Hazing Panamanian Style

Hashers are a group who gather once a week to run an impromptu, but still marked, course.  Oh, and they drink together in an undisclosed location afterwards.  

Hashers

Jackie Hyland, the Director of Education for Global Brigades Panama, invited me to check it out.   A designated person marks the running path with chalk to make sure everyone stays the course.  On the path, there are Xs or arrows.  Arrows point you in the direction you need to go, but Xs are bit trickier.  They're placed at intersections and indicate that the group must figure out which way to go.  Usually, the faster folks run ahead to find the next arrow, i.e. not me.

Not actual view from the hill 

We ran up a famous hill in Panama that has a fantastic view of the city.  Throughout the run, people are grunting "on on!" and "vamos abuelas" or "let's go grandmas!"  Despite the macho goading, there was actually a real sense of camaraderie among the bunch.  


When we were running up the 1600 ft hill, one of the veteran runners hung back to encourage me to keep going.  He'd walk with me, but when the time was right, he'd say, "Vamos! Corremos!" or "Come on! Time to run!"  Thanks in large part to him, I was one of the few people in the group who made it all the way to the top!


Upon completing the run, we were greeted with coolers of beer and juice.  People of all nationalities (gringos, Italians, and Panamanians of course) hung out for while, until it was time to haze the newbies. 


They made all the 'virgins' circle up with a full beer in hand.  Then they began to sing a song, whose words I couldn't decipher (there were a lot of grunty-old dudes singing in the crowd), and when they gave the signal, we had to chug our beers.  


If you finish too early, they pour beer on you.  If you stop chugging before your can is empty, they pour beer on you.  Basically, you can't escape it.  By the end, I was soaked with beer and sweat.  Mmm -- the sweet smell of victory!!