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Written by Matt Landau
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Wednesday, October 15 2008 |
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How often do you see neighbors gather on a stoop in Punta Pacifica for beers? When was the last time you saw locals in Costa del Este gather in a garage to play music or in the street to play a pickup game of football? High rent districts generally foster complacency and with it a decrease in social interaction. Low rents on the other hand are paired with drive, spontaneity, and ambition. Both rental markets often happily coexist in great cities around the world, but in Panama City's near future, only one will inject a new sense of vitality into an otherwise plateauing destination.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, October 15 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Wednesday, October 01 2008 |
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When asked if the tap water is safe to drink in Panama, most locals will answer yes without thinking twice. It's a common known fact that Panama City's water quality is among the best in the region, but acquiring that respect didn't come without significant distress. Several years ago, the ministry of health announced Panama City would be without running water every other Sunday for nearly half a year. "In an effort to improve the City's tap water system," my neighbor told me, "it was apparently the only logical solution of the bunch."
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, October 01 2008 )
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Written by Andrea Maizel
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Tuesday, September 02 2008 |
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So I finally convinced myself that coming to Panama was the right decision and upon being hit with a wall of humidity leaving the Tocumen airport I was also facing homelessness. Alright that is a little exaggerated, but if it wasn't for the kindness of others I could have found myself in some questionable establishments begging for shelter.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, September 03 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Monday, June 02 2008 |
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Aside from the fact that their web domain is incredibly hard to spell, Quintessentially, the luxury lifestyle group has arrived on Panama's stage, front and center: bringing select beads of beluga caviar and rare sets of mahjong tiles to the small, yet tres chic masses that follow glamorously in its wake.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, September 03 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Monday, June 02 2008 |
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As a child, my brother and I enjoyed countless hours of mystery TV shows in which we regularly solved crimes before the handsome detective. While he was busy sipping scotch with the waitress of a local pub, we were frantic jotting down notes about the perpetrator and deciding whether or not it could be related to the episode from a few weeks past.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, September 03 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Sunday, May 18 2008 |
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It wasn't but one week into my first visit to Panama that I was scolded
for wearing gym shorts to the local bank. I had come to Panama to
escape the hustle, bustle, and formalities of the United States and a
big part of that had to do with clothing.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, September 03 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Tuesday, April 01 2008 |
When home in the US, I enjoy paging through the local and nationwide newspapers that my family and friends tend to leave open on their kitchen tables. Occasionally, I'll come across something that has been circled or underlined which, as a rule, gives a fascinating window into the lives of its readers.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Friday, March 14 2008 |
"I'm with my personal shopper, can I call you back later?" were some the most fulfilling words that had come out of my mouth in a long time. I had often regarded personal shoppers much the way I did spiritual advisors, as pointless ways rich people disposed of their income. But upon moving to Panama and getting my one of my own, the concept of a personal shopper suddenly took a turn for the shrewd.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Friday, February 29 2008 |
As a child, my highlight of vacations to new places was inescapably the assortment of things I could buy that were considered otherwise illegal or improper at home. In Germany for example, as young teenagers we'd rush to magazine stands to buy adult magazines from old men behind the counters who wore the type of smiles that read they'd been enjoying their product for many many years.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Pascale Schwander
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Tuesday, February 26 2008 |
A client just bought a new dress and I suggested she find a nice necklace and earrings to match. It's a wrap dress from Diane Von Furstenberg -- beautiful, but a little plain to me. I suggested she try a sautoir, one of those long necklaces that Coco Chanel used to wear in the in the 1920's. But, after searching in a bunch of different stores, the only necklaces I could find were either very beautiful (but VERY expensive) or so cheap that everybody could tell.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Pascale Schwander
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Wednesday, February 20 2008 |
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If you are like me and almost all woman in the world, buying new swimsuit can be a nightmare. Now that I spend most of my time in tropical weather, where you wear a swimsuit at least every other day, I decided I wanted the perfect bikini for myself. Nothing less!
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Monday, February 18 2008 |
Growing up, I like to think my childhood saw the cell phone's rise to popularity much like my father and his father observed the two World Wars. I consider myself lucky enough to have lived through an era when diamond-studded faceplates and obnoxious ring tones didn't exist; back to a time when mobile phones were the size of small shoeboxes and anybody who owned one was indisputably cool.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Saturday, November 24 2007 |
Having allergies as a kid was not unlike being named something embarrassing like Skippy or Toot in that lots of people took joy in poking fun at a feat I was not directly responsible for. My body's helplessness in digesting certain foods was not a function I had control over, yet I was chastised as if being allergic was the worst decision I'd ever made in my life.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Friday, November 09 2007 |
As Americans we are known for a number of embarrassing things, among them being loud, fat, and terribly unpleasant when it comes to ordering a steak. But there do exist some US customs that, while perfectly ordinary in nature, still tend to mystify locals in Panama.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Monday, October 22 2007 |
It was one of my first days in Panama with fluent Spanish a distant twinkle in my eye, that the inevitable happened and I signed up for a gym membership. It was to be an important part of the New me: a Matt who would defy the typical American stereotype of being fat and lazy and generally embarrassing to be around.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Monday, August 06 2007 |
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I was always under the impression that not having to make your bed or do your laundry were privileges reserved for princes of small countries and heirs to small fortunes. To those elite and select few, household chores were never part of the equation and now living in Panama, I can luckily say the same.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Friday, June 01 2007 |
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There is a fairly large income gap in Panama which is manifested on street corners and stoplights where drifters with sullied faces will do and sell almost anything for some of your loose change.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Sunday, May 13 2007 |
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I waited at the cash register for about five minutes, jingling my keys and making loud digestive sounds in an effort to get someone, anyone's attention. I was starving from a hard workout and the salad I had just designed using the store's spectacular salad bar was sitting there on the checkout counter calling my name the way small animals do before you eat them.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Friday, May 11 2007 |
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It was not until recently, when my maid called in sick three weeks in a row, that I began to question how in fact my clothes and linens were always clean. My apartment is void of a washing machine and drier, I have no bath tub, and my sink is about the size of a Cuban cigar box.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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Written by Matt Landau
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Thursday, March 22 2007 |
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“Bad people can look just like you and me” my friend Carlos said as he sucked the last droplets of mango nectar from a crumpled juice box. “See that guy right there,” pointing across the street, “he could have just killed someone. Or that lady with the stroller. She may have just robbed a bank.” It occurred to me that for people like Carlos, assuming the worst about strangers is one of life's great little pleasures. A pleasure which can transform something as boring and mundane as a taxi ride, into something dangerous and risky and rash.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 11 2008 )
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