Sipping fresh tropical juice while overlooking the Pacific Ocean: that was just how we began our two week trip in Panamá.  In early June, eight Shipley students, including myself, traveled to Panamá to stay with families, go to school, and explore a new culture.  We started our trip at a beach resort where we enjoyed two pools, a beautiful beach, and a fun nightlife including comic performances and “discotecas.” 

The beach resort was certainly an exciting part of the trip, but the best experience came from living with a Panamanian family and being fully immersed in Panamanian culture. I had two girls in my family, a seventeen-year-old (my host) and a sixteen year old.  The two girls, Isabel and Jaqueline, always had thrilling stories and gossip to tell. 
 While in Panamá, I learned much about their culture. I ate traditional Panamanian meals for breakfast and dinner, and I drank amazing fresh mango and pineapple juices for breakfast every morning. I listened to Panamanian music (I strongly recommend the group “Son Miserables”), I went to the market with my “mom”, and even experienced the typical Panamanian traffic jam (If you think traffic is bad on the Schuylkill, go sit in a car in Panamá!)
 
The aspect that amazed me the most, however, was the influence of American society on Panamanian culture. Kids in Panamá watch the same movies and T.V. shows we watch (their favorite T.V show is the O.C. of course!), they go shopping on the weekends, and their favorite eatery is Bennigans. For Jaqueline’s quinceañeras, she and her friends took a cruise to Disney World and stayed in the exact same hotel that our Shipley softball team stays in during our trip to Florida.  Until spending time in Panamá, I had never fully realized quite what America meant to other places, and I never wholly understood America’s presence in the rest of the world. I can’t help but notice the impact that the US has on other cultures.  We truly are, or at least we are supposed to be, that “city upon a hill”: the term that we discussed so often in American Studies. We are supposed to serve as an exemplary culture that others look to. The sad part is, that right now, in light of the conflict in Iraq that we are causing and the self-alienation that we are promoting, we are losing our “city upon a hill” character. Other countries still do look to us, but their respect for America is fading. I personally experienced this when I had the unique opportunity to watch Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine with a Panamanian audience. This movie focuses on the rising levels of violence in America. As one of the only Americans in the theatre, I felt shamed as I watched the film. It was at this point that I realized that although American culture contributes to the way of life of other countries, the superiority of America and reverence towards America is declining.

While I went to Panamá to discover Panamanian culture, I ended up also learning more about being an American. American culture is part of the fabric of other countries; we play an important role in daily Panamanian life. However, after seeing our role in the world through Panamanian eyes, I can’t help but be concerned about the current actions we’ve taken and increasing tendencies towards violence and isolation. I worry our “city upon a hill” is moving to a dangerous valley.

by Emma Powers '05

September 2004