Volunteers will support teachers using their set English curriculum as well as help all of them plan interactive activities and development-enhancing training. Students are going to be around the ages of 8-16. Young college students learn quickly and may noticeably enjoy the proficient English-speaking dialect you use, which will in turn create efficient and innovative learning conditions. Volunteers tend to promote grammatically proper English speaking abilities.

There tend to be qualifications required to be an English teacher/volunteer in Panama. A degree in a teaching or language as well as some experience will certainly assist you in finding a job.  Some Spanish is actually encouraged, although not mandatory.  Teacher/volunteers should be flexible, open minded, caring and like children, as well as teaching. All volunteers should respect local culture and customs.

Throughout your time as a teacher or volunteer you may have plenty of spare time in the evenings as well as on weekends. This leaves time to travel and experience a different landscape. Volunteers may have the opportunity to immerse themselves inside a new lifestyle and discover Panama. The experience is educational and personally developmental.

Panama offers endless pursuit opportunities and has a continuously growing biodiversity. Teachers and volunteers can certainly explore Panama City and all it provides. You may wander through the ruins in Panama Viejo, have a day at the Isle of Blossoms, or watch the ships go through the Canal. Teachers and volunteers will discover endless adventures throughout the city. Those focusing on conservation or even health tasks can benefit from the endless places and wealthy cultural heritage from the Azuero Peninsula. Additionally, Panama offers various seashores for people in order to relax and enjoy the sun.

For more information on volunteering or teaching English in Panama, download our FREE eBook, here.

When you are looking for job opportunities in the States, there are normally quite a few options, especially if your pay grade is low. However, to find work in Central America via the Internet it takes a little bit more effort. Depending on the area where you are living, you may find that starting your own business, such as a small, private English school, could fill a local demand. Or, if you live on a coastal town in Central America you may find starting a seafood restaurant is more your style. You may also find success in running a souvenir shop, selling sea shells, stones, pearls, etc. If you’re not keen on the idea of starting your own business, you may find some offices in Central America looking for workers who speak English to handle bilingual office tasks, tech work, teaching or consulting. Information on these types of jobs can be found online when diligently search for it.

Panama is a well-known name on the map of the World, being a part of Central America. Being basically surrounded by water makes Panama an attractive place to live for those looking for a job where they can also enjoy the beauty of nature. Bored at your local job in the States? Living and working in Panama sure beats having to struggle to make ends meet in the States, where the cost of living is higher, job security is less, and people are simply not as nice (so maybe I am a little biased…). Panama is an attractive place to start your life as an expat, which means people are constantly arriving in the country, creating an influx in the economy and creating more job opportunities.

Panama is a magnet for people from all over; however, it can be a challenge to find jobs online, since many employers do not use the Internet to post jobs. In addition, many job postings will be entirely in Spanish, posing a problem for newcomers to the country. Mostly, it is considered that searching English teaching job in Panama is a difficult task because the available posts are not disclosed by most of the schools and universities operating over there. Sometimes, one has to find available jobs by doing manual research on-site, meaning visiting schools and universities and seeing for themselves which positions are available. Although this is not always the case, being able to actually visit the schools makes finding a position much easier. If you’re not already in Panama you can submitting résumés to desired schools (including a photo) to help employers match a face with a name. So, although it might make the task easier, you don’t necessarily have to go to Panama to find a job there.

After the successful gathering of information about schools and universities in a particular area you may find you are able to get a job that makes your stay in Panama comfortable, and easy to extend. While the task of landing a job takes a bit of work, once you’ve got a foot in the door you will find you are in demand, and compensation is good. Teaching in Panama is now considered one of the best jobs to have in Panama as a foreigner to the country.  Panama organizations are offering many other incentives as well for the employees who are willing to devote their time working in Panama.

For more information on working as an English teacher in Panama, download our FREE eBook, here.

Guide to Teaching English in Panama - FREE

Those who are looking for employment in a foreign country may regard Panama as a role model. With its modern and growing economy, Panama is far ahead of its Central American neighbors. Finding a job in Panama can be exceedingly rewarding whether it be for life or temporary employment to build a résumé. These job opportunities are similar to the ones in the U.S with the addition of English required positions like teaching or translating. The currency in Panama is the U.S dollar which they call the Balboa. This makes traveling much easier because you will avoid the exchange rate. Another plus is that Panama pays on a 13 month calendar. How’s that for a bonus?

Depending on your position, and what part of Panama you find work, you will be making a decent wage. Panama City is a great place to find employment. Qualifications and experience will affect your salary but overall it is the most modern place in Panama. Advancements in technology and communication are always allowing for more and more job opportunities to be created. In a country that thrives on growth and development, finding a job is not difficult. Working in Panama may be more than just getting money. It opens doors to a new location and culture. There are thousands of possibilities to find work in Panama and the experience alone will be extraordinary. You can find out more in our free eBook, here.

