¡Quesopá! from Panama

This is Jasmine Esquivel, and I was líder del día today. Here in Panamá people use “quesopá” to say “what’s up.” Today I learned the importance of flexibility and inspiration. Today was day 2 of our Community Action Project (CAP), and we have made good progress. It was so exciting to see Jeremiah and Larry finish the seesaw seats, the girls finish painting the courts, and almost finishing the repaintment of the bathroom doors. Today it was important for me to keep a positive attitude around my peers in order to keep that inspiration fueling. Although there were times where our energies were low, we kept it up trying to get as much done on our mural as possible. For us, the mural has been the biggest challenge to get down since we had to scrape down all the walls, apply 2 coats of the base color, and start sketching the whole thing. However, it will be one of our greatest successes. We maintained our energy by drinking water throughout the day, dancing, singing, and positive reminders. Because of all this hard work, we had to be flexible with our schedule when it came to giving ourselves a break and preparing for our daily dose of English tutoring at el Colegio de José Daniel Crespo. Time was cut from the tutoring preparation, but our classes still went well.

Being líder del día taught me that you can still be a friend to your peers even when you have the responsibilities of a leader and that teamwork can go a long way. I still had fun and sang all day in the bus with everyone, but managed to fulfill my responsibilities. For example, reminding people to drink water, apply sunscreen, using their bug spray, checking in with people and how they are feeling, and making sure people were still engaged in our activities. I learned that teamwork can go a long way when I saw most of us in their designated groups finish their CAP project, and then going out of their way to help others. I am glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and decided to be the leader today even though I knew it would be challenging. I can’t wait to see our group’s finished project tomorrow and to keep growing as a leader for the rest of my stay here in Chitre, Panamá.

Quick update: Free Day has been switched from Saturday to Sunday, so expect some calls from us Sunday afternoon! (:

-Jasmine Esquivel, Glimpser