Soloy

Hola!
Today is our 6th day in Panama and i have had a wonderful experience so far! I have seen and experienced many things that I have not been accustomed to in the United States. Today we went into the village of Soloy for the second time. We have been speaking with Women throughout the village regarding domestic violence. There were about ten students and five translators that would go from house to house conducting a survey of about 150 questions. The people there were very friendly and welcomed us. There houses mostly consisted of sticks that were put together to make the walls and a roof that was made out of tin. They had no running water and no electricity. The women seemed to have many children and mostly with different men. I was pleasently suprised by the honesty and difficult responses to the questions that we had to asked. It was really disturbing to hear the things that most of these women have had to go through and the things that they are still dealing with. It is amazing how different cultures seem to think completely differently! Its almost as if these women have had no choice and this just the way that they live. Some of the things that are acceptable in their culture is completely opposite in the United States. These past few days have really opened my eyes to a whole new world with many issues and hardships that are dealt with on a day to day basis in order to survive. I am having a wonderful experience in Panama and I have really learned a lot from the people here.