Updated 3/3/20
(Need to get a US election absentee ballot fast? Check out this October 28, 2020 post)
Your vote could be the difference.
All U.S. citizens can receive their ballots electronically.
Depending on the state in which you are eligible to vote, you can get your ballot by email, fax, or online.
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This video ends with a pro-democratic party message. I am not suggesting that you vote Democratic. I used this video for its great message, "You can vote from abroad!"
My husband and I have voted in various U.S. Presidential and other elections from Panama.
It wasn't always easy to vote from overseas. Thankfully, it continues to get easier and the number of information sites on how to vote overseas keeps growing.
I have compiled 7 reliable websites on how to register to vote, and how to vote from overseas. Many of these sites also provide information about upcoming elections. Use whichever source you like best.
1) Overseas Vote Foundation is a non-partisan site for US citizens abroad and US military. You can register to vote and request your absentee ballot through this site.
It also offers a wealth of information on the State voting requirements, election dates and deadlines, and contact information. It even includes information on candidates running for election. One thing I like about this site is that it easily lets you vote overseas, even if you are only overseas for a few weeks. This means if you are only out of the country for election day, you will remain registered in your home state, so you don't have to re-register.
Best of all, it offers a Federal write-in absentee ballot. You can use that type of ballot if your requested absentee ballot is late.
2) Democrats Abroad is the official Democratic Party arm for Americans living outside the US.
Democrats Abroad is recognized as a "state" Party by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It is represented on the DNC by 8 voting members, as well as at the quadrennial Democratic National Convention.
It is a vibrant organization with a presence all over the world, including Panama. During the last Presidential election, they had the first ever online presidential debate between Clinton and Sanders. It focused on issues of interest to US citizens abroad.
From March 3-10, 2020, Democrats can remotely vote in the Democratic Abroad 2020 Global Primary. There are also in-person voting locations on select dates within that time frame.
Find out how to vote in the 2020 Democratic Global Presidential Primary, here.
In 2016, almost 35,000 people in over 170 countries voted in the first Global Presidential Primary. The results of that primary awarded Sanders 9 pledged delegates and Clinton 4 delegates.
3) Republicans Overseas. Good news for Republicans. Until recently there was no website for Republicans overseas. But now there is one: RepublicansOverseas.com. The main goal of the organization is to repeal FATCA. I must say I am 100% behind that effort! Their website also provides some information about voting as a Republican from abroad.
There is also a Republican Overseas facebook page, which has been around for quite a few years.
(Note: Republicans do not allow US citizens to vote in the Republican Presidential primary election while overseas. That is, unless you register in time and subsequently vote via your home state's absentee ballot system. Otherwise, Republican expats can only cast their vote for President in the general election.)
4) Vote from Abroad is a site for US Citizens that allows you to both register and vote from abroad. It also has all sorts of information, such as
5) Federal Voting Assistance Program provides voting assistance to Service members, their families, and US Citizens overseas. It seems to have an easy 5 step process as well as quite a lot of information about upcoming elections.
6) US State Department has a wealth of voting information about voting abroad. It includes a link to an emergency last minute ballot.
7) US Embassy in Panama usually has a message to US citizens about voting abroad and in Panama specifically. For example it explains where and when to submit your US ballots to locations in Panama, or if you can mail them to your home state. To find out the US Embassy's latest advice on voting, click here.
If you have questions about voting in US elections from Panama, the US Embassy Panama Voting Assistance has more information at this link. You can also email them at [email protected].
Remember, your vote counts!"
Maybe because it was so very hot for the first couple of hours this year. But I think the bigger factor was the line up.
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Last year, on Sunday, there more blues performers and the performers were much higher energy. The crowd was higher energy. More people were wearing mardi-gras beads and crazy hats.
Of course, we were also missing Lil Ed and the Blue Imperials. Lil Ed brings his own very enthusiastic head-dress-wearing crowd. But there seemed to be more acts too.
(You can see photos of the 2015 Boquete Jazz & Blues festival here.)
Also missing was face painting and homemade gelato ice cream.
However, there was fabulous pizza baked in a portable wood-fired oven. The ice cream was good, but it wasn't as good as last year's. I loved this year's misters that lightly spayed water on you. They didn't have those last year, that I remember. Did I mention it was so very hot this year.
I enjoyed Tommy Castro very much. He is more R&B than Blues, but his is undoubtedly good. But Sunday's performers weren't the same level of energy and diversity of performers as last year.
