Harper College is closed Friday, July 3, for Independence Day (Observed).
Our Panama journey started on June 6th at O’Hare airport. At 6:30 in the morning, we all arrived ready to start our adventure. The culture change and transition from America to a foreign country had already begun. Some interesting observations were that the announcements were in both English and then repeated in Spanish because we were in the international terminal. Once we boarded the plane, the flight attendant welcomed us aboard in Spanish. The introductory safety video shown on the plane was also in Spanish, and then the information would be repeated in English. This was the same for any announcements on the plane. Midflight we were served a meal. This was my first introduction to non-American food, even if it was just airplane food. I know the meal was mixed with foreign foods because the packaging included English and Spanish labels. This was another reminder that we were on our way to a new place with different food, different culture, different values, and different ideals. Again, when I was asked which meal I would like, I was spoken to in Spanish, until I responded in English, then the flight attendant would speak to me in English. The majority of the passengers seemed to be able to speak fluent Spanish or at least enough to communicate with it. After we landed, we had to go through Panamanian customs. Most of the group did not speak the native language. It was strange to be on the other side of a language exchange where we were the ones not being understood. This was the first time this had happened to a few of us. I felt clueless on how to express my confusion to the customs officer when he would ask me questions in Spanish and English combined. Eventually he let me through after concluding I was a harmless visitor. We were questioned, had our fingerprints scanned, collected our luggage, had that scanned, and were ready to leave the airport.
The first thing we noticed about Panama was the heat. It hit with a blast exiting
the plane. We were all used to the cooler weather in Chicago. It was hard to believe
that this is what we would be experiencing for the next 11 days! A nice bus ride with
air conditioning took us to the place where we would be staying that night and the
last two nights of our trip, the Magnolia Inn. We drove through Panama City, seeing
the skyline of buildings. It looked much different from the Chicago skyline. The closer
we got to the city, the more differences we saw. It was mixed with new and old buildings.
Some of them were rundown, some of them maintained. There were clearly newer buildings
that looked quite nice, but others could be somewhat falling apart. Immediately there
was a billboard for an American-made movie, one of the few examples of American culture
saturating Panama that we would see on the trip. This made Panama seem more similar
to the US and made me wonder how much of the American entertainment industry was consumed
by Panama and how much influence it has.
This is a street outside of the Magnolia Inn once it was dark out. It captures the
new atmosphere representing the nightlife that exists within Panama City.
After we got situated at our hostel, we walked around the city a bit. There were several churches, monuments, and ruins in Casco Viejo, or the “Old Quarter.” After Panama Viejo was destroyed by Henry Morgan in the 1600’s, Casco Viejo was built. Many of these old ruins exist, and some are even sprinkled throughout the new city. Similar to the new vs rundown modern buildings, there was a strange contrast between the new and the old. These old ruins were right next to modern built structures in the middle of a city! We would learn more about these ruins and how they came about later in our trip.
Ruins found sprinkled throughout the city. These were part of Casco Viejo. 
We passed many churches. The main religion in Panama is Roman Catholicism. It is even stated in their constitution as their official religion as opposed to the US where there is none. As such, the majority of Panamanians we met were Catholic. Had the cathedrals been mosques or another form of a religious building, it could have felt different to me; but this aspect of Panama felt familiar. In fact, we learned that the population celebrates many of the same Catholic holidays that are celebrated by Catholics in the States.
Picture of Roman Catholic Cathedral on a street corner.
Returning to the shock of different weather, shortly after we began our walk around town, a storm rolled in. We felt a cool breeze, winds picked up, the rain started, and then we took shelter in a tourist shop nearby. How quickly and drastically the weather can change was shocking. When my phone claimed a storm was to begin in 10 minutes, we did not believe it because it was hot and sunny. Imagine our surprising revelation when the storm did hit us.
This is the view of the shore where a storm is seen brewing in the distance. About
10 minutes after this photo was taken, the storm reached us.
Our tour of the foreign city was cut short and we decided to head back to the hostel after things died down a bit. Later, we went out for dinner. Here we had our first official Panamanian meal. After we ordered, we were given back currency that was a mix of dollars and Balboas. We were also given our food attached with a lesson on how to eat it. We were worried about eating it correctly. We were not used to being told there is a right and wrong way to consume your meal. We just hoped we would not offend anyone because we were unaware of how central and important eating a meal like this in a public setting properly in front of the restaurant staff was.
Meal at the restaurant: catch of the day, fried plantains, a sauce made from a base
of corn, some pickled peppers, and a salty garlic pesto. We were told to eat it around
in a circle. Put the garlic pesto and peppers and fish on the fried plantain, eat
it. Then, have some of the sauce on a plantain to compliment your last bite and reset
your palate. Repeat these two steps.
After our meal, we headed back to the hostel and got some rest with our full bellies excited for the adventures that were in store for the trip. This was the first day of our trip. We dived into a new culture we were, for the most part, completely unfamiliar with. Then after spending 10 days in Panama, it was time to go home. On the 16th, it was our final day. We got up early in the morning and left our hostel at 4:45 am. We left with new knowledge and appreciation for the privileges in our lives. As we went from Panama City to the United States, I could feel the slow transition back into the culture I was familiar with. And yet, it felt slightly different. We had all experienced so much on this trip, it was hard to not come home with changed eyes. This Panama trip created another layer of understanding on how to approach the unknown we come across: with relaxed ideas and inquisitive thoughts. Culture is what we are brought up with, and there are so many different ones from ours to enjoy.