DAY 6- Work Like a Local

Hello!

This is Angelina and Bryanda coming to you from Las Tablas, Panama. Our experience as LDDs was pretty fun, to say the least. In the beginning, we were very nervous because we didn’t know what to expect and what challenges we might face. We kept collaboration as our top priority which made everything a lot easier. When we got everyone’s attention using our chant “Global Glimpse,” we said it together which created a pretty cool effect. We of course couldn’t be successful without our amazing group who made us feel confident and always encouraged us to be louder. 

We started our day off with an early wake-up call at 5:15 am. This meant we had to wake up at 4 am so we were super exhausted. We then ate breakfast at 6 am. Everyone was super sleepy so there wasn’t a lot of talking. We had pancakes, eggs, tortillas, sausages, fruit, and toast. We then got our things, did a head count, and then our daily health check-in. We then hopped on the bus to Finca El Espinal. Finca El Espinal is a goat farm run by Hugo Castillero. He started his farm 20 years ago. The farm has 88 goats with only one male goat and the rest all females. The farm also contains chickens and sheep. When we arrived at the farm, Our GGLs and PCs introduced us to Hugo. He then walked us to the goat enclosure where we got to hold three baby goats (who liked to eat all the girls’ hair) while Hugo talked to us about the farm and the 3 breeds of goats they have which are Sunnings, Manchegas, and Pina. We asked lots of questions and then got in line to milk a goat. A lot of us were new to it so we were nervous. We had a lot of fun though and loved the new experience. We then helped bring hay to the goat enclosure and then fed the baby goats. We had the most fun doing this activity. We then helped fertilize trees with azola which are plants that grow on water. We learned that this is something they utilize to both control the azalea and help plant trees that feed the goats. We got very dirty from this and pretty much everyone was covered in mud. We then bought some ice cream and other foods that are sold on the farm. THEY WERE SO GOOOOOD!!!! We then hopped back on the bus and had lunch back at the hotel. We had chicken, rice, plantain, and coleslaw. After lunch, we had free time so everyone either played cards or started getting ready for our CAP Presentations. At 3 pm, we presented each of our CAP Projects. We were all super nervous but everyone still did amazing and got a green light from Maruquel to work on our projects. After Maruquel left, half of us left to grab supplies for our projects while the other half hung out on the balcony with Dina, Bridgett, and Zarai. Once everyone came back we had dinner. We had tacos with toppings like pico de Gallo. After dinner, we had our nightly meeting where we recapped the day and passed the torch to Jhonathan who showed off his amazing soccer juggling skills for the talent show. We then did our mid-trip evaluation and now we currently have free time. All in all, today was a super interesting and fun day. 

Love, 

Bryanda and Angelina