Day 5 & 6!

Day 5 & 6 Panama Service Project: Rainy Sunday & then our First Day at Nutre Hogar

Most were able to finally sleep in on Sunday morning, though a few families were anxious to go out on their own excursions with their students. The typical Panamanian “aguacero” started at around 1pm and did not let up until 9. Despite this, some students joined host siblings playing or watching soccer and/or swimming in the rain! 

Now a bit more settled into their new routine and surroundings, the students are feeling both relieved and resourceful! Such a great thing! And the babies.... there are currently far fewer babies at the center than we are accustomed to, which is a good sign that Nutre Hogar is truly helping to mitigate the often devastating consequences of poverty here in Panama. We might, though, see more babies come in during our time here. This Thursday, our group will partake in another “Gira”, or medical mission, that will highlight for them the extreme living conditions of the children served at Nutre Hogar.

The pictures here reflect some of what we see here locally in Santiago, our first day of work at Nutre Hogar, and our first afternoon chat at Cheesecake, where we create opportunities for students to reflect on their experiences, share cultural observations, practice their Spanish, and get to know each other better. #psp2019

Day 3! The Panama Canal, Santa Clara Beach, & Meeting the Host Families!

Our third day in Panama is, as usual, a long one, as it involves leaving Panama City and settling into our new homes! Enjoy the photos! Hopefully, once we gather again as a group, I can pass the honors on to a few students to update the blog regarding our adventures and share some more details! All are enjoying their time here but could certainly use a bit of rest. We hope to get some this first weekend!

Pictures may be out of order here, but due to various technical challenges, I ran out of time to organize it all. For now, enjoy a taste of today in Panama! Simply click on the pictures to advance them as they scroll from side to side.

Panama Service Project Trip 2019!

This year’s trip takes us from July 10th to July 24th, 2019, from Milwaukee to Chicago to Panama City to Santiago and to some other very special places near and dear to our hearts. 16 high school students and three chaperones strong, we are excited for our adventures and our work with the children at Nutre Hogar in Santiago. Trip participants will take turns writing articles nearly every day to capture these adventures. Profe Plum will add pictures and also be journaling daily on Facebook for those who follow that platform. #PSP2019 will be the hashtag for those who might post to Twitter or Instagram. All tech aside, our hope is that this year’s participants, just as those who have participated over the last 20 years, will be forever impacted by what they see, hear, feel, taste, and touch in the beautiful country of Panama! Stay tuned, and thank you for your support! Thank you, too, for your patience, as it take some time to get those articles passed along and posted, and, at times, to find a good WiFi connection.

Nutre Hogar Life

At Nutre Hogar our group works with the children there to ensure that they are taken care of and get the love and attention that they need as kids. The children at Nutre Hogar suffer from malnutrition and are at the clinic to help combat that malnutrition, and our group helps out. We play with the kids all day taking them from room to room to play with toys and maybe push them on a swing or two so that they get the activity that they need during their time of development. The kids are all so adorable and just love to play with us. Everyone helps out even if they don’t have a baby to watch, by sorting clothes and going through donations to inventory the items which helps the people at Nutre Hogar as well. We feed, change, play, and put down the kids throughout our busy day of chasing them around the place. The hardest part of the day is when we have to get them ready for bed, which is the end of our day at Nutre Hogar, and when there are the most tears. These kids have touched all of our hearts and we are all so happy that we could be apart of their lives, even if it was just for a little bit to play with them for a day.

Keeley Spears

Day 3 (2nd Full Day): The Panama Canal, Santa Clara, & our Arrival in Santiago

Today was our second full day in Panama. We packed our bags and left the hotel for our first destination: The Panama Canal. We arrived at the Miraflores Locks Visitor Center just in time to see a boat go through. The large gates powered by a hydrolic system opened to allow the enormous ship to pass through. Crowds of people gathered to see this slow process and wave to the people on the boat. In the mean time, we enjoyed drinks from the cafe and watched a 10 minute movie educationing us on the complicated history of the canal, complete with the more recent construction of a wider set of locks to accommodate the much larger Panamax ships. /you also got to appreciate the feat of engineering that the canal is! Additionally, we were able to visit the museum that spanned through several floors of the building. Just as the boat finished passing through the locks, it was time for us to head to our next destination. The bus drove us over long, winding roads until finally we arrived at the Santa Clara beach. We had the beach all to ourselves besides the fishermen swimming a way’s away. As soon as we arrived, everyone jumped into the ocean to swim in the warm water until it was time for lunch. We had the option to eat fried chicken or shrimp with French fries, pantecones, or rice. After lunch, we had a little bit of time to relax on the beach or swim before it was time to get ready to leave. On the bus to Santiago, many of us were nervous to meet our host families for the first time. One by one, we were called to meet our new family. It was a very fun day!

Day 2: Our first adventure in the Village of Emberá Drúa

Today was the first full day in Panama. We all traveled in canoes on the Chagres River to an indigenous village called Embera. The people there are originally from a southeastern rainforest region in Panama called Darien. The canoe ride to the isolated village was incredibly beautiful- mountains of thick rainforest covered either side of the river. When we arrived at the village, we were greeted with smiles and music. The women had black ink painted on their bodies (a henna-like temporary tattoo) and wore very colorful beaded tops called shakiras. We danced in a palm hut and then they explained to us their culture and everyday life. During the cultural presentation, a little girl would run behind, carrying one of the stray puppies, flopping him in the air and then would just drop it on the ground, laughing. She was so cute :) We ate fresh tilapia and patacones (fried plantains) for lunch and were given our own tattoos. I got a flower butterfly-like design on the back of my shoulder. The families had also set out their carvings, jewelry, and baskets that they had hand made for us to purchase. At that point, a little boy named Raylito came and held my hand and I picked him up and we looked at it all together. After a hike through their forests full of herbal remedies and natural medicine, we all swam in the river. There was a strong current on the river’s left side, so we would go to the top of it and let the current carry us down the river a bit and do it again. It was a great day :)

-Audrey Engman

Audrey & Raylito

Hannah, getting her “tatuaje”

July 10th We’ve arrived! Thank you for your patience!

