Arriving in Kirksville

Upon arriving in Kirksville last Friday, I was well aware of the adventure that was soon to begin. It still seems so surreal that in less than one month's time I will be leaving the country for the first time. That day will be a day full of firsts, as it will also be the first time that I will have ever been on a plane. It figures that my initial plane experience would be one that takes me out of the country to begin my two month adventure in Panama.

I am going to Panama this semester for an eight week study abroad trip. We are leaving February 16th, for those of us flying outside of STL, on a flight that is departing at the passenger 'friendly' time of 5am. For the month that we are in Kirksville, we do have classes that we attend weekly. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have HIST 140, Latin America During the National Period, and JINS 338, Race and Ethnicity back to back from 1:30-4:20. On Wednesdays BIOL 444, Tropical Ecology, and ENVS 380, Special Topics: Panama Experience, meet back to back from 9:30-11:20 (yes you saw that correctly, no classes on Mondays or Fridays!!!! Feel free to let your envy wash over you).

So far my classes are going smoothly, and have turned out to be quite fascinating. Not only do I feel like I'm learning alot about how modern Latin America came to be, but I have also been forced to take a hard look at myself and, in a way, how I 'came to be'. As part of an assignment for our JINS class, we were told to do a self assessment pie chart and essay. This assignment required that we break our identity down into pie portions that can be completely seperated and quantified. While I disagree with the premise that a person can break down and separate portions of their personality/being, I did find this task to be interesting. I was forced to look into who I was, and find possible reasons to 'explain' why I am who I am.

My classes Wednesday mostly serve as a a way to allow us to gather together and discuss the projects that we will be carrying out while abroad. This trip focuses largely on two projects. The first project is about service learning. While we're in country we're going to be interacting with the local people, and it is our goal to leave the community in an improved state upon our departure. The projects that we hope to do range from creating a recycling program to improving roads and paths to translating signs/brochures. While I will gladly help with all of these, I am personally going to try to focus on translating signs and brochures from Spanish to English to make Omar Torrijos National Park more tourist friendly. I chose this project specifically so that I can practice my Spanish skills in a rigorous and meaningful setting.

The second project that I will be working on involves interaction with a local shaman, a medicine man and spiritual leader of the community. Our group is going to try to record the plants, etc that he uses to treat various illnesses and get a general idea for the ceremonies involved. Ideally we will be able to identify and find a sample of each plant, root, etc that he uses and record this information. In a perfect world we would hope to present all the information (in the way of which plants cure which ailments, etc) in a concise document for the community. That way, the ways of the shaman will forever be kept alive for this community. After only a week of having taken a hard look at this project, I am already in love with it. From the experience of meeting the shaman, to being able to get out in the field to collect and identify plants, to looking into the various compounds existant in these plants that could possess healing quantities, to being a part of a world which combines elements of medicine and the mystic.... AHHH even just listing it now in a babbling fashion, which I have a tendancy of doing if I'm not careful, makes me wish I could fast forward the next month!! (Is it a bit dorky that I thought of a 'time turner' from Harry Potter when I thought about wanting to control time? ....)

This week has only fueled my growing desire to head to Panama to begin what will prove to be an amazing experience! I can already sense the adventure and knowledge that awaits us all, and I cannot wait to pack up with this great group of people, and start our journey!!

P.S.
As its late, and I'm feeling a bit slap happy, I'm going to list a few of the random thoughts, 'fears', etc I've been having about this trip lately
1. I have been telling myself that I cannot freak out about every mosquito bite I get in Panama... it is most likely NOT malaria
2. People are not going to be staring at my underwear as it hangs out to dry so I should stop worrying about it
3. If I forget to pack something, it will not be the end of the world. I'm sure this item would either prove to be unimportant or I will be able to acquire it some other way
4. I should not fear young children wielding machetes. They mean me no harm, and if they do, I won't really have time to worry about it.