My Experience w/ Global Glimpse in Panama!

I had an amazing time during my trip to Panama! It was a bit nerve-racking at first, considering it was a new experience and many of us were stepping outside of our comfort zone. But once we got into the flow of things I had an absolute blast and I got to meet so many cool people.

During the course of our 2-week trip we went on so many adventures and learned so much about Panamanian culture. We did everything from museums to goat farms. Luckily, we went at the perfect time and were even able to catch street parades celebrating Viva Santa Librada right outside our hotel!

On top of all of our great adventures we got to practice our leadership skills as ‘lider del dia’ which translates to leader of the day. As leader of the day, you got to step up and take care of your group, which made us feel more like a family rather than a bunch of students. As we all know, families face a bit of hardships. Our hardships were particularly with our hotel… Some students dealt with mold in the shower and my personal experience was both mold and bed bugs. I wish our country managers were a bit more helpful when handling the situation. I know we felt as if our issue was sorta swept under the rug but that's not everybody's experience.

With that being said, I would definitely recommend bringing shower sandals, an extra set of pajamas, bug spray, and your own little travel blanket. I noticed a lot of students also brought portable fans, so I’d suggest investing in one of those too if you tend to run a bit hot along with sunscreen. Andddd the most important item of all, an open mind. Keeping an open mind will make the experience much more enjoyable. Just live in the moment, enjoy the nature + scenery, and go with the flow!

(P.S. Don't be afraid to speak up and voice concerns, if you have any. You got this! Hope this was helpful and happy traveling!)