Student Blogs/Sierra in Chile
Although I will be spending my year abroad in Viña del Mar, I first wanted to write a little bit about my month in Panama before I arrived in Chile. I have asked myself many times, “Why does nobody I know ever think about going to Panama?!” I hope you will think about it because I had the best time ever!
Before arriving in Chile, I planned to travel and enjoy my “summer” holidays before school started in March. I knew that I wanted to go on a work exchange in a hostel, so I applied to about 15 different places scattered around South and Central America.
The first positive response I received was from an eco-lodge in the mountains of Panama (in Fortuna Cloud Forest Reserve) called Lost and Found Lodge and this is where I ended up going. The deal was that I would work five shifts a week in exchange for accommodation and some free or discounted food and services.
My work consisted of checking guests in and out, giving tours of the hostel, serving dinner, tidying up and (the best one) showing off “Rocky” the Kinkajou (or “Honey Bear”). Since it was a small hostel, it was not very busy so my shifts were mainly spent chatting to guests and making bracelets which I was able to sell for a little bit of money.
All in all, it was the best job you could ask for! I met people from all corners of the globe: Argentina to Israel to Finland to South Africa. I got to a point where I became very good at identifying people’s nationalities without talking to them and even better at distinguishing accents. My career goal throughout most of my life has been to work in the hospitality industry, (luxury hotels all over the globe) so this was a taste of my possible future career!
I spent almost a month there and since I had not been able to travel in Panama before arriving, I was happy to move on and experience all the places that had been highly recommended by the guests. I made it to pretty much every different type of place you can find in Panama (which is a lot): a small town in a valley at the base of a volcano (Volcán Baru, the tallest in Panama), a tropical island in the Gulf of Chiriqui and of course, Panama City. I loved each and every place I went! I saw incredible wildlife, spent a lot of time hiking in the jungle and met some of the nicest people! On top of that, Panama is so cheap! Why go to Europe and spend 10 times as much when you can live comfortably on $15 a day in Panama?
The Panama Canal is an incredible creation with a very interesting history. First the Colombians owned it and then the French did. Then it got taken over by the Americans and it was American owned until about 15 years ago. Next year marks its 100th anniversary.
Thousands of workers died while working on the canal from malaria and yellow fever. Because mosquitoes were such a problem, they resorted to some very interesting measures and tactics, such as draining wetlands, putting oil on top of water sources and fumigation.
The Panama Canal contributes a huge amount to the Panamanian economy, especially now with an enormous construction project underway to expand the locks in order to accommodate larger ships. The businessperson inside of me was almost as much in awe of this engineering feat as my brain was!
Due to the American presence in Panama from the canal, there are many things that were adopted from the United States. There is also still a large American expatriate presence, especially in Boquete (the town at the base of the volcano). From taking International Buyer Behaviour (BUSI 3705), I have noticed many things that a Latin American collectivistic culture would not necessarily have, such as private gardens and certain advertisements that do not necessarily appeal to these collectivistic attitudes.
Another great thing that is being pushed ahead in Panama is that there is an effort to try and get people to use waste management and recycling programs, which are only available in some areas, Boquete being one of them. The other countries that I have visited here do not seem to be trying to implement these things, such as vendors throwing bags of trash into the river in Santiago, Chile.
I hope this post made Panama sound as great as it was and next time I will tell you all the important things you are scared of in the first week of arriving in your exchange country!
Hasta Luego!