THE Panama Canal

HOLA!

Greetings from the metropolitan capital of Panama. When so much happens in one day that changes my life, it is hard to summarize and fully captivate my experiences and lessons. Do you know what I mean? Reflection and documentation, and sharing...

Leaving the Tent Camp in Drake Bay, Costa Rica was like leaving paradise. Our time there ended nicely because we had a final meeting with marine biologists and a non-profit organization leader that is working towards creating a sea sanctuary in the bay so that all of the marine life could have a protected space to live and travel. Thus, we ended our time of learning about all of the environmental problems and oceanography's challenges on a positive note because we talked with people that are trying to create social, political and environmental change.

Driving to Panama was long. This country is very long and crossing the border took too much time. Bahh!

We have only been in Panama City for 2 days and we have learned about the overwhelming importance of the Panama Canal. This whole country circulates around that "commerce artery of the world." Ever since the US “helped” Panama gain their independence from Colombia in 1903, the US has maintained a very strong presence in this city. In my opinion, and most of the students would agree, Panama City looks like Brooklyn and the zone around the Canal looks like the USA. Considering that the Panama Canal zone belonged to the US from 1903 until Dec 31, 1999, and Panamanians could not even enter this zone, it continues to look like a modern US Military base. In a city that has a plethora of modern skyscrapers and neighboring shacks where the poor inhabitants do not even have running water, contrast is obvious.

Yesterday we took a tour of the Miraflores Locks, which are the biggest locks in the Panama Canal. We walked through the biased museum, watched the propaganda video and watched 4 HUGE cargo ships pass through the locks. Amazing. The largest vessel to pass through the canal just passed through last week, and that ship paid $250,000 in fees and the average passage time is 8 hours. The Panama Canal is like the Singapore of the American continent.

After learning everything possible about the Canal, in one afternoon, we went on a tour of the city. We drove through the poorest neighborhood that received the majority of the bombs during the 1989 US invasion to get the dictator President Noriega out of power. We drove through the old city where the capital was originally established by the Spanish. And we drove through the modern metropolitan area of high rises and colorful stores. This city really is an excellent example of contrast.

Today we went to the University of Panama and had a lecture from the largest Student Group about their perceptions of their country. I translated and it was hard due to the different in regional accents. The Question-and-Answer part of the meeting was interesting because college students learned from college students about the complexity of a country that maintains the richest economy in Latin America (so they say) and where 40% of the population lives in poverty.

This afternoon we went to the US Embassy Consulate and received an outstanding and educational talk from the Diplomatic Public Relations Representative. That charismatic and intelligent man shared everything he knew about Panama-US relations from a governmental viewpoint, along with his opinions as a private citizen. He answered our dynamic and profound questions completely and left us feeling semi-satisfied about the “good intentions” of the US government in the world.

We are learning so much about politics, international relations, social problems, US world relationships, trade & commerce, free trade agreements [ =( ], university life, environmental issues and, of course, THE Panama Canal. Our schedule and brains are full, and our world perceptions are expanding. Just like the Panama Canal is going to do within the next 10 years.