Day 1 Panama-Josie Cartaya

Yes I know this is late but a lot of us got in late. Anyways, yesterday was really informative. I really enjoyed the trek to the waterfall and the waterfall itself. It's cool how you have to work to get to something so beautiful and so fun. The guide wasn't kidding when he said we were going to a water park. The canoe trips to the waterfall and to the village were also fun, but once we got to the village I was a little disappointed. I learned quite a bit about the Embera tribe, but it seemed to me that they were "prostituting" their culture (not my words and I can't remember who said them last night at Reflection). Most of the adults didn't seem too happy to see us there, even when they were dancing. In my mind dancing, no matter what it's for, should be a little fun for the dancers. To me it seemed like they felt they were on display. I even think some of them weren't entirely sure of what they were doing. That brings up another disappointing fact; the Embera are losing their culture. The tribe member who talked to us was saying that a number of children in the tribe did not know Embera. It seems kind of ironic that they are showing their culture to tourists when they are slowing losing it themselves. I think some of this is due to the intervention of the Panamanian governement. They forced the Embera to move from isolated families to tribes and they could no longer hunt on the land. Now they have to go to the city and they have to learn spanish. So many things are being emposed on them that it's no ssurprise that some of them are bitter.