Today we saw a lot of monkeys and sloths and had an adventurous end to our trip. We will let the students tell you more about the day when we get back. For our blog tonight we thought it would be fun to give you the chaperones top highlights from the trip. They are in no particular order. We hope that this list will lead to further conversations between you and your child. Enjoy! 

1. Taking pictures...especially of the monkeys 
2. Empanada runs 
3. 6 sloths 
4. We studied science at the Biomuseo 
5. Snorkel face 
6. The 5 of us doing room checks together. Ask students about the ninja room checks. 
7. Kayaking 
8. Watching the students laugh and enjoy the trip 
9. In Chitre we had a middle school dance after dinner 
10. Feeding and milking the cows 
11. Canal quiz 
12. Jumping ove the Panama Canal
13. The weird dinosaur noise that half of the girls make at each other 
14. Karaoke at dinner
15. Monkeys on the boat 
16. Watching new friendships develop
17. If this is a stick, and this is a stick, is this a stick? (Ask your child) 
18. Gabe our tour guide or the G.O.A.T. 
19. Raul drives like a Boss
20. The anaconda 
21. Panama 
22. Our students. We had such a wonderful trip with them. 

A short blog post tonight as we spent a good portion of our day traveling by bus. We had a lazy start to our day and didn't have to leave our hotel to till 10:30 am. 

Here are a few highlights from the day in no particular order. 

1. Empanadas - Gabe took us to his favorite restaurant for a empanada snack. 
2. Sleeping in is a rare treat on an EF trip. 
3. Panama Canal. So cool. It lived up to expectations for me. With our EF admission we were able to get a private tour and get on the floor of the locks as a ship was passing through the lock. 
4. As a special treat Gabe surprised us with a dance show at the Panama Viejo ruins. 
5. Getting a jumping picture at the canal. I have jumping pictures from all over the world; Great Pyramids, Equator, Machu Picchu, Washington DC and now the Panama Canal. 

Tomorrow is our last full day in Panama which is sad. However I am excited to go see the monkeys. For the parents all the students are requesting chicken and rice for their first dinner back in the States. We wanted to give you advanced notice so you had time to go to the store. 

Mr. T 

Tonight we have two guest bloggers. I hope you enjoy their blog post below. 

It is hard to believe that we are past the half way point of our trip. It is at this point in the trip when things start to become bitter sweet. We have made many memories, made new friends, and learned a lot about Panama. We are eager to see more. Sad to know that our time is almost up, but excited to know that we will soon see our families again. 

Tonight we passed out the letters from all of the parents. Each student took his or her letter and found a quiet place around the pool to read and reflect. It was a special moment. 

As chaperones we are so glad that we have been able to be apart of this journey with these wonderful students. We hope that they will come home looking at the world with a new set of eyes. 

Mr .T 

The Internet connection has been weak tonight so I will be posting pictures when we get back to Panama City. 

Wow did we get up early to trek 4 hours across the country of Panama to the city of Chitre!  Sierra travelers were awesome listening to Gabe as he told us about the different regions we travelled through from crossing the canal to developing a new hospital centered town. 

We made it to the farm "Las Cabras", run by a gracious host Maria, around 12:30.  We were treated to traditional Panamanian food like whole chicken and local yam soup, and a drink made from sugar cane and lemon, which everyone devoured and asked for more.  We were then given a hands-on tour of the farm where the students, chaperones and our guide Gabe were able to milk a cow, feed baby cows from a bottle, ride a horse, make homemade corn tortillas along with cheese made from the milk of the cow we milked!  Our students were delighted to meet the children of the farm workers and attempt to talk to them in Spanish, ask about the pictures they took with little Jesus and Belkis.

We made a brief stop in the town of Chirte for a walking tour that lead us around 2 plazas as well as some local shops.  The people of Chitre are amazingly kind and completely enthralled with meeting our group of students.  People waved and stopped to talk to us all over the town!  We even had a few moments to shop at some local shops and pick up some entertaining souvenirs!

Our last, well deserved stop for the day was the Cubita Hotel.  It is a luxurious hotel with a spa, restaurant and shell shaped pool with multi-color strobe lights!  We were treated to dinner in a private dining room and topped the night off with some night swimming.  Once again our students have awed all of us chaperones with their interest in the culture and energy to experience everything Panama has to offer us!

Mrs. Worsham