Fiddler on the Roof (in Spanish) at the Teatro Nacional and more!

It's great to have friends. The two people I know from Panama have both gotten in contact with me since I've been in country. One of them was working on a show in the city and invited me to see it and hang out for the weekend. They were (or still are, I suppose, since the run ends today) doing Fiddler on the Roof. It was the first time I got to see theatre here in Panama. I couldn't pass it up!

The show was wonderful, and a very interesting experience. I've been in Fiddler before, so I'm very familiar with the music and the show in general. It was odd seeing it performed in Spanish, with translated songs. "To life, to life, L'Chaim!" became "Brindemos por la vida!" (Let's toast to life!) So it often worked out wonderfully and I understood without any problem. There were other moments where I had to laugh at the strange Spanish I was hearing. Casamentera (their word for Matchmaker) is one I've never heard before and will likely never hear again. But the overall message stayed the same, and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Un violinista sobre el tejado, playing at the Teatro Nacional in Casco Viejo, Panama City. A gorgeous venue.

(The front entrance)

Everyone and their mother was taking pictures of the beautiful stage with their smartphones before the show started. It was a bit of a shock, coming from my site to the city, and such a yeyé (upper class) experience as the theatre.

A very classic interior, with several balconies for small group seating. The first time I saw it, my mind immediately went to Abraham Lincoln. Abe, no!

My University of Michigan and Panamanian friend. Thanks Andrés for a great weekend!

I.P.T. School Anniversary

Quick review of what I.P.T. means before I launch into the real content. I.P.T. stands for Instituto Profesional y Tecnico. It's a term referring to the type of school. There are two levels: pre-media, middle school including 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, and media, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades with a sort of major. In the case of our school, the media program's focus is agriculture. The high school kids spent a lot of time learning about crops, working out in the fields, and learning to use machinery.

This past Thursday was the I.P.T.'s school anniversary. The festivities are pretty standard across the country, but compared to the elementary school's anniversary, this one was a bit different for me. Namely, the theme was more traditional Panamanian as opposed to the rural, "cowboy" theme. But like any other Panamanian celebration, dancing and eating were major themes of the day.

On Wednesday night, teachers stayed and prepared the school for the next day. Then, that evening, they had a procession with all the teachers and students, a kinda sorta drumline, and torches. It was very interesting. Everyone in the community emerged from their houses to join the procession, which went from the school to the church (about a 4-minute walk).

Thursday, September 27, was the big day. And just how exactly did we know it was a big day? Cars were parked in front of the school. Barely anyone in my community has a car, so that means people from elsewhere came out.

One of the fun activities they had was a tug-o-war with a nearby school (the same school where I took a group of kids to recite the poem I wrote back during English Week). The visitors won every round of the game. They were bigger, and one kid looked like a bodybuilder in training. Beastly...

The school named a student queen (not pictured here). They also had a faculty king and queen. I lost in a very close race. I think the applause-o-meter was faulty. The two here are high school students in ropa típica, traditional Panamanian clothes. The men ususally wear collared shirt like that (occasionally with designs), jeans or dark pants, cutarras (sandals), and a chácara (small, handwoven bag).

The girl here is from a neighboring community's conjunto típico, a traditional dance group. She is wearing what is called a pollera, a beautiful dress, wonderfully ornate and elaborately, painstakingly handmade (especially with the authentic, expensive ones).

Here you can see the sort of headdress the girls wear to accompany the pollera.

An interesting stand brought to us by ARAP, which is essentially the Acquatic Protection Agency. They set up acquariums with different fish and sea creatures with a small blurb about each one.