I wrote this blog in the spring of 2010 during a study abroad program in Panama sponsored by Truman State University. The program was based at the newly established conservation biology research station, La MICA (La Montana para la Investigacion de la Conservacion Ambiente) just outside of El Cope, Panama.

The class discussions and readings in the program focused on race, class, and ethnicity in Latin America and the North American perspective on these issues. This academic approach combined with first-hand interactions with Panamanian culture created an environment more enriching than traditional classroom learning. This blog reflects how I applied abstract ideas about inequality and Latin America to what I perceived in the Panamanian cities and countyside.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The City

We had free days this week to do what we pleased. Most of the class went to Bocas del Toro to climb a volcano and see some dorky bird. People who are doing their project on the shaman made the trek to visit him (I hear they will have to wade through waist-deep water). Me, I went to Panama City with Hanna and Countny to use various collections of archives for my history paper. I spent about 15 hrs in various archives in Panama, so probably had the dorkiest free days of any one, but I really needed to start on my history paper so that's ok.

Our hotel room is pretty small, but it's cheap, and its close to the Archivos Nacionales and a few other museums and cathedrals. I spent most of today in the top floor of the Universidad de Panama, struggling through newspaper archives from 1945 looking for articles about a West Indian labor union called the UPW that collapsed after pressure from the U.S. government, which thought the organization stank of Communism.

It was really empowering to travel around the city doing research. I felt like a little reporter with my notebook and computer, hailing taxi cabs, and hunting down different archival collections. I felt more like an adult than I ever have. It was really fun to sit in the hotel restaurant alone, eating a burger and having a beer while I went over my notes.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMarch 7, 2010 at 7:48 AM

    !Ten cuidad, senorita! Te amamos mucho. Buena suerte en las estudias. Tia Kriste y Tio Dan.

    ReplyDelete

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