Submitted by Cara Murray on the 2018 winter session program in Panama sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…
I have spent almost two full weeks in Panama so far and have been having an amazing experience. I live with my roommate, Rebecca, and with my host parents, Eduardo and Cecilla. We also have a host dog, Milka, who is a English bulldog that gets super excited whenever we come home from school. I have noticed from staying with my host family that family is very important to Panamanians. Cecilla will always tell us about her children and show us pictures of them and update us on what is happening with them. I have also noticed what is common Panamanian food. Most meals include some sort of meat, rice, beans, a vegetable and plantains.
My first weekend here, I traveled to Boquete with Rebecca and Makaela. We took a bus at 12:00 am and arrived in the town approximately fiv hours later. We stayed at a hostel, which was honestly breathtaking. The building was gorgeous and there was a beautiful view from the patio area plus the hostel included a pool and a jacuzzi. The first day we were there, we walked into town and had a stray dog companion along for the walk. Along the way, we stopped at a café, a honey store and we also stopped to get lunch.
The next day, we hiked the Pipeline Trail. It was a very pretty hike and other people on the program were there as well. It was a little rainy on the hike, but we were able to see a cool waterfall and one of the biggest trees that I had ever seen. In the afternoon, we went to a hot spring and were able to see a spider monkey, which was very random, but a very cool experience.
This past weekend, we traveled to Los Santos to see the Festival of the Mil Polleras. There were many people there and the festival was full of beautiful outfits, singing and dancing. Even young children were a part of the festival. It is impressive to me that the festival is about five hours long and that the people in it have so much pride and love for their country. It was very nice to see the Panamanian culture preserved and to see things that we learned about in our classes in real life.