Guide to Teaching English in Panama - FREE

Those who are looking for employment in a foreign country may regard Panama as a role model. With its modern and growing economy, Panama is far ahead of its Central American neighbors. Finding a job in Panama can be exceedingly rewarding whether it be for life or temporary employment to build a résumé. These job opportunities are similar to the ones in the U.S with the addition of English required positions like teaching or translating. The currency in Panama is the U.S dollar which they call the Balboa. This makes traveling much easier because you will avoid the exchange rate. Another plus is that Panama pays on a 13 month calendar. How’s that for a bonus?

Depending on your position, and what part of Panama you find work, you will be making a decent wage. Panama City is a great place to find employment. Qualifications and experience will affect your salary but overall it is the most modern place in Panama. Advancements in technology and communication are always allowing for more and more job opportunities to be created. In a country that thrives on growth and development, finding a job is not difficult. Working in Panama may be more than just getting money. It opens doors to a new location and culture. There are thousands of possibilities to find work in Panama and the experience alone will be extraordinary. You can find out more in our free eBook, here.

Guide to Teaching English in Panama - FREE

Those who are looking for employment in a foreign country may regard Panama as a role model. With its modern and growing economy, Panama is far ahead of its Central American neighbors. Finding a job in Panama can be exceedingly rewarding whether it be for life or temporary employment to build a résumé. These job opportunities are similar to the ones in the U.S with the addition of English required positions like teaching or translating. The currency in Panama is the U.S dollar which they call the Balboa. This makes traveling much easier because you will avoid the exchange rate. Another plus is that Panama pays on a 13 month calendar. How’s that for a bonus?

Depending on your position, and what part of Panama you find work, you will be making a decent wage. Panama City is a great place to find employment. Qualifications and experience will affect your salary but overall it is the most modern place in Panama. Advancements in technology and communication are always allowing for more and more job opportunities to be created. In a country that thrives on growth and development, finding a job is not difficult. Working in Panama may be more than just getting money. It opens doors to a new location and culture. There are thousands of possibilities to find work in Panama and the experience alone will be extraordinary. You can find out more in our free eBook, here.

One thing to keep in mind is that there are many illegal gambling places in Costa Rica. Make sure that before you start to play you are in a legalized establishment. This would mean sticking to the larger casinos attached to hotels and the like.

The casinos in Costa Rica are not behemoth like the casinos in Las Vegas. Most are fairly informal and do not require a strict dress code, rather a casual one. Minimum bets in post places start at about 1 US dollar. One of the most popular casino games is 21, which is also called rummy. It is similar to blackjack, but has a couple of additional Costa Rican rules. The point of the game is the same: arrive at 21, or as close as you can without going over, after being given two cards and the option to draw additional ones. Face cards are 10, aces are 11 or 1, just as the same as in blackjack. The spin with rummy is that if you get three of a kind or a straight with your first three cards you are paid double. If your three of a kind happens to be 7s, equaling 21, you get an even higher bonus.

Many of the card games are similar, with just a few exceptions to the standard rules as in Vegas. Before you start playing, make sure you know the rules.

San Jose, Costa Rica Casino Listing

Looking for a casino in San Jose, Costa Rica? Consider the following:

• Best Western Irazu – Best Western Irazu Hotel is conveniently located for both the international airport and Downtown (both 10 minutes) in the western suburbs of the city, this 327-room hotel (modern rooms with air conditioning) has all the amenities you would expect of a full service resort: swimming pool, tennis courts, bar, & casino. Service is friendly and helpful. Hotel offers Free Transportation to the Airport.
• Byblos Resort & Casino – The Hotel is located in the hills overlooking the ocean at 4 KM from Quepos on the main road to the Beach & National Park of Manuel Antonio. It has two restaurants, casino, sport bar, billiard, pizzeria and swimming pool. Rooms are air conditioned, and equipped with cable television, minirefrigerators, microwave, direct phone, free security box, coffee maker, dryer and laundry service
• Doubletree Cariari by Hilton San Jose – Doubletree Cariari by Hilton San José hotel, a modern full-service hotel, is conveniently located only five minutes from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) and 10 minutes from downtown San José, the centrally located capital city of beautiful Costa Rica. Built and vigorously maintained as Costa Rica’s first true resort-style hotel
• Barcelo San Jose Palacio Spa & Casino – The Barceló San José Palacio Spa & Casino provides excellent European style service; it is located very near the airport and the capital city of San José de Costa Rica
• Balmoral Hotel -
  The Hotel Balmoral offers 112 guest rooms. All rooms rates include American Breakfast, 30 minutes of internet and Welcome Cocktail. All rooms have air conditioning, cable TV, 2 double beds, safe deposit box. Restaurant – Cafeteria, Casino, Rent-a-Car, Dry cleaning and laundry, Free Parking, Executive Center, Meeting Rooms.

