Day 3: Culture and working like a local

Today we got dirty in the mud! Day 3 started with an early morning wake up call at 5:30am. After we ate breakfast we rushed over to the local goat farm, Finca El Espinal where we met the owner Hugo Castillero. Throughout the time we spent at the farm, we saw the goats, learned about the different breeds of goats, the breeding process, and learned about how to properly plant seedlings that will turn into food to maintain the goat farm and so that they stay healthy.

After the goat farm we returned and had our Seminar where we learned about the culture and safety while we are here in Panama. Later, we had lunch which was our favorite meal of the day and was a chicken and rice dish, potato salad, and plantains. After lunch we had another seminar about the community action project, and then closed out the afternoon where we walked to a local ice cream shop which we all loved.

As we went through the day, the question of the day we considered was, “What would the daily routine look like for members of this community? How does this compare to our own?”. We learned that the culture in Panama is different than in the US, because in the US we consume a lot and we don’t always realize all of the effort used to produce the foods or products on a daily basis. This helped us understand and become more appreciative that after seeing the hard work behind the scene that goes into the things that we consume.

Stephen LDD: Some things I took from today as a leader were to be more appreciative of the things that I have back at home. I felt confident in my ability to be a leader today, but one thing I would improve on is learning how to help a group be more coordinated with time management. Shout out to my Mom for supporting me through this trip and making sure that everything I needed was taken care of.

Melany LDD: My experience as an LDD was good, I don’t like telling people what to do but it pushed me out of my comfort zone and I like to learn more. Today I learned that it is easy to just think “I have this or that”, and we have so much for us in the U.S but in Panama they really put in hard work for what they earn. We learned at the farm that things take time and you have to be consistent with what you want because the farm we visited took over 15 years to create revenue. We take too much for granted. I’d like to shoutout Ms.Schacher for making me feel more comfortable on my first few days because I know that other glimpsers don’t get the opportunity to have their own teacher and I do so knowing that I come with a teacher makes me feel more safe and less anxious about coming to Panama.

Finally, we would like to send a BIG LOVE to Lolita Go for always supporting us, and for nominating us for being on this trip, giving us this once in a lifetime experience, and following all the blogs supporting not just us but all the delegations along the way! From your Divinci students, and Heather sends a big love too! A joke from Stephen and Demitre, “Why were the Glimpsers bored in the hotel room? Because they didn’t have a CELLular device” HAHA. P.S we aren’t actually bored.

To all the families and friends supporting, have a great night! P.S we are doing phone calls home tomorrow, please download whatsapp to use if possible as it will help us ensure a smooth communication with the students.

-Stephen and Melany

Note from GG Staff:

Comments submitted on this blog are reviewed by the Global Glimpse team before appearing publicly. Approved comments will be visible on the website within 24 hours. Thank you for your patience and for supporting your student’s journey!

Los comentarios enviados en este blog son revisados por el equipo de Global Glimpse antes de ser publicados. Los comentarios aprobados serán visibles en el sitio web dentro de las 24 horas. ¡Gracias por su paciencia y por apoyar el viaje de su estudiante!