Wrapping up another gringa adventure

Me, Athena, and Sarah at the ecological park

Our last few days in Panama were spent presenting our research on Latin American countries, visiting the American Embassy in Panama, learning about the flavors and cuisine of Panama, touring a Holiday Inn and visiting an ecological park. It was quite a whirlwind and was over before I knew it. So this post is a highlight reel of my last few days in the tropical heat!

Monkeys!

A train car playground at the ecological park

At the American Embassy you are not allowed to take any pictures so I sniped the one below from Google. We learned that the no camera policy is VERY strictly enforced as soon as my friend Stephanie began to take a picture of the sign out front and was quickly yelled at by a security guard. After that we were all on our best behavior. We had to file through the security line in small groups of 4 and be led up to the Embassy. There we were ushered into a room that had a metal door that was about 8 inches thick...I tried to hold it open and I almost fell over. Daniel Crocker, a representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce, spoke to us about doing business in Panama and working as a foreign service agent. During the presentation my classmate Sarah realized that she had been sitting next to Mr. Crocker and his wife on the plane to Panama from Miami! His wife had mentioned that her husband was a foreign service officer and Sarah saw him but thought nothing of it until she saw him in the Embassy. What a small world!

As we were waiting outside for the bus, my classmate Joe decided he was going to try to snipe a picture. Risky move. The security guards quickly converged and confiscated his phone. Then he was whisked back into the security area for 15 minutes and none of us knew what was happening. Finally he emerged. He had to file a report detailing the incident...we hope he didn't get flagged as a security threat on his flight home!

Our last night we all dressed up and headed to Las Tinajas, a traditional Panamanian dinner and show. It was nice to be with everyone for one last dinner before we all departed for the U.S. in the morning. The dances were fun to watch, the music was loud and the costumes were beautiful. I wish I could post more pictures from the show but most of mine were blocked by the bald man sitting in front of me. After the show a woman from the group next to us came and asked where our group was from. When we said Saint Louis University she looked shocked. Turns out she graduated from SLU in 1969! I guess you can't go anywhere without finding a Billiken!

Reunited with my roommates in St. Louis!

Now I am safely back in St. Louis and have already started my classes for the spring semester. Nothing like diving right back in! Although I miss the warm weather and the big yellow school bus, it is nice to be home and back in the swing of things. Hopefully I will resurrect this blog again sooner rather than later. Who knows what the next gringa adventure will bring!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Taking care of business

Gringa here! After recuperating from my illness (which turned out to be strep) I was ready to make the most of my last week in Panama.

We started the week with a visit to the banking sector. Historically, Panama has had a very strong banking sector but has also dealt with quite a bit of money laundering. This is partially due to the proximity to Colombia and the drug trade and partially due to guaranteed money secrecy in Panama. Our first visit to Banco General impressed everyone in our group. I was struggling to keep up with all the financial jargon that was being thrown around in discussion but the presentations were very interesting and informative. One of the most interesting things I learned during our bank visit is that many of the corporations are undertaking corporate social responsibility initiatives. This is something that I have come to take for granted in the U.S. and I often forget that businesses in developing economies are held to different environmental standards.

The following day we visited Grupo Rey, a large supermarket chain in Panama. We spoke with people from many different functional areas of the company and got to watch a few commercials for the supermarkets. They even gave us empanadas and fresh pineapple and papaya to munch on during the presentations. My kind of company! Grupo Rey is hoping to expand internationally soon, however they were very sneaky and did not tell us which country they are planning to seek a presence in. My money is on Costa Rica! Here is a link to 2 commercials we were able to see during our visit. The first is a commercial promoting their environmentally friendly eco-bag initiative and the second is more lighthearted.

One of the students in our group asked if the company would be moving toward self checkout. As an American I usually assume all things are moving toward the most efficient technology. But I was surprised to hear the answer. Panamanians like to be served and they expect the personal attention and detail that a person offers. Because of this the company is not making moves to implement self checkout quite yet. This made me wonder if a self checkout would really be completely rejected by society or if society would eventually change to accommodate a new way of doing things.

