Special Features
Panama awaits answers on ambitious Metro plan
By Theodore James
One of the pillars of Ricardo Martinelli’s “Alliance for Change” that brought him to office in the recent Panamanian elections of last May was a promise to give Panama a “Metro” public transport system. A “Metro” seems to be the popular term for a railway system under city streets that are often known in English by other names, such as “the tube”, “the subway” or “the underground”.
Despite all the fanfare during the electoral excitement, there are still many questions to be answered about President Martinelli’s “Metro”. From what was said during the campaign, most people envisioned a totally underground railway traveling from some convenient point in downtown Panama City, through San Miguelito and past the Tocumen International airport to the fast-growing eastern outer suburbs like 24 de Diciembre (“24th of December” is the name of the suburb).
That may be the first route, but it now appears that the railway will not be totally underground. “It is more feasible and economical to build the Metro on an elevated level than to do it underground,” said the Secretary of the Metro, Robert Roy, who reported that within weeks the route to be used will be known. Roy made this comment during his appearance at the recent installation of the Transport Committee of the National Assembly, explaining that construction of this railway underground would be more costly and complicated, adding that it is likely that the bulk will be on a high level. He said that doing an underground Metro system would also be complicated because it would require extending the existing streets and require other measures such as changes in vehicular movement, and it would be easier to do it as an elevated system.
There has also been speculation on where the downtown terminal of the Metro system will be located. Many had thought it would be the Museum of the Panamanian Man Building, which was the original historic terminal of the Panama Railway in 5th of May Plaza.
Then the President of the National Assembly, José Luis Varela, announced that the site occupied by the Justo Arosemena Palace housing the National Assembly, also in 5th of May Plaza, could become the terminal for the Metro and the assembly building could move to a Government City that this government intends to build.
Watching quietly from the sidelines, public transport operators grouped in the National Chamber of Transport (CANATRA) suddenly gave the government a deadline to inform them about the future of this sector with the arrival of the Metro system.
There are still many more questions pending. Before the comments of Metro Secretary Roy were made, the government of President Martinelli said that the underground construction would create many jobs. Yet to be explained also is the total cost of construction and what will be the cost of the fare for urban travelers.
Another key factor will be to what extent the government will have to subsidize the Metro once it begins to operate, as must be done by governments around the world to keep public transport systems operating and within the financial reach of commuting citizens.
Recently, I met an ex-pat who lives on Taboga Island. Since I’m always curious how people cope with their new environment, I asked him how he was coming along learning Spanish. “I have no intention of learning or speaking Spanish,” he said, quite emphatically, “If they want to deal with me, they can damn well learn to speak English.”
Even Ol’ Jaded Jack’s jaw dropped on that one. I had been hoping that the old ugly American stereotype was disappearing in this world; but apparently there’s still one !&&$=/* out there enjoying island life off the coast just south of Panama City.
Of course, if Panama is ever going to be a major tourist destination, many more locals are going to have to be able to communicate with English speaking visitors. I remember when I was first planning a visit and one of the guide books reported that English was spoken just about everywhere. Well, that was true if you were in the lobby of the Intercontinental. That is not the case, however, in even most high-end restaurants, much less in a taxi or on a street corner. Tourists on vacation are not expected to be multi-lingual, but I do believe many would appreciate an English version of a menu, for example.
It’s definitely a shame that ex-strongman, now little old man Noriega (who soon will have to parlais Francais), stopped English language studies in the schools; but the fact remains that Panama is a Spanish-speaking country and anyone who lives here should make a sincere effort to learn the native tongue. I wonder what the no-Español guy thinks about Spanish as a second language in the States. He probably thinks English should be spoken everywhere because that would be convenient for him, because he’s delusional and egocentric or probably too stupid to learn anything else.
I sincerely believe that the rest of us are trying. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean we’re all succeeding, but we’re giving it the old college try. The problem is that we graduated some 40 years ago; and if I remember correctly, I barely passed Spanish back then. What was I thinking? Slowly, as I age, I realize that I’m beginning to forget words in English. My short-term memory is so bad that I, uh, er…uh — what were we talking about?
One problem I have is with cognates —those are words that are very similar in both English and Spanish. The perfect example is the word “perfecto”. I hear Panamanians guys say it into cell phones, but it still sounds to me like back in high school when I was pretending to “speako el españolo”. It’s like sticking an “O” in front of your name on St. Patrick’s Day.
There is one thing that the people of Panama could do to help — slow down! Now, I understand that it does take a few more words to express some things in Spanish, but most Panamanians speed through sentences and paragraphs like Diablo Rojos at rush hour.
