Panama - Squiz the World goes to...

0:00This is a Squiz Kids Podcast. Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you. Hey! Each fortnight we get the wildlife of Spinnon's Sea where we land. Then we take the kids of Australia and the world on an audio excursion to visit that country and its people. I'm Krista Kittjerina and today on Squiz the World, we're visiting a country where a skinny strip of land joins two enormous continents, gigantic ships climb a watery staircase through the jungle, and brilliant golden frogs wave to get each other's attention. Can you guess? Strap yourselves into the Squiz Kids Superfast, Super Sonic Jetliner as we take off and take a Squiz at Panama. Just the fact! Panama is a long, skinny, kind of S-shaped country in Central America,

1:02connecting North America to South America. Costa Rica sits on one side, Colombia on the other, with the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the North and the Pacific Ocean to the South. Panamanians sometimes describe their country as bridge of the world, heart of the universe. And it is very narrow. At its skinniest point, Panama is only 60 kilometres wide. The whole country covers about 75,000 square kilometres, making it just a little bit bigger than Tasmania. But don't let it small size fool you. Panama has around 4.5 million people, about 1,500 islands and tiny islands scattered around its coastline, and more than 1,000 different bird species. The capital is Panama City, and it's packed with shiny skyscrapers, busy roads and massive apartment buildings.

2:03But you don't have to travel far to see tropical rainforests, mangroves and sparkling ocean. Panama's official language is Spanish, but you'll also hear English and indigenous languages, including Gunan, Goba Ra, Embraer and Wonaan. Panama's population reflects its long history as a meeting place, bringing together indigenous, European, African, Caribbean, Asian and many other influences. The country is home to seven officially recognised indigenous peoples, and some of these communities, govern their own protected regions, called Commarcas, and continue to practice traditions handed down through the generations. If you're planning to spend your pocket money in Panama, things get a little interesting. Panama's official currency is the Balboa, named after Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. But one Balboa is always worth exactly the same as one US dollar,

3:06and both currencies are used. Panama makes Balboa coins, but for banknotes, generally people use US dollars. Most of the country is hot and tropical, with a wet season and a dry season, rather than four distinct seasons. Mountains run along its middle, including Volcan Barru, the country's highest point. On a particularly clear day, people at the top might be able to see the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other. But Panama's most famous feature is the enormous waterway cutting across it. The Panama Canal, stretching for about 80 kilometres. It allows ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans without sailing all the way around South America. Thousands of cargo ships, cruise liners, and other vessels pass through each year, paying tolls based on things like their size, the type of vessel, the cargo they have on board,

4:07and these tolls bring in a significant amount of money to Panama's economy. And running roughly beside the canal is the Panama Canal railway. It actually came first, carrying people and goods across Panama since 1855, nearly 60 years before the canal opened. But how did Panama become such an important crossroads? And how did anyone manage to carve a passage through all that rock and rainforests? Let's set the clock for several million years ago and do some... Time travel. Panama's story begins millions of years before the first people arrived when North and South America were separated by ocean. Deep beneath the water, pieces of earth's crust pushed against each other, causing volcanic eruptions, and eventually islands formed. Over millions of years, rocks and and mud filled the gaps

5:09until a narrow strip of land rose above the waves. The isthmus of Panama had formed, joining North and South America and separating the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. And isthmus is just that, a narrow strip of land surrounded by water that connects two larger landmasses, and this one changed the world. Animals that have been separated for millions of years could suddenly cross between the continents. Armadillos, opossums, and giant groundsloths travelled north from South America while ancestors of bears, cats, horses and deer, they move south. As humans arrived, Panama became an important meeting and trading place. Indigenous communities lived across the isthmus for thousands of years, farming, fishing and exchanging goods with neighbours to the North and the South. Fast forward to 1513, and Spanish explorer Vasco Nunes de Balboa crossed Panama

6:12and became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Spaying quickly realised how useful this narrow strip of land could be. Gold, silver and other goods from its specific colonies were carried across Panama to ships waiting in the Caribbean, but crossing by foot or mule was hot, muddy and slow. Surely people thought there must be an easier way. Other countries wanted a piece of the action too. In 1698, Scotland gave it a go, but disease, food shortages and poor planning saw that fail. France tried digging a canal in 1881, but its engineers badly underestimated Panamars mountains, flooding rivers and tropical diseases. In 1903, Panama was a part of Colombia, but with US support, Panama gained its independence and days later signed a treaty letting the USA build and control the canal.

7:13The Americans restarted construction in 1904, and instead of one deep channel at sea level, they built enormous locks to lift ships 26 metres up to the Gartun Lake and carry them across Panama, then lower them back down. I've stuck a link to video of the amazing lock system in the episode notes. Tens of thousands of workers came from around the world to work on constructing the canal, especially the Caribbean. They did the exhausting, dangerous work, but black Caribbean workers were paid less and given poorer conditions than white American workers. On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal finally opened. The USA kept control for most of the 20th century, while generations of Panamanians demanded their canal back. That finally happened on December 31, 1999, when Panama took full control.

8:13Today, it's one of the world's busiest shipping shortcuts, and one of Panama's proudest national symbols. Well, that was quite a history lesson, and speaking of lessons, the uniforms are ironed, their backpacks are packed, and the bell is about to ring, which means it must be... Time for school! If you're a kid in Panama, you're long summer holiday falls over Christmas in the beginning of the year. Classes usually start back in late February or early March, and run through to December, with the year divided into three terms, or trimesters. School uniforms are pretty common, especially in public schools. Lots of primary students wear a white shirt with navy blue trousers or a skirt, black shoes and white socks, but the exact uniform varies from school to school. With Panama's hot and humid weather keeping that white shirt looking crisp and clean all day, that must be a massive challenge. Once the bell rings, a lot of subjects will sound familiar.

