10 FOR 10: Trip #3 Panama City, Panama

"Todavía la lengua de Castilla
ensalza a Dios bajo tu limpio cielo
y en tus noches de seda y terciopelo
la misma estrella de la raza brilla."

-Ricardo Miró, 

"Patria de mis amores"

TRIP #3: PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

The third trip on our 10 FOR 10 was a tag-along trip for SC and I, while AC had some work to do.  We went a few days before his job started in order for us to tour the Panama Canal together, as well as some of the city.  Then, SC and I actually left to come home the day he started working, so that she would not miss Halloween and trick-or-treating.

We flew into Panama City, through Miami, on a Monday evening and had a delicious dinner at an Asian-themed restaurant (SC had the most expensive meal - shrimp scampi!).  From our hotel room we could see the lineup of ships waiting to go into the Canal, which was very exciting.  Tuesday morning we set out early with a local tour guide to first spend a few hours at the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal, and then touring the older portion of the city.  The locks and canal system was one of the most interesting and amazing things I have ever seen.  It was only more impressive to learn that none of the engineering and technology has changed in the one hundred years that the Canal has been in operation.  I could have stayed all day watching ships traverse the locks, and am so glad that we were able to experience the Canal this way.  

There is also a very impressive mini museum at the lock facility that gives a good history of the building of the Canal, as well as the history in the last one hundred years since the Canal opened.  For a country that has such a close relationship with the US, and one that could potentially have ended in oppression and hatred, the display (as well as the behavior of Panamanians we interacted with) was positive.  It was honest, though vague, about some of the past issues of protests to the US occupation and control of the Canal, but the fact that in 1999 via treaty the US handed over complete control to Panama seems to have wiped the slate clean and put the US back into the good graces of the Panamanian people.  It also helps that tolls paid on the Canal have helped to give Panama a top 100 economy (based on GDP) in the world. 

We had read online that at times tourists who are not fluent in Spanish can be taken advantage of or mugged, but having a tour guide who was obviously familiar to many of the people we walked past meant that no one bothered us.  He did an excellent job prompting us all to ask questions, and making sure everything was repeated in both Spanish and English.  The group was a mix of travelers from around the world, and it was interesting to hear the questions asked and what information other travelers were interested in learning. The guide was very well versed in the history of the country and city, and didn't seem to be worried when asked about some of the less savory parts of Panama's past.  

The old part of the city was beautiful, and we loved seeing the restored buildings, as well as the many empty shells waiting to be bought and restored.  The current custom is to purchase the old shells of buildings, and then renovate the inside to one's own liking (be it residential or commercial), while restoring the exterior to its original glory.  Below is an example of a shell, waiting to be purchased.

Tuesday afternoon and most of Wednesday SC and I spent relaxing, reading and hanging out at the pool at the hotel.  AC had some other work to do for other projects, but was able to do some from the poolside and spend that time with us.  We were not able to play in the ocean, mostly because the lineup of ships waiting for the Canal were probably making the water gross, but also because the Canal introduces fresh water into the ocean, creating a brackish area, which crocodiles love.  We didn't see any crocs, but were not going to take our chances.  Also, in spite of copious amounts of bug spray, I did manage to get bit by mosquitos a large number of times.  Luckily, I did not end up catching anything from those bites, but I was a worried, even though I had read that the "disease infecting" mosquitos were more prominent in the jungle areas, which we were not extremely close to.  

Thursday morning we spent a few last hours at the pool, and then SC and I headed to the airport to travel home, while AC went to work.  We didn't get home until around midnight, and SC was exhausted, but still managed to trick-or-treat the next day!  She was dressed as a Ravenclaw student (from Harry Potter).

In case you missed the first post ...

WHAT IS THE 10 FOR 10?

Next July, AC and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, and as such have been discussing what sort of big trip to take.  However, it occurred to me that we typically take some pretty big trips every year, sometimes as a tag-along when AC works, and sometimes just using all the points and miles he has amassed from his work travels.  I couldn't help but wonder if another trip would really be that special and different.  So, I came up with the idea that instead of just one more trip, we should take ten trips to celebrate our years together.  I told AC, and told him that it didn't have to be just him and me (because SC is also part of our lives, obviously), but that I wanted to take ten purposeful trips, that are focused on celebrating us (and our family) as much as we can.  I told him that they didn't all have to be long or complicated trips, though we had already talked about a few places that will be, and we can start now (in our tenth year) and run through the end of 2015 so that we didn't take too much time away from work.  So, hopefully, these ten trips will make this a celebratory year, one that will stand out for us as we look back (in another ten years).

