Greetings everyone! My name is Asia, and today I have been leader of the day. Over the course of the last five days our entire group has worked extremely hard to handle the challenges given to us, and today has been a day to decompress all the stress built up. As a free day, we have been able to shop in some nice Panamanian stores, and interact with the warm people of Chitre. Despite having leader experience, today has taught me how to handle situations that include unintended factors.

First, we started our morning off with waking up late to have a late breakfast, and then back to the hotel to engage with our peers. Glimpsers began to engage in activities such as card games, catch, and taking advantage of the opportunity to call home. As the first free day, glimpsers, myself included, were really excited to get the chance to freely shop amongst the shopping strips in Chitre, and understand the true customs of Panamanian culture.

Later, glimpsers had the opportunity to not only experience the hot Panamanian sun, but to have another memorable day. After making a quick stop to the Internet Café, glimpsers made their way to a local ice cream shop.

Thanks to Amira, we were all familiar with the coolest spot to buy the dessert. While the ice cream didn’t last in the sun, we were able to make the walk to the local park worthwhile with many jokes and references.

To conclude, today has been a blast. We got to play classic futbol with local players, and have a comical commentary during the entire game.

While a lot of sweat and sighs came today, the relationship between glimpsers continued to become stronger, and the bonds, I think, will last long after the ten days we have left.