ferocious farm

Hi! Today the humid heat of Herrera, Panama hit us once again! However, glimpers of CH1-A were not intimidated by the challenge….! At least not too much 🙂

We visited a ranch called Finca Pamel, an eco-tourist farm-location nearby to the city of Chitre. Upon arrival, students were amazed by a myriad of swings, trampolines, and of course farm animals!! We met Jose, an employee of the farm who quickly guided us to fellow farmers who assigned us tasks, such as grass collection for animal feeding and trash pickup to keep the grounds clean! Some fun memories were made today! Micheal was actually caught in a goat pen where he faced off numerous ferocious goats who pushed for their delicious grass, he fended them off and eventually escaped. As fellow glimpsers witnessed the event, some spent their time in the trees hanging in the swings and having fun with one another!

After finishing the menacing work in the humid Panamanian Sun, with bugs crashing down on several glimpsers (lots of bites…yikes), we hiked up the San Juan hills with Mateo! He joyfully played his Siku (Zampoña), Quena as we climbed the “treacherous” hills. The instrumments are derived from Andean roots encompassing many countries around the region. Students enjoyed photo oppurtunities, senic views and even a museum play hosted by their very close glimpsers! One student, Becky, recognized the beauty of ancesteral groups of people who thrived in current day Panama thanks to the museum and their decorative clothing and memorial paraphenelia.

In all, today was really fun and bright. Day 5 marked a real turning point for our cohort, we finally felt the deep “realness” of our connection and also developed a sense of comfort for one another. Day 5 also marks our halfway point, symbolizing the significance of our potential learnings and impact from the Panamanian experience. We would like to note, although many glimpsers had difficulties accepting the realities of the work (such as farming-though admittidly not ever as hard working as the Panamanians), we eventually came through, found the light, fed the animals and found solace as a team. This marks Day 5.

“HWH!!!” – Tristen
“333”- Landon