Okay, I’ll admit it. The main problem in terms of my personal Spanish studies is that I don’t — study, that is. Combine my egregious study habits with the fact that many of my expat friends don’t study either and seem perfectly happy with not being able to read signs or even give their gardener simple instructions and with having to pay a Panamanian lawyer hundreds of dollars every time they leave their condo and you end up with a sub-population that only knows how to order “dos cervezas frias” and ask “¿donde esta el baño?” At least I can end this column with a linguistic flourish: Ciao.
But fear not, help is available: EPA Español in Panama is offering Spanish conversational lessons in Casco Viejo starting on August 31st; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. or 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Space is limited. Information at 391-4044 or info@espanolenpanama.com. Private lessons are available with Juan Paul at 6065-3942. ELS Panama in Paitilla (info@els.edu.pa or 264-0924) just started a round of classes for different groups like executives, business people, and beginners. There is still room in the Saturday Class for Teens. But shouldn’t they really think of the niche market we represent? I bet if they held Spanish classes for old geezers that included a two-for-one drink special, they’d have a full classroom in no time!
Age Management announces Live Well Pharmaceuticals
By Jacob Ehrler
After years of extensive research, consulting and planning, Dr. Michael Sigler of Age Management Panama has opened Live Well Pharmaceuticals, the first compounding pharmacy in Panama. “This will revolutionize medicine in Panama,” says Dr. Sigler, an American physician who has lived in Panama for the better part of a decade with his Panamanian wife. His three children, Sarah, Leah, and David were born here.
Live Well Pharmaceuticals has opened to compliment and expand on the work that Dr. Sigler does through Age Management Panama. The missions of the companies go hand in hand. Age Management aims to make sure that its patients live high-quality lives through hormone supplements, an active lifestyle and a healthy diet. It is a combination of preventative medicine and hormone therapy to counteract the effects of aging. Live Well provides all kinds of state-of-the-art customized pharmaceutical products as well as services to enhance the practice of preventative / anti-aging medicine.
The “wonder drugs” prescribed by the team of physicians at Age Management’s clinic at the Consultorios Medicos Punta Pacifica were once available only to elite circles (royalty, politicians, actors). Prices for the hormones have always been much lower in Panama than in the United States or Europe, which is one of the reasons that the treatment has grown to be so popular here, especially among foreign retirees. But with the ability to make drugs at Live Well, prices are about 75% cheaper than before. Also, Dr. Sigler and his staff will begin training other physicians in Panama to guide their own patients in preventive medicine.
Anyone interested in the subject of hormone therapy can check it out by searching for “Oprah bio-identical” and “Suzanne Summers bio-identical” on Google or any of the other engines. Summers wrote several books on the subject and Oprah Winfrey swears by the treatment. “Living well is a three-legged stool,” says Dr. Sigler, “It is the optimum balance in hormone levels for beneficial health, great nutrition, regimented exercise and healthy food selection – I don’t want to even go into what has been done by the food industry with preservatives, additives, and enhancers. Age-management is not a fountain of youth, but it allows people to live their life to its maximum potential, given the genes they inherited and the lifestyle they live.”
| Many medicines do not represent enough profit, so big companies do not produce them. |
Changes in the health care system, rising medical cost and uncertainty about the future of medicine are factors fueling a growing movement that believes that it makes greater sense to work and preserve one’s health through preventive medicine than to worry about not having care only when it is critically needed. The premise is that people want to “Live Well” today, and that no one looks forward to a long life lingering in a nursing home.
Live Well Pharmaceuticals is one of just a handful that reaches this high certification in accordance with United States standards. The products it creates are tested by an internationally recognized independent contract research organization serving the pharmaceutical and compounding pharmacy industries.
The new pharmaceutical company will also be able to create personalized prescription drugs for patients, resolving a number of unique individual medical situations that before would have been cases that “fell through the cracks” of the modern medical system. Among them are the fabrication of discontinued medications, dosage variation, custom formulation and the creation of medicines that are not commercially available.
Many medicines, like bio-identical hormones, are not patentable or do not represent enough of a profit margin, so the big companies do not produce them. Live Well’s mission is to create “compounded medicines”, custom-made medications to meet the requirements of a unique patient and are compounded to fulfill the needs of the patient, based on the recommendations of their physician. Dr. Sigler assures that the prices are highly competitive. He states that he believes in “promoting better health with a more affordable product to a greater number of people.” He adds, “The greatest wealth that you will ever have is your health and the ability to live well and as a doctor, there is nothing more valuable than being able to provide that to as many people as possible”.
In addition, a part of Live Well’s plan is to follow what several larger pharmaceutical companies do to acknowledge their social responsibility. “We are working with several hospitals to provide needed products at no cost in special cases to help less fortunate individuals whose recovery depends on specially formulated medicine,” explains Dr. Sigler. Age Management Panama continues to guide a growing number of people to enjoy the highest-quality life possible. Call +507 204-8443 for more information.