After two full days of business visits they let us loose in the grocery store. I got some delicious arroz con pollo, una empanada, un tamale y mas frutas ¡Que rica! There was also plenty of time for fun and we got to participate in a drum circle in the City of Knowledge. There is the beautiful, old tree on one of the soccer fields with branches that seem to extend forever. The band set up underneath and everyone was encouraged to come dance and bring an instrument. We threw some rocks in a bucket (such innovative business students) and went to dance with all the families under the tree.

That is all for now. One last post to wrap up the trip coming your way soon!

Heart of Darkness: Panama Style

Monday is a national holiday in Panama and so we gringos had the day off! It is a national holiday in remembrance of a group of Panamanian students who were killed by the U.S. military for lowering the U.S. flag in protest of the U.S. military presence in Panama. Great day to be an American here!

We drove about an hour away to venture into the jungle and see the Embera-Drua tribe. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, all I had been told was that there were loincloths involved. And boy, those were some loincloths. There were 3 long boats waiting for us so we loaded up and the loin-clothed men directed us across the lake. The scenery was incredible and the boat ride lasted for almost a full 45 minutes as we swerved from lake to river and back to lake again. It was very Heart of Darkness-esque. We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere but lo and behold the main guiding the boat in his loincloth soon whipped out his cell phone to call the other boat driver and yell at him for getting lost. Apparently there is no escaping cell phones. Can you hear me now?

Catching the fish for lunch

A group of young Embera boys greeted us with a musical welcome! We hopped out of the boat and were welcomed into the village where we learned the history of the village and the story behind their handicrafts. in 1975 eight people moved from a tribe farther up the river named Darien to the current location. They were seeking protection and wanted to be closer to the city for medical purposes. Today there are over 120 people living in the village. Their primary source of income is tours and handicrafts. They carve wood figures and weave all sorts of bowls and plates. The women of the village made us a delicious lunch of tilapia and plaintains. ¡Que rico! 

Embera woven handicrafts

The young boys also give a variation of henna tattoos (which wash off as soon as they get wet as we quickly learned). It was very interesting to learn about their culture and I was able to ask the boy who gave me a tattoo (its fake mom, I promise) some questions about growing up in Embera. He said there are tourists there every single day. I asked him if they annoyed him but he surprisingly said no because he learns many new things from the people who come. I think I would get annoyed by a bunch of gringos traipsing through my village every day. The constant presence of tourists also made me question how authentic and removed from mainstream culture the village really is and how much of it is embellished for the tourists. Either way it was a very enjoyable day trip.

Getting tattooed by Juan Carlos

As we were getting ready to load up to boats again and head to the waterfall we saw a sea otter! We all began trying to take pictures and our professor was yelling "Don't touch, it bites!" in a high-pitched, Brazilian acccent. Our classmate Donald did not get the message. He stuck his hand over the side of the boat and the sea otter grabbed it and jumped into the boat. This led to mass hysteria and a very topsy turvy boat. Finally the sea otter jumped out when we heard a woman yelling "Gato! Gato" in a very angry voice. (Gato means "cat" for those who don't speak espanol). We were confused and soon realized she was referring to the sea otter as "gato" and that it was her pet! The sea otter came up on the shore with its tail between its legs looking very ashamed and the woman snatched it up by the scruff of its neck and dragged it back up to the village. Who knew sea otters were so domesticated?

Traditional Embera butterfly dance

After our close call with the sea otter, we headed to a secluded waterfall. We swam around before getting back in the boats and taking a very bumpy, wet ride back to shore. I wasn't sure we were going to make it back to shore afloat. But sure enough we survived the jungle! Tomorrow we are back to class, hope we can survive that as well! This begins our last week here and our last week of winter break. I can't believe it is almost time to head back to St. Louis! ¡Hasta la próxima!

