Unfortunately as a Peace Corps Panama volunteer, I have encountered many volunteers on their way out
express the idea that Panamanians have made a negative impression on them. I'm not sure what it is
exactly. Some say that Panamanians lack culture. I must admit I am guilty of making this accusation
myself. However it is not so much that they lack culture as it is that their culture is heavily influenced by the US and other countries that have had a presence here over history. America itself doesn't have a culture of its own per say. It's a jumble. Panama is in a way the same thing. It may come off as a bit of an identity crises when you meet Panamanians with names like Doroteo (A male name pretty sure originating from the name Dorothy) Leidys (obviously fit for a "Lady") Arraijan (apparently comes from "a right hand" when the souldiers were here). I really could go on and on. But in reality, this is who they are. How can we as Peace Corps volunteers accuse them of taking on too much of the American culture when we are here for exactly that purpose. - to share our culture.
I myself have met a variety of Panamanians and although some may not have all the best traits in the world, honestly, I feel that an overwhelming majority of them are good hearted people with great intentions. That to me is enough for me to leave this country with a great impression of Panamanians. If I ever have any doubts all I have to do is turn to my host family or the friends that I have formed in my community. Maybe the relationships aren’t the same as those that I would have with my family or friends back home, but if I need them they are there for me without a second of hesitation. They are thoughtful and caring. Maybe they don't like to hug as much as I do but they care in their own way. My neighbors after getting to know me a bit went out to town one day. They came back with some little things that they bought for me (I would also like to mention that their house consists of a single room, and yet they are very far form greedy) A cucumber and a tomato "because I like my veggies" An apple because I like to eat healthy and therefore eat fruits (I also like how they chose their favorite fruit) yogurt healthy and yummy, and 3 potatoes, because Im Polish and love my potatoes as much as they love rice". It was amazing I will never forget that little gesture of theirs. Incredibly thoughtful, and already knew me so well. That means that they observed my actions not with judgment but with good intentions, they paid attention to the things I like, they learned about me and my culture and they didn’t dismiss it, they accepted it as part of me, someone they care for. Its incredible that you can travel to a different country with a completely different culture, and meet people so different from you, but yet in so many ways the same, and they understand you better then some people back home. I really can''t imagine my service here in Panama without these people. I am incredibly grateful for them.
Many months ago my host family asked me when my birthday is. When I informed them that I planned to spend the actual day outside of the community, they said no problem we’ll celebrate your birthday the following weekend on December 8th, Mother’s Day. We will all be together that day anyways. Deal! I said.
They kept their word and we celebrated together on the 8th. Turns out they tricked me though. Although it was Mother's day, the whole party was for me. They invited at least 30 people. They made a Piñata, of my face. Apparently they didn’t think about the fact that I don’t like to beat myself up. Also, please note, how blond I am in their eyes. Platinum blond anyone! But they put in the time and made it with love I believe. They bought a beautiful fruit-cup just for me, made dinner for 50 people and bought one cake and made the other. Incredible.
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| Thats right, they made a piñata of me. |
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| Arroz con pollo in thie making. Thats rice with chicken and carrots and other veggies. Its a birthday party MUST! It takes all day to make this stuff. Especially if you're making it for 50 people. Thanks host fam! |
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| The girls :) Host sisters and the one that is expecting a child (16 years old) is the youngest one and is my host niece. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy on the 14th. |
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| Pretty large pot of food, huh? |
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| Two cakes, one for the guests, and one for the bday girl. If you know me well you'll be able to guess which one was for me. |
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| The best host mom in the world! |
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| Time to smash my face! |
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| Oh but I don't want to smash my pretty piñata face that you guys worked so hard on. |
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| And smash it they did! And then they picked at my brains! Candy for everyone! |
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Although I had a rough start to the day they made it all better. Just as any real family would. They knew exactly what to ask, and when to stop asking and distract me instead. They had me smiling for hours. I went home that day knowing that everything will be ok. As I arrived to my house I looked up at the night sky, it was filled with stars. I smiled. Panamanians have a saying “barriga llena, crazón contento” Full tummy, happy heart. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Good morning, how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are very small countries with very few population, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Panama? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Panama in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez