Hey Hey Bay Area baddies! This is Elyanna, the second (and arguably better) solo Leader of the Day, here to deliver an update on our first Friday in Panama.

We started off Day 5 here in Chitre at 6:30 am and had a 7 am breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs with vegetables, and orange juice/coffee made by THE iconic Angie from the local cafe La Bruja. The pancakes were so fluffy! After our breakfast, we hopped on the bus and headed over to MINSA CAPSI, a laboratory headed by Dr. Alexis de la Cruz, a water treatment specialist who taught us about his research and work in Panama in water control and sanitation. After his short presentation in his lab, we drove into a rural community and learned about the local water system operated by a small independent organization in the area. The water system for the small community consisted of a tank that held 10,000 gallons of water for the people. Each household currently pays $3 a month for 80 gallons of water per person. Unlike Chitre, which gains its water from the superficial river nearby, the water in the tank in the community we visited actually accesses a local well from 1978. Because water in the well is naturally sourced, the community never suffers from water outages. Chitre, on the other hand, spontaneously loses its water source from the rivers every couple of days (water bottle-sourced showers are awfully uncomfortable when this happens, based on personal experience). Chlorine tablets are also delivered to the community by Dr. de la Cruz, who visits to monitor their water. While we were in the community, Dr. de la Cruz walked us through his water testing process with the help of Owen Cantore (one of tomorrow’s LDDs!), during which about 60% of us became victims to mosquito bites 🙁

We had free time in the hotel for about an hour afterward, during which we all dispersed and later returned for lunch. Our lunch, also by Angie, was a meal of rice, carne, bell peppers, lentils, salad, and cold pineapple juice. Immediately after lunch, we all headed into our meeting room to listen to Vielka Mendez, a member of the Ngobe tribe in Panama who specializes in environmental and indigenous rights activism. She taught us all a dance called Jegui, which involved a shaking instrument, stomping, and a version of a conga line dance. She also spoke to us about the seven native tribes in Panama, and the fight for socioeconomic rights within the communities, starting from the first divisions of her tribe’s district in 1997. Mendez explained MRO, or food, and also introduced us to a type of mushroom found in dead trees that plays a major role in the Ngobe tribe’s diet. At the end of the session, we had a mini pop quiz and some students won prizes for answering correctly.

After we met with Mendez, we reset the room and prepared for our CAP presentation to the principal and environmental activist from Escuela de Paris de Parita, Erika, and Raquel. Representatives from our delegation stood and spoke about our door painting, games, and column painting ideas to the panel. We received a variety of suggestions and alterations to our original ideas, and immediately began working on updated designs for our project, beginning Monday. We will begin with half of us painting doors, while the other half paint columns; on Tuesday the halves will switch projects to complete painting the entire school per Erika’s request.

We then headed off to free time, in which a few of us made friendship bracelets while others went to the local supermarket. Some also went to rest upstairs in our rooms, which had running water for showering (a very exciting occurrence here). At six, we gathered for dinner, which consisted of a traditional chicken soup in Chitre called sancocho (which was so good I’ll probably destroy the kitchen when I return home in an attempt to recreate it), rice, and sour orange juice.

Finally, we went back upstairs at 7 pm for our nightly meeting, during which I passed the LDD torch to Owen and Caelen, tomorrow’s Leaders of the Day! During the initiation process we watched as Owen juggled for “more than sixty seconds” (his words not mine), and Caelen danced to Perfect Night by Le Serafim (and ate while doing it, everyone’s words including mine). We are now concluding our night with a round of NON-GAMBLING poker led by former LDD Christian To, friendship bracelets (the calmer sport), and listening to nostalgic songs such as that from High School Musical and One Direction.

I am now passing the torch officially through this blog to Caelen and Owen! Bye Bye Bay Area baddies and see you all on June 30!