17 Feb Watch Your Step!
By Kellie Donoghue
As a kid I remember being told, repeatedly, to ‘pick up your feet and stop shuffling’. Since arriving in Panama – I live by that mantra (except on the beach where a shuffle saves me from stingray sting).
There are many different things to get used to when you head somewhere new. Some things are no big deal, I don’t mind getting my fruit from the guy on the side of the road for a fraction of the cost I would pay back home. Easy adjustment. I’ve adapted to the retornos on a highway – after the first few tire (and passenger) squeals – no hay problema!
One of the changes I did have to get used to was paying close attention to where I stepped. In a new place it’s hard to keep an eye on your next step when you’re busy looking at all the cool scenery. As a general observation, 1st world countries tend to have even concrete sidewalks, smooth roads, and caution tape if you aren’t supposed to walk in that area. The life of smooth and even transportation can lead to its own set of problems – like texting while walking and forgetting to look up. While you may not trip on a rock in the road, the car with the green light will still hit you.
As with most things, the degree of aggravation is totally up to you. If you choose to see the unevenness as a problem then you will have no trouble remaining aggravated, and if you choose to see it as a positive then you will develop a tremendous sense of balance and ability to look ahead for a safe route and still be able to take in the wonderful flowers, casitas, tiendas and dogs.
If you watch the locals walking you’ll notice they don’t spend much time worrying about where to step next, they are like everyone else – too busy looking at their phone to worry about falling into a sewer! The locals and the long-term expats seem to have developed some kind of x-ray vision to know where the newest cracked sidewalk or hole in the dirt path is.
Watching your step is important here and I have seen the results of a few serious falls – including black eyes, scraped arms and legs, and broken noses. Watching your step means being aware of the raised transition strips in doorways, the weird mini-steps in parkades, and the less than consistent stairs in both width and height. Perhaps it’s best to remember the suffix ‘-ish’ while walking. It’s smooth-ish, it’s uneven-ish, it’s paved-ish.
In a 3rd world country like Panama, the smooth life is a bit harder to come by and perhaps more difficult for expats to get used to. Infrastructure is continually expanding and being repaired which can be a challenge in a country developing a skilled workforce. If you take a look at other comparable countries around the world, Panama does a pretty good job. How do I know? Well, other than a few trips to far off places myself, I’m a regular viewer of Amazing Race and let me say, some of those sidewalks and steps make Panama look great!