The Gambling Scene in Panama

Casino City reports that Panama City has 18 casinos. Of these, it reports, eight have table games, while the rest are smaller casinos, only offering slot machines. In general, the larger casinos devote about the same amount of square footage to table games as they do to slots. Most of the slot machines are video reels, although there are a few older, three-reel slots, video poker and video keno games. Those, however, offer very poor pay tables.

The vast majority of casinos in Panama City are in the Cangrejo section, near the center of the city. Unlike Vegas or Reno, however, they are not clustered together into one bunch, rather spread out throughout the sector. The larger hotels in Panama City all host their own casinos, however it is more as an amenity of the hotel, rather than the purpose of it, as it is in Vegas. There are three hotels, however, the largest of the lot, which host respectably large casinos similar to that of an average Las Vages property.

Just as in the US, the casinos offer player card rewards, mostly geared towards slot players. They don’t often ask to see player cards, and many casinos don’t really have a formal method of comping table game players. The larger casino/hotel combos mentioned above, such as the Veneto, seem to have a better hold on comping players and asking for your player card.

Customer service in Panama in general is not as good as in the United States, and this spills over into the casino scene as well. Drink service is usually a waitress who comes by with beer and soda every once in a while, and if you’re lucky you might just get a cocktail waitress who will take drink orders. In the city, it seems, drinking and gambling do not go hand in hand like they do in Vegas.

The poor customer service is balanced out by the fact that tips are truly not expected and they are seldom ever given. Once in awhile you will see a foreigner tip someone, and in rare instances a local will, but in general, no tips is the standard.

Gambling and drinking are legal at 18 in Panama and there is no smoking indoors, not even in the casino. Although they aren’t sticklers on many rules (you can sit at a table without playing, despite the signs saying you can’t), they do enforce the no smoking one, which is nice.

People come to the casinos in Panama to have fun more so than to win real money. Limits for all games tend to be low across the board. People are there to relax and enjoy themselves – the attitude is very casual. So, come on down and check out the casino scene in Panama City. If you’re here for a good time, without high stakes, you won’t be disappointed.

If you are a US citizen the government is entitled to tax your income regardless of where it was earned. If you lived outside of the US all last year and earned income you will probably have to report it. According to IRS guidelines, if you were self-employed, worked as a consultant or contractor and earned more than $400 you will have to file (usually under Schedule C). For more information for filling requirements check out IRS publication 501.

Do you qualify for Foreign Earned Income Tax Exclusion? If you are self-employed in a foreign country you probably do not qualify. A requirement for this exclusion is to have an established foreign tax home. This means you pay income taxes to the country you live in. Do you qualify to file Form 2555-EZ? The IRS has an answer for that too. To see if you qualify for this exclusion, click here.

Do I qualify for the Earned Income Credit? That depends. You must meet age and income requirements. You must have also lived in the US for at least 6 months out of the year. If you did not live in the US at all last year you do not qualify for the EIC. For guidelines check out publication 596.

How to file from a foreign country? You may have any professional tax preparer prepare your taxes for you even if you are not in the US. Many also choose to file using online filing programs like Turbotax, HRBlock online, JacksonHewitt online or other online services. The IRS also has a list of authorized free file preparers.

It’s that time of the year when we either eagerly await our refund or begrudgingly pay up. Make sure you get informed and file by the April 17 deadline. Remember, there are only two things you can’t escape, death and taxes.

Interesting? Interesting isn’t always good but in this case it is. Alma de Hatillo is owned by Sabina, she is actually the main reason this place is so interesting. Sabina is very friendly and takes great care of her guests. She cooks breakfast from scratch every morning. Sabina is like a food magician; she takes a cacao pod and turns it into decadent chocolate for breakfast. She takes fresh fruit and turns it into yummy preserves.

The rooms are cozy, most of them for two or three guests. There is jungle all around so the view from anywhere is amazing. There’s all kinds of birds everywhere, so don’t forget to bring your camera. There is a large pool, and the dining area is warm and relaxing. Sabina even has a yoga studio where she hosts yoga retreats. The rates are very reasonable. During the high season tourists pay $65 and locals pay $55 for a double occupancy room.

