Welcome to Panama!
So far. We have visited Panama City and a town
called Chitre. However, this trip has been slightly different than what I
expected. As soon as we arrived at the airport, I experienced a culture shock.
Almost everything in Panama is in Spanish, and barely anyone speaks English.
The first couple days here, we went out to eat and many of us struggled to
order our food. This language barrier has made certain situations stressful,
especially when in clinical. I really did not expect it to be this hard to
communicate with others.
Additionally, I had always classified Panama as a
third world country, a country in which almost everyone is at the poverty
level. This really has not been the case. As in America, a lot of people
actually have cars, and live in an apartment/home. Needless to say, I was very
surprised to find out that we were going to be living in a home for these next
3 weeks. I thought we would be staying in dorms. We have running water,
electricity, and Wifi. I was also
surprised to find the food here to be as good as its’ been. Panama has some
great chicken & rice, and some of the best fruit drinks.
Overall though, our experience has been great and
has been interesting being immersed into a whole new culture. I’m excited for
what is in store for the next couple weeks.
By Katie Mayers
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