Seminary in Panama: For the Birds...

Today I transferred from the Diocesan Seminary to the Augustinian one. I had been under the impression that they were very far from each other but, in fact, they are actually quite close. I have to say that no matter where I have been around the world, it is always the same when you arrive to an Augustinian house – it’s like coming home.

I was made very welcome by the students and even though it was quite a squeeze in the bus – 15 of us in a bus that, I’m sure, was probably meant to carry a maximum of 12, and even that at a push – we made it home in no time at all. In a way, the fact that there were so many in the bus was an advantage because as we swerved our way through the traffic – and I’m talking Cagney and Lacy style here – we didn’t have room to be bounced all around the inside of the bus. Anyway, I’m glad that I wasn’t driving because, as I’m learning, to drive in Panama City you need to be very assertive and to know what you are doing.

The Augustinian seminary (Seminario San Agustin) is on the outskirts of Panama City

Hand-carved statue of St. Augustine

in an area that is very rural. Apparently, until relatively recently, there were very few houses here and the area was entirely rural. Now it is slowly (and not all that slowly really) being eaten up by the ever-expanding city. It is a very spacious house but is really very simple. There are two wings – one for the students, and one for the professed community, where I am sleeping. There is a patio with a covered walkway, to cope with the downpours, and off this there is dining room, a chapel and

View of Patio

a library. It is a very clever design which provides light, air, and a real sense of space, all in a very simple building. There is a community of about 20 between friars and pre-novices.

There is a large – and packed – garden behind the house with all sorts of things planted

The"face" of an Orchid

there – Papaya, Guanabano, Noni, Passion Fruit, Grenadine, and Bananas are just some of the fruits that are growing there (See pictures below); they also put quite a bit of work into their orchids – orchids, very prized in Europe, grow widely here. I was told something yesterday that I had never heard (and once I was told it, I could see it) – that orchids have faces, and that these faces look like insects. Apparently it is thought that this is a way that the plant has of defending itself from the unwanted attentions of certain other insects (I suppose, the South American equivalent of Greenfly).

There is quite an amazing collection of bird life in the garden. I don’t know what any of them are called but, if you do, let us all know. The colours of the birds are amazing as are their calls, which are constant. In fact, between the birds, the trees, the bamboo (a type of grass), and the humidity there is real sense that if it weren’t for the people living here, this place would very soon turn back in to the forest it once was. I have taken a number of photos of the garden – birds, plants, fruits and orchids. Please bear in mind that the birds are very skittish so all photos had to be taken from a distance of about 30m which means that in some of the shots the birds can be hard to spot – but they are there. Also, these birds move really quickly so photos are not all that easy to get. The plants, on the other hand, were generally much more cooperative. Photos are available at the end of this post.

I was very impressed to see how spotlessly clean everything was; I was also very impressed with the lovely lunch we were given. This was the first meal I have been given in Panama that didn’t have rice as its basic ingredient. Basically, it was a sort of pasta dish – with a South American twist – a piece of chicken roasted in some sort of spices (but not hot spices) with spaghetti and some of the sauce from the chicken. It was delicious.

I was delighted when I saw my room which is large and airy, with air conditioning. It also has an en-suite bathroom with, and I couldn’t believe this, hot water!!! This is not common in South America unless you are staying in North American style hotels. I suppose the general temperature of things means it is not as important as in Europe.

In the afternoon I went with Fr. Paco (Francisco) to say Mass in a convent that has a large school attached. The nuns are from El Salvador. There are only 4 of them and they are part of the Congregation of Daughters of the Divine Saviour – they are a Congregation that has only been founded in recent years and is enjoying a certain amount of growth. I have to say I felt sort of sorry for the 4 nuns when we came away – they live in pretty cramped living quarters which are part of the school and, as we left, they were all on their own in the middle of this huge school yard with only one light bulb to light it all up.

In the evening time we had supper. Personally, I would never think of frying Spam – but, then again, I wouldn’t even consider buying it. It was as good as you can imagine it to have been – not great, in other words. After supper we had a celebration for one of the lads, Silvio, who was celebrating his 24^th birthday.

The only two flies in my ointment in the whole day is that it turns out that the internet isn’t working in the house at the moment – and is unlikely to be until next week (hence the late posting of this post); and, with such a large garden, there are lots of mosquitoes – who, unfortunately, don’t seem to have eaten for quite a while. To be honest, after my visit, I suspect they won’t need to eat for another while either.