Weekend adventures in Panama

Casco Viejo

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to travel to a beach resort 2 hours away at Playa Blanca. It was a relaxing day full of swimming, eating and soaking in the sun. We also did some really weird water aerobics with Alejandro, the activity coordinator for the pool. The aerobics involved 10 minutes of jumping around and 20 minutes of massaging the Panamanian woman in front of me and "relaxing." 

Casco Viejo

We had Sunday off as well and saved the day for catching up on homework and exploring the city. My roommates and I headed back to Casco Viejo for a late lunch. We wandered through the city and went into a fish market that was hot and smelly. But the food looked awesome! I had already eaten unfortunately but everything was so cheap and fresh looking. It was straight out of the sea outside the back door.

View from Amador Causeway

After Casco Viejo we ventured to the Amador Causeway. This is a large boardwalk that was constructed from the material that was dug up during the construction of the Panama Canal. It was built to connect three small islands off the coast of downtown Panama City. Today it is bursting with restaurants, tourists, people exercising, music, and shops. It also has a stunning view of downtown Panama City. We rented a 5 person bike and almost ran a few people over on the way. 

Bikin' around

That night we settled in for dinner at a place that said "100% Panameño," because we still hadn't tried much Panamanian food! Our server's name was Javier and he was a super friendly guy. He helped us pick the best things on the menu to order. I ordered corvina de criolla con arroz de coco (seabass with the special house criolla sauce and coco rice). And let me tell you, it was the most delicious seabass I have ever had. After dinner my roommates got an ice cream treat in a pineapple that also had cheese on it. A bit strange but when in Panama do as the Panamanians do!

View from the Causeway

Another lovely day in Panama down. Another one to come! ¡Hasta la próxima!
 

An afternoon walk through Casco Antiguo

After a very educating and fun morning at the Panama Canal we were off to Casco Viejo, the old Spanish Colonial part of Panama City. Casco Viejo is brimming with character and bright colors. Music floats out of the windows and vendors call to you as you walk past. The cafe doors are open and the patios are filled with umbrella topped tables where people sip a cold drink to beat the heat. It is surrounded by the sea on 3 sides so the skirts of our dresses kept flying up. We were able to see an old French brothel (and hear our tour guide say "boobies" over and over in the funniest voice), many restaurants, shops, and even the President's house! 

It was a sunny afternoon and we were sweating big time. But it was really fun to get out of the classroom and have some fun. We beat the heat and snuck into the National Theater for a few minutes. What a beautiful theater! We also went into a shop and learned about the classic "Panama Hat." It really is a real thing that Panamanians wear however the hats originated in El Salvador. You can buy them everywhere and it seems to have become a symbol of Panama. They are simple straw hats but an original will cost upward of $35.

It was lovely to get out and explore the city. We broke quite a sweat and it felt great to take a cold shower once we got back (there is no hot water here). The Casco Viejo area is under quite a bit of construction and everyone says it will be the best reconstruction of a Spanish Colonial area once it is finished! I hope to return to this beautiful, colorful place again someday.

That is all for now folks. After Casco Viejo we were off for the weekend, more to come on the weekend adventures! I hope things are cooler up north, they are getting steamy down here in Panama. ¡Hasta la próxima!

To the Panama Canal!

This morning we ventured to the ever famous Panama Canal! It is just across the street from the City of Knowledge so it was a very short commute. 

The Miraflores Locks (gates are closed)

But first, a bit on the history of the canal. In the late 1800s the French wanted to build a shortcut through the isthmus of Panama and began constructing what would eventually become the Panama Canal. But due to disease and other hardships they quickly gave up working. The U.S. had also been hoping to build a canal recognizing how much it would increase economic profit and efficiency for transportation. They had hoped to build a canal in Nicaragua but chose Panama after observing both countries. This is because Panama does not suffer from natural disasters therefore making investments in infrastructure much more lucrative. So the United States began building the Panama Canal and it opened for the first time in 1914. The Canal allowed a ship to pass in 8-10 hours rather than taking the long route of 2-3 weeks around South America. The U.S. controlled the Canal until 1979 when they signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaty but remained present in Panama until 1999 when Panama took full control of the Canal. Since then the Canal has continued to flourish and is currently being expanded to accommodate larger ships. It is a key component in international trade and the axis of much of the Panamanian economy.

