs criss-crossing the streets and chickens walking about freely. The Ngöbe women in their beautifully colored, clean and starched dresses are walking through the streets with their many children in tow.

The driver made four, out-of-the way stops during this trip. First, he stopped at a little house off the road, and a young, teenage girl came running out of the house to greet him. I could only assume that he was her father, as he gently brushed her hair back from her forehead and patted her head. They also looked remarkably alike. Stop two was to retrieve a huge bag of oranges from an old guy coming down a dirt road. Next, he stopped at a house, went up the steps, disappeared for a bit and then returned to the bus. His house?? No idea. The next stop was to accept. through the driver’s window, a large, rolled bundle of leaves. Not sure if they were banana leaves or not. My next assumption was that he was collecting these items for a Christmas celebration. I’m imaging an animal of some sort being wrapped in those leaves and roasted with the oranges. Just a guess.

Larry just invited me to dinner Friday night at 5:00 pm. I am going to Betty’s at 1:00 pm for our holiday celebration lunch with “the gang.” So, looks like a fun Friday in store. Too bad Gloria isn’t here yet. She’s not arriving until, I think, mid-January. Gloria’s a trooper. She’s about 75 and last year had to return to the states due to a heart condition. She eventually had surgery, went to her Maine home to recuperate, and now she’s planning her trip back here.

So, the sleep thing… This was last night:

I stayed up watching videos (Severance – very strange) and went to bed at midnight. Even though I only got 5h36m of sleep, I actually felt better when I got up, than I did the day before, with much more sleep. So, I’m working on building my sleep drive. Right now I would definitely love a nap, but I’m going to continue with my day. I bought chamomile tea today at the grocery store.

I bought a shot glass today at La Reyna. I plan to use this to experiment with Jolene’s bubbles/balloons. No luck yet on finding an Instapot. I’m going to message a woman on FB Marketplace here. She’s a bit of a haul for me, but perhaps she comes into Boquete on occasion.

Yesterday’s lunch at Barbara and Murray’s was fun. It was great seeing Debra again. Sounds like she’s going to give it another go here. Her partner, Pascal, is in the process of developing his property with cabins. Not sure. It sounds complicated. I’ve never been to their place, which is, by all reports, fabulous. But it is very remote and hard to access. Not in my plans. Well, and I haven’t been invited… there is that.