Today began, as usual, at 5 am. Meditation begins at 5.30, followed by Mass at 6 so you have to be up at 5 to get all the showering etc out of the way - once Mass is over the day begins in earnest. It's not just in the seminary that the day begins early - Panamanians generally get up very early in the morning (sometimes as early as 2 or 3 am), partly to avoid the heat of the day which is very oppressive, but also to avoid the very heavy traffic that is a constant here in the city. "Tranque" (pronounced: trankay) is one of the most frequently-used words here in Panama City and it means "traffic jam". The city is only about the size of Dublin but it can take anything from 4 to 6 hours to cross it due to the traffic
I had lectures today with those in their 2nd and 3rd year of theology - all went well but, as the morning progresses, it gets harder as the heat increases. Today was particularly hot and humid and we had quite a spectacular thunder storm about midday - rain so heavy that it was difficult to see through it. The heavy rain is so normal here that everywhere there are huge concrete gulleys to take away the rainwater - however, these are often blocked by fly-tippers who snarl them up with household rubbish and this causes continual and heavy flooding all over the city.
I had a meeting today with the Pastoral Vicar of the Diocese here - Fr. Miguel Angel Keller is an Augustinian and has worked in this position for a number of years with the Archbishop (Jose Domingo Ulloa, also an Augustinian) - I was asked to take on some lecturing on behalf of the Diocese so that will involve me probably with the Permanent Deacons and maybe even some of the clergy - nothing has been finalised yet but it is certainly something I am interested in.
Last night the seminarians concluded their "Bible Month" which is a month of activities based on the Bible in which the goal is to increase people's awareness of what is actually in the Bible and how to read it - something like this would be great in Ireland, it seems to me!!! This month of activities takes place in parishes, religious houses, schools and colleges all over the country and creates a real buzz with everyone involved in similar things. I missed it this year but hopefully there will be other opportunities to get involved in it.
It is now almost 8pm and it has cooled down to 28 degrees so I am off to bed - it has been a long day and tomorrow will be similar so I will have to keep up with my beauty sleep.
Hasta Mañana
Tuesday 29 September 2015
Monday 28 September 2015
2015 - Arriving Back to Panama
For those of you who are visiting this blog for the first time, welcome! For those who followed it in the past, welcome back! This is a blog which I will be keeping over the next two months which will follow the life in Seminario Mayor San Pedro, Ciudad de Panama (St. Peter's Major Seminary, Panama City). I am here because I have been asked to help out the teaching staff here by taking on some of the courses. This year I will be teaching two courses in the seminary and will be involved in some other things along the way... but more of that later.
I arrived last night after a long journey. I left Limerick after the 8.30 mass and got the bus to Dublin on Saturday morning. I was going to spend the night in John's Lane because I would have to be in the airport for 4am. Everything was planned out: I would get up at 3; shower, dress, and finish packing; have breakfast; and get a taxi to the airport. However, things were not to be that simple.
Heading to bed at 10pm I realised that I had forgotten to bring with me part of my CPAP maching (for Sleep Apnoea) - this was not something I could take lightly or ignore. There was no way around this; I absolutely had to get the piece or else my whole trip would be very difficult. Unfortunately, the piece was in my room in Limerick. I had to phone Denis Ryan - ever helpful - and he said that he would meet me halfway. And so it was... at 11.15pm I was at the hotel at exit 17 on the M7 and Denis screeched to a halt with the necessary in hand... Thank you Denis!!! Then it was back to Dublin where I arrived at half past midnight. After all the panic and excitement I wasn't tired so I just sat looking at TV until, at around 2.30am I gave up and got up and ready to travel. Why does all this matter? Well, it just meant that I had no sleep at all before I travelled which made the journey very long indeed.
After a short flight to Amsterdam I had a 4 hour wait before the 11 hour flight directly to Panama City where I was met at the airport by the rector of the Seminary, Fr. Santiago Benitez. Then it was off to the Seminary itself and a chance to meet up with some of the people I had met last year before heading to bed - for 10 hours!
This morning I had my first lecture. I will have 8 hours lecturing a week. There will also be other things do be done. While it doesn't seem like a lot, I will have to spend a lot of the rest of the time preparing classes - I had spent 8 months preparing to teach a course on the Trinity when, just a month before I was due to come here, they changed their minds and asked me to teach Eschatology. This means that I have had a chance to prepare very little so time is likely to be very full over the next two months.
Which is why I will wrap up now... I have two hours of eschatology tomorrow so I have to get my thoughts together...
I arrived last night after a long journey. I left Limerick after the 8.30 mass and got the bus to Dublin on Saturday morning. I was going to spend the night in John's Lane because I would have to be in the airport for 4am. Everything was planned out: I would get up at 3; shower, dress, and finish packing; have breakfast; and get a taxi to the airport. However, things were not to be that simple.
Heading to bed at 10pm I realised that I had forgotten to bring with me part of my CPAP maching (for Sleep Apnoea) - this was not something I could take lightly or ignore. There was no way around this; I absolutely had to get the piece or else my whole trip would be very difficult. Unfortunately, the piece was in my room in Limerick. I had to phone Denis Ryan - ever helpful - and he said that he would meet me halfway. And so it was... at 11.15pm I was at the hotel at exit 17 on the M7 and Denis screeched to a halt with the necessary in hand... Thank you Denis!!! Then it was back to Dublin where I arrived at half past midnight. After all the panic and excitement I wasn't tired so I just sat looking at TV until, at around 2.30am I gave up and got up and ready to travel. Why does all this matter? Well, it just meant that I had no sleep at all before I travelled which made the journey very long indeed.
After a short flight to Amsterdam I had a 4 hour wait before the 11 hour flight directly to Panama City where I was met at the airport by the rector of the Seminary, Fr. Santiago Benitez. Then it was off to the Seminary itself and a chance to meet up with some of the people I had met last year before heading to bed - for 10 hours!
This morning I had my first lecture. I will have 8 hours lecturing a week. There will also be other things do be done. While it doesn't seem like a lot, I will have to spend a lot of the rest of the time preparing classes - I had spent 8 months preparing to teach a course on the Trinity when, just a month before I was due to come here, they changed their minds and asked me to teach Eschatology. This means that I have had a chance to prepare very little so time is likely to be very full over the next two months.
Which is why I will wrap up now... I have two hours of eschatology tomorrow so I have to get my thoughts together...
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