Day 8: Don't Blink!!!

Today we woke up bright and early for a morning hike for a view of Panama City.

Our bus was sadly to big to drive us up to the top of the hill, so we had to make our way up the mountain by foot…in the heat…sweating like

pigs. It took a long time to get up to the top, and back down, but in the end

It was a beautiful site we saw.

Although we had a nice morning hike, it was unfortunately our last day with the girls. So, we ate lunch at Malambo and throught we would be able to spend time with them but after only a couple minutes at their casa we were rushed away…”don’t blink”!

We then left and made our way to the National Theatre to block our dance for

Diguar. The moment we stepped foot off of our bus, we knew the theatre was going to be something we’ve never seen before. It was the most gorgeous, awe-inspiring, amazing theatre we have ever danced in. It was so nice to walk in and already have the lights hung and multiple dressing rooms for everyone to have their own space. Words can’t explain the detail and beauty of the inside of the theatre.

Then we blocked all of our dances, which wasn’t really blocking because we ran all of the dances once…just once. This was something odd to us because we are used to hours, hours, and hours of blocking in the theater with Ms. T. After we finished blocking, it was make-up and hair time. We started doing all our babies make-up and hair and then we did our own. After that, it was time to perform! All of our performances, which included our babies, our senior memories routine, all of the other choreographers’ dances, and Diguar’s dance, went amazing, but it felt like only minutes before it was over…”don’t blink”!

Then it was time to saw goodbye...which was the hardest part. Although we were so used to saying bye to the girls everyday this time it was harder because we knew that tomorrow we would not see their little faces. There is no guarantee in life, no one knows what their future holds…we tried so hard to hold onto this one moment as long as possible, but within a blink our little dancers were gone…

After the wonderful performance, we had a little reception and got to hang out with our new family and the other dancers that performed with us. But that too went by extremely fast. We had pizza in the plaza and recounted the amazing miracle we just experienced...”don’t blink” because it is all over.

As we sit here detailing today, it is hard to believe that 8 days have passed…we met many new people whom we now consider family…we grew so attached to 15 orphans that we now consider sisters…we shared the stage with amazing Panamanian dancers that we now consider friends…

Our lives have been changed, touched, and we all have grown. There is just a new perspective, there is just a new outlook. But “don’t blink” because life will pass you by!