Day 3 – Panamanian Culture (Tuesday, Julia & Mehdi)

Hey this is Mehdi today i was one of 1 of 3 global glimpse leaders. The most memorable part of today was heading to the bakery, where we met a man named Orlando. He welcomed us to his bakery and fed us lunch, but that wasn’t what stood out; it was his story. Orlando spoke about his life, and how, when he became an adult and thought he had everything figured out, he went straight to work. Upon reflecting, Orlando realized how he didn’t take advantage of the opportunities given to him when he was young; one of these was learning English. He insisted to us to never let any setbacks determine our future and to always try to find a way to push through the barriers holding us back. He spoke about how we’re young, and we have so many opportunities that we might not realize and can regret not taking advantage of them in the future. Orlando used this period of his time as a lesson now in his 60s. He spoke about his bakery, which he opened 6 years ago. It started small and slowly grew bigger and bigger. There were times when it was rough, and he wanted to quit, but he never did. Through his journey, his wife supported him. For me this made me realized how we tend to think we have stuff figurued out but in reality no one does no matter what, how much money you have, or how well you think you’re doing, each person is dealing with something but not every person takes action to try to overcome it for Orlando when he was younger he didn’t take action to try to overcome what he was facing but later in life he did through his bakery and learned to never give up no matter what. 

-Mehdi 

Hi, this is Julia, and today I was one of the Global Glimpse student leaders. 

Although we did many fun activities that I cherish, one of the most memorable moments for me during this day was the mask crafting activity with my cohort group. Coming to Panama, I was filled with a lot of anxious thoughts because I was scared that I would not get along with my peers. However, during this mask crafting activity where we were able to paint a Panamanian mask, I was able to talk to some new people that I did not have the chance to speak to yet, and we all got to know and understand each other on a deeper level. After that activity, we also saw the Panamanian mask dancing, and not only did I get to learn more about Panamanian culture, I also formed meaningful friendships. 

After that activity,y in our free time we hung out at the terrace where we ate snacks and played games. I am so grateful that I stepped out of my comfort zone to come to Panama with a bunch of strangers because I have met so many kind and amazing people thatI would’vee never met otherwise. 

Hi it’s Tuesday, the third leader of the day. Upon our arrival, we were all asked what our expectations are for Global Glimpse during our 11-day stay in Panama. My response was for my independence and social skills to evolve, to have more practice with dealing with personal challenges I may face, as well as providing solutions for others in the group while in my position as a leader. Also, utilizing first-hand experiences to get the best understanding I possibly can of Panama and of myself, overall having productive fun. I’m writing now after completing a day of leadership and lessons of Panamanian culture, and despite it being so early in our stay here, I feel as though I can confidently state that all of my expectations have been met! From the smallest of issues, such as figuring out the correct spelling of a word without being able to look it up, to making progress in my communication and understanding skills in Spanish. I was most proud of myself for how confidently I presented Spanish names and words to the group and worked through the pronunciations.

Earlier in the day, I overheard others comparing their current understandings of wants and needs to what they previously considered to be necessities and how it is nurturing their mindfulness, and I felt that noticing that connected to me and how I was feeling without the materialistic things I regularly keep on me. Earlier, my peers and I spoke about the diversity at our table from all being different races and coming from different cities, yet all experiencing the same emotions, missing our homes and our loved ones. That made us notice the only difference is how we deal with those emotions due to the gender, ethnic, career, and community norms that create ideas of how certain people “should” deal with certain feelings.

The last thing I want to mention is from the conclusion of our visit to Orlando and Yamileth’s panaderia, when Orlando demonstrated the sugarcane juice extraction process, where the cane represented us, the compressor tool representing life, and the juice (as I interpreted it) not only being the ingredients for success, but also the answers we need to escape our moments of feeling stuck. This all connects to his earlier speech about the process of overcoming by learning from rough times and allowing help from the people you surround yourself with who care (having a healthy community).

I want to especially thank my mom for being so confident in me embarking on this journey and my family for their immense support and encouraging words, as well as Jaspar for keeping me company during the days before leaving and providing me with so many sentimental gifts that remind me of home!

Please be on the lookout for calls from Glimpsers tomorrow, July 29th, after noon!