Panama - the first couple of weeks!

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Hola!

Well, lots of things have already happened; I did not think it was possible to cram in so much in so little time (granted a lot of it is spent waiting and in transportation).

We live in cabanas of 6 people; yes 5 others are regularly subjected to my "quirky" ways. As of right now, pretty much only the shower has been working consistently but these may just be bumps that need to be worked out because of the move! We had (and probably still have) cockroaches; but they have been kept at bay pretty well.

Our class: Davidken is a great professor and has obviously put in a lot of time and effort to craft a wonderful environmental history course. We have been on 2 field trips and I believe we have 2 more to go. The first was to the former mine site "Santa Rosa" in Canazas, and to Santa Fe (where we visited and were hosted by a compensino cooperative). The second (from which we have just returned) was all over the place but we visited and archeological site and recieved lectures from Richard Cooke (we were based out of Chitre though). Overall it has been very interesting!

Highlights so far include: visiting a coffee factory, visiting an organic family farm (half an acre! farming is different in Panama), stargazing, visiting a sugar cane factory, being able to touch arrowheads that are thousands of years old.... the list goes on.

Living in a group of about 27(ish?) is really fun; everyone here is interesting. We have not been spending much time exploring Panama city yet; most of it has been at STRI (the smithsonian) or with our internships. I will be working with CIAM specifically on the impacts of mining in Panama at specific sites. One is a gigantic gold mine. Most of the mines in Panama are owned and operated by Canadian companies turning huge profits; its amazing how much of our spirit is lost in the obvious human and environmental abuse by these companies. I have never been less proud of to be a Canadian. The internship is challenging and motivating, and I look forward to visiting the mines and hearing first hand stories and interpretations of what is happening in these communities.

Sleep is a scarce commodity these days but I can't really complain! The work is hard but the "subject" is fascinating, and done with the Panamanian landscape as a background. Right now, I'm still in awe of where I am; it still has not truly sunk in.

Hasta luego,
Lesya

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