Regularly scheduled Update

Random Tidbits about Panama.

Baseball is about as popular here as soccer. Almost every night a Major League baseball game is on TV, usually of the Yankees or the Mets.

While many other Latin American cities have severe air pollution problems, Panama City luckily isn´t afflicted by this problem. I think this is not because Panama City produces less pollution but rather because nothing prevents the air pollution from being blown away.

I am glad that I am not a taxi driver in Panama. Not only is driving here hyper-aggressive but taxis are very cheap here (it costs me 2, 3 dollars to get to most places – which to me is the same cost as a metro ride). I imagine that the most that a taxi driver can earn in an hour is around 8 dollars and they have sizable costs of gas and insurance .

Nobody wear´s Panama hats here, which is not too surprising as they are Ecuadorian in origin. However, they are available for sale for tourists. I might have to buy one.

This week a coworker and I went to some Panamanian schools and talked to their principals about any problems they had in their schools. For the most part the schools were in reasonably good condition with some water damage here and there (one school had an abandoned floor). However, several schools had problems with their computers. For example, one school had 20 computers locked in a closet because there was no secure room for them to be placed in. In a couple of other schools, the computers had been damaged by power surges. Since these power surges occurred fairly regularly I still do not understand why the schools didn´t use surge protectors to protect their equipment.

Off to the beach this weekend!