Next year, I am will check out the line up more before shelling out the money. I go for the blues, not the jazz. So a good blues line up is critical for me.
Next year's festival will be from February 9 - 12, 2017.
So far the line up looks promising
According to the Boquete Jazz and Blues website, this is the line up.
Regular priced tickets go on sale on April 1, 2016.
I wish they would dedicate Sunday to Blues and Saturday to Jazz. I would sign up for next year right now, if I knew I could be listening to almost all Blues on the day I chose.
For a short time, 2017 Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival tickets are for sale online at a discount. But again, only for a short window of time.
From February 28th 2016, at 6pm until March 2, 2016 at midnight!
The discounted price is $117, which gets you admission for both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, this early out you cannot buy a ticket for Sat or Sunday. You must buy it for both.
To give you an idea of the savings. One day tickets for 2016 were $74. I think the 2 day tickets were $169.
I am not sure if I will buy them early or not. I would have to commit to going for both days. Which could be fun, but I think I would have to leave my kids at home. I don't think they would go for it, at least not happily.
Did you go this year? What did you think?
They said that the house that they have been renting in Boquete is being sold. They are now looking around & weighing their options, before buying some place. They seemed to really like Puerto Armuelles.
As we were showing them our available properties around Puerto, we also pointed out a couple of houses that are for sale by expats in town.
Expats who are moving back to the states, after as many as ten years of living in Puerto Armuelles.
We were happy to put these potential house buyers in touch with the sellers. With luck, these buyers and sellers can come to an agreement. (Please note, we are not real estate agents. But we are always happy to hook people up with others who might have what they are looking for.)
The interesting point about both of the sellers of these houses in Puerto Armuelles, was that they are both retired couples who have been in Panama longer than they would have liked. In each case, the husband was the one who really liked life down in Panama, for its simplicity, and for the low cost of living.
Both wives have told us that they would much rather have stayed in their home states, to be closer to family and friends. The move to Panama, from the outset, was not the best decision for the women. It was more to please her husband. The decision seemed more based on the low cost of living than a desire to live in Panama and to explore what Panama has to offer.
In each of these cases, thanks to a recently more vibrant real estate market, the people in question have either sold their properties or are generating interest from potential buyers. So they will soon be able to move on with their lives. However, things could have turned out far worse.
This story is a perfect example of why we strongly recommend that those who are considering a move to Panama take our quiz and do their own research on Panama.
Above all, do not purchase land, before you get to know the country. In particular, get to know the area of Panama in which you want to live. Go there and then wait at least six months before buying. Although, we didn’t didn't do that.
Do not get caught up in feelings of scarcity, or competition. If someone else buys your dream property, then it was just not meant to be. No matter what your “instincts” tell you. Moving and investing in Panama is a decision that you should make with your pre-frontal cortex. Analyze everything. Don't listen to the pretty beach property saying, “Buy Me Now!” Just take a deep breath, and let it be for awhile.
It is very important for couples to communicate honestly and clearly about their personal wishes for their retirement “adventure” in the tropics. For example, if the husband is focused on investing the family's entire life’s savings in tropical real estate, but all the wife really wants is to spend a few peaceful years in the tropics swimming in the ocean and doing some serious reading, then this is a recipe for conflict, emotional stress, and possibly divorce.
Of course, who can say that these couples might not have found some other trap to fall into, if they had retired in the States rather than in Panama? These restless husbands might have invested all their money in a trailer park in the States, and the couples might have discovered that they hate running a trailer park. Or he could have bought the Brooklyn bridge... But like moving to Panama, these life decisions should first be investigated fully - and together.
The lesson that I am hoping to share is that, while our family has benefitted greatly from the many new experiences that resulted from our decision to move to Panama, this might not be the right decision for your family.
Consider carefully. Do your research. Talk to people.
Visit Panama at least once, for at least a month, or two, or six. You may love it, as we do. However, maybe in your case, the answer might simply be “No” it’s not for you, or not for your partner (this should mean “no” for both of you, unless you were planning on divorcing anyway). It is better to be happily married in Alberta, than unhappily married in a tropical paradise.
Or, maybe you are better off planning your finances carefully, so that you can afford to live part time in your home in the north, and part-time in Panama. Or, it could turn out that Panama is absolutely a perfect fit for you, and your partner, full time - for your retirement, for your business, for your investments.
