How This Expat Mum in Panama City Spends Her Sundays

Just in case the NYTimes ever asked me to write my own essay... Can you tell I would like them to?

MORNING MOVEMENT. Sunlight spills across the Bay of Panama as Ms. Ven Sí Puedes | Come If You Can, 45, a Trinidadian-American expatriate who relocated to Panama City from Texas two years ago, begins her Sunday along the Cinta Costera, the city's sprawling waterfront promenade. By 8am, she's already navigating the palm-lined pathway that curves along the Pacific, either on foot or by bicycle*.

"There's something magical about watching the city wake up from the malecón," Ms. Puedes says, pausing to observe fishermen casting lines from the seawall. "You see families, joggers, elderly couples holding hands - the whole city comes alive here."

The five-mile ribbon of parkland offers panoramic views of the city's dramatic skyline on one side and the glittering bay on the other. Ms. Puedes typically completes a three-mile loop before the tropical heat intensifies, often stopping at a small vendor for fresh coconut water served directly from the shell.

Cinta Costera in Panama City, Panama. Photo by Daniela Crucez on Unsplash

DIM SUM TRADITION. By 11am, Ms. Puedes meets her husband Real Talk Panama | Expat Life and son at Palacio Lung Fung, a Chinese restaurant in El Dorado that has become their Sunday ritual. "My son has become a dim sum connoisseur," she says with a laugh. "He can spot the freshest har gow from across the room."

This iconic Panamanian restaurant fills quickly with multigenerational families as servers push metal carts laden with bamboo steamers between tables. Ms. Puedes navigates the options with confidence, selecting pork siu mai, translucent shrimp dumplings, and crispy turnip cakes while teaching her son Cantonese food terms.

"In Trinidad & Tobago, we have a strong Chinese-Caribbean influence in our cuisine," she explains. "The dim sum tradition here is next level though. Yet, seeing the families and friends dining together reminds me of Sunday gatherings back home. The point is that everyone gets together and shares a meal that is reflective of their mixed heritage".

Siumai dumplings in steamer basket. Photo by SJ 📸 on Unsplash

AFTERNOON RECHARGE. The Panama heat peaks by early afternoon, driving Ms. Puedes and her family back to their home in Costa del Este, a tree-lined residential area on the eastern outskirts of Panama City. While her son engages his friends and cousins on FaceTime, she creates her own sanctuary of calm.

"Sunday afternoons are non-negotiable me-time," she says, settling onto her balcony with its view of the distant skyline. "Sometimes it's a proper nap in the darkened bedroom under the swirling fan, but usually it's diving into a novel while the breeze comes through on the balcony."

An avid reader, Ms. Puedes alternates between American classics, Caribbean literature that connects her to her roots and books about Central American history and culture. "I'm trying to understand Panama through its stories," she says, mentioning recent works by Panamanian authors she's discovered online and at local bookstores. In time, Ven hopes to start a book club in her building to meet more of their neighbors.

SUNSET DINING. As daylight begins to fade around 6pm, Ms. Puedes and her family prepare for dinner at Filomena, an elegant Italian restaurant perched above the bay encircled by bustling Avenida Balboa. The family takes a rideshare from Costa del Este through the city as it transitions from day to night, the skyscrapers beginning to illuminate against the darkening sky.

At Filomena, the family is seated near windows that showcase the twinkling city panorama. Ms. Puedes typically orders the Caesar salad artfully served in a giant metal bowl followed by the savory rolled Lasagna Nº1.

"Our son is growing up between cultures," she says, watching the lights from the container ships move slowly across the bay. "These Sunday dinners are when we process our week and talk about how our experience in this new-to-all-of-us third culture is unfolding. New friends, new routines, new discoveries."

Piemontese Chocolate Cake at Filomena Restaurant, Panama City. Image courtesy @vensipuedes

The family lingers over dessert - decadent chocolate cake served with amaretto ice cream and liberally drizzled with crushed hazelnuts - as Panama City's nighttime identity emerges. Well before 9pm, they're in another rideshare heading back home, with beats from Panamanian Reggaeton artiste El General flowing from the speakers - another Sunday bridging their multinational identities coming to a close.

"In the car ride home, I'm already thinking about next week's dim sum," Ms. Puedes says. "These Sunday rituals are how we've made Panama feel like home."

* Disclaimer: Some of the details in this story are a laughable product of my imagination. I have not ridden a bicycle since I was a single-digit age. Much more likely, I am walking on the Cinta Costera looking for food vendors to snack my way along. The restaurant and food parts are all 100% la verdad.

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xo Ven Sí Puedes | Come If You Can and Real Talk Panama | Expat Life

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