The Panamanian people are really nice, but it has been interesting and funny at times to learn the cultural differences between Panama and the US.
1) How to eat an orange
Panamanians don’t peel an orange and then pull it apart like we do in the states. They peel the orange peel off, leaving the white skin, then bite a hole in the top of it and suck out all of the juice! Rarely do they actually eat the entire thing.
2) "Panamanian" time
As is true with many latino cultures, Panamanians arrive when they arrive, which can be anywhere from on time (rare) to 30 or 45 minutes late. I think I’ve discovered that this can be partially attributed to the transportation system, which is explained below.
3) Food - aka rice y pollo
Of course every culture and country has their own typical food. Here it’s rice and chicken. Every day. They do add things to the rice to spice it up – guandu beans, corn, coconut, noodles (yes, I’ve eaten rice with noodles). And the chicken frequently has an interesting sauce with it. So all in all, it’s pretty good. Plantains are also very common. As are yucca, ñame, and otoye (I think that’s how you spell it). Root vegetables grow very well here, and others don’t, so those are the most common since imported food is much more expensive. The fruit here is also delicious – some of my favorite so far has been the pineapple.
4) Arroz con piña is a drink
On that note… They make this drink called chicha out of any kind of fruit. I’ve had chicha piña, chicha melon (cantelope), chicha de mais – also called sanchicha, and one of my favorites is called arroz con piña. To make this, you boil rice, then use the milky water, mix it with blended and strained pineapple, sugar, some condensed milk (I think, or just normal milk), and some cinnamon. It’s delicious.
5) They talk plainly about physical appearances (china/gringo/gorda)
They are an indirect culture when it comes to asking for favors, but they are not hesitant about talking plainly about physical appearances. MY host mom frequently refers to herself as gorda, or fat. And the Chinese Panamanians who seem to own most of the tiendas in small towns (don’t ask me why this is), everyone refers to them as chinos. Even more latino-looking Panamanians who might have somewhat slanted eyes are frequently called chino. And of course, Americans are frequently called gringos. This term originally comes from Mexico, when there were so many American soldiers at the border, and they would say “green go”. It was originally a derogatory term, but it has since evolved into just the term for Americans. At least that’s how it is here in Panama.
6) Buses don't have schedules and are called Red Devils
Transportation. Definitely an interesting topic here in Panama. The most common form of transportation are buses. The ones that are close to Panama City are old American school buses that have been painted crazily (I’ll get a photo soon and post it here). frequently music is loud in them and they are packed full of people. If you are going off of the Inter American highway, most of the time you take chivas. Chivas are little buses, vans or trucks that have been jerry-rigged to seat as many people as possible. Lastly, if you are traveling a longer distance (for example, between provincial capitals) then you will take a nicer bus that usually has air conditioning. In these buses, they won’t let more people on than the number of seats, so that’s nice that it’s not overcrowded like the other transportation, but if there are a lot of people headed in the same direction as you, it can also mean waiting a while.
Another interesting tip about transportation is that most of the time there aren’t schedules. Sometimes there will be buses that depart around the same time every day, but there is no official schedule. So if you want to go somewhere, you just go to the bus stop and wait. Or you can just flag a bus down as it’s driving by you anywhere on the road. Generally they will stop and pick you up. It’s definitely aninteresting system.
7) Mail
The postal service here in Panama is not as reliable nor as widespread as it is in the US. Therefore, the bus system is also used for packages sometimes. Chiva drivers who drive the same routes all of the time also frequently take food, groceries, or other items from one end of their route to the other, or to a house along the way. In smaller communities it’s not uncommon for the chiva driver to hop out for a minute and run into a house, or for the driver to wait while a passenger hops out to buy something along the way. In a way, this is really nice because it brings such a sense of close-knit community with it.
8) Talking during presentations/sermons
I'll fill the rest of this out soon!
9) Birthdays
