Dear Mom, Dad and Jasper,
Panama is a great! I know that everyone will love it here. There are so many interesting places I would like to visit. I hope you will like to see them too! I enjoy Panama because of its weather for one thing. Mom and Jasper you will probably enjoy it too because of the weather and all the swimming we can do. Dad you will like it there because of all the superb places we can go and see. There are some things I am a little concerned about though. One thing is learning Spanish; it might be hard for Jasper and me to learn it so fast. Another thing is that the U.S. just gave back the Panama Canal so they may be a little anti-American.
Jasper, It rains a lot so you
can dance in the rain as much as you want! When we move here remember to pack
the umbrellas and the raincoats. The rainy season is April to December but there
is the short dry season from January to May so, dad can go canoeing whenever he
wants. Unless, you plan on bringing me, than there are no good seasons for
canoeing! The average temperature in Panama ranges from 77°
to 99° all year round (wow that’s hot) so don't
bother packing warm cloths. Panama has a good climate plus you can play in the
rain and not catch a cold.
Well
I guess it would be important to tell you that Panama has a different money
system. It is called Balboia. One dollar in Balboia is equal to one dollar in
American money. So if you bring some money we need to stand in a bank line in
order to exchange your money into balboias.
Panama is located in Central America between the countries of Costa Rica and Colombia. It is an isthmus connecting Central and South America. It is between two bodies of water, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Panama has many different landforms so, mom, dad you'll be able to go on all of your boring adventures. One very important feature of Panama is the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal consists of three separate canal locks as well as other artificial waterways. The Panama Canal is a big shipping entrance to many parts of the western coast of the America's so we can watch the big barges go in and out of it. I would like to visit it when we move here. When we move to Panama would like to live in Panama City the capital of Panama. Panama City is on the pacific coast. Another place I would like to visit is Burr. It is an extinct volcano it is Panama tallest peak and it would probably be fun to hike up. We will probably have to bring a lot of water bottles if we hike up it. I think that Panama is a great place to visit.
Mom, Dad maybe you should take a job in banking or commerce because their economy is heavily weighted towards those things. I think when we move here we might want to know who the president is! The president's name is Perez Balladores. He took office in 1994. Guess what Jasper? Gold and silver are some Natural Resources of Panama so you can bring the metal detector down here. Another thing that you can do there is farm. Farming is a big thing to do in Panama. In the picture is a group of Panamanian farmers riding on an ox cart right outside of the village. So dad you're in luck you can make your garden and it will grow much better then it did up there in NY. That’s just about wraps up the information about the government and economy.
Another thing that you might find an interest in is when Panama gained its Independence. Panama's Independence leader is Simon Bolivar. Panama became independent on November 3, 1903, which is now a national holiday Independence Day. The constitution was signed on the 11th of October. Independence is very important to Panamanians so I think we should learn about it.
When we move we will need to learn a different language, Spanish. We should really learn Spanish because it's the official language of Panama. Around 14% of people speak English and many speak it as a second language, so if we don't learn Spanish some people may know what were talking about when they talk to us. The Indigenous people of Panama speak a variety of languages according to their ethnic background; longest existing are Cuna and Guaymi which both are spoken by over 4000 people. So maybe I should take some Spanish lessons while I am waiting for you to get here.
Education is very important to the people of Panama. Yeah Jasper that means you have to go to school. Panama's education is free and required for all children between the ages of 6-15. Panama has two universities, The University of Panama and the Santa Maria University. So Jasper tell Mom and Dad not to worry, there is a good education in Panama.
In order to move here we are going to need certain things. First of all you will need to pack clothes. Cool clothes because of the temperature, I would pack short sleeves. Now what's a home without toys, toys, toys and more toys? Remember to pack the toys. Now if it's warm and you have a lot of water near by you need to bring many bathing suits. So we can go swimming everyday. These are just a few things we should bring but there are a lot more important things such as food, beds, Nintendo 64 and of course TV.
Love,
Meryl