Program Description | Host Family & Community | Community Service Placement | Travel | Orientations | Eligibility
Program Description
Panama comes from a word meaning “place of many fish.” This tropical paradise is home to beaches of unparalleled beauty with coral gardens lining their shores, as well as rainforests with exotic animals and rare birds. But today’s Panama also includes the cosmopolitan financial center of Panama City.
An AFS Community Service program gives you the opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of a community in Panama by living and working alongside its members in a community-based service organization.Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
AFS organizes orientations, an optional trip to coastal islands, local activities in the community (trips to the beach and mountains), and educational trips to museums, factories, and craft centers.
Language
The primary language in Panama is Spanish. Due to strong diplomatic ties to the U.S., approximately 10% of the population speaks English.
Although there is no language requirement, it would be very useful to have a basic background of the Spanish language before your arrival.
Host Family & Community
You may be placed anywhere in Panama, but most participants are placed in small towns and rural areas. About 10% of participants are placed in Panama City.
Host families in Panama, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to participants in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.
Panamanians
Mestizos, people of mixed Native American and European descent, make up 70% of the population, but the country is also home to sizable West Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and U.S. populations. The U.S., after all, built and ran the 50-mile-long Panama Canal, the country’s best-known economic asset, from 1914 through 1999. Now Panamanians, having lived many decades with a foreign presence and a canal that brings a nonstop flow of international commerce, are cosmopolitan and comfortable with visitors.
Contrasting Panama’s urbanity, however, more than half the country remains tropical rainforest, and there are seven indigenous tribes that still live according to prehistoric customs.
Every region hosts a festival where the music and dances are especially popular. Panamanian families are usually very close and quite large. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents often live nearby and families see each other frequently. Children often share rooms and privacy is limited. Children remain close to their families even when they are grown, often living at home until they marry.
Meals
Panamanian food reflects the influence of the different cultural groups that have settled the country. Rice is the staple of the diet and is eaten twice a day. Meals include meat, beans, platanos (a type of starchy banana) and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and cabbage. Spicy foods are rare. Meals are often accompanied by sweet cold fruit drinks called chichas.
Unlike many of their other Americas counterparts, family members may eat informally and at different times. Few families have the habit of gathering at the dinner table every evening. That is something which is reserved for special occasions or when they have visitors, but this will vary family to family. Panamanians often offer food as a sign of friendship and it's important to accept people's hospitality.
Community Service Placement
An AFS Community Service program gives you the opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of a community in Panama by living and working alongside its members in a community-based service organization.
Past participants in Panama have worked mostly at rural primary schools doing manual tasks, building and refurbishing classrooms and other facilities. At the organization, you will be asked to pitch in and offer assistance in whatever capacity might be needed.
No one expects you to be an expert with all the answers to local problems or the ability to change local conditions. Rather, you are expected to be a willing participant in a process of mutual discovery. This experience will present you with innumerable learning opportunities both personally and professionally.
Accommodations will be either in housing provided by the community-based organization or with a host family.
Past Placements
Here are some examples of past community service placements. The list shows possible placements, but not all projects will be available each year:
Escuela Flor (School of Flowers)
- Worked with teachers in a public primary school in lesson development
- Taught English and basic computer classes
- Managed the school’s computer lab
Community Health Center
- Supported administrative tasks in the office (phones, writing letters and messages)
- Assisted in the clinic
- Promoted advocacy campaigns and health projects in the community
Technical High School
- Worked with students in a high school specializing in technical and agricultural skills
- Assisted teachers in the classroom
- Took part in field work at the school and in the community
Travel
You will receive a Travel Notification email about 6 weeks prior to your international departure with your international flight itinerary and detailed instructions for when to arrive at the Gateway Orientation site in Miami. At that point, you may arrange your domestic travel. In Miami, you will join other AFS-USA participants for an overnight Gateway Orientation before you travel together to Panama City.
International airfare is included as part of the tuition, but it is your responsibility to arrange travel from your hometown to the Gateway City Orientation.
Your Arrival
After the Gateway Orientation in Miami, you and your fellow AFSers will travel to Panama City, the capital, where AFS staff and volunteers will be waiting for you at the airport. After an overnight Arrival Orientation, you will take a bus to your host community.
Your Return
You will fly from Panama City back to Miami with the other AFS participants who have been living in Panama.
Orientations
In addition to the orientations that you will participate in domestically (the locally held Pre-Departure Orientation, the Culture Trek online orientation, and the national Gateway Orientation), you and your fellow AFSers will have several orientations while abroad.
The required orientations are intended to help you maximize your AFS experience, prevent culture shock and to gain knowledge, skills and a global understanding.
Arrival Orientation
This first orientation will take place upon your arrival in Panama City. This will be an overnight orientation that is intended to prepare you for your first weeks abroad. This will be an international orientation and your opportunity to meet participants from around the world. In addition to covering the rules and safety tips, there will be an emphasis on approaching your experience from an intercultural learning perspective.
Mid-Stay Orientations
After about 6 weeks, you will have another orientation, organized at the regional level. This will last for a three days and will focus on cultural and school adjustment. You will also meet with AFS staff and volunteers to evaluate your first few weeks and be offered guidance to make the transition as smooth as possible.
If you are participating in a year program, you will also be offered a regionally organized one day Mid-Stay Orientation about halfway through your stay. Once again, this will be a time to meet with staff and volunteers, evaluate the first half of your experience, and gain more tips to aid your cultural adjustment.
End-of-Stay Orientation
Finally, there will be an evaluation camp prior to departure. This is your chance to reflect on your experience and to share with other AFSers. You will also prepare for the cultural readjustment that is a part of returning home.
Optional Activities
AFS volunteers may organize several activities for you during your stay. These may include informal get-togethers, weekend trips, picnics, and a weekend in the mountains or at the beach. There will also likely be some short exchanges between different communities and a week-long trip to Panama City to see the Panama Canal and other sites of interest. Unlike the orientations, these activities are optional and are not included in the tuition.
At some point during the year, there is a two-day trip to the San Blas Islands along the Caribbean coast. Kuna Indians whose culture remains relatively undisturbed by outside factors, inhabit these islands. The trip is optional and requires a small additional fee.
Eligibility
To participate in this program, you must:
- Be within the age range upon departure (located in the ‘read more’ drop-down)
- Be mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy in accordance with AFS Medical Evaluation Policies
- Have a U.S. passport at the time of application; passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the program end date
- Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
