global explorers!!!

Hey y’all, this is Lina and Diana, your first LDD (Lideres del Dia) of the trip!

We started off the day by knocking on everyone’s door at 6:30AM. Everyone was still very sleepy and getting used to the time zone difference. We started off our first activity at a bakery called Panaderia La Medalla. We met the owners; Orlando and his wife Yamileth, who started thier family bakery in 2019. We were fed a very delicisious, traditianal Panama breakfast. After breakfast we all tried our hands at becoming a baker; each of us making 3 to 4 twisted and braided mini breads. We then had a mini tour of the property from Orlando; we saw the house he was born in, and all of the additions to the property that supported the business. Years ago, he started with a mini oven, and as many people in the community supported the business, he needed to create an even bigger oven. As the two of us processed this tonight, we thought about how this meant that Orlando needed to keep amending his dream as his business grew; we are realizing that we will need to “always keep looking forward”, like Orlando encouraged us to do. As we continue to digested his story, we understand what he was trying to tell us and we appreciate this message.

After becoming bakers each student became an artisan by painting their own individual ceramic pots for our second activity; at, Taller De Ceramica Don Lucrecio. Before getting started, we heard a bit of their history as cermaic makers from the owner Don Lucrecio. We were able to learn how it can be diffuclt to sustain a business while going through a pandemic and how it’s important to keep promoting the culture to stay within family. There, Don Lucrecio, his daughter Noris, and granddaughter Katie, all supported some of us while we created our own 6 pound clay pots on two different pottery wheels. One was larger and manual, the other was for smaller 2 pound clay figures; that pottery wheel was electric. When we were all locked in and finishing our pots, many students were showing each other their hard work, while each having their picture taken with their master pieces. A few students went up to each table asking for their signatures, thumb prints, and smilely faces. They were building a stronger communtiy within each other, because we at that moment realized we wanted to take a part of each person home with us.

Visiting those two activities helped us realize that many of these family owned businesses are important to maintain the culture of Panama. From the bakery, by interacting with the people running the business, we learned the life lesson of always looking towards the future, to not only grow as a business, but also individualy. Community bonding was the theme of the day; as we were helping each other make bread, we were all learning from failed tries and finding success together; afterwards, eating our delicious hand-made bread.

At the pottery studio, many students released their inner artistic skills creating unique and beautiful pots. We developed skills on how to make clay pot and also realized how difficult it is to maintain this as a business and simultaneously keeping the culture growing,since this artisan has passed through generations. We clearly see how these two community activites help to keep their cultures alive and we hope they contiue to tells their stories; this is what gives their community breath.

Later, we walked a few blocks to a shopping center, where we all tried ice cream made out of goat milk! Okay, it was actually really great! The shopping center had only small businesses and we were able to check them out. After a short intermission in the shopping center, we were all off to a city tour lead by Mateo and Mauricio; our Program Coordinators. As we walked we noticed the types of housing and learned that locals believe that when houses are a different color at the bottom of the house, it was to keep the bad spirits away. Creating more awarness to unique beliefs different counties have and learning the history of our suroundings was exciting.

Today, was packed with information that we absorbed. One of the biggest lessons we learned was that community bonding, and cultural appreciation is important, for several reasons. Today, we discovered that it allows us to connect with each other, and people in Chitre. This experience also allows us to acknowledge the things that we take for granted daily and pulling inspiration from it; like Orlando, and Yamileth, we want to keep growing our traditions, just as they have!