LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN
Student Trip Blog
Greatings GG families! This is Djamal and Devin, your Day 3 Liders Del Dia (LDD)
We woke up at 5:30am in Las Tablas and had the privilege to tour De Finca El Espinal farm & La Paulina Bakery. We first had breakfast at 7am, where we were served pancakes & eggs. Some of the locals here like to eat cheese with their pancakes! They even put ham on their pancakes sometimes too! After breakfast, we then started to travel to De Finca El Espinal – a local goat farm.
At De Finca El Espinal, the owner, Hugo, showed us the trees that they plant around the farm to feed the goats. We packed rich soil in tiny bags and stuck tree branches inside to allow saplings to grow and prosper. Futhermore, in the goat farm, Hugo showed us the baby goats, which were adorable and hungry little furry animals which we fed using leafy branches. Hugo explained how the goat farm makes milk and how goat milk is becoming a supplement for cow milk around Las Tablas. They breed French and Spanish goats with local goats to create their own special breed of goat that makes efficent and tasty milk and survive well in the Panama climate. After visiting De Finca El Espinal, we visited a cafe in the area near our hotel in at Las Tablas called La Paulina Cafe.
The owner of La Paulina Cafe, Ana, was very open to us asking questions about her buisness and was noticeaby very passionate when speaking about it. This cafe served every pastry and sweet treat that we could think of. From banana bread, brownies, to their special bread pudding they call, “masmellenas.” The Cafe provided everyone in our group with a free cone of delicious “maybe better than U.S” ice cream or pastry. The ice cream actually tasted like Gabonese ice cream [says Djamal]: it’s so spectacular that cultures across the world can intersect. Another cultural intersection was when we saw the locals eating cheese with pancakes, because people in France also like cheese with their pancakes [also Djamal].
Back at the hotel, we created group agreements, discussing as a cohort the norms we will follow and respect. We also discussed what we learned from the day, sharing our understanding of how people in Panama live and do things compared with back home. The discussion opened our minds to the reality of how we live so differently, and how people work hard to achieve something and contribute to the community. We realize the beginning of the adventure we have ahead. Also, taking a refreshing dip in the pool to relax and chill away from the humid and hot weather allowed everyone to socialize, express themselves, exit their comfort zone, and bond even further!
We appreciate everyone who reads this blog. As today’s LDDs, we had fun and we hope we inspired future LDDs to push their leadership and their comfort zones. Thank you and enjoy your day. A new blog will be posted every day! 🙂
Devin & Djamal
Day Three LDDs
Comments (19)
Heather Schacher
Djamal and Devin, I loved reading your blog post! It sounds like you all have been having so much fun!! Keep enjoying your trip and learning more each day!
-Ms.Schacher from Watts
Aldy medina
I am very happy and excited for all of you with getting out of your comfort level bonding with each other and excited for all the new experiences that everyone will experience
Aldy- I’m so proud of you getting out of your comfort zone 💗
Lauren Galbraith
How fun! The goats are so cute. We’re so glad you’re having such a wonderful experience.
Maria Acosta
It looks like everyone is having a great time. Thank you for the informative blog and amazing pictures of your adventures.
Hamzah
I LOVE PANCAKES!!!
Maritza Ramirez
Glad everyone is having a great time and leaving this experience .
Anyeli , we all miss you so much. We think about you every day. We love you ,have lots of fun, and leave this experience to the fullest! Love, mama 🙏🏼💕
Sister says she can’t watch the show without you 😁
Anyeli it’s Aubrey i miss you girl and I have a lot of chisme to tell you when u get back i love you stay safe girl!
Stacey Powell
Dear GG family & Friends
Thank you very much for sharing. Its amazing to learn how lifestyles are different in another country. I could only imagine a rich delicious taste of that ice cream. Its good that a chill at the pool and bonding and socialize to learn more about each other.
To my daughter Miley!!! sending love and hugs
Love
Stacey
Stacey Powell
Dear GG family & Friends
Thank you very much for sharing. Its amazing to learn how lifestyles are different in another country. I could only imagine a rich delicious taste of that ice cream. Its good that a chill at the pool and bonding and socialize to learn more about each other.
To my daughter Miley!!! sending love and hugs
Love
Stacey
Lizbeth Martinez
Ask Jocelyn if she made the Chivas into America fans💙💛Also tell her Ailanie and I had frozen yogurt today without her and we did not save her any.
Rosario D.
Way to go GG group!
How exciting to see you enjoying this experience Soxo, I am so proud of you! Te mando muchos abrazos y aprovecha la oportunidad de practicar tu español con la gente bella de Panamá.
Brent Nichols (GG Staff)
Hey D&D & LT1B-LA delegation. This is a great blog! Djamal and Devin, I love how you all highlighted some cultural differences while also vividly describing the day. The pictures are so fun (especially with the goats) and I love that the ice cream is called “maybe” better than US ice cream, haha. Thanks for setting a great LDD tone.
Jordan Van Hook
I really enjoyed reading about your experience, Djamal! It sounds like such an incredible day from planting at De Finca El Espinal to bonding over ice cream at La Paulina Cafe. I hope you, Andy, and Celeste are all doing well! It’s so cool seeing Celeste go through this experience again I miss having her as my GGL every day. Can’t wait to read more of your blog posts soon! Keep soaking it all in. 😊🐐
Michael Campbell
I’m happy to see you Lucia, Nathan , Zayna and Soxo all doing well. Not gonna lie I wanna try cheese on my pancakes it sounds good. Hope you all have an amazing time and can’t wait to see you back and hear about everything.
Claudia Rivera
Everyone looks great, have fun Allena ozzy miss you 😔 and me too
Olivia Marquez
Wow the goat farm seemed like a cool place to explore and learn about!
Pauline Moses
Hi Miley, you are having such a wonderful and fun experiences. I am so happy for you. Keep enjoying every moment and looking forward to hearing more about it on your return. Take plenty of pictures and thank you for sharing
Mark Schultz
Sounds like your eating well, even gelato like ice cream.👍 I didn’t know they put cheese on pancakes in France, crepes yes but pancakes…
Mark Schultz
Have some bar b que goat if you get a chance, it’s great. I ate a lot of it in Gabon.
SanDrina
I’m so proud of you!