Day 2 – Culture and History

We started our morning at 7:00 am and had a delicious breakfast at our hotel which included, tortillas de maiz, salchichas guisadas, pan tostado, pancakes, y mucho mas. After breakfast, we played games to allow us to get to know one another. We were given some prompts to get us thinking and hear other people’s perspectives on their way of thinking and their values.  Then we began two back-to-back seminars where we discussed the rules and ways to stay safe/be a savvy traveler. After the seminars we ate lunch which was steak and rice and many people enjoyed it. Next, we went on a tour to get to know the area we are staying at, Las Tablas. Some of the things we saw were the Sergio statue, Las Tablas sign, Escuela Presidente Porras, Belisario Porras Park, and the church (as seen in the pictures posted below). We learned that Las Tablas might be a small town but they take big pride in their contributions to Panamanian culture as the home of a former vice president, a president of 3 terms, and the honoring cathedral for St. Libara. It just so happens that this month of July, festivities with parades, fireworks, and religious ceremonies are taking place to honor the ascension of this virgin saint. Then we stopped by to get ice cream where many people tried new flavors like dulce de leche, thanks to Selene for encouraging others to try this new ice cream. We came back and had dinner which consisted of chicken and rice. After dinner, we finished off with our nightly meeting and passed the torch to our next leaders. Special shout out to Gordan, Happy birthday!! We hope you enjoyed your cake and us singing Happy Birthday to you to end the night. As Leaders of the Day, we learned that you have to step out of your comfort zone and be more confident in order to be a leader. We hope that the group learns to be patient with new leaders as it’s something new to all of us.

P.S. Mom and family I miss you- fati and josy!

Big Love,

Fatima & Joselin