GES students return from spring break trip to Panama

Story by WTIP contributor and Panama trip participant Ezme Mundell

After months of fundraising, planning, packing, and preparing, our spring break journey to Panama began.

On Sunday, March 16, 2025, 12 Great Expectations School 7th and 8th graders and two adult chaperons left Minnesota and flew to Miami. Our flight was delayed, so the start of our adventure was running through the Miami airport from gate 9 to 41 to make our connecting flight.

We arrived in Panama to be greeted by our Squads Abroad team.

We drove three hours to the Iguana Eco Resort and settled into our cabins. Each morning, we started the day with a Panamanian breakfast before heading out to work on a construction project at a nearby school.

The school is building a new technology classroom. On two of the days, we hiked down to a river where we hauled sand from the bottom of a hill in bags. We then shoveled the sand into a truck, which was brought back to the school to be used to mix concrete. We sifted lots and lots of sand for concrete and laid bricks for the foundation of a building. We also painted two murals in the elementary classroom and played with the kids during their outdoor breaks.

Working at the school was a cool experience for me, I got to try and use my Spanish with the kids and workers helping us with the projects. My personal favorite experiences were playing soccer with the students.

Some days after working at the school, we would stop at the Mega market and buy Panamanian snacks. Dollars are used in Panama, but we also received Balboa coins as change.

After that, we would make our way back to the resort, where we would have lunch, free time, and cultural activities. During our free time, we often swam as a group, sunbathed, or journaled.

During one of our cultural activities, we made tamales. We ground corn and wrapped the dough with chicken in banana leaves to be boiled.

We also learned a Panamanian dance with an instructor. We learned dance steps while wearing traditional outfits; the boys wore hats, and the girls wore skirts. One of the most relaxing and my favorite activities was mola painting. Mola is an indigenous art form from the Guna people. The women stitch beautiful fabric in bright colors to create amazing artwork. For our version, we looked at examples of fabric Molas and painted our design on canvases. Some paintings included a sloth, turtle, frog, palm trees, birds, and lots more from this very creative group!

On one of our last days, our cultural activity was making the beaded bracelets and necklaces that Panama people often create and sell at markets.

In the evening we would often have a group bonding activity. The first night was bingo. The catch was that we had to know the numbers in Spanish.  It was a good workout for the brain!

One of my favorite activities was karaoke night. We sang along to many songs, people sang individually and as whole groups. It was a great activity to get everyone singing and happy. The scavenger hunt through the Iguana Eco Resort was a great battle. We split into groups and went around collecting and taking pictures with the things on a list. In the evening of that night, we made a slideshow of the pictures and the team with the most points won.

On our last night, we prepared a “charla” or talk for the kids we were working with at the school. We made posters about washing hands. We wrote about when to wash your hands, and we made a song about using “agua y jabón” (water and soap). The next day, we presented the charla to the classrooms. We left bars of soap to use in the school bathroom. We were sad to leave the school on the final day, and we exchanged lots of hugs and high-fives with the kids.

The class gave us little goodbye souvenirs and some fresh fruit, including bananas and “guanábana” or soursop. They were such a kind and wonderful school to work with.

The trip wasn’t over yet as we were headed to the ocean and Panama City right after our goodbyes to the school. We arrived at the Pacific Ocean in the afternoon, excited to swim. We ate our lunch and then changed into our swimsuits. We rode amazing ocean waves until the whistle was called, and we had to go. Many of us tried tropical drinks and ate green coconuts called “pipas.” I got a drink made from “maracuyá” or passion fruit. We had the time of our lives swimming with our classmates at the ocean, and for some of them it was their first time at the ocean.

Once in Panama City, we went on a few excursions. In the morning, we went on a boat ride through Gatún Lake, which connects to the Panama Canal, and toured Monkey Island. We saw a crocodile head pop out of the water and monkeys, including howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins. One monkey even jumped onto the top of our boat! One of the coolest animals, though, was an Iguana swimming through the water. It was a good swimmer!

In the afternoon, we watched a 3D movie about how the Panama Canal was formed and by whom it was made. We also got to see a HUGE ship going through the Panama Canal carrying Japanese cars. It was amazing how much one boat could carry. We also learned it costs a lot of money to pass through the Panama Canal.

We made it to the last event of our trip, a fancy dinner and walking through the causeway – a strip of shops along the water in Panama City. When we first arrived at the causeway, we saw the most adorable sloth up in a tree. It was putting on a cute show for us, yawning and stretching its legs out.

We walked around for a little bit, getting ice cream and last-minute souvenirs. Then the fun began when we arrived at dinner. We put on cool headpieces and ordered our food. Most of us got this really yummy juice made from “pina” and “maracuyá” or pineapple and passion fruit – very refreshing! Our food was also amazing: coconut shrimp and fish, “arroz con pollo,” or rice and chicken, beets and potatoes, shredded pork, and tamales. So delicious!

The fun was not over, though. During dinner, dancers performed traditional  Panamanian dances. It was fun to watch because we could recognize some of the dance moves from our dance class.

We also got to participate in singing and dances representing the USA. It was very fun and interactive! Overall, it was such an amazing night with our friends!

The Panama trip had a huge impact on me and many of the other students. We made lifelong connections with each other and our Squads Abroad team. We learned so much more Spanish, and all are excited to keep learning until we are fluent. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I want to thank everyone who supported us during our fundraising efforts.

Personally, I want to thank the Ann Bancroft Foundation for the grant money I was awarded and so many more people, including my grandparents and close family friends.

Photos by Anne Mundell of the GES 7th and 8th grade trip to Panama trip is below:

Kalli Hawkins April 3, 2025