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Upper School Students Travel to Panama

Earlier this month, teachers Courtney Miller, Lara Munch, and Rodri Saldana led 17 WFS upper school students on a trip to Panama as part of Vámonos Tours. Students spent time visiting with the indigenous people of the Emberá-Wounaan community, engaging in service work on the San Blas Islands, assisting older adults at Hogar Bolivar, exploring the Panama Canal, learning how to salsa dance, and touring the Sergio Perez Delgado Bilingual School.
Students enjoyed their time with the indigenous people of the Emberá-Wounaan community. They helped community members clean Lake Gatún as the Emberá people are part of efforts to keep Panama free and clean from the trash and plastic that lands in the water. They also danced, played football, and ate a traditional lunch with the Emberá people. The Emberá community leader also remarked that, while interacting with many American groups, they had never seen a group who spoke Spanish as well as this group of WFS upper school students.
 
During their time in the San Blas Islands, WFS students were led by their tour guide, Toto. Toto introduced them to his family, the village leader, and took them to their village meeting space. Speaking in Guna, the village leader informed students about their traditional land, its importance to their community, and why they do not wish to move to housing on the mainland, for it is where they belong. WFS students also helped Toto paint a school with the children. Afterward, they swam together in a natural swimming pool in the Guna Yala Archipelago and played volleyball on the beach. The archipelago consists of 365 islands, of which only 49 are inhabited.

Students enjoyed visiting the Sergio Perez Delgado Bilingual School in Monagrillo. They spoke Spanish, played various sports and games with the children, and helped clean the school. Afterward, students learned from two artisans. The first artisan created devil masks, which were used for specific dances. He demonstrated his mask-making process and explained how many hours it takes to create various types of masks. The second artisan they learned from made drums and walked them through the process of making one drum. After lunch, WFS students joined the locals and learned how to salsa dance.

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