Most people lean toward one of two categories, the internal or external locus of control. That is to say, you either believe that a given event occurred because YOU CAUSED IT to happen (internal LOC), or that the event HAPPENED TO YOU because of factors beyond your control (external LOC).

Citizens of most developed countries have a tendency toward the internal locus of control. They say things like “I started my own business, I put myself through college, I earned this or that”. In reality, a lot of personal effort may have been involved in those events, but they may not always give credit to the fact that they were born to parents who cared enough to teach them these scruples, that were part of an economy that facilitated their education, etc. In reality, without getting too pithy, life is a card game: a portion is what cards you are dealt and the rest is how you play your hand. Culture mandates where we draw the line between the two.

I bring this up because in Panama, one of the interesting things for newly arrived expats to deal with is an overwhelming external LOC in Panamanians. Often it takes religious tones in the case of the oft said phrase “Si Dios quiere,” if God wishes.

Example: “So Juan, I guess I’ll see you at that meeting tomorrow?” “Si Dios quiere.”

This is a difficult thing to wrap your head around at first. What does God’s will have to do with you making it to the meeting or not? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t…but shouldn’t that be Juan’s responsibility?

Often these sorts of lines are used as scapegoats. You didn’t forget your obligation, it slipped your mind. You didn’t drop the glass, it fell. In my mind I must cast blame, yet in their minds, regardless of whose fault it was, the glass is still broken.

Another example of this can be seen in analyzing the Spanish verb “ganar”.  “Ganar” means “to earn”, “to win”, and “to gain” among other things.  So, whether you have earned your paycheck or won the lottery, there’s no distinction between those two in Spanish.  In either case, fortune has smiled upon you and you have received money, regardless of merit.

You can fight it all you want here in Panama, but there are three million Panamanians, and eventually on some level or another, you must acquiesce to their system. Whether you feel the wind pick you up and swift you off to Panama or you uproot yourself and plant your feet firmly down on the isthmus, at some point you’ll find yourself being asked a question, and responding with a “Si Dios quiere.”