You could definitely say we were immersed during our time in Chile. Contemporary Chilean history is all around Santiago and the University. We would often pass by La Moneda, the president’s building and the site of the military coup in 1973. I lived very close to Plaza de la Dignidad (formerly Plaza Italia) where a lot of the city comes together. Historically this has been a place of convergence for…
My study abroad experience in Santiago, Chile has taught me a lot about the Chilean culture as well as their history and how it affects them today. I think that this experience will help me in my future career in understanding people from different Spanish speaking countries and the difference in native speakers of the language. In my time there, I learned a lot more about the Spanish language and…
In mid-October, as I was finally adjusting to my new life here in Chile, a mass movement of protests began. These protests first began by a group of high-school students, due to the rise of the metro prices, which was labelled as “Evade”. However, this was only the spark that lit the fire. These protests have now become a national movement for social change. These manifestations have been conducted all…
One of my favorite excursions from the trip was our weekend outing to the town of Boquete. To get to Boquete, we took a boat from Bocas del Toro, the island where ITEC is located, to a van that drove us four hours through the mountains. As we drove through the mountains to Boquete, we were able to watch the climate change from a tropical rainforest to dry forest. This…
My favorite day so far consisted of a data collection lab in which we measured the diversity of echinoderms in a coral reef. The specific echinoderms we were searching for included sea urchins, sea stars, and sea cucumbers. Using tape and flags, we marked off a section of the reef and counted each species of echinoderms that we saw with underwater paper. It was exciting to use new methods and…
We only have a few days left until we head back to the city. So far, living here in the rainforest has been quite an adjustment. The experience overall has been very nice, but there have been times where it gets hard. Panama is currently experiencing a drought that has been ongoing for 8 weeks. Pete, the guy in charge of the ITEC center here, says that this has been…
The Institution of Tropical Ecology and Conservation (ITEC) is a remote and off grid lab where the CofC Panama students and I stayed for 2 weeks. ITEC powers themselves through solar energy and a generator which is used sparingly. Every morning the generator was turned on for 30 minutes in order to make coffee. Every night it was turned on so that we could have our lecture. Since Panama is…
My name is Jianna Wankel and I am a senior at the College of Charleston studying marine biology. For the May semester of 2023 I am taking General Ecology in Bocas Del Toro, Panamá! I chose to do this program because Panamá has incredibly rich biodiversity. It contains tropical rain forests, temperate rainforests, and coral reefs. A few goals that I have set for myself while I am abroad is…
The first destination of the trip was in Panama City, where we had a two-day layover before heading to the island of Bocas del Toro. The majority of this course takes place in a remote field station located in a tropical rainforest; therefore, we are not as exposed to the cultural aspects of Panama compared to many other study abroad experiences. Thus, our time spent in the capital of Panama…
My name is Ella Salinski and I am a sophomore studying Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Sustainability. I am attending the Panama Maymester to study General Ecology. I chose this program because I wanted an opportunity to be immersed in what I was learning about. I’m looking forward to seeing and experiencing what I hear about in the classroom in person. Through my research of Panama, I learned…
