Reflecting on our first year – Words, Places, and Practices

September 6 marked one year for us here in Panama. I was reflecting on the year with my Spanish teacher (practicing the past tenses, of course), telling her how much my life has changed, how I have learned to appreciate what life has given me in the U.S. and here in Panama. I am learning to slow down – not be so “rigid”, as my mother-in-law says (oh, come one, I’m a Virgo, what do you want from me?) – in some ways I’m learning to accept mediocrity and be okay with it. You know the sayings, “when in Rome" and "Go with the flow"...

In the process of adapting, there are several words, places, and practices I have needed to understand in order to embrace living here. I have chosen four, for no particular reason other than that they have stuck with me:

“Coima”
A friend of ours had a rather unfortunate traffic accident a few weeks back, and he found himself handing a $100 “propina”, or tip, over to the police who arrived at the scene. It was either that or have the accident and his face broadcast on the Panamanian news. Awkward. Another friend was stopped for talking on her cell phone while driving (it’s against the law, by the way). When the police asked for a little $20 tip to make the ticket go away, she refused opting for the ticket instead – a nice $100 fine. “Coima”, or paying someone off to disregard the rules, is uncomfortable for many foreigners, but a part of Panamanian life to some degree. You may never find yourself in the position where you are asked for a “tip”, but you will inevitably know someone who has. The government is not blind to the situation as is demonstrated in the following headline from September 1, 2009: Filmed Police Identified Collecting Bribe (“Identifican a Policia filmado cobrando coima”) but I can’t help but wonder how they can change the situation. In my opinion, until public servants are paid fairly, I’m afraid “coima” will be a household word for some time to come.

“Avenida de Los Poetas”
Avenida de Los Poetas is one of the most beautiful street names in the city with one of the worst reputations. When coming back from the Causeway, or Amador, and heading back into the city, you have two choices – Avenida de los Poetas is one of them. Choose the other. Best way to make it home without incident.

Ironically, just yesterday, a friend and I were coming back from the Causeway, where we dropped another friend off, and much to our surprise “the other road” was completely blocked off by orange construction cones, forcing us to go toward Avenida de los Poetas. Okay, so here’s the scenario, two obviously gringa-looking ladies in a nice 4x4 driving closer to the ghetto, both understanding that options are limited. At this point, it looks like there’s one option – go straight. Visions of people coming out of their houses onto the streets to inspect and then strip down the 4x4 came rushing to mind. But wait, if we back up on the highway and cross the median, we can get back onto Avenida Balboa and avoid any problems. So we pull off to the side of the road to discuss if we’d be breaking the law if we backed up. Ok, seriously, only two gringas would have to pull off to the side of the road to ponder whether to go through the ghetto or back up on a freeway to safety!

Overall, Panama is a relatively safe place. I’m not trying to scare anyone. It is a city, though. All cities have good and bad sectors.

“Chiva”
This is a wonderfully entertaining cultural experience that you have to try at least once while in Panama. In Panama, a “chiva” is simply an old American school bus that has been repainted and converted into a party bus, or mini-discothèque. If you rent a good one, these things are equipped with a bar, disco lights, TV, A/C, tinted windows, dance poles, the smoke machine that is used at concerts, and a sound system that will jostle every organ in your body. You drive 5 miles per hour around the city for about 3 hours while drinking and dancing. Fabulous and a bit unreal.

“Primo” or “Mopri”
We have some Panamanian friends who have been just tremendously generous and hospitable with us. We get invited to almost all of the family functions – occasional weekends at the beach house, birthdays, sporting events, etc. In fact, the last time we went out with them, their dad pulled us aside and said, “You know you are family, right?” (Did your heart just well up 3 times its original size, and did you have the desire to give the man a hug??? I tell ya, when you are from a tight family and you have to leave them behind, hearing those words is like a thousand hugs being lavished upon you.) Ok, I digress an eensy, teensy bit.

Every time we go to a family event, we meet a new “primo/prima”, or cousin. At first, I was like – wow, how cool, such a big family, and they all like to hang together! Nice. Later I found out that there were almost no true, blood relatives among them. They were all good friends of the family. I have to say, as much as I love this family, I was almost a relieved to know they weren’t so prolific. So, long story short, “primo” is used for close friends. I’m waiting for the day when I’m introduced as the “prima gringa” – my Panamanian experience will have come full circle then.

Now, there’s also the word, “mopri” – a bastardized version of the aforementioned “primo”. You may hear on the streets people greeting one other with “Qué sopa, mopri?!” (Ok, all of you Spanish speakers out there – what does it mean? 5 seconds – go!) For those of you who guessed, “What’s up, Cousin?, you win! The Panamanians have an affinity for inverting and cutting words as well as supplementing badly pronounced English words for perfectly good Spanish words. (Case in point, “Esa ‘guial’ ‘ta buena” – That ‘girl’ is hot. Once again, subject for another day.)

So, the next time you hear a Panamanian say he had to pay coima while riding a chiva with his mopri, you will know exactly what he meant!