The communication barrier still remains, but it is getting easier. I am able to understand more and more, and they are patient with our lack of understanding. We somehow manage, and with each day I get more comfortable in this place that is so different from my real home.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Las Experiencias Nuevas
We have been in Panama one week now but we have already seen and experienced so many new things. As I reflect on this past week I am amazed at the transition in my own comfort level in this new culture. When we first arrived in Chitre, we stopped at the University of Panama and were greeted with food, the traditional arroz con pollo. Our individual families that we live with then came and picked us up. When my homestay mom arrived I quickly learned that communication was going to be an issue. She nor the family I stay with speak a word of Spanish. This is when I began to get uneasy. We then arrived at our house in a modest part of town. My roommate Lindsay and I were shocked to see that they leave the doors and windows wide open, and that they did not have air conditioning. With the windows and doors wide open, people would just walk right through our front door and meander around the house. Lindsay and I were freaking out. We did not understand this and felt unsafe. Now, a week later, I laugh at these feelings of discomfort and vulnerability. The Panama people are so different then us Americans. They are trustworthy and kind. They believe in community, within the family, between neighbors, and between complete strangers. The ¨random¨people walking freely throughout the house I soon learned were cousins and neighbors. There are various people who live in our house throughout the week other then the family members. There is an old professor who comes and stays Wednesday and Thursday. They also have a housekeeper who lives with them. I love how they all take care of one another, whether it be family or a neighbor. I am especially touched by a woman who lives across the street. She walks in every night just to greet me and Lindsey. She is so kind and fascinated by us.
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Panama (The non-clinical side)
ReplyDeleteSo we have been in panama for quite sometime now and I have experienced many enlightening and different experiences in both the culture and the healthcare setting. I have been to Honduras almost every summer since I was a little kind so coming to Panama was not going to be that different for me. Once i arrived in Panama though I was surprised that there was a noticeable difference in their culture here. We spent the first two days in Panama City at the city of knowledge and I enjoyed the time that we spent there. We got to go on a tour and see the canal which is such a great experience and I loved the way the panamanians talked about it with such great pride! I feel like I did accommodate to the culture very well because I am latino but it was hard for me to watch others struggle with the food difference and language barrier.
Once we arrived in Chitre I knew that it meant we had to get down to business. I got to meet my host family and everyones else's as well when we got there and I was actually surprised that many on the families did not speak english so I was not sure how that was going to play out. When me and Renee meet our host mom she was no nervous because she doesn't speak english but when she heard me speak spanish to her she told me it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. My family consists of the mom, Yasmin, the dad, alex, their four year old son, alex ivan , and the nanny, natalie. Everyone is super sweet and super accommodating. For the longest time i never really got to spend anytime with my family because we would have clinical and then seminar and then for a couple night we actually had activities planned like a sports day, pizza party, going out to a dance and stuff like that. And then most the free time i had was spent sleeping or working on my seminar. But then one day the actives were cancelled so i actually got to go out with the family. So they took us to the pottery stores so we could buy gifts and then they actually bought us one and put our names on each one! it was so cute! we also went to clothes stores, two parks that both had really pretty churches and then also an artificial beach that still confuses me. So my family is been so nice and warm to me and me and the mom always have so much to talk about. the dad always tried to practice his english while renee her spanish so that is always a trip to watch. I also like the area that my family lives in because there are four other families that are close so we tend to all get together at Lilya, Caitlin and Melissa's house when we can so that we can hang out. one of Liliya's posts actually has a picture of all of us at their house.
As for the university of Panama they have really nice and helpful to us. They are always inviting us to actives and always trying to bring our nursing school and their together . So far we have had a pizza night with them( which he had invited them to) an we had a really good turn out and everyone really mingled with each other. Also there was a party at a club called the break that they invited us to and only half of our group went but i had a lot of fun with the students. oh yea and we had a sports day where we were supposed to play soccer but then it turned into volleyball some how so we did that and they had an egg relay and egg toss. Then also this past thursday we went to a queen party that they held but we weren't there for too long because we did have clinical in the morning and it was so packed! Tomorrow we are having a cultural fiesta with the students and they are going to do a traditional dance and song for us and we are supposed to do the same. so we are thinking of doing the Cha cha slide and the cotton eye joe. so ill let you know how that goes.
So far I have been having a great experience with the family home-stay and the connection with the panama students and I have made it this far with only a week left!
until Next time!