Panama is NOT perfect


Panama is NOT perfect

(12 votes)

Written by Matt Landau

Monday, August 14 2006

I would be lying if I said Panama was a perfect place that had nothing wrong with it. Of all the great things I say about this country, it is only fair to touch on a few of the things that are not so great. Like any other place to live, Panama has its downsides which, if you allow them to, can get under your skin. Once they are under your skin, they will drill for blood with serrated jaws like a mosquito or a tiny set of steak knives.

Traffic: Panama City has more than one million people living in it, and if look out your window almost anywhere in the city around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, you will see a portion of this population sitting in traffic. The traffic sucks here. It can sometimes be so difficult to get somewhere that I don't go at all. Take yesterday for example, when I wanted to see the new adult film Pirates of the Jacuzzi—so much traffic congestion I decided not to go. On top of this, lots of cars have mufflers that sound like jet engines. Pair that up with the car alarms and honking and you'll be reaching for your 9 iron. Panamanians have this way of communicating through car horns that is almost as difficult for me to listen to as French.

I often find traffic here to be like one of those little puzzles I used to play with as a kid and still occasionally nowadays. You know, those puzzles that have a bunch of little plastic square slots and one empty one, so that all the little squares were trying to move over into that one little empty spot in order to complete the puzzle? Well if you get analogy, it's really hard to get around in the city during a busy hour. Though, if you were any good at that little plastic game, you may have better luck than I do.

Smells: If you have lived in a big city before, you have come to terms with bad smells. The rotting trash left outside the neighborhood restaurant, the urine from the homeless man on the corner—normal things. But in Panama, bad smells can be taken to new heights. The bay, for example, can emit such stenchy odors, that your olfactory senses won't know what hit them. It's this bizarre composition of pollution that, if you stand and try to decipher it for too long, you may pass out. On a hot day, when there is no breeze, these smells can deviously work their way into side streets and make you feel like you might throw up a little bit in your mouth.

Prostitution: Sure, when you're on vacation it is fun to see exotic things that you are not accustomed to at home, like toucans and waterfalls. And to an extent, prostitutes fit into this category. To a certain extent, they are fun to look at and be around, almost as if you are on some sort of nature ride or wild tour. But like the jaguars and pumas on those rides, if you have hookers approaching you all the time it can get annoying. Not the greatest environment for kids either. Unless little Johnny is a pimp.

Poverty: The first thing people realize when they get to Panama is how modern it is. Almost immediately after that, they comment on the poverty. There is a huge income gap in Panama—according to a friend of mine—second only to South Africa. There are lots of wealthy people and there are lots of poor people. Unlike Costa Rica with its robust middle class, Panama is split and this income disparity rears its ugly head all over the city. The slums here are perhaps some of the worst I have seen anywhere and beggars can be found at almost every major pedestrian intersection.

Safety: Lots of websites say that Panama is perfect and has been rated as a top retirement haven by the Pinkerton Agency—a claim that Okke clearly has problems with. However, whether or not Panama is officially ranked, we must remember that it is a Third World city and with city life comes city safety issues. There is petty crime, no doubt about it. There are robberies, there are murders, there are bad people: but no worse than any big city at home. To give you perspective, I feel way less safe in DC than I do in Panama City. Just have to use common sense and as your teacher told you on your first childhood class trip, “be aware of your surroundings and hold hands with your buddy.”

Panama Culture