TRIP #1: Universal Studios Florida & Walt Disney World

TRIP #2: New York City

10 FOR 10: Trip #2 New York City

"So come let me love you ..."

-Damien Rice, "Colour Me In," 

My Favourite Faded Fantasy

TRIP # 2: NEW YORK CITY

Our second trip on the 10 FOR 10 was one for just AC and I, and came about rather quickly.  We are so lucky that, because of his work travels, we are able to utilize points for both airfare and hotels and can take advantage of things coming up like this one did.  

One of our favorite musicians is the Irish artist Damian Rice, and he has not published anything new, nor really toured (other than a few festivals) since 2007.  I was lucky enough to see him locally for my birthday that year, and the show was incredible.  Ever since, AC and I have kept tabs on him, and he has been on our "no matter what" list to see in concert whenever the next time was.  We even looked to see if he was doing something small locally when I was to be in Dublin last year.  Then, Rice's social media pages exploded in early September with both an album release date and a small tour schedule.  Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be coming to Texas, but NYC had a weekend date that was doable.  AC bought the concert tickets while we were at Walt Disney World, and we started to plan what else we might want to do while there for two days.  

We started the trip with a late brunch at this rooftop club called 230 Fifth.  AC had been there in the past for a work event and said the views were amazing.  As you can see from the picture, it was a beautiful Saturday.

After walking around through Central Park, attempting to get a picture of the Alice statue without other people's kids and failing, and a little shopping because I forgot to grab my coat and the temperature was to plummet overnight, we headed to the concert.

To say that seeing Damien Rice (and doing only that on this trip) would have been worth it would be a huge understatement.  We saw him at a crazy little club called The Box, and there were less than 300 people total.  I wish I had the exact numbers, because even 300 seems a bit high.  It was a very intimate concert, and almost everyone there was a fan of his, not just there for any show.  I was pleased and delighted that other than a few people calling out requests for their favorite songs, more people were shouting things like "just play."  The audience was starving to hear him, us included.

He played and sang beautifully, with a good mix of his older songs and some from the new album.  The most powerful part, to me, at least, was before singing "Trusty and True," he explained that the song "is about a million things," and specifically having some thing against someone else.  He talked about growing up in Ireland, and how the kids learn to hate the other religious groups just by the way their elders and those in authority act toward those who were not like them.  He shared as a child seeing an expensive car in the village, and he and his friends wanting to scratch it because "they must be Protestants...because Catholics didn't have money."  He said "you kind of grow up with ... this notion that you're supposed to hate that thing, and you think it's right, and ... it's totally innocent and it's not even yours; like, none of these thoughts really are any of ours, really if you look at them.  You think you are yourself, but you're not."  The song itself, when he played it, was beautiful and compelling.  He sang the lyrics "if all that you are is not all you desire, then come."  Then, he told the audience to sing along, repeating the words "come let yourself be wrong/ come, it's already begun" and I was hugely affected by it all.  I don't know if I would have felt the same had I not traveled to Ireland recently, seen where the horrors of the Irish fight for independence had happened within the last century, but I deeply understood the bridge he is trying to build with this song.  Here is a link to a video someone took of this song, plus the one before it.  All in all, it is in my top 3 of concert experiences.

Sunday morning we slept in, and then wandered through the street food near Harold Square, sampling from a variety of little shops.  We had afternoon tickets to see the show This is Our Youth, starring Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin.  It was be the first non-musical we had seen, and it was incredible.  I was amazed to learn that it was written in the 80s, because, based on my own experiences, the life of the "typical" slightly-affluent (read: middle to upper middle class) high school and early college student has changed very little.  And what was depicted in the play was not a good, happy life.  It was sad, comedically depressing, and unfocused on anything but the now.  Michael Cera did an excellent job playing the awkward kid he is always cast to play, but Kieran Culkin's performance of the minutely older, "wiser" 20-something was phenomenal.  The entire play takes place over the course of two days in Culkin's character's apartment (see picture below), and the only other character is Tavi Gevinson, who plays the attempted love-interest of Cera.  I was hesitant at seeing something that seemed so much smaller than the musicals we had seen in the past, but I shouldn't have been.  AC and I both walked away thinking, and appreciative of the job done on stage.

We finished up our short weekend dining at the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Tamarind.  It was delicious.  I indulged on wheat naan that was the best I had ever had (and worth the allergic reaction afterward) and enjoyed a simple tikka masala that was splendid, anything but basic.  AC got something spicy, and we relaxed and enjoyed each other.  It was the perfect ending to our short trip.

In case you missed the first post ...