Our crew of 20 students and 3 teachers arrived at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport on Tuesday at around 10 pm, a bit later than expected. We needed to hover above the city, as another plane was forced to return to the airport for servicing. Our second snafu involved one lost bag, a student’s personal suitcase. While one out of 46 bags isn’t so bad, it was still one bag too many to have lost. Fortunately, the bag awaited us at the hotel upon our return from our first day of excursions. We were all so thankful for that resolution! The students will be catching up with blogging for the first three days, as it takes time to have WiFi connections and just settle into the trip, our new spaces, and our responsibilities. Again, thank you for your patience. We are looking forward to an amazing adventure here in Panama!

Jean Plum & Holly Morse

SUMMER 2018 Panama Service Project! Another Year, another adventure!

On July 10th, 2018, our crew of 20 students and 3 leaders will set out on another amazing adventure in Panama! This trip and service project began over two decades ago, passing from one Spanish teacher to another, while still retaining key aspects that make for a successful trip: a reliable local staff (still the same people in place) for housing, transportation, and the hike ("caminata"). Holly Morse added the service component which has added such heart and meaning to the trip. Once again this year, each of us will travel heavy, with an extra bag each for donations, but will return much lighter, with uplifted hearts. Time to finish our packing and other prep work! Go, Panamaniacs!

July 25th, 2017 Our Last Day in Panama (Jean Plum)

On Monday morning, it was time to say goodbye to both our host families and Nutre Hogar. This was hardly an easy task, as both had become very much a part of our daily routine, sources of comfort in this home away from home.

While we awaited the bus, suitcases all lined up in the parking lot at Nutre Hogar, we spent our last moments with the babies, making sure to catch a few more hugs and pictures before setting our little ones down gently and boarding the bus. Seeing the staff members lined up in front of the building and waving us on left us feeling very appreciated for the work that we'd done over the past two weeks.

Our bus drove us on a three-hour journey from Santiago to Panama City, with a quick pit stop in Penonomé. With plenty of time to spare before our evening flight, we stopped for lunch and some shopping at Casco Viejo, the colonial vestiges of Panama City. We were surely in for a treat! We dined in the central plaza, ordering off of two different menus and taking time to share pictures from the trip. We then split up into a few smaller groups to tour the city and poke into some shops in hopes of last minute souvenirs. I would say that we were pretty successful! Along the way, it was hard to overlook the contrast of old and new, along with the sheer beauty of the colonial architecture. Although we probably could have spent another hour or so exploring the cobblestone streets, ice cream and coffee shops, and boutiques, we had a date with the airport that we were all anxious to keep!

By shortly after 4pm, we had boarded the bus and were on our way to Tocumen International Airport. Within a few hours, we were on our way to Chicago, arriving earlier than expected, just after midnight. By 1am, we had boarded our shuttle for the quiet and sleepy ride back to Milwaukee, where we were reunited with our just-as-sleepy loved ones.

Panama Service Project 2017, mission accomplished! We are happy for each moment that we had with the children at Nutre Hogar, with each other, and with our host families. While hardly an easy trip, we are better people for having made this journey together and for making a difference in the lives of the children that we served. Thank you for supporting us on this year's journey!

Final moments with the babies on "la terraza"

Group picture with some of the babies, which is never an easy task!

Waving goodbye to the beloved staff of Nutre Hogar

¡Hola, Casco Viejo!

Cobblestones and colonial architecture, with plenty of renovations left to do!

There was also an open-air market along the Boveda, or edge of the fort along the waterfront.

Megan was anxious to have her picture taken in front of this bilingual mural.

Taking advantage of a natural picture frame with Mira, Jordyn, Gerry, and Megan.

Natalia Dudley celebrates Friday in Panama

¡¡TGIF!!

We had another fun day at Nutre Hogar, it was sadly our last day with the babies. We took our last pictures with our special baby and then had a celebration with everyone who contributes to Nutre Hogar. It was a special moment when Maria gave her heartfelt speech that touched everyone's hearts. The food was delicious and had a relaxing time with each other. After everyone rested up, we headed to Santiago's famous dessert place, Cheesecake. After hearing Holly's previous experiences on her other trips, we headed home to hangout with our families. As time went on, the curse on Panama,(RAIN) started to pour down and had to be one of the worst storms we had so far on the trip. We ran outside and saw all of our neighbors standing outside, amazed at the harsh rain. We could barely hear each other inside the house because the rain hitting the roof sounded like rocks are coming down on us. Later on we gathered at Gerry's host family's house to have a fiesta! Filled with amazing Panamanian desserts and music, the night ended with endless laughs and unforgettable memories.

Baby high five

Mary, Mel, Gerry, and Steph circle arund the babies

After a serious tantrum, Samuel (a baby we remember from last year) passes out on the floor

A new painting in the play room at Nutre Hogar where they can track birthdays for babies and employees

El aguacero

Megan, Mira, Gerry, Steph, Panamanian host dad, Juliano, and Jordyn at Friday's party