Gryphon group is enjoying a breakfast in town, and we’ll be going to our field station site in about an hour. Internet will be limited, but we’ll post if we can. Our cell should work but reception can be spotty
Blog Entry: February 8th, 2017 Hello from Sylvia, Liam, and Marisa! We arrived in Panama City yesterday at about 2:00. We made it to the Magnolia Inn at about 3:30, and got a lunch-dinner at a local buffet-style restaurant! The … Continue reading
Plane flight was smooth. Everyone is getting settled into their rooms and we’ll post an update later. We’re about to go out for dinner
On the sidebar to the right, we’ve added links to most of the major sites where we’ll be staying or are hosting us in some fashion. In the ’17 Group Info tab on www.cswoffcampus.net, see the list for the Gryphon and Phoenix … Continue reading
The following is the flight information for travel to and from Boston and Panama. We are fortunate to have the only direct Boston to Panama flight. This saves much travel time and, very importantly, it means that we don’t have to … Continue reading
Tonight we had our despedida or farewell party. All the families attended in one fashion or another and there were many kids playing around the ground of the school. It was potluck and there was plenty of food for all. … Continue reading
We’re now in the final few days of the course. The final day of classes was today, and they’ll have an oral final evaluation on Monday. Today, as every day, for classes, their was a rotation of groups among three … Continue reading
Hello World! This is Emma, Rayna and Naty and we’re here to give you the best blog post ever! Tuesday afternoon, nine of us left Pedasí to stay at Achotines Research Facility, where tuna are studied in detail. Did you … Continue reading
Today was a fairly low-key day. Spanish classes ran from 8 am to noon. After lunch and a siesta we meet in the Gazebo in the park at 3 pm and played a game, led by Sophie & Jacob, that … Continue reading
As today was Sunday students spent the morning with their homestay families. We ate lunch together at the school, and then headed out to catch boats for Ísla Iguana. We had four boats for our group, and it took about … Continue reading
We are sitting at La Pandería in Pedasí snacking on some pastries. It’s a short walk from all of our houses and the Buena Vida Language School, at which we attend classes (completely in Spanish) from 8-12 during the week. … Continue reading
• Link to course Cerro Punta photos • Link to new set of Joe Hille course photos: Joe Hille 2 and Cerro Punta Fútbol • Link to sequence of playing cards with Laura • Link to Josh Glass video of ITEC projects: student … Continue reading
Having spent the past two weeks at ITEC and the Cloud Forest in Cerro Punta, where most of our time was spent with each other as a group and removed from the outside world, living with our brand new host … Continue reading
• Photos of students first meeting a family member: Students & host family member • Link to ITEC photos you might not have seen: Projects & Soropta Canal
We’re in the bus a little north of Chitré. We can a little bit of an internet connection using a smart phone as a “hotspot.” There is plenty of things to tell about Cerro Punta (but that will have what … Continue reading
It’s been a long rich day. We have to get up early tomorrow, so I’ll just show some parts of the day in photos. Steve
Greetings from the cabin 6 squad! We are all currently in Cerro Punta, about 7,000 feet above sea level. To get here we took a bus from Almirante, Bocas del Toro. En route, we popped a tire, and spent some … Continue reading
We’re all doing fine, but we are busy. We had two hikes today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We split the group in two each time. Abel, an animated and very knowledgeable, guide whom we’ve worked … Continue reading
While some students were apprehensive (and excited) about being in rainforest field station with no a generator for electricity (for part of the day) and no hot water, I think all really enjoyed being there. And, as we said, at the … Continue reading
Today students made a strong push to finish the bulk of the data analysis and writeup. We had presentations at 4 pm. They are having a check for both science and language journals before we move on to the the next … Continue reading
¡Hola padres y madres! Sophie and Dean here, coming at you live from the ITEC palace. We haven’t seen any of the other blog posts yet, but assure you that this one will be the funniest. Today we continued to … Continue reading
Feb. 17, 2015 Day 7 in Panama Day 5 in ITEC Today was the hottest day so far, well into the 90s with no rain (finally). In the morning we went our separate ways and worked on our projects. Some … Continue reading
Today was a major workday for getting the projects started in earnest. There are a wide variety of projects, and they take advantage of several major ecosystems nearby. While there might be some slight adjustments, below is a very quick, … Continue reading
Molly’s day: In the reefy morning, it was impossible to collect any data because the water was so murky. Lucky for us it cleared up in the afternoon, and all the reef project-doers were able to gather some data. There … Continue reading
Joey and Naomi recount the Panama expedition’s cave experience earlier today. Continue reading
Hoy nosotros… Just kidding. Although this is only our second day at the ITEC research station, we have already seen so much! After some shockingly cold showers and a delicious breakfast this morning, we split up into two groups to … Continue reading
We were up before 4 am to catch a 6:30 air Panama flight to Bocas del Toro. It was raining somewhat when we got there. After spending a half hour in town the rain had abated somewhat and we took … Continue reading
We had a full day today. We went to visit the Miraflores Locks today and watched a couple of ships go from the Pacific Ocean, raising them 1/2 the way up to the 85 feet above sea level of Lake … Continue reading
After settling into the Magnolia Inn we went out to eat at Purdue Pizza. too too much to right now. We’re all going to sleep soon to get ready for a full day tomorrow. … Continue reading
We arrived safely and have settled in somewhat to the Magnolia Inn. We’re going out to eat. It’s 86º F. We’ll have a another post later with some photos.
The 2013 blog is up to give flavor for the course. The last things to happen in the course appear closest to the top. If you want to follow the course front he beginning, you will need to first scroll down … Continue reading
We visited an Emberá community in Chagres National Park. In total it took about 2 hours to get there by bus and boat. The boatman displayed considerable skill in getting us up the river. The weather was great all day … Continue reading
This afternoon at about 4 pm both groups arrived at the Soberania Lodge in Gamboa within 10 minutes of each other. The Pedasí group traveled from La Enea (~ 5 hour bus ride with stops). The other group had a … Continue reading
We arrived safely in Gamboa. Things went smoothly in our boat ride from ITEC to Boca del Drago, then by a bus to the town of Bocas del Toro—and then we arrived at the airport. Our flight was delayed by … Continue reading
We’ve just heard from Steve via telephone that their journey from ITEC to Gamboa went well, and the group is now safely tucked in at Soberanía Lodge. We’ll be joining them tomorrow to spend our last two nights in Panama … Continue reading
We arrived in La Enea, a small town on the Azuero Penninsula, to a lovely welcoming including a whole bunch a excited local children, our new host moms, and the mayor of La Enea, who is one of the homestay … Continue reading
Today we worked mostly on our projects. These projects consist of hours of field research on a science topic of our choice and a full lab report. A group of us also went snorkeling today at a reef we had … Continue reading
We’re all at Yarisnori restaurant to celebrate Sarah’s birthday. Our bare feet on the sand floor, the setting sun, the gentle ocean breezes, with the ocean 75 feet away are a stark contrast to what we are hearing about the … Continue reading
I talked with Amber and she told me that the group had spent the morning at Isla Iguana (a little piece of paradise) and that they had arrived in La Enea and that all students were in their new homestays. … Continue reading
Our week in Pedasí is quickly coming to a close. We’ve been enjoying our stay in this warm, welcoming town, and have kept quite busy discovering all that Pedasí has to offer! Below are some highlights of our week so … Continue reading
I’m sitting in the rocking chair out back as I write. I spend a good deal of my time here. There’s a small table for eating breakfast and dinner and a small buzzing fluorescent to read by in the evening. … Continue reading
Julia and Andre have some albums up for some of their photos during the course. Check them out buy clicking on the links above. Student projects have begun. Lydia is working with Leaf-Cutter Ants and the defoliation of Pete’s Yucca … Continue reading
Over at ITEC, the Atenas group is halfway through their time at ITEC. Our time here has been marked by unseasonal daily downpours, making trips to investigate the reef difficult until today. Despite the weather, we’re enjoying our time. Yesterday … Continue reading
My host family has got this extensive garden where they grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables; bananas, coconuts, papayas, potatoes, and every morning they present me with a plate of fresh fruit for breakfast. My host mother is one … Continue reading
The homestays thus far have been unbelievable, but the contrast of different people’s experiences with such is very notable. Since my host parents do not have children, I knew from the start that my experience would be different from the … Continue reading
Our journey Saturday from Cerro Punta down the Pacific slope to David, back up the Pacific slope along a lower pass (~4,000’) down to the Atlantic slope to Almirante all went smoothly. At the actual continental divide we could see … Continue reading
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What a pleasure to be welcomed into the homes of our families here in Pedasí! Here are some first impressions: Jamie: After nervously awaiting the arrival of my homestay family, they welcomed me with open arms. I’ve been able to … Continue reading
The “Atenas” group has made it to ITEC! They took a bus from the Cerro Punta highlands to the port town of Almirante. From there they boarded boat taxis which took them to Isla Colón in the archipelago of Bocas … Continue reading
Click the ITEC Grupo 1 for a few earlier photos from the Pedasi track.
This our last night. All reported that the mini homestays went very well. In the afternoon, both farm practices and issues surrounding hydroelectric projects were discussed with Ana, Luis and others. After that students had free time: some rode some … Continue reading
Last night, the Pedasí group spent their first night with their homestay families! This morning the patio of Buena Vida Language School filled with lively voices of students excitedly sharing about their first moments with the families, delicious meals, basketball … Continue reading
Si tiene alergia a los perros, no venga a Costa Rica. En Costa Rica hay muchos perros por todos lados. Me gustan los dos perritos en mi familia anfitriona, pero hay un otro perro y creo que él quiere matarme. … Continue reading
While cooking pollo y verduras a friend of mine from csw turned to me and began a story with “mi mama.” Laughter of fluent Spanish speakers and even some csw students inflated the room, because while “mamá” means mom, “mama” … Continue reading
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind with both groups intersecting, and there has been a rich, albeit brief exchange between the two groups. The Atenas group settled in for 2 days and stayed in fantastic cabins in the forest. … Continue reading
The Pedasí group left about 8:20 this morning and arrived with time to spare before entering their homestays. Last night they gave presentations of their independent initiatives and had a farewell dinner in a local restaurant. I’m sure you’ll get … Continue reading
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The group (Atenas track) that just arrived from Costa Rica continues to settle into the cloud forest and went on their first excursions through forest trails. Their evening ended with a lively discussion spurred by Abel, our fabulous guide … Continue reading
Both groups are now tucked into the cabins in the cloud forest of Los Quetzales. The group from Atenas managed to wrest themselves out of bed by 5 am, and journey by bus along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica … Continue reading
Upon arriving back at our cabins after dinner, we discovered there were some friendly visitors in our kitchen. We found a kinkajou stealing our bananas after a door was left open…we won’t be making that mistake again. We had fun … Continue reading
Feb. 17 Sunday was the day we took our trip to the National Park of Carrara. Carrara is about an hour drive away from where we are staying in Atenas and on the way we stopped to refresh with some … Continue reading
Hello dear readers–apologies for the delays in entries! You might notice that we’ll be backtracking for a little while until we get caught up. Soon we’ll be off to Panama, where internet may be intermittent. Thanks for your patience!
Every year Atenas hosts “La Fiesta Sabana Larga”– a three-day festival about fifteen minutes from the Center of Atenas. The fiesta holds dancing, food, souvenirs and most importantly bull fights and horse shows. People from all over Costa Rica come … Continue reading
We made our way up into the forest and are safely nestled into our cabins. To our surprise, our cabins are equipped with both electricity and wifi, but we are determined to not let these distract us from being present … Continue reading
We left ITEC at about 8 this morning. We took two boats to the port of Almirante, and then boarded a bus for Cerro Punta. After following the coast for a while we cut over to cross over the continental … Continue reading
We have no Internet at the Field station. We learned of Karl Fisher’s passing in the morning, and after lunch we circled up and told the students of Kar’ls death. We had a long moment of silence interrupted only by the … Continue reading
I will give you a very brief overview of student projects: Liam, Jasper and Alex are looking at the Golden Orb spider. Often, nearby the large females are much smaller males as well as another small species of “clepto”-parasitic … Continue reading
Hola Familias! We’ve been having some busy days here at Itec. The weather has been great everyday, except today where it has been raining all day. It’s a nice refreshing rain though. Everyone has been working on their science projects … Continue reading
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Atenas…. Atenas…. Such a delightful and vibrant town…. It is hard to believe that tomorrow will mark our first week here. What a pleasant and incredible experience it has been so far. I bathe in the sweet and delicate scents … Continue reading
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Today we are gathering again at our lovely Spanish school at Isabel’s House – such a grounding and welcoming place. The teachers are so warm and full of delight. This afternoon we have art and music classes. We will be … Continue reading
This night was a truly amazing way to end a fantastic afternoon in downtown Bocas del Toro. We are at Yarisnori Restaurant right behind the waves breaking over the coral reefs we snorkeled a few days ago. The sound of … Continue reading
After spending a few days on this trip now and having settled in with my host family and living in a new culture, I have been struck by a realization: sending students on this study abroad trip is not to … Continue reading
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Bienvenidos! This is Sarah writing after finishing our (very tiring, but very fun) 6th day in Atenas, Costa Rica. In general, homestays are all going well. We’ve all definitely had our fair share of awkward moments but are learning that … Continue reading
We still have very limited internet, and uploading photos can be lengthy Yesterday afternoon, after lunch, the students had Spanish with Izzy. After a short break went out into the area around the ITEC field station, including the forest, … Continue reading
The travel from Panama City went very smoothly (which is not always the case in Central America). The Air Panama flight left on time and arrived slightly early. We moved quickly from the airport in Bocas del Toro to waiting … Continue reading
