Adriana- Yaaaaaaa, it’s our last dayyyyyyy!!!!!!! We’re here with Adri and Sapa, and of course, they saved the best duo for last. We ended the trip the way we started, but at least this time we knew each other’s names. We had an early start and began the day at 5 a.m… sadly. We all had to pack our things and check our rooms 100 times. The boys were complete gentlemen for helping us ladies take our luggage downstairs. We had our last breakfast together today, and a big shout-out to our chef, Ilka, for providing our meals every day during our 2-week stay. Some people got emotional… (Jack) hugged his bestie “Abuela” Ilka right after breakfast. Others of us gathered to give Ilka a speech, including Jane, Josh, Brandon, Ilana, Stella, Dylan, Annie G, and Jack, of course, saying how thankful they were for her time and patience with us, and for her dedicated work in the kitchen. All 22 of us got together and played a game of Quack, which was a challenging, brutal game where Dalexa became our champion and beat Pamela in the QUACK OFF!

Besides the games, we also did a mental health check on how our experience has been and how we feel now compared to Day 1. While answers were mixed, we all agreed that we have built a forever family in Las Tablas. We finally loaded up the bus and headed to Panama City. Some people were caught sleeping…

Arden’s head kept bobbing back and forth, hitting her head on the window and Jack’s shoulder. Josh and Jack made sure Arden’s head had a neck pillow by the window so she wouldn’t keep hitting her head (gentlemen, am I right?). We stopped to sightsee at the famous Panama Canal. We saw the Panamanian version of the Titanic—lmaoo. While watching a 3D movie about the Canal, Sapa’s seat kept getting kicked by a 5-year-old, and Logan tried to grab the images floating to him. No shade, but I (Adriana) was so sleepy I kind of dozed off, snoring, literally, while watching the movie. We all took cute pics of each other and went to the gift shops, where things were kinda… very expensive. We bought a mix of things like keychains, bracelets, postcards, and bags. While the 1-hour wait to see the boat arrive was tiring, we all made it work by sticking with our groups, connecting, and making the moment last a lifetime.

Sapa- As 4:40 p.m. arrived, we all made our way back to see the canal boat come in and sink down in 10 minutes!! It literally felt like I was watching the Titanic in real life!! We made sure to include a little time-lapse so you all can see too<3 I (Sapa) was excited to see what is a very significant source to many countries in person; not everyone gets these types of opportunities. Jane was very excited to take pictures of the boat for her portfolio, which gave her thousands of “aura,” as we New Yorkers love to say. Josh, being the sweetheart he is, started capturing moments of the group by taking pictures and making sure every little bit of time they had left was captured in the photographs—“Take a picture; it’ll last longer.” As the boat started to sink into the water, Logan began to wave at the workers on the boat, saying “Bendición,” Kyheem said “Que lo que, papi,” and I asked Adriana if she thought the workers would wave back at me—loll they did. We actually learned from a local in Panama City that “street talk” involves saying things backward, like “quesopa” for “que pasó” (what’s up). It was really funny seeing Logan trying to communicate with the workers from far away; people kept enjoying our humor and sweetness, which made us feel like we really are the best delegation of 2024 TA1D.

Boat Sinking in the Panama Canal – Video

As Adriana and I gathered everyone together, we made sure to take cute pictures as a family to ensure those Instagram posts (millions of “aura”), just kidding… We had our health coordinator Herald (who’s now our new PC) capture beautiful selfies of the Big 22 family. It started to lightly rain, but we managed to get to the bus safe and sound and head our way to our infamous Hostel Hotel.

We arrived around 6:15, unloaded the bus, and headed straight to “Miguelito Burgers,” where we had dinner and our nightly meeting. We did a table share and talked about what we were most grateful for and our favorite moments from the past 14 days. Many of us wished we had much more time left… yes, we may all live in New York, but it’s not the same as waking up and seeing each other smiling and laughing in the mornings. I loved waking up to my best friend Adri, my wholesome, beautiful soul sister who made me love this experience even more now that it was together (First of many more bestie vacations). I cherished the boys saying their good mornings with a nice hug to start the day bright and loved waking up to my special and amazing roomies (Ani and Liani) after a lovely night game of Uno. I appreciated every nightly deep talk with Amber, Adriana, Ani, Liani, and Pamela. We’re always comforting each other and possibly making bracelets. Every girl here made it a memorable morning; we came in with the vibes and the style to light up Panama!!!! We usually had Stella, Ilana, and Analis walking like a red carpet with their unique and stunning fashion style that they brought to Panamaaaaaa!! Tonight, many laughs and smiles were shared among us, and we emotionally connected on many levels. While this was a very emotional night for us all, on behalf of the 22 of us, everyone has made genuine connections.

Having the opportunity to come here has allowed me to make strong connections with other people and learn more about the Panamanian culture. It has been a journey but I enjoyed many parts of it. I loved this trip so much. – Ilana

This was an awesome experience that meant a lot to me. I met a lot of cool people and made a lot of awesome memories. I learned a lot about the people of Panama and the way they live. Have a good one! – Jack

This experience was truly one that I will always remember. The friends I made here are people that I have grown and thrived with. I look forward to the many experiences we will share together in the future. – Dylan

I had so much fun these past two weeks. They went by so fast. This is, by far, the most incredible experience I have ever had in my entire life, thus far. I am grateful to have met everyone on this trip. Cheers. – Joshua

Vivaaaaa Panamaaaaaa!!!!

This experience has had its ups and downs, but we got through it together and the connections that we have made will forever have a place in each of our hearts.

“This isn’t the end of the race, we’re just waiting for each other on the other side of the finish line” – Sapa

From delegation TA1D