A ship passing through the Miraflores locks

We were able to watch a ship pass through the Miraflores Locks, one of three locks through which a ship must pass. The locks act as water elevators to move the ship through. We learned that a ship must be operated by a Panama Canal Pilot in order to pass through the canal. There is a group of about 250 people who are trained Pilots and know every inch of the Canal. What an interesting job! It also costs an average of $100,000 for a ship to pass and can cost up to $400,000. The lowest fare ever paid was by a man who swam the canal (it is about 50 miles long). Sounds like quite a workout.

The benefit to Panamanian economy does not stop at the Canal. The traffic from the Canal has led to many new service, storage and repair industries popping up all over Panama. The Canal has been and will continue to be an essential asset to Panama's economy and it is fun to see how proud the Panamanians are of their Canal.

It feels great to be back up and at 'em with the rest of the class. We had a very busy weekend and there is much more to come soon! ¡Hasta la próxima!

She's Baaaack!

This gringa is back in action! Last Tuesday I left for my second study abroad adventure through SLU, this time to Panama City, Panama.

The trip is sponsored by the John Cook School of Business and 20 students are lucky enough to travel to Panama for two weeks every winter break. While in Panama I will be taking an International Business course. We will take a hands on look at emerging markets and international business from the perspective of a developing economy. The professor is a brilliant and sassy Brazilian woman named Yara who has the best legs I've ever seen and is seriously working it for a 60 year old. We will be celebrating her 61st birthday later in the week! She seems to be full of knowledge and stories and I can't wait to learn more from her. Our class will be able to see the Panama Canal in action, take a few excursions throughout Panama and hear guest lectures from many business people in the area. But more on that later!

My trip began at home in Minnesota. After a quick week and a half relaxing at home for Christmas, I was off to St. Louis to pack for Panama! I am traveling with Liz and Stephanie, two of my roommates from Spain who are all over this blog from last spring. It feels great to be traveling with them again!

From Munich to Panama

I was walking to grab something to eat during my layover in Miami when all of a sudden a man grabbed me. I threw my fists up (put 'em up, try me) but it turned out to be my uncle Mike! He was flying home to the Dominican Republic and happened to have the same layover. All my cousins were there as well and I was able to see my cousin Mason walk for the first time. What a coincidence!

Last time the cousins were together in Aspen, Colorado (except for Olen)

Soon after we had landed in Panama and were loaded up on the bus and getting to know our driver Pocho. Our group is staying in a place called "City of Knowledge" or "Ciudad del Saber" which is a compound for all sorts of academic and business ventures. They host many students, entrepreneurs and NGO's. As we drove to the villas we saw the beautiful skyline of Panama and some strange Nativity scenes that looked very out of place on the green grass next to the ocean. Our first night we were starving and the only place open was a bowling alley that served burgers, go figure. But at that point we were so hungry nobody cared.

Upon waking up the next morning I was very sick. The sickness only worsened and the first few days are a bit of a blur for me. Unfortunately I was bedridden so I don't have many stories to tell. I learned a bit about the Panamanian healthcare system and was prescribed everything under the sun (for very low prices). Luckily I was feeling much better Friday morning so I was back in action and ready to soak in the culture and take a trip to the Panama Canal...more on that later!

Now that I am on the road to recovery I hope to have this blog updated with all sorts of stories and fun things I am learning. So mom, you can stop worrying about me. I am on enough prescriptions to last a lifetime. And I will have only happy updates from here on out (knock on wood). ¡Hasta la próxima!