Hola a padres y amigos, We all finally have contact! If you want to contact teachers while in Panama, Steve’s number is 6437-5365; Izzy is at 6400.4368, and Nick is at 6601.4954. To make calls to Panama from the US, just … Continue reading
Hello parents and other folks stuck in the cold! Hope your valentines day went well, ours did! We traveled by boat on the canal and saw it in action with oil tankers and other giant ships. We also saw animals … Continue reading
Our second full day is off to a great start. We began the morning with students in their Spanish classes saying hello via a Skype call to the group in Panama City! The group in Panama was getting ready to … Continue reading
Hi all, We had a good day, and we saw many monkeys, big ships and birds. The group is having a pizza dinner in the “Casco Antiguo”— the oldest section of Panama. I’l post some photos and more description but … Continue reading
This morning we all converged at La Casa de Isabel — our Spanish School! Here’s most of our group just after they arrived after their first night with their homestay families. Seems like most got a good sleep last night … Continue reading
It’s been a long travel day, but all went fairly smoothly. We’re scheduled to have an early breakfast and then leave at 8:00 am for a tour of lake Gatún in the morning. Lake Gatún is the large manmade lake( … Continue reading
All is well. We’re waiting to board out flight to Panama City. It leaves at 3:30 pm CST. The time in Panama is the same as in Massachusetts. We are scheduled to arrive at 9:00. We will publish Panama cell … Continue reading
Hello! Neotropics course 2013 is in transit! The Atenas group will soon be boarding our flight to Miami. Looking forward to being in touch when we arrive in Atenas late afternoon. Here is one of the phones will have during … Continue reading
Hi we’re in the San Jose airport. We through security and waiting at the gate. The flight is on time and we should be boarding in about 1/2 hour. See Itinerary below. Lv San Jose, CR, USAir #1706, 3:35pm Ar … Continue reading
We do not expect students to go to school on Thursday. We encourage them to sleep in and to try to get some rest. Students may come in during the afternoon if they wish, but we ask that they be … Continue reading
All is well and we’ll be on our way home tomorrow. It’s been a long time since we’ve had any extended access to internet. When I glance through the topics of the long list of unread emails, I realize it’s … Continue reading
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to blog, I have a very short time to do so now. I am pleased to see the the student entries, see http://blogaboutmonkeys.blogspot.com/ and http://wfreedberg.tumblr.com/. Read them to get more … Continue reading
We made it to Cerro Punta. As I type, half of the group is being transported up the mountainside to their cabins and the rest of us will soon follow. Our journey here went pretty smoothly, despite a little boat … Continue reading
Hello! Check out the new entries on the student blog. Today is our last full day at ITEC. Tonight we have the group science project presentations. Tomorrow we leave around 7am to take the boats from Isla Colon to Almirante. … Continue reading
Here are our cell phone numbers if you need to call: Dial: 011-507 and then… Steve: 64295365 Juan: 69293353 Amber: 69293354 Check out some new student blog entries: Student blog
Hello again! All is going well. I am in town for the part of the day with the several students who are conducting interviews for their project about the use of plant-based/home remedies and modern medicine. Yesterday morning it was … Continue reading
We’ve arrived! In the last couple days we have been settling into the ITEC field station, and becoming oriented to the area by hiking through primary lowland rainforest, snorkeling in a cove with coral reef and mangrove, and we will … Continue reading
I (Steve) added some photos at the last minute: despedida I am sitting on the porch of Isabel’s house after a delightful evening with our Spanish teachers and our families. We had a festive graduation ceremony to mark the completion … Continue reading
Click for Photos of UTN and more: UTN (Unversidad Tecnica Nacional) This is our last day in Atenas. I’m going to the airport shortly to pick up Carra Cheslin. We’re excited to have Carra join us as a teaching intern … Continue reading
I can’t believe it is almost time for us to leave Atenas (and Costa Rica) and embark into our new adventure; Bocas del Toro, Panama. Before we leave, I would like to share some of my thoughts about our time … Continue reading
We are nearing the end of our time in Atenas. Yesterday we had Spanish classes in the morning, and in the afternoon, three groups of students collected continued initiatives to find out more about recycling in Atenas. One group polished … Continue reading
On Saturday evening we went to the “Fiestas de Sabana Larga,” Click on Fiestas to see photos. This a four day event. There was abundant food, dancing, and mingling with locals. We went on the first day that they had rodeo … Continue reading
First some photos. Click the images below to see more photos from a “nice afternoon” and “Futball Cinco”. Yesterday lunch through the afternoon was very relaxed and pleasant. As Juan said “we arrived promptly on US time, but left on … Continue reading
I am at an internet cafe and I don’t have a way to upload any photos. Yesterday after Spanish classes in the morning, we regathered at 3 pm to further develop the mini-social sciene project we began earlier in the … Continue reading
Click for photos of San Isidro coffee farm: San Isidro coffee farm See a video of our visit “En armonía con su salud y la Naturaleza” Yesterday we had a special treat. As part of our focus on land use … Continue reading
Click her for photos of dance class and Rio Grande watershed: Dance/Watershed Click for a short (2 min) dance clip: Dance class 2-15 Internet has been unavailable in the evenings, so we are largely confined to morning posts. Yesterday morning … Continue reading
