Research Paper
Kayla Scothorn
HUMN 314
Professor Jackie Davila
August 8, 2015
Davenport University
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Research Paper
Panama
When going to panama it is truly like no other country you would ever imagine. The people there
are so kind, courteous. I went there on a mission trip and it was one of the best learning
experiences anyone could ever hope for. I got to enjoy Panamanian food, as well as Venezuelan
because they make that there as well. I got to enjoy their music, sing with some of the church
leaders, did a solo on my own in Spanish then I taught it to them in English. People in Panama
are nothing like the people here in the U.S they don’t take things for granted and they were
always willing to learn. My trip to Panama taught me so much but I wanted to learn so much
more. (reword – it sounds like you are concluding your paper – even though you have just
started) The greatest part was when we brought them Swedish fish and gold fish, they all have
never had them before, and they loved it so much, to this day our church sends a big box for all
of the people that we helped down there in the church of Casa De Gracia in Panama.
History of Panama
The country of Panama has been inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years. Panama started
with many indigenous groups, which Americans called Indians, such as, Kuna, Ngobe-Bugle,
Embera, Wounaan, and Naso. (combine these sentences into one or two to give the reader an idea
about what this part of your paper will be about). “Unlike the massive pyramid complexes found
throughout Latin America, the ancient towns and cities of Panama vanished in the jungles, never
to be seen by the eyes of the modern world” (Lonely planet 2015). There is a lot of history to
Panama in 1501 Panama was discovered by a Spanish explorer Rodrigo de Batista’s and with
this it had marked the beginning of the age of conquest for Panama. In addition to this his first
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mate Vasco Nunez De Balboa he is the one that is actually mentioned more in the books. To add
onto the timeline of the history of Panama in 1519 Pedro Arias de Avila had found the city of
Panama on the Pacific side and it is now later what we and the Panama people call Panama City,
this is where it all stands today. This is actually where I went for my mission trip and it is very
big and pretty beyond one could imagine, but no one goes on the beaches because that is where
all their trash is thrown because they do not have waste fills like we do here in the U.S.
Furthermore, the Spanish actually had to rebuild Panama after it had burned to the ground, three
years later. The ruins though however are still an old settlement that is known as Panama City.
According to the history channel Panama never really was a country that was independent. It
actually declared its independence from Columbia. The revolution was engineered by a
Panamanian faction, that was backed by the Panama Canal Company. The Panama Canal in
November had received $10 million and $250,000 beginning 9 years later because of a treaty
they signed and was negotiated by U.S Secretary whose name was State John Hay. “On August
15, 1914, Panama Canal was inaugurated with the passage of the U.S Vessel Ancon, a cargo and
passenger ship” (A&E 2015). Now the people living in Panama at the time(do you mean the
people from Panama or Panamanians?) really did not like the treaty and there began decades of
protests, but finally in December of 1999 the Panama Canal was passed to Panama control.
Language of Panama:
Spanish is the official language in Panama although there are many other languages that are
spoken in different pockets around Panama. Some of those are Wounaan, Teribe, Embera, Kuna,
and Ngobe-Bugle also known as Guayami. The later two actually are new mostly in the Bocas
and Del Toro regions. I know also from personal experience, there is some English, French and
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even Venezuelan. (what language is this?) Now “In the Bocos (Bocas) del Toro region
descendants of Jamaican immigrants who came to work on banana plantations and they speak
what is known as “Guari, Guari” (Frommers 2015). In addition to this apart from the Spanish
language around 14% of the population can speak English fluently” (maps of the world 2015).
English is really a huge part of the language that is taught in more of the good schools in the
country. Another example of this, is when I visited Panama a lot of the younger kids could speak
English better than the older ones, because we were told that they start trying to teach the kids
English in 1st grade. I feel like this can compare to the U.S too, a friend told me that her daughter
is learning Spanish in Kindergarten. Aside from all of that “The literacy rate is approximately
88%” (mapsoftheworld 2015). To conclude on the languages of Panama some of the more
