Program Details
| Program Length | Start | End | Program Cost | Age on Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Year | Early August | Early July | US$7,000 | 15.6 - 17.1 |
Age Explanation: Age on Departure reflect both the years and month(s) of the age of the applicant at the start of the program. For example, if the age is listed as 16.1 the applicant should be 16 years and 1 month at departure.
Panamá Details :
Panamá’s warm and hospitable people will welcome you with open arms. The country’s name comes from a Native American word meaning ‘place of many fish,’ and here you’ll find beaches of unparalleled beauty with coral gardens lining their shores—the Caribbean Sea to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west—and rainforests with exotic animals and rare birds everywhere. The people of this country are eager to share their festivals and events that celebrate their heritage. Mestizos, people of mixed Native American and European descent, make up 70 percent of the population, but the country is also home to seven different indigenous groups and boasts sizable West Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and American populations. From the cosmopolitan financial center of Panamá City, to the Chiriqui Highlands cloud forest, to the isolated Sans Blas Islands in the Caribbean, there’s much to experience and learn in Panamá.
Year and Semester :
You’ll live with a Panamánian host family and attend school from March through December, which will likely consist of 10 to 14 subjects in the sciences, humanities, or business. Each day of the week offers a different schedule of subjects. You will attend mostly lecture-style classes. While homework is taken seriously, there are also many extracurricular activities like sports (baseball, soccer, and basketball) and dance, providing you with the opportunities to make new friends. AFS offers several trips to sites around the country, including the beaches, and there are two optional trips at an additional cost to the San Blas Islands and the Emberá Drua Indian Reservation.
Summer Community Service and Language Study :
The summer program provides a well-rounded and wonderful way to immerse yourself in Panamá through a homestay community service and study program that also has schuduled language classes. You will grow to understand the social, family, and cultural life of a small community in Panamá. You will volunteer in the community, learn Spanish, participate in recreational activities, and enjoy excursions to help you explore more of the country. After a two-day orientation in Panamá City, participants are placed in host communities in groups of eight to ten. You’ll stay individually with a host family, perform community service at local elementary schools in the morning, and attend Spanish class in the afternoon. Spanish classes are only for the first two weeks. Service activities could include making physical improvements to classrooms and other facilities. There’s also a one-day outing to an ecological site near Panamá City.
