Hola from Panama!
Today was our second and final day working at the school garden in Paritilla. The first day was Tuesday where we helped to weed the garden and prepare the soil for planting seeds. It was hot, it was hard, but it was worthwhile because we were finally granted the opportunity to give back to the place that has helped us learn so much already. Once we arrived this morning, Gustavo Montenegro enlightened us with a great 
presentation on how planting can be super easy and how important it is in Panamanian culture. He showed us they they amend and fertilize the soil in a sustainable way using locally available organic material, compost and manure. Then, an American Peace Corp worker, Isabel K-H, showed us around the neighborhood where she lives. Soon, we were assigned to break up chicken feces, which is used as organic fertlizer for the soil. At first some of us were nervous about working with the chicken poop 
but after realizing that it was helpful to the environment, we dug right in with no holds barred. The highlight of today (it was hard to decide) was while we were working, we met a third-grader, Yasir, who helped us break the fertilizer down and told us some stories about his life in Panama and even showed us his scar from chasing coyotes (two days ago!). Talking to him gave us some cool insight on what day-to-day life in Panama for kids looks like. (He also helped us practice some informal Spanish speaking). Though we had fun, we are tired, burnt, hungry, but overall we have a sense of satisfaction from helping out.
With love from Panama,
Josh and Jalen