What is a teen's life like in panama?

Question

Panama is ia latin america. ^_^

Answer 1

Hi Punk, We are Americans living in the Rep of Panama.  We have a 17 y.o. daughter who has friends in Panama of several economics levels.  There are challenges to being a teenager regardless of what country you live in.  Yes, there are three major gangs in Panama that a kid can get messed up in and they do fight among themselves.  But unlike the US you don't open the newspaper and see daily articles about gang violence against the public and other gang member that result in deaths and shootings.  Does it happen?  Probably, but it is a low percentage.  There are kids with way too much money here and coke is cheap, so yes you can get positioned to have big trouble in this way.  

One of my daughter's friends is a nephew to M Night Shamlon (?), the movie producer.  I'm not sure how to spell his name I'm not into movies that much, but to point out some of the wealthiest people in the world live here and we're not some of them yet this young man is still friend with my daughter.  We have a driver that works for us and his daughter is friends with our daughter.  Our driver and his wife sacrifice and scrimp to see their daughter to naval school and their older son to a technical school.  And to point out this is where most of their friendships are developed, that and friends of our family members (cousins etc).

It's a gentler culture among the teenage population.  Girls cheek kiss among themselves.  It's not uncommon to see teenage girls holding hands or with their arms draped across each other shoulders and guess what, it's not a statement of sexual preference.  It's common to see the arm thing between a father and son, or to see a father pick up an 8 to 9 y.o. boy and give them a big hug and a kiss the way we see it in the US with 2 or 3 y.o.  The Latin American culture is a still more family focused in daily living than the North American culture.

Have you ever experienced a teenager in the mall walking straight toward you that seems to want to play chicken to see if you will step aside out of their path?  And not only the challenge but the attitude, but dare I say; of disrespect and underlying belligerence.  In Panama this is not that behavior displayed.  It’s like it use to be in the US.  By the teenager of friends we are greeted with a kiss on the cheek and called Tia or Tio.

Computers and most every electronic that is available in the US is available here.  Movies are about 4 months behind the US, but they are here.  The clothing is different but just as important as it is to US teens.  But the majority of teenagers do not own cars or have an extra family cars sitting around at their disposal.  

We have a fully accredited FSU and LSU in Panama.  Our daughter attends FSU, this current trimester cost us under $3000 for a full curriculum including books, lab fees, etc.

Another important faucet to life for a teenager here is the unspoken cast system that is still in place and dying a long slow painful death.  There are many cultures that make up Panama.  Much like the US there are Chinese, Island Blacks, French, Spanish all Panamanian born for generations.  If you are Chinese then your family will expect you to marry another Chinese person, not only that but the culture you live in will make it difficult for you to marry above the financial status of your own family.  Another word, taxi drivers generally don’t marry doctors, and I know this it the same in many other cultures of the world, but it’s very pronounced here.  As well as the color of your skin, if you look more indigenous that light and Spanish it may well dictate level of economic status you achieve.  A case in point to back up my statement is the Union Club in the Panama City.  You can not join this club, you can only be born correctly to belong and then have the silver to cover the extravagant cost of membership.  This mold is slowly being broken, but it is dying a long slow death.  But still all in all the teens here are, healthy, well cared for, loved, and stable.

For other types of information on Panama see http://www.panamaexpertos.com/

Answer 2

Well, "Punk", Panamanian kids are among the best educated children in the world in terms of manners, and respect (much better than our children in the US) because family values are high.

Of course you will find some kids that are astray, but the government is quite good at putting them where they belong.

Answer 3

My family was poor and I grew up in the US.  It was great!!  We played in the fields, camped outside summer or winter, built fires and cooked potatoes, went swimming at the river in the summertime, played in the snow, played football, soccer and on occassion... went to a movie.  I loved my childhood!!

My niece lives in Central America and is "poor."  But the real question is... who's poor?  The children that are given everything they want?  Or, those that don't get everything they want and learn to work for their success?

Best wishes

Answer 4

This describes my cousins back in Panama all the way! Well, to them, it's just the way everybody lives. You see poor people everywhere you look, so it's kind of how we live except without all the extras. They are a little bit more disciplined than us, but not much. For some reason the gov't believes that children shouldn't be whipped anymore. Also, they have this think called bativa, and you're under 18, or you don't have your I.D card with you, then you have to be home by 8 o'clock. For young men, I would have to say there's a lot of gang violence. But, Panama teenagers are able to sneak into the 18 and up clubs pretty easily too. Unlike us, the bouncers only check your I.D card if you look too young. And, their parents let their kids do more things than ours do. Their kids can be gone all day long, and the parents don't mind. That's how it is to be a poor, Panamanian teenager.

Answer 5

Well depending on where they live it could be OK, or it could not be that OK.

In your case I feel you're concerned as to where they will be living.  I know a lot of people that came from a poor background, and they are well mannered, and I also know some people that came from the best families in the country, and they are complete idiots when it comes to manners.

Economically as all places, a poor neighborhood is more dangerous than a middle to upper class neighborhood, but well that's part of the risk.