Math major and graduating senior, Lynnique Johnson, had the opportunity to study abroad last spring in Panama City. An entire year later and she’s still raving about the trip!
Check out all she had to say about Panama City!
When did you study abroad and for how long?
I went abroad for the Spring 2015 semester from Jan. 7-May 2.
Where did you study?
I studied at the Florida State University-Panamá campus in Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge), Panamá.
What was Panama like to you?
It was a very different, yet enriching experience because I was in a bilingual community at school but the entire country spoke Spanish. I was able to learn about the Latin American culture and the Panamanian culture, which was a great experience in itself.
Did you meet other students and make friends from the U.S. or outside of the U.S.? If so, where are they from?
Since I was at a different campus of FSU, there were other students in Panamá who were from the main campus in Tallahassee, FL. Those students were from all across the country–from Seattle, to Boston, to Georgia, to Florida. I also made many good friends from different countries in Latin America. One of the girls who I became closest with was from El Salvador, and together we spent a lot of time with other girls from Venezuela and Colombia.
How was the food in Panama? How is their food culturally similar and different from the way we eat in the U.S.?
The food in Panama was very reflexive of the traditional Latin American diet. Most dishes consisted on rice, beans, a choice of meat, and a tortilla/fried bread item. But, the tortillas are not like the ones that we eat in America. In fact, each country has their own version of a tortilla, which I thought was very interesting.
Most of the time while I was there, I would cook my own meals and would occasionally go to the local plaza (shopping center with convenient stores and different restaurants) if I didn’t feel like cooking one day.
I also got to taste the food from other countries since some of my housemates were from other countries. Camila, my friend from El Salvador, and I did a lot of cooking together and we even made papusas, which is an El Salvadorian tortilla filled with refried beans or meat and cheese.
Since the U.S. has an influence on just about any country, there were a lot of Americanized food options like McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and other places that served burgers and other American food. But besides that, the food there was a lot fresher and cheaper than in the U.S. Overall, my absolute favorite thing about Panamá was the cheap and fresh produce that I could get from the farmer’s market.
What was the weather like?
Panamá, like any other tropical country closer to the equator, has very, very troipcal weather. It does not have the 4 traditional seasons like the U.S. does but they do have two different seasons, rainy (April-November) and dry (December-March). I was there during the dry season, which, as the name suggests, has little to no rain and very hot temperatures daily (70’s-80’s).
Some days are better than others but sunblock, shades, and a hat were almost always needed. The seasonal timeline can vary depending on the year, but that is usually the span of the dry and rainy season. Since the rainy season was just strating toward the end of the semester, it was very different from any rain storms that I’ve been in. It is usually cloudy all of the time which makes it hard to know when a rain storm may start, so it’s good to be prepared all the time. The storms would last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours so it would definitely not be a good thing to get caught in one.
What was a typical day like for you there?
My class schedule was very convenient and compact while I was there, so I was either starting my day early (around 9:00) and ending early (around 12:00) or starting late (around 2:00) and ending early (around 5:00.)
Since most of the girls who lived with me had been in Panamá for at least a semester before I got there, they knew people with cars and they would give us a ride to campus. If we didn’t get a ride, it was about a 30-minute walk in the heat…brutal…
After I went to class, I would go back to the house and do any homework that needed to be done and then just hangout with the girls at the house. We would also work out together, go to the gym in the neighborhood or go for a walk.
What places did you visit?
We had excursions planned for us on weekends throughout the semester that allowed us to explore different regions of Panamá, but sometimes my housemates and I planned our own getaways to places that were a must-see, as described by the internet!
I visited the Panama Canal, Panamá Antigua/Viejo (Historic/Old Panama), Bogota’s National Reserve, Bocas del Toro, Panamá City, Veraguas Mountains, The Festival de Diablos y Congos in Colón, and the San Blas Islands were a few of the places that I was able to go to. My favorites were my trips to Veraguas mountains and San Blas because they were so disconnected from everything and were the least “touristy” feeling places.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
I absolutely loved every minute of it and love reminiscing on it even more. The fact that it’s just been over a year since I went feels so surreal! I will definitely go back if I get the chance to. It was so beautiful, I think everybody should make an effort to get out there at least once in their lives!