Brigading For A Cause: Global Brigades Panama Days 7 & 8

Written by guest blogger Bethany Bowen

On day 7, we woke up and traveled the rest of the way back to Panama City. The boys decided to divide the vans up by gender and claimed their “man van” and then affectionately named the girl car, the “skank tank”. We were all tired of riding in vans, but not really tired of each other; the ride was a nice time of reflection with the group.

We finally made it to Panama City and got settled into a hostel. We went out to dinner that night and Adrianna gave us a quick tour of the city. There are a lot of really beautiful buildings in the city with French, Spanish, and English influences represented in the architecture.

The next morning, we woke up early so we could go see the Panama Canal, which is surprisingly narrow. I learned that a Panamanian captain must be sailing a ship for it to travel through the canal, and that it takes ships about eight hours to make it through.

After the canal tour, we said our good-byes to Adrianna and Daniel, and went to the airport. After a four-hour layover in Miami, we made it back to Houston around midnight. I found the cold weather and my Facebook, just the way I had left it.

In conclusion, I had an AWESOME trip to Panama. I really feel that the work our group did in Rio de Este will have a lasting effect on the community, and I will never forget what I learned from the Ngobe people. Please go check out Global Brigades, they are an amazing organization that is changing the lives of all their participants. Lastly, I want to encourage everyone to seize opportunities to travel and work in economic development, you will learn more than you ever thought possible.