WHAT IS THE 10 FOR 10?
Next July, AC and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, and as such have been discussing what sort of big trip to take.  However, it occurred to me that we typically take some pretty big trips every year, sometimes as a tag-along when AC works, and sometimes just using all the points and miles he has amassed from his work travels.  I couldn't help but wonder if another trip would really be that special and different.  So, I came up with the idea that instead of just one more trip, we should take ten trips to celebrate our years together.  I told AC, and told him that it didn't have to be just him and me (because SC is also part of our lives, obviously), but that I wanted to take ten purposeful trips, that are focused on celebrating us (and our family) as much as we can.  I told him that they didn't all have to be long or complicated trips, though we had already talked about a few places that will be, and we can start now (in our tenth year) and run through the end of 2015 so that we didn't take too much time away from work.  So, hopefully, these ten trips will make this a celebratory year, one that will stand out for us as we look back (in another ten years).

TRIP #1: Universal Studios Florida & Walt Disney World

What 2 Read Wednesday: "...to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones" Book Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

"You see, to find the brightest wisdom one must pass through the darkest zones.  

And through the darkest zones there can be no guide.

No guide, that is, but courage."

Adam Gidwitz, A Tale Dark & Grimm

It should not come as a shock, dear reader, that SC is a huge fan of dark fantasy.  I believe I have also mentioned that it is not something I was interested in as a young reader, so it has been a learning journey as I attempt to find quality children's literature in that genre.  A few weeks ago, we stumbled across a Halloween-themed display at the bookstore, and having just finished the Elsewhere series and needing a new audiobook read-aloud, I told SC to take a look at the books on the display, read the back covers, and pick something a bit spooky.  Well, she did.  Not only is this book spooky, but creepy and grotesque as well.  And awesome and well written and wonderful.  

I was happily shocked by A Tale Dark & Grimm and Gidwitz's authorial style.  The novel is a retelling of a few of Grimm's fairytales, changed to interweave Hansel and Gretel as the main characters through each, juxtaposed with Gidwitz himself through authorial intrusion commenting on what is about to happen, or what has just happened, in the story he constantly reminds the reader he is retelling.  At first, this intrusion is comical, with Gidwitz warning the reader that the tales are "as violent and bloody as you can imagine" and stating that if that sort of thing bothers you "we should probably stop right now."  He also is constantly asking the reader to make sure there are no "little children" around because they will be scared and have nightmares.  To be sure, this book is scary, with blood and gore, death, untrustworthy and selfish kids and adults (including parents), and I would not recommend it for a child who scares easily or who might not be able to see through this to understand the intentional theme throughout.  

It is this intentional theme that eventually evolves from the comedy as the story progresses, and Gidwitz becomes a side-kick (not a guide, which he specifically points out would not bring about the desired result of wisdom and understanding), seeing the story with different eyes and bringing about the palpability of the theme.  For a children's book, there is an incredibly heavy theme, one that encompasses the brokenness of humanity, a recognition of that brokenness, purposeful change for the better, and finally a complete understanding of the brokenness in others, then forgiving and shouldering the burdens of said others in order to create a better world.  Halfway through the novel, having shown Hansel to be selfish in some of the worst ways, Gidwitz intrudes to explain:

"There is a certain kind of pain that can change you. Even the strongest sword, when placed in a raging fire, will soften and bend and change its form.  So it was with Hansel.  The fire of guilt and shame was just that hot. 

Trust me on this one. I know this from personal experience. I hope that you never will, but, since you're a person, and therefore prone to making horrible, soul-splitting mistakes, you probably will one day know what this kind of guilt and shame feels like. And when that time comes, I hope you have the strength, as Hansel had, to take advantage of the fire and reshape your own sword."

 Again, for a children's book, this is deep.  Gidwitz also writes in a way that there is no denying his intentions with his theme.  One cannot read this book and not come away with an understanding that people are broken, but people can rise above that brokenness, and that others should both forgive and help shoulder the burdens of brokenness out of love, no matter what.  He even creates a running conversation of this concept throughout the novel, breaking apart the term "understanding" and fashioning it into the concept of "under-standing...standing beneath them.  Supporting them.  Bearing their troubles and their pains on my shoulders."  It appears over and over, this concept of under-standing, and examples of what that looks like in various situations.

In the end, in spite of the gore, blood and disgust at a very accurate portrayal of humanity, this book is worth reading because of the message Gidwitz  successfully imparts.  As I said above, if your child is sensitive to these things, I would wait until he/she is a bit older, but I would definitely add this to a long list of to-be-read books for the future.  There are two other books in the series, and I have high hopes that they are just as excellent in terms of writing and intentionality.

   

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