Thread: Greetings to everyone from another newbie

Hi to all of you and thank you for inviting me to your forum. My name is India and Panama is calling my name. After Costa Rica fell through as a possible retirement location, my husband Lee and I are wanting to relocate to Panama. We will be coming down Jan 20th to spend 3 weeks in the area of Pedasi and the Pennisula. It is our desire to get involved with assisting in the orphanages and also Heifer International. We are retiring anytime after the 1st of January and hope to rent a place around there for at least the first year. We have spent the last year learning about overseas living and so we are getting ready to visit Panama as a very possible place to settle down in. We live in a little town in the USA at the present, where winter promises alot of snow. After working all our lives, retirement is here finally at our fingertips. We could travel anyplace in the world but Panama calls us the most. We look forward to meeting some of you. Thank you for listening.
India

Hi india, welcome to Panama. Come on down to the peninsula and see if you enjoy it. I am not sure if you will have much luck finding orphanages to assist in but you can always take a look. I knew a foreign national that wanted to volunteer in a hospital and all they got was a strange look. It is good to see people wanting to help and no doubt there will be something you can find to assist with. Once again welcome.

Thank you Woo!
I am sure that we will love it down there. I have checked and there are 3 main orphanages outside of P City. They are wanting volunteers to help them with the children and the food distribution to the outlying areas called "dining rooms". I am sure that we will have to go through proper channels in order to prove our intentions to help. Woo, have you ever heard of Heifer International? We are very interested in being involved with solutions of hunger.
Thanks again for your warm welcome!

Very good info, volunteering is a great way to become part of the community. I had heard about expats assisting in food distribution to the locals in the Boquete area. Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with Heifer.

Hi Woo,
Heifer International is a great tool to help the out of work people. How it works is that instead of food given all the time, a pasel of ducks or 2 sheep or Heifers!! haha! No seriously, you can buy 2 ducks and some grain. Then you give them away and teach the person how to care for them. They can sell and eat the duck eggs, raise babys, sell some of the babies, sell more eggs, butcher a duck to eat and multiply it all. What it is is starting a seed of hope. It doesnt even have to be an animal. It could be garden planting with seeds given. Anyway, that is what Heifer International is although I wish that they would change their name as I can't even say it without laughing!
thanks,
India

I must admit that Heifer is kinda strange, especially for the international community, but helping people to help themselves is more productive than constant freebies.

I didnt mean to confuse you. It is a huge organization thru out the world. I probably didnt explain it correctly.
For anyone that wants to know what Heifer International is, just google it in. It is a really neat way of helping people help themselves.
Mr Woo, I will expect a pair of ducks from you when I arrive! Haha!

No problem, I am used to the system. Heck, I bought my girlfriend for a couple of goats and 12 chickens LOL

btw-never repeat that

I know. She was a friend of mine. BTW, 2 chickens died from the heat, 1 got hit by a truck, 3 were stolen and the last 6 pack went to the neighbors. Don't even ask me how the goats are doing....

india,
what you are planning sounds great. Something I could get into. I have been an ER nurse for 30 years, now working my last 2 in MRI/Radiology. Mother of 5, and experience with chickens, goats etc. Marge

Originally Posted by mrimaggie1

india,
what you are planning sounds great. Something I could get into. I have been an ER nurse for 30 years, now working my last 2 in MRI/Radiology. Mother of 5, and experience with chickens, goats etc. Marge

Hi Marge,
You only have 2 years to go! what a great thing to look forward to. Are your kids grown or still in home? I have a 27 yr old that returned home to go back to school so do they ever really leave home?
You must have worked very hard to raise a family of 5 and work as an ER nurse for 30 years. Maybe Panama is just what the doctor ordered! What hospital around here did you work at?
Ah yes, those chickens and goats. Mr WooHoo loves them! Word about town is that he got his girlfiend.!! Haha! Sorry Mr. Woo...
Hey Marge, maybe we ought to switch over to PM? We can use our forum for Panama talk. Work for you? At the risk of being spammed, my email is indiasorenson@gmail.com

what is "PM"

Originally Posted by india

I know. She was a friend of mine. BTW, 2 chickens died from the heat, 1 got hit by a truck, 3 were stolen and the last 6 pack went to the neighbors. Don't even ask me how the goats are doing....

Hello neighbor. I'm Dennis, wife is Rona. We live in Post Falls. Saw your post after getting back from a cruise and reading a note from mrimagie. We are headed to Panama in Feb. for 2 months. Nice to see people on this forum with like minds. We are going to just visit, but you never know. May not want to leave. See you were considering CR. We went there last year for 2 weeks. Sure was pretty. Welcome to the forum. Dennis

Amazing! tthree couples from the same area looking at Panama. It could turn into "neighbors" becoming "neighbors". Marge & Fred

I lived in Moscow, ID before. I have met other people from Moscow, ID in Panama as well.

WOW Moscow. neighbors in the country way!

Hi Dennis,
It is quite amazing that there are 3 of us in this area. You are only a few miles from me. I am at the crossroads of Prairie and Ramsey, in Grouse Meadows. We would love to get together with you and Rona
Yes, we have spent the last year studying up on Costa Rica, only to have the country wiped out by rain. We were suppose to go down Oct 20th but changed our plans 2 weeks before lift off. Too bad, as we now know every town and city there. So we set our sights on Panama and are studying it but are having to study fast as we leave Jan 20th. It will be a quick trip of only 3 weeks down there. If we like it, we will be coming back and getting the house on the market. You and Rona are fortunate to go for 2 months as you will certainly have a good feel of things there. I see that you have met Fred and Margie from North of Spokane. Margie and I talked a few days back. They are another nice couple wanting to make the plunge. Maybe we could all get together for coffee sometime. I am sure that we would all learn alot from each others info and experiences. I so appreciate each one on this forum that is willing to sit and answer questions about life in Panama. It has become a lifeline for quick, solid answers. Just what Lee and I need to know to make this jump. We had counted on Costa Rica and at the last minute, the door shut. Now we are in limbo with a half packed life and ready to jump. So this is how our Pamana Parachute came about! Haha! Thanks for the welcome, Dennis. Good to meet you.

What made you leave Moscow Id. Ed? Could old man winter have something to do with it? You know if it wasn't for the winters, North Idaho would be perfect for me. But the summers are tooo short. We just might be part timers, you never know.

Mudshark likes India's humor. Nice to meet you . Coffee sounds good to me. We'll have to try and plan it out.

The company that I worked for was about to get shut down so waited out a severance package and headed down to CA instead.

Originally Posted by mudshark

What made you leave Moscow Id. Ed?

Such a small world, Ed. if you lived in Moscow then you know where lewiston is. I grew up there. Good that you left or you would never have ended up in beautiful Panama. Snow is in the forecast for the next few days-I mean months...so you are the lucky one.

HI Marge,
How are you and Fred doing? Isnt it cool that there are 6 of us here in the area? I bet there is more.
How often do you come down to town? It would be nice to get together with Dennis and Rona in Jan at some restaurant in the valley. We leave the 20th though so time is tight. We could meet after we all get back. That might be better. We will be moving before you, so at least you would know someone down there when you and Fred land. Makes it not quite so scary, huh?