Panama Trip 2017
Caroline Twombly: What is one word you would use to describe the trip as a whole?
“An adventure”
-Ms. Mack
“Life-changing”
-Ryan Lynch
“Phenomenal”
-Laura Masucci
“Fenomenal”
-Ms. Adams
CT: What was your favorite part of the trip?
“So our last day we spent exploring the old city. We had around two and a half hours to explore on our own and get lunch instead of a guided tour. We also got to spend that morning on a boat with monkeys and even got to feed the monkeys which was pretty fun.”
-Ms. Mack
“My favorite part of the trip was the day we went snorkeling and to a private island for the rest of the day.”
-Ryan
“My favorite was when we visited the pineapple farm.”
-Laura
“My favorite part of the trip was the last day when we went to monkey island on motorized boats and we were all together and we got to experience the monkeys. But one monkey jumped on the boat and scared almost half the group almost over the side of the boat. And, just overall watching the kids just embrace and live and appreciate the culture, that definitely made the trip memorable and amazing because of what they brought to it. And, the group was so small with nine kids, it was like a big group of friends.”
-Ms. Adams
CT: How was the weather?
“It was hot and humid, it was nice to get away from the snow that was here when we left. Sounds like you guys had nice weather while we were gone.”
-Ms. Mack
“Hot and humid, but definitely better than back here in Massachusetts.”
-Ryan
“Extremely, extremely hot.”
-Laura
“The weather was great, we had no weather issues, it was hot though and real humid. But everyday we had perfect weather, except one day we got a little rain but it actually felt pretty good.”
-Ms. Adams
CT: Favorite food you had during the trip...
“So it actually wasn’t Spanish food, but we went out for milkshakes one night as a group and that was probably my favorite food of the trip.”
-Ms. Mack
“My favorite food was the pineapple from the day we went to the pineapple farm, it was so sugary and sweet.”
-Ryan
“Mine was probably the pineapple too”
-Laura
“My favorite food that I had during the trip was ceviche, marinated raw fish, and it was not officially food on the trip because I think the food on the trip was actually kind of bad. But I guess the Panamanian diet from what our guide told us is that it's a lot of fried food, even though they have such a large fishing industry and fresh fish apparently most of it is exported and not saved for the local community.”
-Ms. Adams
CT: Were you able to use a lot of Spanish throughout the trip?
“Yes, so our tour guide obviously spoke Spanish, he’s from Panama City, and we made sure he gave the tours in Spanish. Anywhere we went where there was a different guide, he asked them to give the tours in Spanish as well.”
-Ms. Mack
“Every single day we used Spanish, whether it was ordering lunch or just talking to the locals.”
-Ryan
“Our tour guide also used Spanish, talking to us about places and the history of them.”
-Laura
“Well, I was, and our guide actually tried to do as much in Spanish as possible because it was important to us that we be using the language. Brian actually used the most and he doesn't even take Spanish anymore.”
-Ms. Adams
CT: How were the beaches in Panama compared to the beaches here?
“We only spent one day on the beach, we spent the other time in the waterfalls and stuff. But that beach was nice, the sand was really really hot, which I’m not used to here. It was nice, it was quiet and it was clean.”
-Ms. Mack
“We only went to one beach, but I would have to say that it was way better than the beaches here.”
-Ryan
“You can’t even compare it to the beaches here, they were so amazing.”
-Laura
“The beaches were amazing, crystal clear, we actually ended up on our own private side on a private island the day we went snorkeling. They were just pristine and refreshing, not really cold, but just beautiful.”
-Ms. Adams
CT: Something interesting you learned…
“The most interesting part of the trip for me was the Panama Canal, just the history of how they built it, it's taken hundreds of years so that was pretty interesting”
-Ms. Mack
“Panama is the safest Latin American country.”
-Ryan
“Everyone is so nice there, people would wave at us as we walked by, it was so cool.”
-Laura
“Well I had not all that much knowledge going into the trip about the Panama Canal and how it was constructed, the years it took, other countries involvement and the manpower that went into it. That was something really interesting that I wasn't expecting I would be that interested in. We even got to watch a boat go through the canal which was really awesome.”
-Ms. Adams