In conclusion, I would say, give Panama a try. See if it is a good fit for you and your partner. But, be patient, don’t try to force Panama to fit your retirement dream. Especially, if it is evident that it is not going to be a comfortable fit.
Although, the longest that I ever attended one of these schools was four months. This is because the style of teaching is so different from what it is in the US.
In the schools here, the teacher has the only text book in the class. So a lot of the time spent in class is occupied with either copying your down your lessons off the white board, or
copying down your homework. For some reason the school system seems allergic to printing out worksheets.
I've heard from several of my friends that still attend school here, that they only go to school to see their friends. The quality of learning leaves much to be desired, and the curriculum is mediocre at best.
The students learn math and history and the other essentials, but the there seems to be no emphasis on reading or continuing your education beyond high school.
There are good things too, for example in some schools you can play a variety of sports and can learn many of the traditional dances. All the schools have a marching band, and they all participate in a yearly city parades.
If you're looking into schools here there are a few things you might want to know.
First, of all the schools here Escuela Secondario de Puerto Armuelles (ESPA) is the largest and most highly recommended in town. From what I've heard it also has the highest standard for learning. It is also the only one with a band with instruments, other than the drum and xylophone.
You may also want to read a post I (Betsy) wrote about schools in Panama. It includes a short video of my daughter Skylar in her 1st grade class here in Panama.
Among the other schools here, the one I attended most recently was San Antonio. San Antonio is known as one of the higher profile schools in town. This school is a three in one: elementary, middle, and high school, all in one large building. It has kept up a reputation as a fairly good school for the last 50 years. However it's elementary school is known to be poorer quality then some of the others in town. The middle school is supposed to be one of the best. San Antonio was the school that made me
decide that the Panamanian school system was not for me.
The last school on this short list is the Las Palmas school, which is located, of course, in the Las Palmas neighborhood. This is the school I have attended most frequently, three times to be exact.
My take-away from the Las Palmas School is that it is highly over-estimated. A couple of decades ago, at the end of the Chiquita years, the Las Palmas school was the best in town. And now over twenty years later people still believe it to be one of the best schools.
However the truth is that with the contribution of bad principals and teachers, the school has deteriorated. This school is supposedly bilingual, but from my experience the school's English teachers speak worse English then an American five year old. That may be a bit harsh, but it's the truth.
The students I've met that have attended the Las Palmas school can barely string together a sentence in English.
Oh fun fact before I go, the original Las Palmas school building was burnt to the ground, maybe in hopes of erasing it from the school system. But is was rebuilt, and sadly still features ever the decreasing teaching and learning standards taught there.
This is, of course, only a brief summery of the most popular schools here in Puerto.
I have provided a list of all schools in Puerto Armuelles at the end of the article, as well as
their geographical locations.
If you can't find one of the schools on the map you may have to ask around town.
If you would like more information about a particular school ask me in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
Skylar.
This article was written by my 14 year old daughter, Skylar Vayda. Over the winter, Skylar will be writing a Panama-related articles. She will be picking the topic. We hope you enjoy them.
P.S. School starts here in just a few days -Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.
It set back and removed from the main road. Yet it is still close to neighbors.
And best of all, it is only 70 feet from the beach.
Check it out.
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To find out more about this property for sale click here.
You could build whatever you like here. It is level and fully accessible. As the video suggests, you could build 2-3 homes or a hotel. You could also keep the whole thing to yourself.
The property is in the Corazon de Jesus neighborhood of Puerto Armuelles. It is a friendly community right on the beach.
It is an area popular with expats. All the beachfront in the neighborhood has already been bought up by expats.
You can browse more property for sale in Puerto Armuelles here.
Puerto Armuelles is an increasing popular place for both expat retirees and investors. This is due, in part, to the near completion of the new 4 lane highway linking Puerto Armuelles to the Panama's InterAmericana main highway. The improved access has allowed many more people to discover the many charms of this wonderful beach town.
The good thing about Babbel is that it works hard to make sure you really learn the vocabulary in each lesson.
It focuses on 7 or 8 new words in each lesson. You hear, say, read, and spell each of those words. Multiple times in multiple ways.
However, I really did not enjoy Babbel.
I took lessons in 2 different Spanish courses: Shopping and Music.
Each lesson has a certain number of steps you need to take to complete it. While you can skip any one screen, you cannot skip around, and you never see a lesson overview.
I felt trapped in the lessons.
It was not dynamic, interactive (in the way I like) or engaging. It felt much more like learning from a book. I was almost immediately dismayed and bored.
