When I first arrived in Panama ,I would often sit in the town square , on the main island , and watch the construction work that was going on . There building techniques are about 50 year behind us in the states .
Anyway this became a habit of mine in the morning as I was interested in learning as much as posible about local building techniques.
One morning as I sat on my bench , a older Panamaian gentleman sat down beside me . We talked for a while about all the building in town and how the area was growing . After about 5 minutes the old boy turned to me and said:
"Senor, Why don't you buy me a beer and we can talk some more "?
It was 8AM in the morning ! I explained to him in the nicest way I could that I did not buy beer for someone I did not know and that it was also way too early to be drinking .
He grunted, nodded in agreement and started watching the building going on again . A couple of minutes passed and he turned to me again . He had obviously put some hard thinking into the matter . This time he said :
"Senor !Can you loan me a dollar so I can buy us a couple of beers and get to know each other" ?
I still laugh everytime I think about that day in the square .
Its one of my "happy Places"
Anyway this became a habit of mine in the morning as I was interested in learning as much as posible about local building techniques.
One morning as I sat on my bench , a older Panamaian gentleman sat down beside me . We talked for a while about all the building in town and how the area was growing . After about 5 minutes the old boy turned to me and said:
"Senor, Why don't you buy me a beer and we can talk some more "?
It was 8AM in the morning ! I explained to him in the nicest way I could that I did not buy beer for someone I did not know and that it was also way too early to be drinking .
He grunted, nodded in agreement and started watching the building going on again . A couple of minutes passed and he turned to me again . He had obviously put some hard thinking into the matter . This time he said :
"Senor !Can you loan me a dollar so I can buy us a couple of beers and get to know each other" ?
I still laugh everytime I think about that day in the square .
Its one of my "happy Places"