One Month!

It has officially been a month and 3 days that I've been in Panama, and I'm already slacking on updating my blog with the updates on Panama. But, I'm hoping to make up for it by posting about this really awesome event that I got to attend a week ago.

This event was called Xpresate - a weekend event through the Episcopal church for the youth. Ultimately, it was a great opportunity for the youth around Panama to come together, hang out, worship, and express themselves and express their faith - hence the name Xpresate (Express Yourself). They did this by having the opportunity to choose from 4 options - theater, dancing, singing, or music. Once they chose, throughout the weekend they practiced with whichever group they chose and on Saturday night, we had a talent show to present everyone's talents. It gave the youth the opportunity to explore their faith together, work as a team, and learn more about themselves and each other and truly created a close and tight-knit group. It's really not possible to put into words how powerful this weekend was, so maybe these pictures can do it justice!

Singing group practicing

Music group learning new notes for "Imagine" by John Lennon

The beautiful chapel

Santa Clara - A beautiful beach that we got to go to for a little bit and also where the camp was held

Classic jumping pic - some of the staff of Xpresate

Theatre group performing a scene from Miami Vice

The whole group - I can't take credit for this beaut - credit goes out to Iglesia de Panama's FB page!

Overall it was an incredible weekend that not only the youth, but all of the staff learned a lot from. At first, I was laughing about the groups that I could choose from. I definitely can't sing, I absolutely cannot dance and have no rhythm, my acting skills are awful, and I play piano but it's not that amazing. So I was nervous about which one I would end up choosing. But the thing is, it honestly didn't matter if I had the most amazing voice or if my voice was embarrassingly horrible (which it seriously is though). It was about expressing yourself and doing what made you happy, which is all that we should worry about anyway. This is also a huge reflection of Panamanian culture - everyone is so full of life, energy, and love and they aren't afraid to show it. As the lady I sat beside in church this morning said, every day is worth celebrating!

Rewind to a few days before Xpresate, I was lucky enough to have a week off of work since we are moving into the final trimester of the year and had a week of vacation. The first couple of days I did lesson plans and also helped paint a mural at San Mateo. Then, the next couple of days I was able to get away from the city a bit and spend some time at the beautiful Malibu Beach. It was a great opportunity to relax and mentally prepare for the upcoming week of school. Here are a few pictures to help y'all see:

Malibu Beach

New best friend that we found at the beach!

Unlikely but best of friends that lived at our hostel

Beach on one side and breathtaking mountains on the other side

Also, while I'm word vomiting on this blog, I might as well keep going and give y'all a few pictures of the school. Tomorrow starts the second week of teaching by myself, and I surprisingly feel confident. Leading up to the first week, I was absolutely terrified because this is an entirely new thing for me. However, I found confidence and support in my coworkers and for that, I am incredibly grateful. So, during our vacation I got to creep around school and take a few (horrible quality) pictures. Honestly, I might need to invest in a photo-taking class because this is getting out of hand.

Teacher's lounge - where all the super fun grading takes place

Hallway 

Just needed to take this picture to show that  the school is incredibly open- at the ends of the hallways there aren't walls - it's just a giant window pretty much

Same here - this is where everyone hangs out for recess and lunch - it's just a giant open area. Walls aren't really a thing here.

Planning for classes!

Okay, I think that's enough to keep y'all updated until next time! Thanks for reading!