HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS...

...and for the next five weeks, our home is in good old Bumpass, Virginia!  First, we wrapped up our final days and nights in Panama with exercise, Happy Hours with friends we had not seen in a while since our arrival to Panama, we listened to an Argentinian band play one night, and enjoyed more delicious meals at a recently visited and fabulous restaurant as well as a new, just as fantastic one we had wanted to try for several weeks.  And on Saturday, Clyde and Terry drove us to the Riande Airport Hotel where we were staying for the night.  We had an early flight Sunday and wanted to avoid driving into the city at the crack of dawn.  After checking into our room and touring the hotel, we decided to take the free shuttle to the Metromall where we enjoyed seeing the new movie "Hunger Games" for less than six dollars.  I was thinking about seeing it with my daughter while here in Virginia, but since she was seeing it the same night with her friends, Ray and I thought we would catch it there and save at least twenty five dollars on the movie and snacks!  The mall was lavishly decorated for Christmas which quickly put me in the mood for the holidays, and for us to get back to the States to be with family and friends!  Once back at the hotel, we enjoyed complimentary drinks at the bar, and Ray, of course, won money in the casino!

Three story tall Christmas tree at the mall.

One of MANY villages set up in the mall.  

My skittles and jelly beans for the movie.

We arrived to Washington, DC on time (love COPA airlines!), and our daughter, Carly, was waiting for us just outside the doors of Customs.  What a breath of fresh air that girl is, and once we got through with the hugs, kisses and tears of happiness, we chatted all the way to our Lake House roommates home where we were picking up our car.  We plan on driving our Mini Cooper for about a month, and then we will sell it.  It will make a great Christmas present for someone this year!  Since Carly knew I really wanted a basket of chips and loads of salsa (haven't found a great Mexican restaurant in our part of Panama that offers up loads of crunchy, non-greasy chips and spicy salsa), she suggested we dine at Chuys, a TexMex restaurant that recently opened in what used the be THE mall in Northern Virginia when we were all in high school.  Springfield mall was recently torn down and rebuilt into Springfield Town Center no less, so just driving up to this mall and dining at this restaurant brought us all back to the eighties when it was the only place to go in Northern Virginia.  Carly's boyfriend joined us for dinner, as did our lake house roommates.  We spent two hours catching up, and I had my bounty of chips and salsa! Conversation turned to what Ray and I were looking forward to most being back in Virginia.  I had told Clyde and Terry a little bit of what I knew would make me chuckle on our drive to the hotel, so I had a few ideas already.  But after leaving the restaurant and driving the ninety minutes to our home at the lake, I was able to think of many more things I would welcome with open arms being here.

Here are things that I am looking forward to in the coming weeks (not counting being with my daughter, family and friends!).   Not to say they are complaints against Panama, and I don't expect to be judged for thinking my own thoughts here, they are just things that are different, not the same, and this, of course, is to be expected--Panama is different, as much as Virginia is different.

First, I was really looking forward--

to be given a large glass of water with ice along with my Sangria at the restaurant.  I didn't like paying seven dollars for the Sangria (!), but I am looking forward to those large refills of diet soda (and yes, soda is bad and diet soda ,is worse--hold judgement).

I am looking forward to--

*large mugs of coffee and free refills.  The cappuccino is very good in Panama, but I would rather a nice large mug of hot coffee for breakfast when in a restaurant.  And while I find very good coffee here, I am looking forward to drinking the coffee I brought with me on these cool mornings.

*picking up the phone and making a phone call.  Not having to have Magic Jack plugged in.  Not scheduling a face time chat.  Face time has been fantastic, but I like calling at the drop of a hat and talking with my family and friends.  From the car, the house, the store...whenever I want.

*lighting candles.  We have them in the rental house, but we haven't been there too many nights to light them.  There is warmth from candles.  Carly gave us an autumn scented candle upon our arrival (she had a huge welcome bag for us), and I lit that candle the first night.  I love the fall and all of the scents that go with it.

*putting on warm pajamas and curling up on the sofa.  Just curling up on the big comfy couches here.  The furniture in the rental house is firm.  Not anything I look at and think "I just can't wait to curl up on that sofa tonight!".

*dryness.  I will probably regret this in a month, but I am looking forward to my face drying up a bit!