9:16Maths, science, social studies, English, art, technology, PE, and of course, Spanish. But not every student spends the whole day at school, because in many schools there are more children than there are classrooms that can hold them all at once. Panamanian schools might operate in two shifts, so one group arrives early in the morning and finishes about lunchtime, and then a second group uses the same classrooms during the afternoon. That might sound like a wonderfully short school day, but kids are still expected to squeeze their lessons into those hours, and they might have to do homework when they get home. Where you live can also make a big difference to your school experience. A student in Panama City will they might travel by car or by bus to a big school filled with computers and other tech, while in a remote rural or indigenous community getting to class might involve walking along an unsealed track or traveling by boat. And some small schools, they still struggle with limited internet access, learning materials, or even electricity, and there are not always enough teachers willing or able to work in these isolated communities.

10:26In break times, both soccer and baseball are super popular in Panama, but when schools out, Panama still has plenty of strange and surprising stories. Let's see whether you... Believe it or not. For a relatively small country, Panama has a ridiculous amount of wildlife. There are jaguars, tapers, antators, capybarras, crockadiles, sea turtles, monkeys, sloths, and more than 1000 species of birds. Panama's national bird is the harpy eagle, one of the world's largest and most powerful eagles. Its legs can be as thick as a person's wrist, and its enormous curved talons are strong enough to snatch monkeys and sloths from the rainforest canopy. But Panama's most unusual communicator is much smaller and much more polite. The panamanian golden frog lives around fast-flowing noisy forest streams, calling out over all that Russian water, well that isn't always easy, so the frogs use their bodies to communicate.

11:39They twitch their heads and legs, stand their feet, and wave their front limbs at one another. Hello there, lovely weather we're having! I'm stuck in video of another great communicator, David Attenborough, with these little guys in the episode notes. And despite the name, the golden frog is actually a type of toad. Its bright yellow skin warns predators that it's poisonous and it has become a beloved national symbol of good fortune. And now for something else that's difficult to believe, a panamanian icon that isn't panamanian at all. The lightweight straw hat known around the world as the panaman hat is traditionally made in Ecuador. The hats were woven from Takeria straw by Ecuadorian crafts people and shipped overseas through Panama, an important centre of international trade. The travelers bought and wore them there and the name Panama hat stuck.

12:41The confusion grew when US President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing one while visiting the Panama Canal construction site in 1906. Panama actually does have its own traditional hat, called the Sombrero Pinto. It's woven from plant fibers and decorated with distinctive patterns. So unlike the so-called Panama hat, it really is panamanian. All these waving frogs enormous eagles and mixed up hats have made me surprisingly hungry, which means it must be! Dinner time! Panama's food is a delicious mixture of indigenous, Spanish, African and Caribbean influences with plenty of rice, beans, chicken and seafood. One of the country's best love dishes is San Cacho Duguyina, a warm, comforting chicken soup made with chunks of Nye Ma, which is a start to root vegetable and plenty of cilantro.

13:43It's a strong flavoured herb related to coriander or cilantro. Every family has its own version, but panamanian San Cacho is usually served with white rice. It's a sort of meal people turn to when they're tired or feeling unwell. Basically, Panama's answer to almost every problem is have some chicken soup. On the side, there might be pateconis, these are pieces of green plantain, kind of like banana, that are fried, squashed into flat disks and then fried again until they golden and crunchy. And for dessert, especially on a hot panamanian day, there's Raspau, a street vendor called Aeros Perro, scrapes ice from a large block, piles it into a cup and pours brightly coloured fruit syrup over the top. Some versions also come with condensed milk or more powder, cold, sticky, sweet and almost guaranteed to turn your tongue a ridiculous colour. Well, our bolsa empty, Aeros' powers melted and it's nearly time to fly home.

14:48But first let's find out how closely you're feeling listening. Time for the quiz. This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening, question number one. Which two continents are connected by the isthmus of Panama? Excellent work if you said North America and South America. Question number two. How do panamanian golden frogs communicate beside noisy forest streams? Yeah, it's by twitching, stamping and most importantly by waving to each other. Question number three. In which country are the hearts known as Panama hats traditionally made? Excellent work if you said Ecuador.

15:49Well, that's all we have time for today. Thanks for staying curious about the world and joining me on this incredible trip to Panama. Now get out there and have a most excellent day. Over and out. Hello there, Squizz Kids listeners. I'm Anna Pikeett. And I'm Andrew Williams. We host Squizz today, a daily news podcast for adults, which is published at 6am every weekday to get you across the big stories in less than 10 minutes because we know you're busy. We know you're busy and we also know that the news can kind of be a lot. So that's where we come in. We unpack the issues that are making headlines. We make sure there's a sprinkle of quirky and lighter stories in there a good mix so you can start your day feeling informed but not overwhelmed and the news can be overwhelming. Absolutely. And we also present Squizz Shortcuts where we take a look at the back story to the big news stories. Things like why Australia is in $1 trillion of debt to why we keep hearing about smart classes. The topics are wide and varied. It can be what the country's planned for AI is or why you're suddenly seeing Robert Irwin everywhere.

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