Day 1. Arrival in Panama – The Journey Starts Here
Student Trip Blog
Today was community day! We started bright and early at 7am.
After breakfast, we headed up into the mountains to the beautiful community of el Sonido del Yaque. We walked down a 200 step winding pathway to a beautiful village by the Yaque river. Once there, we met Doña Esperanza, the founder and president of an organization that helped create a sustainable eco village. It is a very female led organization that works to build a strong and healthy community.
We split up into three groups. Two groups helped clean up and do chores at different homes and a bigger group helped stain some wood around the village. We met some warm and welcoming women who worked alongside us to sweep, pull weeds, pick up trash and move wood. We visited their aqueducts, hydroelectric power plant, saw many of the animals they had bred and raised to help feed their community. There were fruit trees everywhere and a serious garden on the hillside. Marcelo, one of the LDDs, helped with the translation.
They fed us a classic Domincan meal which we ate alongside of some of the locals and kids. It was a warm and welcoming environment and they made us feel right at home. We played games with the kids and got to know the locals.
After lunch, we went down to the river to enjoy the majestic scenery and dip our feet in the river.
After this lovely experience, one of the more challenging experiences was the journey back up that big hill! We cheered each other on along the way and finally made it back up to a beautiful view of the valley. They were sad to see us go, especially Blanco, the little dog who followed behind our bus for nearly a mile.
Next, we got to know the school where our Community Action Project (CAP) will take place. We met several community leaders and teachers who will be guiding us throughout the next 3 days. Once back at el Rancho Ruiseñor, we met in two teams to come up with some ideas and strategies to execute the project over the next few days. We are feeling excited and determined to give the students a better and more welcoming experience on their school grounds. Today was a profound and thought provoking experience that we are grateful to have experienced.
We appreciate you guys checking up on us!
Big love to all of our friends and family! See you soon!
Mission halfway complete!
Cecilia, Giovanni & Marcelo, Leaders of the Day