*finding things a little more easily.  Knowing where things are, and that they will be there most of the time when I go back for them.  Aerosol hairspray (again, not the greatest product, but I dislike the pump bottle!) only to be found in Bocas Town, facial cleanser (a Panamanian brand that I might like, because the other name brands are too rich for my blood and are never on sale), and with shopping (which I did yesterday!) just knowing what size I will be and what I will like when I try it on!  And with it being winter here, I hit big sales on summer clothing!

*large, plush and soft towels.  They can be found in Panama, but they tend to be expensive.  I will bring my towels back with me this time.

*Carly's chocolate chip pumpkin bread that she made for me (I just plunged into it this morning with my Panamanian coffee!), and eating Pumpkin Spice Oreos that she ordered for me (I had put in a request).

*walking in my neighborhood.  Not on a treadmill.  Not in a gym.  In the cool temperatures.  I can easily walk in my neighborhood in Panama.  But there aren't many people residing there during the week.  It can be boring.  It's a small neighborhood, so I do two laps.  I can walk in the neighboring town, but I need to get out there bright and early before the intensity of the sun heats me up.  Here, in the later summer days, it gets very hot and humid as well.  I was walking before eight am.  But it isn't intense, on the equator hot most days like in Panama.  Again, perfectly doable, but I now jump on the treadmill, because it is inside and easier.  Boring though.  Once we return, I hope to walk the beaches more.

*changing the channel on the television, and it changes without buffering.  We are very fortunate in Panama that we have the endless choices in television (Netflix, Roku, Amazon Fire, USTVNow), but the internet speed needs to be high to avoid the slowness.  We aren't lacking that's for sure.  Technology in the "third world developing nation" is amazing!  Funny though for some unknown reason, our television here has turned off all by itself twice today.

*choices.  Many different flavors, sizes, brands of anything.

*being in a restaurant or store, and everyone is speaking English.  Here, I can communicate with everyone.  In Panama, I try to say a few simple words.  I like striking up conversation with the cashier or the receptionist.  Yesterday, Ray and I started to say those few simple words in Spanish--oops!  Everyone is friendly in Panama.  Everyone smiles.  And yesterday, while out shopping and running errands, everyone was smiling and chatting (subject to change as people get a little stressed and grumpy around the holidays).  Southern Spotsylvania charm.  It is comforting to just not feel like an outsider looking in due to the language barrier.  This will change, but it will take a very long time. For now though, I can always just feel back in my zone when I am with other expats.

Again, those are my thoughts and opinions.  I love my life in Panama.  What it is now and what it will become (a soft comfy couch is in the future, no doubt!).  And I love my life here in Bumpass.

On another note, how crazy it was that Ray and I met a former patient of mine and her husband at Panera restaurant for dinner last night to talk about Panama.  But before going into that, I might add that Ray and I planned quite a few errands yesterday along the I-95 route.  We knew we were meeting for dinner at 5:30, so we traveled north and headed south.  The first stop we made was to the Verizon store.  Rather than buying new pre-paid phones to use for the next month, we had a four week pre-paid plan added to the phones we use in Panama.  Easy enough.  After leaving the store, I called my sister to give her my new number and realized I didn't have data service.  We felt as if we were back in Panama.  Our four errands took four hours, one hour spent in Verizon store and on the phone trying to get complete service to my phone.  Success, but we needed patience.  The timing was also due to adding an errand that included getting on I-95 and traveling north and then south.  Of course we drove in bumper to bumper traffic at eleven am.  This is Virginia.  Construction is everywhere.  Traffic is always.

But after going to Verizon for the phone service, the government center (paying that personal property tax we love so dearly!), the post office, the bank, Costco (oh, I was looking forward to all of those samples!) and shopping for some summer clothing we met our friends for dinner.

While cleaning my patient's teeth for the last time a few months ago, I was telling her about my upcoming move to Panama.  She was so excited to share the story with her husband.  She is a world traveler travel agent (!), and he is a retired paramedic/firefighter.  He has been reading my blog, and he is absorbing it all.  We met with them to share our thoughts about the last three months.  We told them what we knew before we made the move, what we learned once we moved, and what we are still finding out.  After two hours, they had more websites and blogs to research, but they were pretty much still set on the whole "move to Panama" idea!  Pretty exciting to think I could have familiar faces as neighbors!  From dinner at Chuys restaurant with my daughter and fabulous friends, to last night's dinner with this wonderful couple, it has been a great start to what will be five wonderfully warm (even with snow in tomorrow's forecast!) wintry weeks here at home in Virginia.  And I will love and embrace every minute of it!  Loving retirement where ever I am!  And most of all, loving being home.

--