This place is really old school in a great way, so don’t expect any air conditioning or a stocked minifridge in your room. Remember this is all about a simple retreat. Go out and have fun in Dominical or the Hacienda nearby. Then come back to a delicious home cooked meal, chat for a while, relax in a hammock until time eventually brings you back to that amazing breakfast.

Know any other great hotels? Let us know in our comments section.

The Galapagos is a special marine environment known as a convergence zone. Cold water coming up from  Antarctica meets with warm equatorial currents causing upwellings of nutrients that feed a massive food chain which keep all those special fishies floating around to dazzle your eyes. And it’s one of the few places on the planet where you’ll see a mix of penguins diving into the surf and pink flamingos congregating on land.

By land or by Sea

The first decision to make when organizing your trip to the Galapagos is whether to base yourself on the land or to take a boat cruise. The economical choice is land based and would lead you to the tourist hub on the island of Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora. Here you’ll find a huge range of hotels, cafes, and tour companies offering simple day trips from about $100-$120 per day. The problem with land based tours is that you’ll be limited in scope to the sites you can visit. These sites are obviously more impacted by tourists, that being said, they’ll still blow you away. Alternatively, many backpackers, or anyone with a more flexible itinerary, can choose to try and hop-on a boat here. Many tours during the off-season don’t pre-book so you’ll find boats passing through Ayora on their mid-way point willing to bargain for any potential stowaways hanging about.

Off-season travel

If you head to one of the many travel agencies in Quito’s main tourist center, La Mariscal during the off season you’ll find a wealth of agencies offering the ubiquitous Last-Minute Galapagos Specials. Basically, during Galapagos’ prime time: June to mid-September and mid-December through January, you’ll find it impossible to find last-minute deals. But outside these impacted times, you’ll find great deals. A word of caution, though, ask around and consult bulletin boards like Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree for advice on which boats to take and which not to. Remember, expensive doesn’t always equate with better. Some boats, luxury and budget alike might employ a staff that speaks little English and might have little interest in playing the role as the guide.

I suggest checking Galasam Travel. Their friendly staff is VERY knowledgeable and up front about travel to the Galapagos. They offer three of the more budget  class  boats: the Millennium, and the Estrella de Mar I and II as well as many more luxury class boats. Their agents will not try to sell you on anything and will direct you to other agencies should you want a different class of boat. They can also arrange deals with flights and complete packages including land stays as well. Galasam’s conveniently located in Quito’s La Mariscal at Cordero N24-214 and Amazonas Ave on the corner.

The land of two seasons

The Galapagos experiences two seasons: a “rainy” and a “dry.” Take these terms with a grain of salt. The “rainy” from December to May sees a bit of rain, but ironically the most sun. The air is warmer and so is the water. But while the water is warmer to swim in, there might seem to be less fish around (remember, it will still knock your socks off). The “dry” season, from June to November, is dominated by the colder currents from the south. The cold water brings cloudy days and cooler air temps. But while it might not be as comfortable, the water is teeming with life. Remember those cold upwellings will ignite the food chain. So serious divers might consider the dry season for their trip.

Nuts and Bolts

Flights: Fly from Quito or Guayaquil prices vary season to season.  Check the websites of Aerogal and TAME for  info on booking flight.

 Fees: $100 Galapagos visitors tax, $10 tourist transit card, $41 departure tax from Quito or $28 departure tax from Guayaquil.

When not to go: Mid-December through January and June to mid-September (busy season)

What not to do: Overstay. That transit card serves like a kind of visa stamp. You only have a set amount of time to stay in the Galapagos and should you overstay, you’ll face heavy fines. This limit on tourism is meant to help protect and preserve the delicate balance of this fragile and, unfortunately, decaying eco-system.

Now the cab drivers in Panama will probably hunt me down for revealing this secret, but contrary to popular belief you can actually take a city bus downtown or even to the bus terminal from the airport.  If you ask a cab driver near the airport where to catch the bus, they will tell you that buses don’t come to the airport which is actually true.  However, a mere 5-10 minute walk down the road from the airport, you will find a nice bus stop and for $1 it will take you to a plethora of locations throughout the city.  Now it isn’t the easiest bus stop to find and it can throw you off when you first go out to discover it because there really isn’t even a path to get there.  When you exit the airport simply head right and walk along the side of the road where the cars exit the area.  Don’t worry if it seems a bit strange at first, eventually you will see some large advertising billboards a bit further along in the distance across a series of small roads.  Pass the first bus stop, cross the highway and underneath the billboards you will find the bus stop that will provide you service to anywhere in the city area and the bus terminal.  The area is not well lit so it may be more difficult at night, but once you’ve taken the short walk it’s easy to navigate.  For more information on the secret bus service to the airport please inquire below.