Morning

July 4th, 2026 6:00 AM. Mohammed and Joel being the LDDs (leaders of the day, the abbreviation is in Spanish) knocked on all the dorms for everyone to gather in the common room and have breakfast. We covered the agenda yesterday in the Nightly Meeting for Finca El Espinal (a goat farm) from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Which I (Joel Seunghyun Rhee) greatly enjoyed talked to the owner, Hugo, about agricultural topics involving what the goats eat, variety of plants, the species and breeds of animals on the area and such.

Baaaaa! Beehh! These were the adorable sounds we heard when we entered the goat’s sanctuary. We fed, played, and carried the goats which I, (Mohammed Chowdhury) enjoyed a ton. We learned a lot of the agricultural techniques of Panama, such as how they care for the environment around the goats. Hugo kindly explained many fun facts such as how to tell a goats age by their teeth or why some grow beards. From my (Mohammed’s) perspective, me and my Global Glimpse Fam were deeply moved by Hugo’s love and care of the animals. A common theme in Las Tablas is hospitality; I felt that a lot here. At the end, we compacted compost to help plants grow. We got our hands dirty, however, the community of us doing this together and the long-term action it has for the environment makes the grimy moment beautiful.

10:50 AM is roughly the time we actually started to get on the bus back to the hotel, as it was originally meant to leave 10:30 AM but was delayed. Otherwise got back to the hotel with minimal issues and had a lunch service of bean sauce, rice, chicken breast, salad, and plantain. Between 1:00-3:00 PM was free time except for our future LDDs of July 5th being Harmony, Jayden, and Agatha. At 4:00 PM we had visitors Joseph and Dadi who are part of a traditional business of making custom leather shoes, and in this case our lucky person being Gio (Giovanni) getting a free pair. These shoes were made for traditional dances: tales that were passed down generations through songs, chants, and dances.

We had free Ice cream! Brought to us by La Paulina, we had many flavors and then BOOM. A shocking jolt of light can be seen through the sky. Fireworks, singing, a crowd all flooding the road in such a beautiful way. Thanks to the GG Staff, we were able to enjoy the parade as me (Mohammed) Joel, Chiekh, and many cheerful glimpsers joined in the traditional dance that we learned from Joeseph and Dadi. Colors, Music, Explosions of light and wonders; stories of the past showered us all. Truly, I (Mohammed) and my fellow Glimpsers witnessed what Panamanian culture was in a unique and fun way. Diablicos (devils) and Polleras (traditional dresses) danced around in such magnificent wonder. Me and Joel believe everyone stepped out of their comfort zone and acted as a leader today. I (Mohammed) am proud of all of them. We had amazing dinner at the end, with pasta.