Here are what the lessons look like. Click on any to see it larger.
Also, I never got the sense of where the lessons were taking me. Did I really need to know the words they were choosing to teach me?
I did learn how to read and write some words in both categories. But I wasn't learning how to construct sentences. It was unsatisfying.
Also, after using Rocket Language's excellent speaking component, I was very frustrated with Babbel's.
The microphone image in the 1st image above, is your opportunity to speak Spanish. Unfortunately, the method neither works well or is effective.
Babbel's voice-recognition system has issues.
The microphone turns into a green check when you say the word correctly. Or at least when the computer thinks you did. But you never hear the recording yourself. So you never know how you actually said the word.
I found Babbel's voice system of zero value, except as a way for me to practice patience.
It made me value Rocket Language's voice system even more. Rocket Language's excellent pronunciation feedback loop has been invaluable to me.
You can see my Spanish Rocket Language review here.
Check out the screenshots below to see the various Spanish courses that Babbel offers. When you sign up you can choose to do any or all of them. (click on images below to make larger)
You can check out the first lesson in each course for free. And you can do that for any of Babbel's 14 languages. You don't have to limit yourself to Spanish.
The price ranges from $7 - $13 a month. The longer you sign up for, the cheaper it is. $7 a month for 12 months, and $13 for one month.
If you buy the course, you have 20 days to get a full refund.
Yet another reason I like Rocket Language. You pay once, and you get a lifetime membership. Of course, you do have to pay more. But less than a year's membership with Babbel.
Once I review a few more Spanish programs, I will have to do a comparison of them.
If you only need to read or write Spanish, then Babbel could be a good choice for you.
You would have to check it out yourself at this link.
I am still very much liking Rocket Language (as you can tell by my comments).
To check out Rocket Language for free, go to their site here.
Currently, the only regularly scheduled event is Sunday afternoon horseshoes at the Tsunami Inn.
You don't need to actually play horseshoes to go. Some people, like me, go to socialize. However, players are very welcome.
And other expat get togethers just seem to happen.
For instance, on President's Day, we had a get together in Corazon de Jesus (see photos).
In this case, my husband, Reyn, initiated the get together.
Recently, a number of Americans and Canadians have been renting places in the Corazon de Jesus neighborhood. They said they they were interested in meeting people.
Reyn wanted to help them out.
He asked expats living on the beach there if they'd like to come to a BBQ potluck.
Most people loved the idea.
Lauren and Janet even volunteered the beach front house they are renting.
Thru word of mouth and emails, what was talked about on Friday, quickly became reality on Monday.
A potluck BBQ was born.
All sorts of folks came, both visitors and resident expats. It was a fun event.
In fact, I keep hearing from people up and down the beach who say, they wished they could have made it.
I didn't think to take any photos until we were leaving. It was getting dark then, so the photos aren't the best.
I know quite a few people here who would come to regularly scheduled events. We only need someone to organize more of them.
Perhaps a Wednesday lunch or dinner at Milton's Heavenly Hotel? It has A/C!
All it takes is for someone to post it to the forum and/or email the first few times, and then it would take off.
Who is up for it?
To help celebrate I made this very brief (22 secs) video of some Cherrie's Tanagers.
All sorts of Tanagers are very common in our yard.
These Cherrie's Tanagers were in the palm tree next to my office window.
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I get constant delight out of the bird life in Panama.
And so many other birds. I live much closer to nature here than I did in the States.
It isn't just birds. I watch iguanas from my living room, I see numerous toads, and a wide array of interesting looking caterpillars, butterflies, moths, and more.
Of and I cannot forget to mention geckos. They are nature in your house! I love watching them - plus they eat insects. I will have to do a video on them in the future.
I love living in nature here in Panama.
Do you have any thoughts to add on this topic?
January 30, 2016
See photos below.
They are not available to adopt yet!
You can pick your new dog up on February 20th. That is when they will be spayed/neutered.
But you can claim your pup today.
Please call Irma today! - 6230-3623
Irma is one of the volunteers with Los Animales.
The puppies's mom died. They were found homeless and hungry.
There were 6 puppies available, but Pat has already claimed one.
Currently they are alittle more than a month old.
I will update this post with more information, like their gender, when I get it.
Click on any photo to enlarge and start slideshow.
Learn more about Voluntarios Por Los Animales and other ways you can help the animals of Puerto Armuelles.
If you adopt a puppy, please let us know!
