Febuary

Apparel

In panama, looks are everything! It doesn’t matter where you buy your clothes, just that you look nice. All the clothes are so much less expensive. You can go to the mall with $20 and buy a couple outfits including shoes and still have money for the bus trip home. Which for me was only an hour and a half thankfully! In order to get to Panama City you had to take a bus if you didn’t own a car. The bus ride was fairly cheap, $1.25 to get to Metro Mall and $2 to get to Albrook mall. The boys usually had to work for their money and the parents gave the girls money to go shopping.

January

music

the music here is a diversity of the music around the world. theres italian music theres jamacian music, american music, mexican, panamas got its own varity of music(which by the way i do like alot)

January

Music and the teen Scene

Panama has a wide variety of music! It has its pop music (just like here in the USA), reggation, rap, romantic style, batchata, marange, salsa and tipico(which is native to panama). Each type of music has its own dance. There always parties in Panama, so everyone’s always dancing! But when were not partying were finding other things to do. for instance, everyone plays soccer! Every Sunday there would be a tournament for the guys and every one would go to watch! After that we would usually go to the river! That was so much fun! The river was pretty wide but not too deep, it was perfect! But of course on rainy days we couldn’t do either of those so we could go to the mall in Panama City. There, we could walk around, shop, go see a movie, eat, etc. just like a mall here in the US! Also, we liked to hang out at the internet café. Which, luckily was right around the corner!

December

Culture and Celebrations

Panama is a country full of culture and celebrations! Every year at the end of February they have carnivals. Carnivals are a huge 4 day, 5 night celebration for the Queens. Every city has two Queens that compete to see who has the prettiest float, biggest fireworks, best dresses, etc. In the end there really is no winner, it’s just an excuse to get out and party! Everyone loves dancing. Dancing is something everyone does not only at parties but whenever there’s music! Next is Semana Santa, which is the week of saints. All the students are off school and most the parents don’t have to work. That week we eat fish almost every meal. Also there is Christmas and New Years, just like here in the USA but they celebrate it a little differently. When they celebrate Christmas it’s just a big party where everyone goes over to someone’s house, and same with New Years. They don’t give out presents and put cookies on the mantle for Santa like we do, but they sure know how to have a good time! Another celebration Panamanians have is called quince anos. Quince anos is like a sweet 16 birthday party, except for it is the coming of age for women at 15 years. At the quince anos, the father gives the daughter a ring, and the mother changes her shoes to high heels. A tradition in Panama is that for every birthday party, after they blow the candles out, they smear icing all over the birthday boy/girl! So it’s wise not to wear your best outfit!

There are many cultural difference in Panama. One thing is every one dresses up when they go out in public, especially in Panama City! Its VERY important how you look and smell. That’s how they judge people. The women and girls put a lot of work into their nails and makeup. Men are not juged so much by how they dress. How they judge the guys is usually by their chickens. If you have chickens, you have money. They don’t just eat their chickens, they usually fight their chickens a couple times a month. If your rooster wins, you win a good amount of money and usually a rooter more chickens too!

November

School!

SCHOOL

What school? Oh I know school is supposed to be a part of the AFS experience. I did go out and buy a uniform, black Mary-Jane’s, white bobby socks… Need I say more? After being here for a week, I started! There are many differences, and I will get to those in a moment. I went to school for a couple of weeks, then I stopped. At first I didn’t know why. One day, then two days… It was like having a snow day. Papa would just say no school today! Lidia and Nani go to different schools and they were still going, so I knew it wasn’t a holiday. Week One, I noticed others were not going to my school too. Week Two, I’m starting to put the story together, If I go, I will itch. So I go through all the possibilities in my head. Does someone have lice? Is it the Chicken Pox? Could it be mold? Week Three, I learn there is something in the walls. Week four, I get sick. Not with the school itchy thing, with something else. Week five, I am still sick. I’ve had so many shots, blood work and IV’s, I feel like a pin cushion. Week Six, AFS is taking me to Panama City to see a doctor to double check my health. (More on being sick later.) Week Seven, School is still not “healthy” so they are changing our school. Of the 5 AFSers who live in Chepo/Margarita, 4 of them decide to relocate to a new home closer to Panama City. For me, it was a no brainer. I am staying with my family. How could I leave the people I love. I think I I will be going to the “Middle School” with my sister Nani. If not, I will be going to The Agricultural and Home Economics School in Chepo called Mexico Panama. My school was a math, science and technology school. What ever school I go to, I will get to go on Tuesday (I think).

School is also different. To start with, everyone wears uniforms! These uniforms gave me a chance to learn my first English word; Iron. Every day before school, I iron my uniform. There is good news here. Unlike the US were I catch the bus at 6:30 AM because school starts at 7:15AM, in Also I don't have to worry about doing my makeup or picking out cute clothes, I just do my hair, brush my teeth, get dressed and go. In Panama, my school starts in the afternoon. They have two sessions. You either go in the morning, or in the afternoon. This is a high schooler’s dream! My school starts at 12:00!!

In Panama, the kids stay in the same room and the teachers change classes. Our classroom is our classroom. We take ownership of it. We decorate the walls… OK we write on the walls. We write ALL over the walls. They re-paint every year so well just star tover again! School is very different though because people are always talking. Even when the teacher is trying to explain something, people are talking just as loud as they would if the teacher wasn't there. And when the kids here are tired they'll just put their head down and sleep and the teacher doesn't say anything. We have a 10 minute break, and people usually buy food then or just find there friends and hang out with them.

October

Food!

I was guessing food in Panama would be like Mexican food. I was wrong! At first I just wasn’t hungry. I guess I was hungry for Pizza or hamburgers. I was hungry for food that I was familiar with. These new things weren’t registering in my brain as food. Don’t worry that didn’t last long. I’m sure I lost weight that first week, but my clothes are a little snug now! We eat rice every day. Here, we never eat it plain. We always eat it with something. My brother Luis taught me how to peel a yucca root. Yucca is good when it is fried or boiled. It is kind of like French Fries when fried and potatos when boiled. Another thing is that we eat a lot is Plantanones. I don’t know how it is spelled. But they are good. They are fried and they taste kinda like potato chips, but a little sweeter. My mom makes this fried bread called hojaldes often. It is good with sausages. I found the recipe for you!

4 cups sifted flour

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Sugar

2 tbsp. Oil

1 / 4 water

Oil for frying

In a bowl together first 4 ingredients, open the center and add oil, knead and gradually add water until dough is smooth. Then take pieces of the dough and forming the hojaldes with your hands, stretching to the desired size, fry in oi luntill its golden until golden.

The biggest difference about food in Panama isn’t so much the food itself. We all use the resources God created. We find a way to prepare the food to nourish our bodies. What is different is that in the US, we put so much effort into sitting down and eating as a family. That is the only time we are all together. It is like it is our one chance at building family relations. Here, you just eat when you are hungry. If you don’t like what your house has for food, you could just go to the neighbor’s house to eat. No big deal. Food is food. Eat when you need it. Being together as a family happens all the time. Family and friends are always together. Not just around the dinner table.