Hello our names are Jeremiah and Nina and we were the first partner Líders del Día of CH2A delegation! Today our theme was Living like a Local Day; our first trip was to París de Panamá, which is a small, close knit town 15 minutes away from Chitré. There were 7 pairs of Glimpsers who were assigned to amazing host families/moms. We spent about three hours following, asking questions, participating in activities, and getting to know the community, which was an amazing experience for the Glimpsers.

Through Living like a Local Day, many fellow students were humbled and gained a better understanding of different ways of living. We spent time with Maria and Gladys who both took us to the church with our other Glimpser partners; we learned the importance of strong bonds of community in París. In particular, Estefania met a lovely woman named Rachel whose actions inspired Estefania and many other Glimpsers. We learned money truly does not define happiness, but rather the sense of joy and love we share in each other’s lives. Rachel has contributed immensely to bettering to the community through environmental projects, ultimately sparking happiness in her own life. She would recycle old tires and paint them, then fill them with plants to turn into beautiful gardens. The lunch was a Panamanian dish with beans, rice, and chicken. The París community welcomed us with open arms and big hearts and we are beyond thankful for their kindness.

Later in the day our separate groups met together to play a community soccer match with some local school children attending our partner school Escuela París de Parita. Altogether despite the scorching heat and wilting humidity, we were able to have an amazing experience getting to know the younger generation within this charming community. With a set of quick goodbyes we traveled back to the hotel to prepare and present for our Community Action Project (CAP). Even on a time crunch and scattered brainstorming, we were able to pull through and present our ideas to the principal of the partner school, Escuela París de Parita. Among our five ideas, three caught the principal’s attention. As a result we are prioritizing a Food Pyramid Mural in the dining area, repainting/relabeling the bathroom doors, and repairing the wobbly 40 year old dining table in the dining room. We are excited to help out the community through this Community Action Project!

Lastly, the English tutoring at our local school in Chitré was very successful in all three classes. In particular, the advanced English group learned comparatives and superlatives in English grammar, which was wonderful and amazing to teach. It felt awesome to be able to see so many passionate and motivated individuals willing to learn English and more about different cultures of where we come from. They all aced the grammar lesson of the day, despite the slight language barrier and growing class size! In the end, we taught the triangle dance as an icebreaker activity and did a unity clap. It felt great to be able to not only teach other individuals, but to be able to form a closer bond with them.

Being Líders del Día was definitely difficult on a packed day, but we all managed to step up our game. At some points throughout our busy day we were both were stressed out and struggled to communicate. It seemed there was an imbalance between our efforts, at times we both eagerly volunteered for roles instead of delegating specific roles of leadership. Although it was a challenge, it provides greater insight on working as a team and partnership, which we are grateful for and will use for future experiences. It was an ultimately a positive experience to learn and grow from.